THE TASK
THE DIVERTING HISTORY OF JOHN GILPIN.
AN EPISTLE TO JOSEPH HILL, ESQ.
TO MARY.






INTRODUCTION.


After the publication of his "Table Talk" and other poems in
March, 1782, William Cowper, in his quiet retirement at Olney,
under Mrs. Unwin's care, found a new friend in Lady Austen.
She was a baronet's widow who had a sister married to a
clergyman near Olney, with whom Cowper was slightly
acquainted. In the summer of 1781, when his first volume was
being printed, Cowper met Lady Austen and her sister in the
street at Olney, and persuaded Mrs. Unwin to invite them to
tea. Their coming was the beginning of a cordial friendship.
Lady Austen, without being less earnest, had a liveliness that
satisfied Cowper's sense of fun to an extent that stirred at
last some jealousy in Mrs. Unwin. "She had lived much in
France," Cowper said, "was very sensible, and had infinite