"
It was written when Cowper felt again the darkness of insanity
closing in upon him. Once again he tried to end his life, but
again the storm passed.
Cowper was already a man of nearly fifty when these hymns first
appeared. Shortly afterwards he published another volume of
poems in the style of Pope.
It was after this that Cowper found another friend who brought
some brightness into his life. Lady Austen, a widow, took a
house near Cowper and Mrs. Unwin, and became a third in their
friendship. It was she who told Cowper the story of John Gilpin.
The story tickled his fancy so that he woke in the night with
laughter over it. He decided to make a ballad of the story, and
the next day the ballad was finished. I think I need hardly give
you any quotation here. You all know that--
"John Gilpin was a citizen
Of credit and reknown,
A train-band captain eke was he
Of famous London town."
And you have heard his adventures on the anniversary of his
wedding day.
John Gilpin was first published in a magazine, and there it was
seen by an actor famous in his day, who took it for a recitation.
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