It Is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free

Wordsworth met Annette Vallon probably in late 1791 in Orléans, France. In February 1792, she returned to her home in Blois, 63 miles southwest of Orléans, and Wordsworth followed. Intense feelings must have arisen between them as Annette was soon pregnant; when she was six months pregnant, they decided that she should return to Orléans and Wordsworth follow. According to Wordsworth’s biographer Juliet Barker in Wordsworth: A Life, Annette expected to marry Wordsworth, and he may have had marriage in mind too, but there were obstacles to such a union. Wordsworth had plans to enter the Anglican Church, but Annette was a Roman Catholic, a fact that likely would have prevented Wordsworth’s ordination. By the end of October, Wordsworth was in Paris; he was still there when Anne-Caroline was born on December 15. He did make sure his name was on the birth certificate, which shows that he took his responsibilities as father seriously and was prepared to offer financial support. By the end of the month, he was back in England. 

Wordsworth and Annette exchanged letters, but the outbreak of war between England and France the following year made it difficult for them to meet again. An opportunity finally arose when the Treaty of Amiens was signed in 1802.