ALS signed “T. Musgrave,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.5 x 9, November 12, 1805. Letter to William Battye in Leeds, concerning a variety of matters including the British victory at Trafalgar and the demise of Admiral Horatio Nelson, in part: "And on Friday last for the good news about the glorious victory off Cadiz. Poor Ld Nelson, his skill has brought this country to a higher pitch of excellence in naval tactics than it ever before possessed. We may say with the great epic poet of Rome, viz Virgil—O lux Dardaniae, speso fidissima Tenorum Cur egohaec volnera cerno!!! ['Oh light of Troy, hope is most faithful to the course—why should I see those wounds']. Let us not despair, but cheer with confidence that we have several good sailors left yet." Also includes another letter addressed to Battye, signed "Thomas Musgrave," dated June 8, 1804, which again concerns a number of matters, such as exams and the report of a friend's travels "through Newark & Grantham." In overall very good to fine condition, with intersecting folds and some seal-related paper loss. Thomas Musgrave (1788-1860) became Dean of Bristol in 1827 and later the same year he became Bishop of Hereford; in 1847, upon the death of Archbishop Edward Harcourt, Musgrave earned the title of Bishop of York.
