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Thomas Gray to James Macpherson, [May 1760]

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Letter ID: letters.0359

Correspondents

Writer: Gray, Thomas, 1716-1771
Writer's age: 43
Addressee: Macpherson, James, 1736-1796
Addressee's age: 23

Dates

Date of composition: [May 1760]
Calendar: Gregorian

Places

Place of composition: [London, United Kingdom]

Content

Language: [unknown]
Incipit: [not extant]
Contents: "[In his letter to Wharton of c. 20 June 1760 (Letter 313 [letters.0361]) Gray says that he 'was so struck with the infinite beauty' of Macpherson's specimens of his 'translations from the Erse-tongue' that he 'writ into Scotland to make a thousand enquiries' (see Appendix L). He received two letters from Macpherson, one replying to his inquiries, and one enclosing another specimen. Macpherson's letters were probably written in May and June.]"
Correspondence of Thomas Gray, 3 vols. Ed. by the late Paget Toynbee and Leonard Whibley, with corrections and additions by H. W. Starr. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971 [1st ed. 1935], vol. ii, 672.
Mentioned: Macpherson, James, 1736-1796

Holding Institution

Availability: The original letter is not extant, no copy, transcription, or published version survives

Print Versions

  • Correspondence of Thomas Gray, 3 vols. Ed. by the late Paget Toynbee and Leonard Whibley, with corrections and additions by H. W. Starr. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971 [1st ed. 1935], letter no. 311*, vol. ii, 672