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Thomas Gray to James Brown, [16 September 1761]

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Dear Sr

I hope to send you the first intelligence of the church preferments, tho' such is your eagerness there for this sort of news, that perhaps mine may be stale before it can reach you. Drummond is Ap of York, Hayter Bp of London, Young of Norwich, Newton of Bristol with the Residentp of St Paul's, Thomas goes to Salisbury, Greene (of Ben'et) to Lincoln, James Yorke succeeds to his Deanery.

As to the Queene why you have all seen her, what need I tell you that she is thin, and not tall, fine clear light brown hair (not very light neither) very white teeth, mouth —, nose strait and well formed, turned up a little at the end, nostrils rather wide, complexion a little inclining to yellow, but little colour; dark and not large eyes, hand and arm not perfect, very genteel motions, great spirits, and much conversation. She speaks French very correctly. This is all I know, but do not cite me for it.

Mason is come, but I have not seen him: he walks at the Coronation. I shall see the shew, but whether in the Hall, or only the Procession I do not know yet. It is believed places will be cheap.

Adieu.
Letter ID: letters.0395 (Source: TEI/XML)

Correspondents

Writer: Gray, Thomas, 1716-1771
Writer's age: 44
Addressee: Brown, James, 1709-1784
Addressee's age: 52[?]

Dates

Date of composition: [16 September 1761]
Calendar: Gregorian

Places

Place of composition: [London, United Kingdom]

Content

Language: English
Incipit: I hope to send you the first intelligence of the Church preferments,...
Mentioned: Mason, William, 1724-1797

Holding Institution

Location:
(confirmed)
Misc. MSS, Manuscript Collections, The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University Library , New Haven, CT (Beinecke)/Farmington, CT (Lewis Walpole), USA <http://www.library.yale.edu/>
Availability: The original letter is extant and usually available for academic research purposes

Print Versions

  • The Correspondence of Thomas Gray and William Mason, with Letters to the Rev. James Brown, D.D. Ed. by the Rev. John Mitford. London: Richard Bentley, 1853, letter LXVII, 262-263
  • The Letters of Thomas Gray, including the correspondence of Gray and Mason, 3 vols. Ed. by Duncan C. Tovey. London: George Bell and Sons, 1900-12, letter no. CCXXVIII, vol. ii, 226-227
  • Correspondence of Thomas Gray, 3 vols. Ed. by the late Paget Toynbee and Leonard Whibley, with corrections and additions by H. W. Starr. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971 [1st ed. 1935], letter no. 344, vol. ii, 751-752