[Sir Egerton Brydges.] Part of the Autograph Manuscript of his 'Clavering's Auto-Biography', containing portraits of Mrs Chapone, Captain Francis Grose, Joseph Ritson, Isaac D'Israeli, the Miss Burys; Dr Charles Symmons and Caroline Symmons.]

On both sides of a 33 x 12.5 cm strip of paper. In fair condition, lightly-aged, with tiny part of mount adhering to one corner, and the merest loss to another. 'Egerton Bry' is written in another small hand in light pencil at the head. The Osborn Collection at Yale possesses what its catalogue entry describes as a 'probably incomplete' section of the manuscript, ' purporting to be the memoirs of a certain John Fitznigel Clavering, whose career and interests bear a strong likeness to those of Brydges himself'. The Yale cataloguer is unaware that 'Clavering's Auto-Biography. Containing Opinions, Characters, &c., of his Contemporaries' was serialised in The Metropolitan magazine (London: James Cochrane and Co.), in 13 installments between March 1832 and November 1833. The passage in the present manuscript features in the issue for July 1832. Brydges' authorship was well-known at the time: the London magazine 'The Original' of 14 July 1832, in its 'Magazines of the Month', reports that 'The Metropolitan' is presenting a 'further supply' of 'the dish of pleasantly-seasoned gossip catered, we believe, by Sir Egerton Brydges, and called "Clavering's Auto-biography"'. The manuscript is a fair copy, with only a couple of minor deletions. The two sides of the leaf do not form a continuous narrative, a passage in the printed text relating to Joseph Haslewood having been excised. Otherwise there are no significant variations between the manuscript and the printed version, apart from 'sniffling' in the manuscript being given as 'snuffling' in the print text. It is an entertaining and informative piece of writing, and is indeed 'splendidly seasoned'. It reads as follows: '[recto] [...] Mrs Chapone was somewhat crooked in person, - and a little so in temper and mind. She was one of the ancient family of Mulso, of Northamptonshire. | Fat old Captain Grose, the antiquary, was as good humoured as he was droll. I remember him in lodgings at his publisher's, Hooper, in Holborn; and I attended the sale of his drawings. He left a son, Genl Grose, and a daughter, who I think married Mr Singleton, Captn. of Landguard Fort in Suffolk and was mother (if I mistake not) of the present Archdeacon Singleton, late private Secretary to the Duke of Northumberland in Ireland, - an agreeable man, full of wit and anecdote, whom I have seen at the Castle. | When in London, many years ago, I used to be in the habit of spending much time at the British Museum. There I saw numerous Literati, with whom I had no personal acquaintance. There I continually sat opposite to Joseph Ritson, a strange little, ugly, half-deformed creature, bitter, goggling, and self-conceited, sniffling over an old, ill-written manuscript, and poring to find out that some word had been inaccurately transcribed for the printed copy, - a consonant omitted, or a vowel filled up in the orthography - and then accusing the editor of a moral crime. He had no quality of mind, but industry, and got credit which he did not deserve. But I ought not to be so severe; - the poor creature was insane. | There sat D'Israeli, daily extracting from the voluminous MS letters of Ja. I & Ch. I. There sat William Gilford, preparing notes for [...] [verso] [...] was then poor, and almost | Once I remember talking about her to Caroline Symmons, wh when a child had been noticed her. Caroline Caroline was an exquisite poetess, and died, I think, at 16. Some of her ballads or songs are appended to one of Wrangham's Seaton-Prize-Poems. Her father Dr Charles Symmons, a learned man, (a native of Pembrokeshire, I believe) has not long been dead. He was a various writer in prose and poetry. I was once or twice in company with him; - a plain, and rather vulgar-looking man. His brother, John Symmons, a book-collector, is probably still living, at a great age. Dr S. wrote the Life of Milton - not a very good one. - He had more learning and industry, than genius. | I knew how to hit the chords of Caroline Symmons's imagination, and I brought out sweet notes from her. | I am rather fond of female authors, provided they are not pedantic. - I was once in company with the Miss Burys - clever women - but whom Lord Orford spoiled, and made affected and conceited. Tall ladies - no beauties! Their father was them - any thing but literary himself! | As to old John Aikin with his great bottle-nose, he was a sensib [...]'.