In the campaign to abolish slavery in Britain and its colonies, Clarkson (a brilliant advocate for abolition) was as renowned as his close colleague Wilberforce. Wedgwood was a correspondent. Reynolds and Boswell were met over dinner in London. In the Lake District, the Wordsworths and Coleridge became close friends (Clarkson also got to know Southey); Coleridge called him a “moral steam engine”. He was visited by Douglass, and helped Equiano sell his autobiography. A visit from the Lambs was curtailed, probably by a fit of Mary’s madness. Haydon also visited Clarkson, to sketch him for an amusingly awkward group portrait.