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"The Candidate"

"The Candidate"


1 When sly Jemmy Twitcher had smugged up his face
2 With a lick of court whitewash and pious grimace,
3 A-wooing he went, where three sisters of old
4 In harmless society guttle and scold.

5 `Lord! Sister,' says Physic to Law, `I declare
6 Such a sheep-biting look, such a pick-pocket air,
7 Not I, for the Indies! you know I'm no prude;
8 But his nose is a shame and his eyes are so lewd!
9 Then he shambles and straddles so oddly, I fear-
10 No; at our time of life, 'twould be silly, my dear.'

11 `I don't know,' says Law, `now methinks, for his look,
12 'Tis just like the picture in Rochester's book.
13 But his character, Phyzzy, his morals, his life;
14 When she died, I can't tell, but he once had a wife.

15 `They say he's no Christian, loves drinking and whoring,
16 And all the town rings of his swearing and roaring,
17 His lying and filching, and Newgate-bird tricks:-
18 Not I,- for a coronet, chariot and six.'

19 Divinity heard, between waking and dozing,
20 Her sisters denying and Jemmy proposing;
21 From dinner she rose with her bumper in hand,
22 She stroked up her belly and stroked down her band.

23 `What a pother is here about wenching and roaring!
24 Why David loved catches and Solomon whoring.
25 Did not Israel filch from the Egyptians of old
26 Their jewels of silver and jewels of gold?
27 The prophet of Bethel, we read, told a lie;
28 He drinks: so did Noah; he swears: so do I.
29 To refuse him for such peccadillos were odd;
30 Besides, he repents, and he talks about G[od].

31 `Never hang down your head, you poor penitent elf!
32 Come, buss me, I'll be Mrs Twitcher myself.
33 D[am]n ye both for a couple of Puritan bitches!
34 He's Christian enough that repents and that [stitches].'

Expanding the poem lines shows notes and queries taken from various critical editions of Gray's works, as well as those contributed by users of the Archive. There are 1 textual and 2 explanatory notes/queries.

All notes and queries are shown by default.

0 "The Candidate" 1 Explanatory, 1 Textual

Title/Paratext] "This squib was written by [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1891.

"This squib was written by Gray on the occasion of the Earl of Sandwich being a candidate for the office of High Steward of the University of Cambridge in 1764. "Jemmy Twitcher" was Lord Sandwich's nickname, and his followers were called "Twitcherites." Lord Sandwich was a schoolfellow of Gray's at Eton; he refers to him and Lord Halifax in a letter to West, dated 27 May, 1742, as then statesmen, though not long before "dirty boys playing at cricket." See also letters of Feb. 21, and July 10, 1764, and 29 April, 1765."

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1891, p. 263.

Title/Paratext] "A printed copy of these [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1891.

"A printed copy of these verses, entitled "The Candidate, by Mr. Gray," in a quarto double sheet, is preserved in the Webb Collection [footnote: '"A Collection of Papers [College notices, newspaper cuttings, etc.], formed by the late Dr. Webb, Master of Clare College, relating to the University of Cambridge."'] in the Cambridge University Library. In January, 1782, they appeared in the "Gentleman's Magazine." The first edition of Gray's Poems in which they appeared, was the second edition of S. Jones', in 1800.
    There are a few trifling verbal differences in the printed sheet in the Webb papers, and it contains the last couplet (which I have never seen elsewhere in print), exactly as follows:—

"D——n ye both for a couple of Puritan bitches!
He's Christian enough that repents and that. . . .""

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1891, p. 263.

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1 When sly Jemmy Twitcher had smugged up his face
2 With a lick of court whitewash and pious grimace,
3 A-wooing he went, where three sisters of old
4 In harmless society guttle and scold.

5 `Lord! Sister,' says Physic to Law, `I declare
6 Such a sheep-biting look, such a pick-pocket air,
7 Not I, for the Indies! you know I'm no prude;
8 But his nose is a shame and his eyes are so lewd!
9 Then he shambles and straddles so oddly, I fear- 1 Explanatory

9.3 shambles] "Mitford quotes from Mason's "Heroic [...]" J. Bradshaw, 1891.

"Mitford quotes from Mason's "Heroic Epistle":—

                    "That babe of grace
Who ne'er before at sermon showed his face
See Jemmy Twitcher shambles.""

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1891, p. 263.

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10 No; at our time of life, 'twould be silly, my dear.'

11 `I don't know,' says Law, `now methinks, for his look,
12 'Tis just like the picture in Rochester's book.
13 But his character, Phyzzy, his morals, his life;
14 When she died, I can't tell, but he once had a wife.

15 `They say he's no Christian, loves drinking and whoring,
16 And all the town rings of his swearing and roaring,
17 His lying and filching, and Newgate-bird tricks:-
18 Not I,- for a coronet, chariot and six.'

19 Divinity heard, between waking and dozing,
20 Her sisters denying and Jemmy proposing;
21 From dinner she rose with her bumper in hand,
22 She stroked up her belly and stroked down her band.

23 `What a pother is here about wenching and roaring!
24 Why David loved catches and Solomon whoring.
25 Did not Israel filch from the Egyptians of old
26 Their jewels of silver and jewels of gold?
27 The prophet of Bethel, we read, told a lie;
28 He drinks: so did Noah; he swears: so do I.
29 To refuse him for such peccadillos were odd;
30 Besides, he repents, and he talks about G[od].

31 `Never hang down your head, you poor penitent elf!
32 Come, buss me, I'll be Mrs Twitcher myself.
33 D[am]n ye both for a couple of Puritan bitches!
34 He's Christian enough that repents and that [stitches].'

Works cited

  • The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray: English and Latin. Edited with an introduction, life, notes and a bibliography by John Bradshaw. The Aldine edition of the British poets series. London: George Bell and sons, 1891.

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Spelling has been modernized throughout, except in case of conscious archaisms. Contractions, italics and initial capitalization have been largely eliminated, except where of real import. Obvious errors have been silently corrected, punctuation has been supplied. The editor would like to express his gratitude to the library staff of the Göttingen State and University Library (SUB Göttingen) for their invaluable assistance.