T. Blake Papers

Manuscript, news clippings, calling card, toy. Compiled from 1775 to 1824 by T. Blake. The volume, a commonplace book entitled "Miscellanies," was formerly the property of the Earl of Powis, Powis Castle, Montgomery. It contains poetry and prose, interspersed with bon-mots, epitaphs and anecdotes, a few in Latin, French, and Greek. There is one recipe headed "The following Electuary is what the famous Mr. A. Pope always used for the cure of a cough or an obstinate hoarseness". Among the poems are copies of works by Garrick, Mason, Johnson, Gray, Cowper, and Bowles as well as several poems and passages of prose by the Rev. William Jay (1769-1853), a popular Bath clergyman. Three poems are signed T.B. and are presumably the work of the compiler.

Items of interest include: a verse said to be written by Rev. Mr. L. Sterne which is not included in Wilbur Cross's edition of Stern's works, Sterne not being known for verse writing; an account of an impromptu verse by Sheridan on the attempt to assassinate the King at Drury Lane Theater on May 15, 1800; and an epigram on Mrs. Jane Leigh Perrot, an aunt of Jane Austin, tried in Ilchester on a charge of stealing lace in a milliner's shop in Bath. Her nieces Jane and Cassandra Austin volunteered to accompany her to jail, but she forbade it as unsuitable for "elegant young women."

Inserted at the end of the book are: A calling card from Marchese e la Marchesa Rondinini; a spinning illustrated toy that appears to be a man and woman talking when in motion; a thank you note; and a prayer, written in Latin.