Leeds Brotherton Lt 45 | Manuscript Verse Miscellanies

Title	Untitled
Archive	Brotherton Library
Call Number	Leeds Brotherton Lt 45
Complete	Yes
Description	Anonymous, ca. 1743–1767. 280 items. Subject matter mainly religious, contemplations of death; some are not squarely religious, praising virtue, friendship, science, etc.; some Jacobite-related material.
Format	Quarto
Book Size	20cm x 16.5cm
Filled Page Count	416 pages.
Item Count	280
Poem Count	280
Periods	1731-1760 1761-1790
First Line Index	Yes
Digitized	Yes
Region	[Unknown]
Additional Genres
Print Sources
Major Themes	Conduct, morality Death, afterlife Devotional writing, religio... Illness Major themes prominent among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Minor Themes	Friendship Love Nature Public affairs Satire - religious Solitude, loneliness, retir... Other themes of interest among the manuscript contents in alphabetical order.
Links	firstlines.folger.edu www.literarymanuscriptsleeds.amdigital.co.uk.proxy.lib.sfu.ca
Bibliography
Citation	“Leeds Brotherton Lt 45.” Manuscript Verse Miscellanies, 1700–1820, edited by Betty A. Schellenberg, Simon Fraser University, https://mvm.dhil.lib.sfu.ca/manuscript/299. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.
Created	2019-09-04 1:13:45 PM
Updated	2025-09-22 11:33:17 AM

Contributor	Role
Joseph Addison	Major author
[Anonymous]	Primary compiler
Moses Browne	Major author
Thomas Fitzgerald	Major author
John Norris	Major author
John Pomfret	Major author
Alexander Pope	Major author
Elizabeth Singer Rowe	Major author
Edward Young	Major author

First Line	Context
Deign, gracious God, to hear my feeble lays	p. 390 Local title: The following lines, being the dictates of a grateful heart for a signal deliverance, April 9, 1747. The author was buried in the ruins of a scaffold on Tower Hill for several minutes, during which time he entirely despair'd of life [identical to Gentleman's Magazine title] Attributed author: Anonymous Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Hark! my gay friend, that solemn toll	pp. 285–287. Local title: The unknown world. Verses occasion'd by hearing a pass-bell. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
How are thy servants blest, O Lord!	pp. 180-181 Local title: How are thy servants blest O Lord! Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Indulgent God, whose bounteous Care	p. 210 Local title: An Evening Hymn Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
It must be done, my Soul; but 'tis a strange	pp. 287–288 Local title: The meditation Attributed author: John Norris Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Soon as the morn salutes your eyes	p. 210 Local title: Pious Rules For Daily Practice. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
This Preacher, silent yet severe	pp. 282–283. Local title: On seeing a scull. Attributed author: n/a Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a
Ye Nymphs of Solyma! begin the song	pp. 65–67 Local title: Messiah. A sacred eclogue. Attributed author: Alexander Pope. Adaptation: n/a Other variants: n/a Other: n/a

Feature	Note
Author attributions	Frequent; many poems attributed, but not all, even when the author is now known.
Binding	Post-bound. Very tight trimming of tops and bottoms of pages. Seemingly vellum on boards, front piece partly torn away, black cloth spine of later date.
Hands	Single; at the end of the manuscript the writing is looser, but it seems to be the same hand (writer is possibly elderly).
Indications of use	"X" mark in at least one margin.
Item formatting	Freedrawn horizontal lines between poems.
Organization	Sections sometimes organized by theme, e.g. series of Christmas hymns; mementos of death; praise of religious writers, etc.
Ownership mark	Signature in blue ink on the inside front cover pastedown: "McClenaghan."
Page layout	Paginated. Ruled margins. Pages neatly but closely written. Omitted lines sometimes written vertically in margins – eg pp. 14-15.
Table of Contents	Yes, index to pp. 1–245.