No heading. Six lines of verse. First line: ‘A ta faible raizon garde-toi de te rendre’.
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Mill House, Westcott, Dorking. - Thanks his mother and father for their letters; will reply to his father from abroad. The Chinese poems [see 46/102] were by Professor Giles, not him; one day he will bring the book [Giles' Chinese Poetry in English Verse] to Wallington, as some of its poems are 'very amusing, and others quite pretty'. Copies out one he might send to George, An Agnostic, by an anonymous poet, 'a contemporary of Voltaire'.
Thought George's article 'a little over-emphatic in places', but essentially agreed with it, and thought it 'much better written' than his previous articles in the Nineteenth Century, Heart of the Empire etc; is glad to see his book [England under the Stuarts] is getting good reviews. He himself plans to write 'a comedy... or else a comic prose story', although he may change his mind when he reaches Italy; he does not want to write 'any long serious poem or play'. They are glad Meg Booth can come out to Italy later; thinks she will 'prove an excellent companion'.
The [new] house is getting on well, and is now 'quite roofed'; they have been 'arranging for a more satisfactory approach by making the drive longer', which will cost more but 'be better in the end'. Will not decide finally until they have estimates. The Vaughan Williamses are not putting 'difficulties in the way' of their new plan, which is good. Bessie has made arrangements for some work to be done in the garden while they are away in Italy; she will write to Caroline as soon as they get there; their address will be care of Bernard Berenson at I Tatti. Bessie also thanks Booa [Mary Prestwich] for her letter, but is too busy packing now to reply; will write from Italy.
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Copies of letters dated 25 Mar.1757 (Barton), 16 Mar. 1757 (Smith) and 10 Oct. no year (Voltaire).
Manuscript entitled 'A Common-Place Book, after the Plan recommended by Mr. Locke'. Written below this, 'The Collection was commenced at an early Age, and consequently in the first Pages many Things are inserted, which might as well, and without any Injury to the Book, have been omitted'.
Headings include 'Love', 'Mediocrity', 'Laugh', 'Deluge', 'Liberty', 'Sleep', 'Bees', 'East India Company' ('Surely, as Sovereigns, the company are monopolising against their own interest...', 'Gold',' Women', 'Wit and Humour', 'Impeachment' etc. Beneath these are passages from sources including Shakespeare, Addison, The Spectator and The Tatler, Burney, especially Camilla, Pope, Johnson (especially the Dictionary) and Rousseau.
Much of the material dates from Owen's time at Trinity College; several verses have a strong Cambridge connection, for example 'Song Imitated from Voltaire by Mr Rough, Trin. Coll. Cant.', presumably William Rough. Owen includes his own compositions; his verseas are frequently addressed to young women, eg. 'To Miss Susan Moore. Verses addressed to a beautiful young Lady, on her leaving the pleasant village of Aspley', 'Ode to a young Lady (the same as above) oppressed with the Head-ache', and 'On Miss Stephens, of the Theatre-Royal Covent Garden'. Catherine Philips and 'Miss Fanny Fripp' are each the subject of several poems.
Text is arranged in double columns until around the end of Owen's time at Cambridge; thenceforth, sentences are written across the whole page, but Locke's structure is retained.
Barlow, Sir William Owen- (1775-1851), 8th Baronet, barristerView images of this item
Dated at Chatelaine, [Ferney]. A pencil note records: ‘Cette pétition est dictée par Voltaire à n’en pas douter; écrite par son secrétaire [Jean-Louis Wagnière] signée par Donat Calas et datée par Voltaire lui même. A.D. (coll. de W. Upcott).’
Dated at Geneva. Calvét subscribes himself ‘Caissier des Postes suisses allemagne & djtalie’. Printed in L’Oeuvres Complètes de Voltaire: Oeuvres Historiques, part ii (1835), p. 3747.