[XXIII.] The complaint in my eyes which gave occasion to this address to my daughter first showed itself as a consequence of inflammation, caught at the top of Kirkstone, when I was over-heated by having carried up the ascent my eldest son, a lusty infant.

Frequently has the disease recurred since, leaving the eyes in a state which has often prevented my reading for months, and makes me at this day incapable of bearing without injury any strong light by day or night.

My acquaintance with books has therefore been far short of my wishes, and on this account, to acknowledge the services daily and hourly done me by my family and friends, this note is written.
442.

_Ode to Lycoris_.

[XXIV.] This, as well as the preceding and the two that follow, were composed in front of Rydal Mount, and during my walks in the neighbourhood.
Nine-tenths of my verses have been murmured out in the open air.