Two manuscripts of the _Elegy_, in Gray's handwriting, still exist. Both were bequeathed by the poet, together with his library, letters, and many miscellaneous papers, to his friends the Rev. William Mason and the Rev. James Browne, as joint literary executors. Mason bequeathed the entire trust to Mr. Stonhewer. The latter, in making his will, divided the legacy into two parts. The larger share went to the Master and Fellows of Pembroke Hall. Among the papers, which are still in the possession of the College, was found a copy of the _Elegy_. An excellent fac-simile of this manuscript appears in Mathias's edition of Gray, published in 1814. In referring to it hereafter we shall designate it as the "Pembroke" MS. The remaining portion of Gray's literary bequest, including the other manuscript of the _Elegy_, was left by Mr. Stonhewer to his friend, Mr. Bright. In 1845 Mr. Bright's sons sold the collection at auction. The MS. of the _Elegy_ was bought by Mr. Granville John Penn, of Stoke Park, for _one hundred pounds_--the highest sum that had ever been known to be paid for a single sheet of paper. In 1854 this manuscript came again into the market, and was knocked down to Mr. Robert Charles Wrightson, of Birmingham, for 131 pounds. On the 29th of May, 1875, it was once more offered for sale in London, and was purchased by Sir William Fraser for 230 pounds, or about $1150. A photographic reproduction of it was published in London in 1862. For convenience we shall refer to it as the "Wrightson" MS. There can be little doubt that the Wrightson MS. is the original one, and that the Pembroke MS. is a fair copy made from it by the poet. The former contains a greater number of alterations, and varies more from the printed text. It bears internal evidence of being the rough draft, while the other represents a later stage of the poem. We will give the variations of both from the present version.[3] [Footnote 3: For the readings of the Wrightson MS. we have had to depend on Mason, Mitford, and other editors of the poem, and on the article in the _North American Review_, already referred to. The readings of the Pembroke MS. are taken from the engraved fac-simile in Mathias's edition. The two stanzas of which a fac-simile is given on page 73 are from the Pembroke MS., but the wood-cut hardly does justice to the feminine delicacy of the poet's handwriting.] The Wrightson MS. has in the first stanza, "The lowing herd _wind_ slowly," etc. See our note on this line, below. In the 2d stanza, it reads, "And _now_ the air," etc. The 5th stanza is as follows: "For ever sleep: the breezy call of morn, Or swallow twitt'ring from the straw-built shed, Or Chanticleer so shrill, or echoing horn, No more shall rouse them from their lowly bed." In 8th stanza, "Their _rustic_ joys," etc. In 10th stanza, the first two lines read, "Forgive, ye proud, th' involuntary fault, If memory to these no trophies raise."