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Thomas Gray to William Mason, 14 December 1769

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Dear Sr

I have seen Dr Hurd, & find the story I told you is not true, tho' (I thought) I had it on very good authority. he was indeed ill at Thurcaston, but not so since, & walk'd an hour in Lincoln's-Inn walks with me very hearty, tho' his complexion presages no good. St: is come to town, & in good health. the weather & the times look very gloomy, & hang on my spirits, tho' I go to the Italian Puppet-Shew (the reigning diversion) to exhilarate them. I return to Camb: on Tuesday next, where I desire you would send me a more exhilarating letter.

Adieu, I am ever
Yours
T G:

All your acquaintances here are well: Ld Newnham & Mr Ramsden, & all.

Letter ID: letters.0572 (Source: TEI/XML)

Correspondents

Writer: Gray, Thomas, 1716-1771
Writer's age: 53
Addressee: Mason, William, 1724-1797
Addressee's age: 45

Dates

Date of composition: 14 December 1769
Date (on letter): 14 Dec: 1769
Calendar: Gregorian

Places

Place of composition: London, United Kingdom
Address (on letter): Jermyn-Street

Content

Language: English
Incipit: I have seen Dr Hurd, & find the story I told you is not true,...
Mentioned: Cambridge
Hurd, Dr. Richard
Hurd, Richard, 1720-1808
London
Skiddaw
Stonhewer, Richard, 1728-1809
Thurcaston

Holding Institution

Location:
(confirmed)
Henry W. And Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, Humanities and Social Sciences Library, New York Public Library , New York, NY, USA <https://www.nypl.org/about/divisions/berg-collection-english-and-american-literature>
Availability: The original letter is extant and usually available for academic research purposes

Print Versions

  • The Correspondence of Thomas Gray and William Mason, with Letters to the Rev. James Brown, D.D. Ed. by the Rev. John Mitford. London: Richard Bentley, 1853, letter CXXIX, 436
  • The Letters of Thomas Gray, including the correspondence of Gray and Mason, 3 vols. Ed. by Duncan C. Tovey. London: George Bell and Sons, 1900-12, letter no. CCCLIV, vol. iii, 244
  • 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. 510, vol. iii, 1093-1094