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"[Epitaph on Sir William Williams]"

    • Archive Work ID: poems.epww
    • Uniform Title: "[Epitaph on Sir William Williams]" [e-text]
    • First Line: Here, foremost in the dangerous paths of fame,
    • Language: English
    • First Published: 1775
    • References: Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 104-105; Lonsdale (ed.), Poems (1969), 238-240
    • Summary: Written between May and August 1761 at the request of one of the executors of Sir William Williams, a politician and soldier Gray briefly met early in October 1760, who died 27 April 1761 on an expedition against Belle Ile. First published, as "Epitaph II. On Sir William Williams", in Mason's Poems (1775), 62.

    6 Manuscripts:


      • [MS image]Archive MS ID: mss.0060 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Epitaph on Sr W J Williams"
      • 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, 1108, 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 46, 83; Poetic C. B., Pembroke College (1999), 30; Starr/Hendrickson (eds.), Complete Poems (1966), 105, for variants and rejected stanza
      • Contents: Transcript in the hand of William Mason, here entitled "Epitaph on Sr W J Williams" with two variants of l. 12 in "Variations" and a "Rejected Stanza", in Gray's Commonplace Book, vol. III, 1108.
      • Surrogates: Digital facsimile [JPEG] from original MS available online.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0229 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Epitaph on Sir Willm. Williams"
      • Date: 1780[?]
      • Physical Description: 4 pages, 180 mm x 110 mm; transcript in an unidentified neat and legible hand on Whatman paper
      • Language: English
      • Location: MS Add. 439, "Poems" section, 113-116, The Archives, York Minster Library & Archives, York, UK <https://yorkminster.org/treasures-and-collections.html>
      • Contents: Transcript in an unidentified neat and legible hand, entitled "Epitaph on Sir Willm. Williams" (p. 113) ("Epitaph II." [p. 115]). The poem, which is annotated "This Epitaph (hitherto unpublished) was written at the request of Mr. Fred. Montagu, who intended to have inscribed it on a Monument at Bellisle, at the siege of which this accomplished youth was kill'd, 1761; but for some difficulty attending the erection of it, the design was not executed" on the title page, is part of a section called "Poems", which is separately paginated and has its own table of contents (p. 129), in a volume entitled Gray's Poems. The book carries the bookplate of Gray's friend and biographer William Mason.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0058 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [untitled]
      • 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: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), 83; Sutton (ed.), Location Register (1995), 414; 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, annotated in his hand "Sir William Williams (on whose death these lines were written at the request of his friend Mr Frederick Montagu) was killed in the last war. They were meant to be inscribed on a monument at Bellisle; but from some difficulties attending the execution of it, this design was not executed."

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0061 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: "Epitaph on Sir W. Williams."
      • Date: [between 1845 and 1856]
      • Physical Description: 1 page, 180 mm x 115 mm; transcript in the hand of John Mitford, partial [ll. 1-2, 5-6]
      • 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), item GrT 47, 83; Sutton (ed.), Location Register (1995), 414
      • Contents: Transcript of ll. 1-2 and 5-6 in the hand of John Mitford, here entitled "Epitaph on Sir W. Williams." and annotated "Mr. Montague asked him to write the Epitaph on Sir W. Williams and he could not refuse. He did not know much of him...", in John Mitford, Note-Books, vol. III "Mitford. Extracts from Mr Grays Common-place books", f. 181r.

      • Archive MS ID: mss.0057 (Source: EAD/XML)
      • Title: [untitled]
      • Date: [between 1845 and 1856]
      • Physical Description: 1 page, 180 mm x 110 mm; transcript in the hand of John Mitford, partial [ll. 5-6] and crossed out
      • Language: English
      • Location: Add. MS 32562, f. 32v, Manuscripts Collection, British Library, London, UK <http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/manuscr/>
      • References: Smith (ed.), Index (1989), 83
      • Contents: Transcript of ll. 5-6 in the hand of John Mitford (crossed out), annotated "Mr. Montague asked him to write the Epitaph on Sir W. Williams, he could not refuse. He did not know much of him...", in John Mitford, Note-Books, vol. IV, f. 32v.

Contents

Manuscripts