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Original letter from James Montgomery, Sheffield to G. W. Fulcher, Sudbury . by MONTGOMERY, ( 1771-1854 ) / FULCHER, George Williams ( 1795-1855 )

by MONTGOMERY, ( 1771-1854 ) / FULCHER, George Williams ( 1795-1855 )

Original letter from James Montgomery, Sheffield to G. W. Fulcher, Sudbury . by MONTGOMERY, ( 1771-1854 ) / FULCHER, George Williams  ( 1795-1855 )

Original letter from James Montgomery, Sheffield to G. W. Fulcher, Sudbury .

by MONTGOMERY, ( 1771-1854 ) / FULCHER, George Williams ( 1795-1855 )

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Sheffield: The Mount, Aug 12th 1840 . 0. An original bi-folio letter with numerous folds and watermarkd 1837. Postmarked "Sheffield Au 12 1840" and addressed to "Mr. G. W. Fulcher, Sudbury, Suffolk". The letter written in a contemporary hand is dated Aug 12 1840 with the address: "The Mount, Sheffiled"; and signed "... your friend James Montgomery". The letter includes an original manuscript poem: "The Government of the Tongue." - The tongue, the tongue, with all its powers, Is Thine who made it, Thine, not ours; Lord, teach us early to controul, That tameless tell-tale of the soul. 'Twas with the tongue, the serpent's wile Did Eve's simplicity beguile; 'Twas with the tongue fall'n Adam tried, His guilt behind her sin to hide. The tongue's a sword, a two-edged sword, To kill or quicken with a word; A key to ope and shut the heart, To lock out knowledge or impart. With it God's glory we proclaim, With it blaspheme His holy Name; Here good and evil strangely meet, Hence bitter waters flow with sweet. Lord, such confusion should not be; Thou art all truth, all equity; Pure from Thine hand the creature sprung, But lost Thine image through the tongue. Through it that image be restored; Let tongues of fire that preach Thy Word, Call, by Thy Holy Spirit's might, Souls out of darkness into light. Be this our lot: -- may heart and tongue To heavenly harmony be strung, Till every tone Thy love record, And every pulse praise Thee the Lord." ** "George Williams Fulcher (1795-1855), was an English poet and miscellaneous writer. He carried on the business of a bookseller, stationer, and printer at Sudbury in Suffolk, where in 1825 he issued the first number of the 'Sudbury Pocket Book,' an annual which he continued to publish during his life, and to the pages of which, besides Fulcher himself, Bernard Barton, William and Mary Howitt, James Montgomery, and other less-known writers contributed. A selection from these contributions appeared under the title of 'Fulcher's Poetical Miscellany' in 1841, 12mo, reprinted in 1853. Fulcher also started in 1838 a monthly miscellany of prose and verse, entitled 'Fulcher's Sudbury Journal,' but this was not continued beyond the year. He made a courageous effort to treat pauperism poetically, publishing 'The Village Paupers, and other Poems,' London, 1845. 'The Village Paupers' is in the heroic couplet, and betrays in almost every line the influence of Crabbe and of Oliver Goldsmith's The Deserted Village. Of the miscellaneous poems 'The Dying Child' is the best. Fulcher also published 'The Ladies' Memorandum Book and Poetical Miscellany,' 1852 and following years; 'The Farmer's Day-book,' which reached a sixth edition in 1854, and he was engaged on a life of Gainsborough, a Sudbury man, at his death on 19 June 1855. Fulcher was throughout life a diligent student, particularly of Crabbe and Cowper. Boswell's Johnson was also one of his favourite books. He was a practical botanist, and very sensitive to the beauties of nature. He took an active interest in local affairs, being one of the magistrates of the borough of Sudbury, president of the board of guardians, and several times mayor. He gave much to charities. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Gregory, Sudbury, the townspeople closing their shops, and the mayor, corporation, and magistrates of the borough following the bier." - See DNB *** "James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries..." - See Hymnary .
  • Bookseller Chilton Books GB (GB)
  • Book Condition Used
  • Publisher Sheffield: The Mount, Aug 12th 1840 . 0
  • Keywords 48272 George Williams Fulcher JAMES MONTGOMERY SHEFFIELD THE MOUNT DOCUMENTS::19TH CENTURY