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Thomas Gray to William Mason, [April 1770]

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Letter ID: letters.0590

Correspondents

Writer: Gray, Thomas, 1716-1771
Writer's age: 53
Addressee: Mason, William, 1724-1797
Addressee's age: 46

Dates

Date of composition: [April 1770]
Calendar: Gregorian

Places

Place of composition: [Cambridge, United Kingdom]

Content

Language: [unknown]
Incipit: [not extant]
Contents: "[Missing letters that passed between Gray and Mason in Apr. and May 1770 can be traced on the evidence of three letters of Mason to Wharton, which are preserved in the Wharton Correspondence (Brit. Mus. Egerton 2400). They refer to an intended visit of Gray to Mason at Aston, where he was to meet Wharton. Gray had not seen Wharton or Mason since his tour to the Lakes, and some stress was laid on the engagement. Brown was invited also, but he did not leave Cambridge. The first mention is in a letter of Mason to Wharton dated from Aston, 8 Apr.: 'I must tell you at present that altho my house is down in part, I have a tolerable room to give you a tolerable dinner in at Aston and I can lodge you with great conveniency at the Hall wch is only just cross the Church Yard, & who knows but en passant this may produce a second Elegy from Mr Gray. I have written to him by this post to tell him that in the middle of May the coast will be clear (for I know he will not come unless he is sure of that) and I have said all I could to press him & the President to give you the meeting.' (The reference to 'the coast being clear' means that Lord Holdernesse would have left Aston.) Gray refers to his intended visit to Aston 'the last week of May', in writing to Nicholls on 14 Apr. and to Wharton on 18 Apr. (Letters 517 [letters.0595], 519 [letters.0597]). On 15 May Mason wrote to Wharton from Aston: 'I have written to Mr Gray by this post to let him know that Lord H is gone to Town & therefore he may keep his own time the last week of the month if he pleases. I have desird him to fix the day of his coming both to You & Me by the same post, wch I thought would save time; as by that means you would have quicker intelligence of his motions.' After the receipt of Mason's letter Gray wrote to Nicholls on 22 May (Letter 524 [letters.0602]), suggesting as he had done before (Letter 517) that Nicholls should go with him to Aston, and that they should begin their tour together from there (see also Letter 527 [letters.0605]). About 24 May he wrote to Mason, as Mason reported to Wharton in a letter of 27 May: 'I recd a Letter from Mr Gray only last night in wch he tells me he shall be at Aston either on Saturday or Sunday next [2 or 3 June] and bids me acquaint you with his intention.' Gray left Cambridge about 3 June, and seems to have stayed a fortnight at Aston. He returned to Cambridge before starting with Nicholls for their journey to the west.]"
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], vol. iii, 1116-1117.

Holding Institution

Availability: The original letter is not extant, no copy, transcription, or published version survives

Print Versions

  • 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. 514*, vol. iii, 1116-1117