Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. RECOLLECTIONS. rPO some of the readers of James Payn's charming volume of " Literary Recollections," not the least attractive of the many delightful pictures which it contains will be found in a brief notice of Calverley, dating from a long vacation passed at Grasmere, in company with the present writer, in the summer of 1857. Calverley had already graduated, and was making holiday during those well-remembered months ; I myself, then in my third year, was engaged in acquiring that modicum of mathematics which the University in those days exacted, as the price of a degree, from all aspirants to classical honours. We two occupied a small cottage 1 (often revisited since) upon theroad leading from the Red Lion down to the lake. Payn, who was just entering upon the career which he has since pursued with such brilliant success, had taken house with his young wife and two (I think it was then two) bright toddling bairns, about the centre of the village. 1 Now expanded into Baldry's shop and lodgings, kept still by the same kind and friendly hosts, whose first tenants we were. My ' coach/ Wolstenholme,1 then a fellow of Christ's, was staying with a reading party at Amble- side. We were all good walkers (not excluding Payn, who, I think, does something less than justice to his own prowess in this respect), and in the course of the summer had rambled over every mountain and valley in the district. The ascent of Scawfell was achieved from Wastwater by Wolsten- holme, Payn, Calverley, and myself. We took Great Gable on our way, descending thence upon the Sty Head; and by the time we reached the mile or so of rocky boulders leading directly to the summit of Scawfell, had certainly taxed our staying powers somewhat severely. It was here that Payn lagged a little behind, a...