Manuscript containing approximately 60 pieces, most of which are drafts of verses by Thomas Hull, some heavily revised, including verses in memory of his friend William Shenstone; "Address to Solitude, a Cantata"; "Irregular Ode Written in a Garden"; and "Ode to Health". Other material includes poems by others copied by Hull; a letter about Shenstone by E. Baker; and engravings of Shenstone and Leasowes.
Manuscript, in a single hand, of 8 descriptions in poetry and prose of William Shenstone's Leasowes estate, each titled "Shenstone's Walks" and numbered 1 to 8. Addressed to "Zattoo," the narrator leads the reader through various walks on the grounds, commenting on the views and interspersing his narrative with verses inscribed on various objects he encounters, as when he explains to Zattoo, "From this Place the Path leads some few Yards, till it opens to a wide & very uneven, irregular Lawn--We shall recover our Path again, so let us quit it, while we go and contemplate that Urn, which is fixed in the Center, & thus inscribed..." The narrator also describes encountering "the Gothic Bower," which is inscribed with a poem "in old English characters" exhorting the reader not to look down upon those who rest contentedly there; and elsewhere, directs his listener's attention to an urn erected to "Miss Dolman, a first Cousin of W. Shenstone's" and to the elegy to her inscribed upon it.
Description:
Printed description of the manuscript included with the collection.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain--Social life and customs--18th century and Leasowes Garden (Halesowen, England)
Subject (Name):
Hull, Thomas,--1728-1808 and Shenstone, William,--1714-1763
Subject (Topic):
Architectural inscriptions, Elegiac verse, English, English poetry--18th century, Gardens, English, and Gardens--Great Britain
