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- Tycho Brahe's Nose
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- The Mermaid Club
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- The First Magazine

Origin Of Cowper's John Gilpin

It happened one afternoon, in those years when Cowper's accomplished
friend, Lady Austen, made a part of his little evening circle, that she
observed him sinking into increased dejection; it was her custom, on
these occasions, to try all the resources of her sprightly powers for
his immediate relief. She told him the story of John Gilpin, (which had
been treasured in her memory from her childhood), to dissipate the gloom
of the passing hour. Its effects on the fancy of Cowper had the air
of enchantment. He informed her the next morning that convulsions of
laughter, brought on by his recollection of her story, had kept him
waking during the greatest part of the night! and that he had turned
it into a ballad. So arose the pleasant poem of John Gilpin. To Lady
Austen's suggestion, also, we are indebted for the poem of "the Task."

* * * * *





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