Wordsworth afterwards made the journey memorable in his poem of "Yarrow
Visited." The poets temporarily separated at Selkirk,--Wordsworth having
secured the promise of a visit from his friend, at Mount Ryedale, prior
to his return to Edinburgh. The promise was duly fulfilled; and the
Shepherd had the pleasure of meeting, during his visit, Lloyd, and De
Quincey, and his dear friend Wilson. A portion of the autumn of 1815 was
spent by the Shepherd at Elleray. In the letter inviting his visit
(dated September 1815), the author of "The Isle of Palms" indicates his
opinion of the literary influence of his correspondent, by writing as
follows:--"If you have occasion soon to write to Murray,[36] pray
introduce something about 'The City of the Plague,' as I shall probably
offer him that poem in about a fortnight, or sooner. Of course, I do not
_wish_ you to say that the poem is utterly worthless. I think that a
bold eulogy from you (if administered immediately), would be of service
to me; but if you do write about it, do not tell him that I have any
intention of offering it to him, but you may say, you hear I am going to
offer it to a London bookseller."
The Shepherd's intimacy with the poets had induced him to entertain a
somewhat plausible scheme of bettering his finances. He proposed to
publish, in a handsome volume, a poem by each of the living bards of
Great Britain.
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