344 The Museum Gazette 



It was to her that he addressed the lines we have quoted, and 

 when she herself became the patient, he in turn watched at her 

 bedside and nursed her with the deepest tenderness. There 

 had possibly never been any serious thought of marriage, 

 Cowper's state of health and frequent mental illnesses putting 

 that out of the question. Their attachment was one of the 



utmost purity, and at the same time it was deep and uninter- 

 rupted. Cowper lived four years after Mrs. Unwin's death. 

 That event had caused him great distress, but he was in a 

 feeble state of mind, and it is said that after one wild, pas- 

 sionate exclamation, he never again mentioned her name. 



It was to Mrs. Unwin's suggestion that we owe the best 

 of Cowper's writings. She was constantly seeking to find 

 for him occupation which should absorb his thoughts and 



