[q. v.] (Gardiner, St. Paul's School). He proceeded B.A. from Peterhouse 1580, M.A. 1584, and was elected fellow of Pembroke Hall. He was still living, and a fellow, in 1590. Mudd was the author of a lost comedy in which, it was complained, he 'had censured and too saucily reflected on the Mayor of Cambridge.' The vice-chancellor accordingly, on 23 Feb. 1582, committed Mudd to the Tolbooth for three days; on the 26th he, at the vice-chancellor's command, acknowledged his fault before the mayor, and asked his pardon, which was freely granted (Cooper, Athenæ, ii. 59).
Meres, in his Palladis Tamia' (1598), writes of 'M. Thomas Mudd, some time fellow of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge,' as one of sixteen excellent contemporary musicians. He was probably the composer of:
- A series of pieces written for four viols, Ayres, Almaine, Corrantos, and Sarabands (Brit. Mus. Addit. MS. 18940-4).
- An In Nomine in four parts (ib. 31390, fol. 116 b).
- A full anthem in four parts, 'O God which hast prepared' (Tudway's collection, ib. Harl. MS. 7340, p. 79).
- Fragments of a service in D minor or F.
- Anthems, ' Bow down Thine Eare,' 'I will alway,' and 'We beseech Thee' (all at Ely Cathedral).
Other compositions by Mudd are at Lichfield, Hereford, and Peterhouse. There is mention of Mudd's 'I will sing the Mercies' in Clifford's 'Words of Anthems.'
In the catalogue of Ely manuscripts a John or Thomas Mudd is said to have been organist at Peterborough between 1580 and 1620. But the Peterborough organist is doubtless identical, not with the Cambridge composer, but with Mudd, an unruly organist of Lincoln, who held office there in 1662 and 1663.
[Cooper's Athenæ Cantabrigienses, ii. 59; Gardiner's Registers of St. Paul's School, pp. 26, 399; Hawes and Loder's Framlingham, p. 24; Dickson's Catalogue of Ely Manuscripts; Reports of the Lincolnshire, &c., Archæological Society, xx. 42, 43; information kindly supplied by Mr. H. Davey of Brighton.]
MUDFORD, WILLIAM (1782–1848), author and journalist, born in Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, London, on 8 Jan. 1782, became in 1800 assistant secretary to the Duke of Kent, whom he accompanied to Gibraltar in 1802; but he soon resigned this situation in order to devote himself to literary pursuits and to study politics, with a view to journalism. An admirer of Burke, he adopted strong conservative or old whig opinions. After a brief connection as a parliamentary reporter with the 'Morning Chronicle,' he obtained an appointment, first as assistant editor, and afterwards as editor of the 'Courier,' an evening journal which had acquired popularity and influence, and which maintained upon no unequal terms a rivalry with the 'Times.'
Mudford warmly supported Canning during the intrigues which preceded and followed his accession to the office of prime minister, and was frequently in communication with him until his death. Declining to support a change of policy on the part of the proprietors of the 'Courier,' Mudford publicly withdrew from the paper, and justified his conduct in a letter which attracted considerable attention. The 'Courier' steadily declined in circulation, and finally expired, after some unsuccessful efforts had been made to induce Mudford to resume the editorship.
A loss of his earnings during the speculative mania compelled him at forty to begin the world again, with a young wife and increasing family. He worked assiduously, and, at the invitation of the conservative party in East Kent, he became the editor, and subsequently the proprietor of the 'Kentish Observer,' and settled at Canterbury. To ' Blackwood's Magazine ' he was a regular contributor, and a single number occasionally contained three articles from his pen a tale, a review, and a political paper. His series of 'First and Last' tales and his contributions under the title of 'The Silent Member' were very popular. Mudford succeeded Theodore Hook [q. v.] in 1841 as editor of the 'John Bull,' and removed to London, but he still maintained his connection with the 'Kentish Observer.' Despite declining health he toiled incessantly. A vigorous article on the French revolution of 1848, written long after midnight, which appeared in the 'John Bull' of 5 March of that year, was the last effort of his pen. He died at 5 Harrington Square, Hampstead Road, on 10 March 1848, leaving a widow and eight children. His second son, Mr. William Heseltine Mudford, is now (1894) the editor of the 'Standard.'
His works are :
- 'A Critical Enquiry into the Writings of Dr. Samuel Johnson. In which it is shewn that the Pictures of Life contained in "The Rambler" and other Publications of that celebrated Writer have a dangerous tendency. To which is added an Appendix, containing a facetious Dialogue between Boz [James Boswell] and Poz [Dr. Johnson] in the Shades,' 2nd edit. London, 1803, 8vo.
- 'Augustus and Mary, or the Maid of Buttermere, a Domestic Tale,' 1803, 12mo.
- 'Nubilia in search of a Husband, including Sketches of Modern Society'
