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going to Mr. Gillman's at Highgate, where, I believe with the exception 

 of visits to Oxford in 1820, and to Cambridge to a meeting of the British 

 Association in 1833, and also a tour in Holland and Belgium, undertaken 

 in 1828, he lived constantly till his death. "At Highgate," says another 

 biographer, "he conquered his habit of taking opium, though he never 

 before had gone sixty consecutive hours without taking it. He cultivated 

 his flowers, and had a set of birds as pensioners. He was not apparently 

 sad, though there are ample evidences in his writings of deep-seated 

 dissatisfaction with himself, and with the comparatively slight life-long 

 results of his spacious, splendid, and various intellect." " His extra- 

 ordinary powers of conversation, or rather 'monologue,' now found 

 ample exercise ; there were many, and some half-worshipping, listeners 

 to the oracular and super-abundant utterances which flowed on for hours." 

 Nor must we suppose that those who rather severely handled this 

 "monologue," and from their dislike of metaphysic, would sometimes 

 call it "bottled moonshine," were unjust and unfair to the real flashes of 

 genius which now and again were apparent enough. " Glorious islets, 

 too," says Carlyle, " I have seen rise out of the haze. Balmy sunny 

 islets, islets of the blest and the intelligible ; on which occasions the 

 secondary humming groups would cease humming, and hang breathless 

 upon the eloquent words. Eloquent, artistically expressive words you 

 always had : piercing radiances of a most subtle insight came at intervals : 

 tones of noble pious sympathy were never wanting long." 



In the year he came to London (the only wonder is that he had 

 the energy to write anything,) the "Two Lay Sermons" were written ; 

 his Autobiography in the following year; his "Aids to Reflection" in 

 1825 ; and his "Church and State" in 1830. 



This literature introduces us to those other departments, besides 

 poetry, in which Coleridge v.-as certainly great. I must say something 

 to you of his Philosophy and of his Theology, though there is but little 

 space left to deal with such vast and formidable subjects. His political 

 ideas began by being eminently visionary : he thirsted for liberty, in a 

 way which we^ who know what it is so well now, can scarcely conceive. 

 It was a much less familiar thing in Coleridge's youth ; and when the 



