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"The Candidate"

    • Archive Work ID: poems.cand
    • Uniform Title: "The Candidate" [e-text]
    • First Line: When sly Jemmy Twitcher had smugged up his face
    • Language: English
    • First Published: [1774?] or 1777
    • References: Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 78-79; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 243-252
    • Summary: Written between January and March 1764 when Lord Sandwich's campaign for the post of High Steward at Cambridge was at its height. First(?) printed, ll. 1-32, entitled "The Candidate: By Mr. Gray" in [1774?] by Walpole at his Strawberry Hill Press. Published, ll. 1-32, untitled, in the London Evening Post, February 1777.

    10 Manuscripts:

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0026 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "The Candidate. On Lord Sandwich standing for High Steward of Cambridge. By Mr Th. Gray"
      • Date: [1774]
      • Physical Description: 2 pages; transcript in the hand of Horace Walpole
      • Language: English
      • Location: Manuscript Collections, The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University Library, New Haven, CT (Beinecke)/Farmington, CT (Lewis Walpole), USA <http://www.library.yale.edu/>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 19, 80; Lewis, W. S. et al. (eds.), Horace Walpole's Correspondence (New Haven, 1955), vol. 28, 169-170, transcript printed, with notes on both MS 26 and MS 27; Powell, Margaret K., "Re: Fwd: Enquiry re. two MSS of a Thomas Gray poem". E-mail to the editor, 14 July 2006
      • Contents: Transcript of ll. 1-32 in the hand of Horace Walpole, endorsed on the verso in Mary Berry's hand, "Gray's Verses upon Lord Sandwich, from L. Orf. 1794.".


      • Archive MS ID: mss.0023 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [untitled]
      • Date: [between 1777 and 1780]
      • Physical Description: 1 page; transcript in the hand of Michael Tyson
      • Language: English
      • Location: MS Ch.H.1.41, Chamberlain Collection, Rare Books and Manuscripts Department, Boston Public Library, Boston, MA, USA <http://www.bpl.org/>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), 80; Zonghi, Roberta, "transcript". E-mail to the editor, 10 July 2006
      • Contents: Transcript of ll. 1-32 in the hand of Michael Tyson, headed "written by Mr. Gray at the time the Earl of Sandwich was candidate for the High Stewardship of the University of Cambridge".


      • Archive MS ID: mss.0025 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "On Lord Sandwich's canvass for the high stewardship of the University of Cambridge"
      • Date: [1783?]
      • Physical Description: [?] pages; transcript in an unidentified hand
      • Language: English
      • Location: Portland Papers, Vol. XX, f. 62, Library and Archives, Longleat House, Warminster, UK <http://www.longleat.co.uk/longleat-house>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), 80
      • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified hand.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0199 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [?]
      • Date: [after 1777]
      • Physical Description: 2 pages; transcript in two unidentified hands
      • Language: English
      • Location: Manuscript Collections, The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University Library, New Haven, CT (Beinecke)/Farmington, CT (Lewis Walpole), USA <http://www.library.yale.edu/>
      • References: Powell, Margaret K., "Re: Fwd: Enquiry re. two MSS of a Thomas Gray poem". E-mail to the editor, 14 July 2006
      • Contents: Transcript, beginning in one hand and ending in another, on the last leaf and continuing onto an extra leaf, in a copy of Mason's Memoirs (1775).

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0200 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "The University Courtship"
      • Date: [between 1777 and 1826]
      • Physical Description: 2 pages; transcript in the hand of Bertie Greatheed
      • Language: English
      • Location: Bertie Greatheed Papers, box 1, folder 37, Osborn Collection, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University Library, New Haven, CT (Beinecke)/Farmington, CT (Lewis Walpole), USA <http://www.library.yale.edu/>
      • References: Parks, Stephen et al. (ed.), Osborn Collection First-Line Index. New Haven: Beinecke Library, Yale University, 2005, 1000, item W1301; Ducharme, Diane, "Re: Fwd: Enquiry re. two MSS of a Thomas Gray poem". E-mail to Margaret K. Powell, forwarded to the editor, 13 July 2006; Powell, Margaret K., "Re: apologies". E-mail to the editor, 20 July 2006; Nelson (ed.), Union First Line Index. Mar. 2010. Folger Shakespeare Library. 19 March 2010. <http://firstlines.folger.edu/detail.php?id=10646>
      • Contents: Transcript of ll. 1-32 in the hand of Bertie Greatheed, annotated "Written by Mr. Gray when Lord Sandwich was a candidate for the office of Stewart, of the University of Cambridge---".

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0241 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "The University Courtship"
      • Date: [later eighteenth century]
      • Physical Description: 2 pages; transcript in an unidentified hand
      • Language: English
      • Location: MS Lt 11, 272-273, Brotherton Collection Manuscript Verse, Special Collections, Leeds University Library, Leeds, UK <https://library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections>
      • References: Nelson (ed.), Union First Line Index. Mar. 2010. Folger Shakespeare Library. 19 March 2010. <http://firstlines.folger.edu/detail.php?id=6139>
      • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified hand, beginning "When sly Jemmy Twitcher had smugg'd up his face" and attributed "by Gray & not in his works", in a commonplace book, "apparently compiled by members of the Smyth family of Heath, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire" and "written c.1710 - c.1820 by six main hands here designated A-F (in this case E, later 18th cent.)".
      • Surrogates: Digital facsimile of p. 272 from original MS available online.

      • [MS image]Archive MS ID: mss.0243 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Jemmy Twitcher or the Cambridge Courtship"
      • Date: [between 1782 and 1804]
      • Physical Description: 2 pages, 193 mm x 160 mm; transcript in the hand of John Phillipps
      • Language: English
      • Location: BOD MS Eng.misc.e.241, ff. 76v-77r, Special Collections, Bodleian Library, Oxford University, Oxford, UK <http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/weston/finding-resources/locations>
      • References: Crum (ed.), First-Line Index (1969), vol. II, 1088, item W1466; Nelson (ed.), Union First Line Index. Mar. 2010. Folger Shakespeare Library. 19 March 2010. <http://firstlines.folger.edu/detail.php?id=86775>
      • Contents: Transcript in the hand of John Phillipps, including ll. 33-34 (crossed out), annotated below "Written by Mr. Gray at the time of Lord Sandwichs election for High steward of Cambridge. Gents Magazine Jan. 82", and with additions "To Jemmy" before ll. 31-32 and "To Physic & Law." before ll. 33-34. In a volume of collected verse, copied from manuscripts, printed editions and newspapers, by John Phillipps of the Middle Temple and Exeter College, Oxford, 1776-1804 (Summary Catalogue, 45759).
      • Surrogates: Digital facsimile [JPEG] from original MS available online.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0252 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "By Mr Gray on Lord S's soliciting the High Stewardship of Cambridge"
      • Date: [undated]
      • Physical Description: 2 pages, c. 230 mm x 190 mm; transcript in an unidentified hand (32 lines)
      • Language: English
      • Location: Add. MS 11279, f. 15, Manuscripts Collection, British Library, London, UK <http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/manuscr/>
      • References: Nelson (ed.), Union First Line Index. Mar. 2010. Folger Shakespeare Library. 9 April 2010. <http://firstlines.folger.edu/detail.php?id=116159>
      • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified hand (32 lines), here beginning "When sly Jemmy Twitcher had snug'd up his face", in a quarto volume of miscellaneous pieces of poetry, entitled "Miscellaneous Poetry" and "presented by Rev. T. Crompton", written in the 18th and 19th centuries, to which the names of the respective authors are assigned.

Contents

Manuscripts