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Julian
This letter is part of the Primary Texts section of the Thomas Gray Archive.
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This letter is part of the correspondence calendar of the complete correspondence of Thomas Gray. The calendar contains detailed bibliographic records for all known original, copied, or published letters written by or to the poet as well as the full-text, where available. Each record is accompanied by digitised images of the manuscript, where available, or digitised images of the first printed edition.
As you have brought me into a little Sort of Distress, you must assist me, I believe, to get out of it, as well as I can. yesterday I
had the Misfortune of receiving a Letter from certain Gentlemen (as their Bookseller expresses it) who have taken the Awake, & faithful to her wonted Fires.Magazine of Magazines
into their Hands. they tell me, that an ingenious Poem, call'd, Reflections in a Country-Churchyard, has been communicated to them, wch they are printing forthwith: that they are
inform'd, that the excellent Author of it is I by name, & that they beg not only his Indulgence, but the Honor of his Correspondence, &c: as I am not at all disposed to be either so
indulgent, or so correspondent, as they desire; I have but one bad Way left to escape the Honour they would inflict upon me. &
therefore am obliged to desire you would make Dodsley print it immediately (wch may be done in less than a Week's time) from your Copy, but without my Name, in what Form is most convenient for him, but in his best Paper &
Character. he must correct the Press himself, & print it without any Interval between the Stanza's, because the Sense is in some
Places continued beyond them; & the Title must be, Elegy, wrote in a Country Church-yard. if he would add a Line or two to say it
came into his Hands by Accident, I should like it better. if you think fit, the 102d Line may be read
but if this be worse than before; it must go, as it was. in the 126th, for ancient
Thorn, read aged.
If you behold the Mag: of Mag:s in the Light that I do, you will not refuse to give yourself this Trouble on my Account, wch you have taken of your own Accord before now.
If Dodsley don't do this immediately, he may as well let it alone.