Description: Samuel Richardson, English novelist. Baptized at Mackworth 19 August 1689, died 4 July 1761, Parson's Green, London.
Clarissa was published 1747-8.
The poem reads:
To the Author of "Clarissa", by Thomas Edwards (1699-1757).
O master of the heart, whose magic skill
The close recesses of the soul can find,
Can rouse, becalm, and terrify the mind,
Now melt with pity, now with anguish thrill,
Thy moral page while virtuous precepts fill,
Warm from the heart, to mend the age designed,
Wit, strength, truth, decency all conjoined
To lead our youth to good, and guard from ill:
O long enjoy what thou so well hast won,
The grateful tribute of each honest heart
Sincere, nor hackneyed in the ways of men;
At each distressful stroke their true tears run,
And nature, unsophisticate by art,
Owns and applauds the labours of thy pen.
This image is one of a collection by the famous local antiquarian, Thomas Bateman, of Middleton by Youlgreave. (1821-1861). Bateman organized his collection by inserting them into a 4 volume copy of Lysons Magna Britannia, Derbyshire, creating a fascinating and unique illustrated record of the county. The purchase of the collection for Derbyshire Libraries was made possible by the generous bequest of Miss Frances Webb of Whaley Bridge, well known local historian, who died in December 2006.