covered his theory of colours, wh. by diverting his attention to other subjects, Southey had prevented his publishing. And on my intimating that I had heard that others had lately announced a like system, C. naïvely remarked that he was very free in communicating his thoughts in conversation. It was this day that Lamb joined us & Gil[l]man came in & assumed an air as if he meant it to express: "Now Gentlemen, it is time for you to go." We took the hint & went & Lamb said he would never call again.
On the 21st of Decr. I accompanied Cargill to Coleridge when we found he had been very ill, but he was able to expatiate eloquently on the distinction bet fancy & imagination. Fancy he called memory without judgement. See his Lay Sermon. He spoke of German literature; praised Steffens & lamented the Romanism of the Schlegels & Tieck. He spoke of Hazlitt's attacks on him with unexpected moderation but complained of Lamb's toleration of him, to whom Hazlitt was indebted for what had been thought original ideas in him, & who violated private confidence so outrageously. He was pleased at being told that H. had been knocked down lately by John Lamb, Charles L.'s brother.
I heard Mary Lamb say, after I had cut him for a cause I will now state: 'You are rich in friends. We cannot afford to cast off our friends because they are not all we wish,' & I have heard Lamb say: 'Hazlitt does bad actions without being a bad man.'
It was on Sunday, the 22d of Dec., the day after this conversation with Coleridge, that I broke altogether with Hazlitt. I had read in the morning's Examiner, a paper, manifestly by H., abusing Wordsworth for his writings in favour of the King, I rather think especially the sonnet express[in]g the wish that the king could be restored for an instant to his faculties in order to be aware of the victory
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