" (Tbristopber flortb" 175 



boatman on Ullswatcr, William Backhouse by name, 

 a fine, stalwart dalesman who remembered John Wilson 

 well, and bore similar testimony to the Professor's 

 enthusiastic interest in all the manly sports and jolly 

 revels of the country-side. 



Of fishing John Wilson had his fill at Elleray. One 

 great angling excursion deserves special mention, not 

 so much perhaps on account of the sport it afforded 

 as for the illustrious names of most of the anglers. On 

 a lovely summer day in the year 1809 the solitudes of 

 Eskdale were invaded by such an army of anglers as had 

 assuredly never been seen there before. The anglers 

 numbered twelve, among whom, with Wilson as chief, 

 were Wordsworth, De Quincey, Alexander Blair, the 

 two Astleys, and Humphries. There were no less than 

 twenty servants to look after the tents and baggage, 

 which were carried on the backs of a string of twelve 

 ponies. For a week the party sojourned in the mountains, 

 and perhaps the long "cracks" in the evenings, with 

 Wordsworth, De Quincey, and Wilson himself in their 

 best talking form, afforded more pleasure than the day's 

 sport among the trout, though all of them were more or 

 less skilful anglers. It was, at any rate, a unique fishing 

 party. Probably the only thing of the kind comparable to 

 it is to be found in the experiences of Charles Kingsley, 

 Matthew Arnold, Tom Hughes, and James Anthony 

 Froude, on the rare occasions when those four fore- 

 gathered, rod in hand, at the river-side. 



Amongst his other accomplishments John Wilson 

 reckoned that of dancing, in which he had few equals. 

 It was as a dancer that he made the acquaintance of Miss 



