Letter from E.H. Cradock, Oxford, to William Angus Knight, 1886 January 7 : autograph manuscript signed.

Discussing, at length, details on a map he has of Keswick dated 1789, explaining his absence from correspondence and discussing Knight's work on Wordsworth; saying "My great affliction a year and a half ago, and a long illness since, have greatly interrupted my correspondence with friends. Thank God I am now stronger and in better condition than I expected to be again. I see that you have been unremitting in your work on Wordsworths Poems. You must be glad to be drawing near to a conclusion. I have in my possession an old map of the country round about Keswick including Cockermouth, dated 1789 which entirely confirms Mr. Dodgsons statement about the road described in XIII Book of the Prelude page 380. The road over 'Hay Hill' is marked clearly as a carriage road to Isel. The miles are marked on the map. The 'Summit' of the hill is 'naked' - for the map marks woods where they existed - and none are marked on Hay Hill. The map extends to the Thirlmere district and throws no light on the Ghimmer Crag named in the Waggoner - the Cherry Tree is marked in its present place. The Bp of Salisbury [John Wordsworth] has an important copy of the Lyrical Ballads probably 1800, apparently corrected for the press for the next edition - It is largely corrected (as the Bishops says) in Dorothy's handwriting - but the corrections are mostly trivial. The principal one which I noticed on a hasty inspection was the cancelling of the 5th stanza of Poor Susan. The poor Bishop is over done with work - His predecessor was an old man in weak health and left arrears. He was very fond of Oxford - and his exchange was very much against his private inclinations."