"Song I"

• Archive Work ID: poems.sng1
• Uniform Title: "Song I" [e-text]
• First Line: 'Midst beauty and pleasure's gay triumphs, to languish
• Language: English
• First Published: 1797
• References: Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 99; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 240-241
• Summary: Written before October 1761 at the request of Gray's friend Henrietta Speed. Walpole transcribed and sent it in a letter to Caroline Campbell, Countess of Ailesbury, 28 November 1761. First published, beginning "With beauty, with pleasure surrounded, to languish", in Pope's Works (1797), ed. Joseph Warton, vol. II, 285n. Entitled "Amatory Lines" by Mitford and Northup, Bibliography (1917), 61.

6 Manuscripts:

• • Archive MS ID: mss.0148 (Source: EAD/XML)
  • Title: "Song"
  • Date: [after 1771]
  • Physical Description: 1 page; transcript in the hand of William Mason
  • Language: English
  • Location: Commonplace Book, Vol. III, 1105, College Library, Pembroke College, Cambridge, Cambridge, UK <http://www.pem.cam.ac.uk/>
  • Alternate Form: Microfilm copy available in Poetic Commonplace Books and Manuscripts of Thomas Gray, 1716-1771, from Pembroke College, Cambridge (1999), reel one
  • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 123, 91; Poetic C. B., Pembroke College (1999), 30
  • Contents: Transcript in the hand of William Mason, here entitled "Song" and annotated "From an interlind & corrected Copy", in Gray's Commonplace Book, vol. III, 1105.
  
  
• • Archive MS ID: mss.0149 (Source: EAD/XML)
  • Title: [untitled]
  • Date: July 1790
  • Physical Description: [1?] page; transcript in the hand of Hester Lynch Thrale
  • Language: English
  • Location: HM 12183, Vol. V, 153, Department of Manuscripts, The Huntington, San Marino, CA, USA <https://www.huntington.org/library-collections>
  • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 124, 91; Balderston, K. C. (ed.), Thraliana (Oxford, 1942)
  • Contents: Transcript in the hand of Hester Lynch Thrale, untitled and beginning "With Beauty, with Pleasure surrounded--to languish", in her MS Thraliana, vol. V, 153.
  
  
• • Archive MS ID: mss.0150 (Source: EAD/XML)
  • Title: [untitled]
  • Date: [?]
  • Physical Description: 2 pages; transcript in an unidentified hand
  • Language: English
  • Location: Bound PML 16518 (extra-illustrated copy of Gray's Odes), 24-25, Literary and Historical Manuscripts (LHMS), Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, USA <http://www.themorgan.org/collection>
  • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 125, 91; Munby (ed.), Sale Catalogues (1971), Sotheby's sale (28 August 1851), lot 53(?), 41, Sotheby's sale (4 August 1854), lot 228(?), 69; W[right]., Catalogue (1851), [lot 53?,] 9; Nelson, Christine, "extra-illustrated copy of Gray's Odes". E-mail to the editor, 14 November 2006
  • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified hand, apparently copied from an autograph MS, bound with Gray's copy of Odes (1757).
  
  
• • Archive MS ID: mss.0151 (Source: EAD/XML)
  • Title: [untitled]
  • Date: [after 1761]
  • Physical Description: 1 page, 230 mm x 190 mm; transcript in an unidentified hand
  • Language: English
  • Location: HM 12550, Department of Manuscripts, The Huntington, San Marino, CA, USA <https://www.huntington.org/library-collections>
  • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 126, 91; Richardson, Gayle M., "HM 12550". E-mail to the editor, 15 November 2006
  • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified hand, untitled and beginning "With beauty with pleasure surrounded to languish", together with MS 0159, annotated in the hand of Horace Walpole "The following two poems were given to Mr. Jacob by (Miss Speed) Countess of Vim, who told him they (were) written by Mr. Gray".
  
  
• • Archive MS ID: mss.0214 (Source: EAD/XML)
  • Title: [?]
  • Date: [17??]
  • Physical Description: [1?] page, 250 mm x 200 mm; transcript in the hand of James Beattie
  • Language: English
  • Location: MS 30/44 ("Copies of the poems of Thomas Gray"), Historic Collections, Special Libraries and Archives, King's College, University of Aberdeen Library, Aberdeen, UK <https://www.abdn.ac.uk/library/>
  • References: Ellner, June, "Re: MS 30/44, James Beattie papers". E-mail to the editor, 20 December 2006
  • Contents: Transcript in the hand of James Beattie, prefaced in his hand "The following Songs being found amongst the Author's papers, with marginal corrections by his own hand which serve to authenticate them, are here inserted chiefly of that account. The former, if not the latter, has undoubtedly a degree of Lyrical merit appropriated to that species of composition."
  
  
• • Archive MS ID: mss.0286 (Source: EAD/XML)
  • Title: [untitled]
  • Date: [late 18th century]
  • Physical Description: 1 page, 220mm x 130mm (volume); transcript in an unidentified hand
  • Language: English
  • Location: c.83, vol. 3, no. 1069, 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, 1058, item W2376; Nelson (ed.), Union First Line Index. Mar. 2010. Folger Shakespeare Library. 23 April 2010. <http://firstlines.folger.edu/detail.php?id=10628>
  • Contents: Transcript, beginning "With beauty, with pleasure surrounded, to languish---", in a late 18th century, anonymous Commonplace Book (4 vols.), which contains more than 1100 numbered extracts from works by various authors; a number of the poems are signed or initialed by William Warren Porter (1776-1804) or his sister, so possibly the books were compiled by a member of the Porter family.