The Exhibition in the Library

Summary

The centenary of the death of William Wordsworth is the occasion of an exhibition in the library of St John's, which should certainly be seen during the present term, and which provides an excuse, if one were needed, to visit one of the finest libraries of Cambridge, second only to Trinity in splendour, though far less well known to the public at large. The richness and variety of the exhibits are a testimony not only to the generous piety of donors but to the careful watching of the book-market by successive librarians of the College, which aroused the professional envy and respectful admiration of the librarian of another foundation.

Wordsworth was admitted to the College on 6 November 1787, and his subscription in his own hand in the Register of Fellows and Scholars is among the exhibits. From his undergraduate period there is a copy of Martin's Voyage to St Kilda, 1753, with his signature (c. 1788) on the title-page. His love for his College, universally known from his famous lines in The Prelude, is further attested by the inscription which he wrote in a copy of the four-volume Poetical Works of 1832:

To the Coll: of St. John Cambridge. These volumes are presented by the Author as a testimony, though inadequate, of his respect and gratitude. Wm. Wordsworth.

It was a lucky windfall which brought the College in 1919 the first four editions of Lyrical Ballads, the gift of Miss Emma Hutchinson, great-niece of the poet.