Eureka Reporter | 1905-04-21 | Page 3 | A Poet and a Dreamer

AND A DREAMER incident of the boy hood of coleridge A story of coleridge s boyhood which appears in a book b mr wil fred brown on the poet s childhood and later years shows the danger that beset the star gazer and also the rewards that come to him from hia early youth coleridge lived a world of books and dreams yet his favor ite walk seems to have been the strand in london the last place in the world for a poet to lose himself in reverie As he strolled down the street he imagined himself swimming the hel lespona the feat of which other poets had written and which the poet byra was to accomplish later one while the mind of coleridge was thus far from the busy strand he absently thrust ris hands before him in the manner of one swimming suddenly one hand came in contact with a gen pocket the gentleman thinking to capture a thief seized the hand and exclaim ed what so young and so wicked he accused the poor poetic boy of an attempt at pocket picking with some fright and a few tears the boy explained and we can imagine that words did not fail him who was to become the most brilliant talker of his age the gentleman was delighted with coleridge s imagination which could turn the strand into the helles pont the intelligence of the young leander made the stranger inquire in to coleridge s tastes and when he found the boy liked books he opened for him a subscription at the cir culat ing library in cheapside