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"Song II"

    • Archive Work ID: poems.sng2
    • Uniform Title: "Song II" [e-text]
    • First Line: Thyrsis, when we parted, swore
    • Language: English
    • First Published: 1791
    • References: Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 99-100; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 242-243
    • Summary: Written in October 1761 at the request of Gray's friend Henrietta Speed. First published in The European Magazine 19 (February 1791), 152.

    12 Manuscripts:

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0154 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [untitled]
      • Date: [before the end of October 1761]
      • Physical Description: 1 page; autograph, revised
      • Language: English
      • Location: Bound PML 16518 (extra-illustrated copy of Gray's Odes), 19, Literary and Historical Manuscripts (LHMS), Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, USA <http://www.themorgan.org/collection>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 127, 91, with GrT 216, 101, on the verso; Jones, Thomas Gray, Scholar (1937), "Register of Gray Autograph Manuscripts", VI. 20(a) "Verses on Miss Speed", 181; Munby (ed.), Sale Catalogues (1971), Evans sale (27-29 November 1845), lot 624(?), 11, Sotheby's sale (12 August 1847), lot 90, 27, 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: Autograph, revised, here untitled, bound into Gray's copy of Odes (1757).

      • [MS image]Archive MS ID: mss.0155 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Song"
      • Date: [after 1771]
      • Physical Description: 1 page; transcript in the hand of William Mason
      • Language: English
      • Location: GBR/1058/GRA/1, Commonplace Book, Vol. III, 1106, 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 128, 91; Poetic C. B., Pembroke College (1999), 30
      • Contents: Transcript in the hand of William Mason, here entitled "Song", together with a list of variants entitled "First Expressions", in Gray's Commonplace Book, vol. III, 1106.
      • Surrogates: Digital facsimile [JPEG] from original MS available online.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0156 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [untitled]
      • Date: 28 November 1761
      • Physical Description: [1?] page; 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 129, 91; Catalogue of a Sotheby's sale (5 December 1921), lot 6; Lewis, W. S. et al. (eds.), Horace Walpole's Correspondence (New Haven, 1974), vol. 38, 144-145
      • Contents: Transcript, here untitled, in the hand of Horace Walpole, in a letter to Caroline Campbell, Countess of Ailesbury, 28 November 1761.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0157 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [untitled]
      • Date: [between 1845 and 1856]
      • Physical Description: 1 page, 180 mm x 115 mm; transcript in the hand of John Mitford
      • Language: English
      • Location: Add. MS 32561, f. 73, Manuscripts Collection, British Library, London, UK <http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/manuscr/>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), item GrT 130, 92; Sutton (ed.), Location Register (1995), 414
      • Contents: Transcript of MS 0154, untitled, in the hand of John Mitford, including variant readings, in John Mitford, Note-Books, vol. III "Mitford. Extracts from Mr Grays Common-place books", f. 73.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0152 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Thyrsis"
      • Date: [between 1845 and 1856]
      • Physical Description: 1 page, 180 mm x 115 mm; transcript in the hand of John Mitford, partial [ll. 10, 12]
      • Language: English
      • Location: Add. MS 32561, f. 181r, Manuscripts Collection, British Library, London, UK <http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/manuscr/>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), 91
      • Contents: Transcript, here entitled "Thyrsis", of variants of ll. 10 and 12 in the hand of John Mitford, in John Mitford, Note-Books, vol. III "Mitford. Extracts from Mr Grays Common-place books", f. 181r.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0208 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Thyrsis"
      • Date: [between 1845 and 1856]
      • Physical Description: 1 page, 180 mm x 110 mm; transcript in the hand of John Mitford, partial [ll. 10, 12] and crossed out
      • Language: English
      • Location: Add. MS 32562, f. 29r, Manuscripts Collection, British Library, London, UK <http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/manuscr/>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), 91
      • Contents: Transcript, here entitled "Thyrsis", of variants of ll. 10 and 12 in the hand of John Mitford (crossed out), in John Mitford, Note-Books, vol. IV, f. 29r.


      • Archive MS ID: mss.0159 (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 132, 92; Richardson, Gayle M., "HM 12550". E-mail to the editor, 15 November 2006
      • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified hand, here untitled and beginning "Thyrsis when he left me swore", together with MS 0151, 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.0215 (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.0285 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Lines by..."
      • Date: [between 1793 and 1800]
      • Physical Description: 1 page, 250mm x 200mm (volume); transcript in the hand of Anne Jane (Gore) Hamilton
      • Language: English
      • Location: c.340, 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, 873, item T2582; Nelson (ed.), Union First Line Index. Mar. 2010. Folger Shakespeare Library. 23 April 2010. <http://firstlines.folger.edu/detail.php?id=10650>
      • Contents: Transcript in the hand of Anne Jane (Gore) Hamilton, entitled "Lines by...", in her autograph Commonplace book of original verse and verses contributed by her friends (1 v.; 135 p.).

Contents

  • Collection: Poems, [ca. 1725]-1771
  • Work: "Song II" [e-text]
  • Manuscripts: 12

Manuscripts