Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T09:50:40.056Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Prefatory Letter to Mary Barber, Poems on Several Occasions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2021

David Hayton
Affiliation:
Queen's University Belfast
Adam Rounce
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham
Get access

Summary

Headnote

Probably composed 1734; published 1734 (advertised from October 1733); copy text 1734 (see Textual Account).

The Irish poetMary Barber is mentioned frequently in Swift's correspondence in the early 1730s: he attempted to help her gain patronage, gave her contacts, letters of introduction and potential subscribers in England, and generally encouraged her work (seeWoolley, Corr., vol. III, p. 278; Ehrenpreis, vol. III, p. 759), above all in this letter to the Earl of Orrery. This formed the preface to her Poems on Several Occasions, which appeared in 1734, printed by Samuel Richardson.The volume was reprinted in 1735 and 1736, and Barber's poetry had some currency in the century, being anthologised in Poems by Eminent Ladies, London, 1755, and elsewhere.

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JOHN, EARL OF ORRERY.

My LORD,

I Lately receiv’d a Letter fromMrs. Barber; wherein she desires my Opinion about dedicating her Poems to your Lordship; and seems in Pain to know how far she may be allow’d to draw your Character, which is a Right claim’d by all Dedicators. And she thinks this the more incumbent on her, from the surprizing Instances of your Generosity and Favour that she hath already receiv’d, and which she hath been so unfashionable to publish where-ever she goes. This makes her apprehend, that all she can say to your Lordship's Advantage, will be interpreted as the mere Effect of Flattery, under the Style and Title of Gratitude.

I sent her Word, that I could be of no Service to her upon this Article: Yet I confess, my Lord, that all those who are thoroughly acquainted with her, will impute her Encomiums to a sincere, but overflowing Spirit of Thankfulness, as well as to the humble Opinion she hath of herself. Altho’ the World in general may possibly continue in its usual Sentiments, and list her in the common Herd of Dedicators.

Therefore, upon the most mature Deliberation, I concluded that the Office of setting out your Lordship's Character, will not come properly from her Pen, for her own Reasons: I mean the great Favours you have already conferr’d on her. And God forbid, that your Character should not have a much stronger Support.

Type
Chapter
Information
Irish Political Writings after 1725
A Modest Proposal and Other Works
, pp. 274 - 278
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×