Record Number: 25881

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

Lady Harriet Cavendish to her sister, Lady Georgiana Morpeth, 28 November 1807: 'I attribute my cold to going to Jermyn Street [grandmother's London residence] last night in a thick fog. 'I found Mr. Spencer and Mr. Preedy there. William Spencer just come to town in a violent hurry as he says he is going to have a share in Drury Lane [...] He was brilliant with rouge and spirits, but must have been rather disappointed in his audience's behaviour. I did nothing but blow my nose and wink my eyes; Mr. Preedy had one of his lethargic fits upon him and never had his open for a minute and my grandmother [the Dowager Countess Spencer] was nodding the whole evening in a comfortable nap. He repeated to us however (just as if we had been awake) quantities of his own poetry, of which, by the bye, he is going to publish a small volume, his bookseller having offered him two hundred pound for it, and read us a Latin epitaph he has just written upon the death of poor Mr. Sargent and contrived to introduce in the course of the conversation, all the compliments that have ever been paid him, de part a l'autre for the last twelvemonth.'

Century:

1800-1849

Date:

27 Nov 1807

Country:

England

Time

evening

Place:

city: London
specific address: Jermyn Street

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

William Spencer

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Male

Date of Birth:

n/a

Socio-Economic Group:

Royalty / aristocracy

Occupation:

n/a

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

n/a

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

Lady Harriet Cavendish Georgiana, Countess Dowager Spencer Mr Preedy

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

William Spencer

Title:

Latin epitaph on Mr Sargent

Genre:

Poetry, Biography

Form of Text:

Manuscript: Unknown

Publication Details

n/a

Provenance

owned

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Source Information:

Record ID:

25881

Source:

Print

Author:

n/a

Editor:

Sir George Leveson Gower and Iris Palmer

Title:

Hary-o: The Letters of Lady Harriet Cavendish 1796-1809

Place of Publication:

London

Date of Publication:

1940

Vol:

n/a

Page:

259-60

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Sir George Leveson Gower and Iris Palmer (ed.), Hary-o: The Letters of Lady Harriet Cavendish 1796-1809 (London, 1940), p. 259-60, http://can-red-lec.library.dal.ca/Arts/RED/record_details.php?id=25881, accessed: 25 April 2024

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Additional Comments:

None