Manuscript, in Jephson's hand, of a parody of Johnson's A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland. Using florid language throughout, the author explains his satiety with Dublin and determines to explore the countryside. Traveling with Dean Marlay, Mrs Greville and Mrs Jephson, he complains about the unsightly mendicants who mar the scenery; sings, along with his companions, the Beggar's Opera to pass the time; and runs over "pigs and children who were lying together in the middle of the highway." At Celbridge, he praises the landscape, estate, and the appearance of its owner, Colonel Marlay. The essay concludes with a description of the narrator's fall into the Liffey, and his rescue by catching hold of a passing cow and Horace Walpole has filled in Johnson's name and added "By Richard Jephson, Esqre" underneath the title
Description:
Robert Jephson (1736-1803), playwright and parodist, was born in Dublin. His first play, Braganza, was performed in 1775, with an epilogue by Horace Walpole. His most commercially successful play, performed 37 times between 1781 and 1798, was The Count of Narbonne, based on Walpole's Castle of Otranto as well as Walpole's play, Mysterious Mother. In addition to other plays, Jephson also wrote numerous parodic pieces, including a series in the government newspaper The Mercury under the title "The Bachelor." He parodied the style of the printer George Faulkner and criticized Charles Townshend's enemies in An Epistle to Gorges Edmund Howard (1771); wrote Extempore Ludicrous Miltonic Verses(1788); and wrote a prose piece titled Confessions of James Baptiste Couteau (1794), a satirical parody of revolutionary politics., In English., Title from first page., and For further information, consult library staff.
Subject (Geographic):
Ireland., Celbridge (Ireland), and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Gay, John, 1685-1732., Jephson, Robert, 1736-1803., Johnson, Samuel, 1709-1784., Marlay, Richard, d. 1802., and Walpole, Horace, 1717-1797.
Subject (Topic):
English wit and humor, Parodies, English, Poverty, Travelers' writings, English, Description and travel, and Social life and customs
Collection, in a single hand, of 61 letters from Henry Seymour-Conway to his brother, Lord Francis Seymour-Conway, in which he discusses military, political, and social news between 1744 and 1784. The collection contains discussion of his military service in the Netherlands in the 1740s, including a detailed description of battle against the French in a letter dated June 30, 1743; he also mentions his campaign in Germany during the Seven Years' War, including his altercation with Col. Beckwith, his irritation with a commission he has been given, and news of a peace treaty between Austria and Prussia. In 1744 he discusses the practicality of buying a regiment, asks his brother for help raising the money, and offers to sell his own South Sea stock. He writes several letters from Dublin Castle reporting on Irish politics, including some movements in the House of Lords regarding "papists." In England, he complains about prime minister George Grenville's uncivil and unjust treatment of him and defends his decision in the affair of the Britannic Legion and in the John Wilkes affair which led to his dismissal from court and military office in 1764. Conway also occasionally mentions American affairs, including one letter in 1766 which reports the repeal of the Stamp Act, and another in 1774 in which he expresses pleasure on hearing that violent measures in America had been rejected for the present. Numerous letters make reference to friends and family, including his wife Lady Ailesbury and Conway's close friend Horace Walpole, who offers financial assistance after Conway's dismissal; becomes ill in 1765; and visits Conway after Conway's retirement in 1784
Description:
Henry Seymour Conway (1719-1795) was an army general and politician. He fought in the War of the Austrian Succession; served in Ireland during the Jacobite Rebellion, and in Germany during the Seven Years' War. He was successively promoted to major general in 1756 and to lieutenant general in 1759. Sitting in the House of Commons from 1741 to 1774 and from 1775 to 1784, Conway became a leading member of the opposition, opposing the King's action against John Wilkes regarding general warrants in 1763. In 1765, he became secretary of state for the southern department in Lord Rockingham's ministry, where he promoted a policy of reconciliation towards the American colonies. He supported the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766, and opposed the taxation policies of Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend. He criticized British prosecution of the war with the American colonies and played an important part in the House of Commons' resolution against continuing the war. In 1747, he married Caroline Bruce, countess of Ailesbury (1721-1803), and had one child, Anne Seymour Damer (1749-1828). His aunt Catherine was the wife of Sir Robert Walpole, and Conway maintained a lifelong friendship and correspondence with his cousin Horace Walpole., Francis Seymour-Conway, first marquess of Hertford (1718-1794) and older brother of Henry Seymour Conway, was a courtier and politician. He became a lord of the bedchamber in 1757 and was sworn to the privy council in 1763. He served as ambassador to France 1763-5, lord lieutenant of Ireland 1765-6, lord chamberlain 1766-1782 and again in 1783. He was also lord lieutenant of Warwickshire from 1757 until his death. From 1766-1782, he was a friend and confidant to George III. Hertford supported Lord North's administration and the war in America, in which three of his sons served, and voted against Shelburne's peace preliminaries in February 1783. He was also influential in Irish politics, owning extensive estates in County Antrim, and serving a term as lord lieutenant in 1765-6., In English., The manuscript is accompanied by typed transcription., Pasted into letter of Aug 22, 1744: printed and handwritten note about Cadivor ap Gwaethvord, Lord of Cardigan Iscoed., Laid in with letter of August 11, 1748: list of contents of manuscript., Laid in with letter of May 11, 1764: newspaper clipping from Gazetteer, dated May 9, 1764, concerning Conway's dismissal., Vol. 2 with original binding, now housed separately. Binding: half red morocco over marbled boards. Written on cover: The Conway Correspondence. Pasted inside front cover: bookplate with Order of the Garter. Laid in with the covers are a pencilled floor plan and a page from a journal listing the numbers of foot soldiers and naval ships and guns in Europe, North America, Africa, East and West Indies, and the Mediterranean., and Binding for volume 2 shelved separately. For further information, consult library staff.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain., Great Britain, United States., Ireland, and United States
Subject (Name):
Conway, Henry Seymour, 1721-1795., Grenville, George, 1712-1770., Hertford, Francis Seymour-Conway, Marquess of, 1718-1794., Walpole, Horace, 1717-1797., Wilkes, John, 1725-1797., Great Britain. Parliament., and Ireland. Parliament.
Subject (Topic):
Military administration, Seven Years' War, 1756-1763, Stamp act, 1765, Court and courtiers, Foreign relations, Militia, Politics and government, and Social life and customs
Manuscript, in Walpole's hand, of a brief autobiography from the date of his birth to his activities in 1779. He begins with information about his childhood, including his godparents, the date of his innoculation against smallpox, and his education; and continues with biographical information about his college years; his first employment; his travels with Thomas Gray; and his Parliamentary activities. Much of the manuscript concerns the pieces he wrote, both published and unpublished, and those he published with the Strawberry Hill Press, as well as his reactions to the reviews he received. He also includes anecdotes concerning his attack by highwaymen in 1749; the family quarrel with his uncle Horace Walpole; and his disagreements with David Hume and Voltaire
Description:
In English., Title from first page., Typed transcript available., and Leaves are contained in a paper cover, unstitched.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Gray, Thomas, 1716-1771., Hume, David, 1711-1776., Voltaire, 1694-1778., Walpole family., Walpole, Horace, 1717-1797., Walpole, Robert, Earl of Orford, 1676-1745., Great Britain. Parliament., and Strawberry Hill Press (Twickenham, London, England)
Subject (Topic):
Autobiographies (literary genre), English literature, English poetry, Nobility, and Social life and customs
Manuscript, in Walpole's and others' hands, of a collection of several dozen scraps of notes, verse fragments, sketches, and drawings, collected from Walpole's papers. The notes are primarily epigrammatic or anecdotal, on such topics as printing books; British monarchs; Waldegrave's time as ambassador at Paris; Lady Mary Coke's affectations; and Sir W. Draper's gambling. The collection also includes several riddles and verses. Some of the notes have been transcribed, on the same page, by Wilmarth Sheldon Lewis and The manuscript also contains 29 drawings, including pencil sketches of Strawberry Hill some done by Walpole and others possibly by John Chute; a pen-and-wash drawing of a scene from The Castle of Otranto accompanied by a note of thanks from Mrs Susanna (Highmore) Duncombe; a pen drawing of the actor William Kemp copied from the frontispiece of a book; numerous busts; a detailed pastoral landscape scene in pencil, possibly by Agnes Berry; pencil sketches of a pig, cow, and dog; pen sketches by Sir John Fenn; and a woodcut title page to a book of John Skelton's works, dated 1523
Alternative Title:
Walpoliana mss and drawings
Description:
In English., Laid in: scrap of paper with faded ink writing, possibly Walpole's., Marbled endpapers., Binding: full calf; gilt decoration. In gilt on spine: Walpoliana mss and drawings., and For further information, consult library staff.