Elizabeth, Viscountess Hinchingbrook:

(In Armour. Badge of the Order of the Garter, or lesser George, suspended from the Neck by Gold Chain, Lace Cravat, Long Hair.)

By KNELLER.

Three-quarter Length.

(Seated, holding a Book. White Satin Dress. Blue Ribbon in Front.)

Born, ——. Died, 1761.—The only daughter of Alexander Popham, Esq., of Littlecote, Wilts, by Lady Anne, daughter of Ralph, Duke of Montagu. She married firstly, Viscount Hinchingbrook, only son of Edward, third Earlof Sandwich, by whom she had John, who succeeded his grandfather as fourth Earl, Edward, and William; and two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Lady Hinchingbrook married secondly, Francis Seymour, Esq., of Sherborne, Dorset, by whom she had two sons and one daughter.

She died at her house in Charles Street, Berkeley Square, and was buried in South Audley Street Chapel.

By RILEY.

Half-Length.

(Oval. Crimson Dress. Lace Cravat.)

Born, 1671. Died, 1697.—The second son of the second Earl of Sandwich, by Lady Anne Boyle, daughter of the Earl of Burlington. He was M.P. for Huntingdon. Died unmarried.

By SIR PETER LELY.

Half-Length.

(Star of the Order of the Garter on Shoulder.)

By SIR GODFREY KNELLER.

Half-Length.

(Oval. Blue Jacket, and Velvet Cap. Hand resting on Hip.)

By WISSING.

Three-quarter Length.

(In Armour, with Crimson Robe. Lace Cravat.)

By SIR PETER LELY.

Three-quarter Length.

(Standing by an Arch. Dark Dress with Pearls; Dark Blue Scarf over the Shoulder. Holding a Wreath of Flowers.)

The only daughter and heiress of Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland. Married Richard, Viscount Dungarvan, eldest son of the great Earl of Cork, at Skipton Castle, in Craven, 1635. Lord Dungarvan was distinguished for loyalty and bravery, in common with his father and brothers. In 1642, he and the Lord Inchiquin defeated the Irish army near Liscarrol, on which occasion the Earl of Cork’s four sons were engaged on the royal side, and Viscount Kynalmeakey was slain. After many successes Lord Dungarvan carried over his forces to England, on the cessation of arms in Ireland. In 1643, he landed with them near Chester, and subsequently joined his Sovereign in the County of Dorset, when by reason of hisservices, and his marriage with the daughter and heiress of the Earl of Cumberland, Lord Cork (he had succeeded his father in the Irish title) was created Baron Clifford, of Lanesborough, Co. York.

On the triumph of the Parliamentary cause he went beyond seas, but he promoted the restoration of Charles II., and was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Burlington, Co. York. Lord Burlington died in the 86th year of his age, and by Elizabeth his wife he had two sons, and five daughters, the fourth of whom, Lady Anne, married Edward, second Earl of Sandwich, a match which Pepys much approved. He speaks of an interview with Lady Burlington at Burlington House, where he first saw and saluted her: “A very fine speaking lady and brave, and a good woman, but old and not handsome.” Perhaps Master Samuel was not at that moment in a humour to be pleased, as, “bringing in a candle to seal a letter, they set fire to my perriwigg, which made an odd noise.”

Half-Length.

(In Peer’s Parliamentary Robes. Holding in his Hand the Badge of the Order of the Bath suspended from his Neck.)

Born, ——. Died, 1644.—The eldest son of Sir Edward Montagu, of Boughton, North Hants, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James Harrington, of Exton, Rutland, Knight, by whom he had eight sons and three daughters: the third son, Henry, being ancestor to the Dukes of Manchester and the Earls of Halifax: and the sixth, Sidney, to the Earls of Sandwich. Edward, the eldest, was also Knighted of the Shire, and then created Knight of the Bath at the coronation of James I, he did good service in Parliament; was much opposed to Popish doctrines, was one of the first named on the committee to consider the confirmation of the Book of Common Prayer, and many weighty matters, was the principal promoter of keepinga day of public thanksgiving on the 5th of November, in remembrance of the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, on which day he also instituted a charitable gift of “forty shillings yearly to the world’s end,” to be given to the poor of certain towns in Northamptonshire, if present at Divine Service the same day. He was advanced to the dignity of Baron Montagu, of Boughton, for his services and great abilities, in the nineteenth year of the reign of James I. He was remarkable for his piety, not only attending constantly and punctually at church, but having regular prayers on week days, “as also singing of two psalms after supper in the hall in his own house.” He was a patron to men of letters and learning, showing great discrimination in his choice of bestowal of livings in his gift, and “an enemy to pluralities and non-residency.” Not only did he do good “to the good to make them better, but also to the bad to keep them from worse.” It is scarcely credible how many poor as well as rich he fed. It is reported that a hired coachman of London, who had been at my Lord’s house, told on his return that he had seen 1200 peopleserved in a day at my Lord Montagu’s door, which was not credited, and a wager of £10 laid. It was brought to trial and proved. He built a fair Hospital at Weekly for eight persons, with a liberal allowance, and a blue gown to each every second year.

But this good and noble Peer fell into misfortune through his loyalty to King Charles I., and Lord Clarendon relates that the Parliament took him prisoner at his House of Boughton, “a person of great reverence above fourscore years of age, and of unblemished reputation, because he declared himself unsatisfied with their disobedient proceedings towards the King.”

Sir Philip Warwick also says: “The family of Montagu is noble and worthy. It had six brothers, four remarkable for several qualifications; the eldest, Lord Montagu, a man of plain, downright English spirit, of steady courage and a devout heart, a son of the Church of England, yet so devout that he was by some reckoned among the Puritans.” He was a great benefactor to the town of Northampton, (being Lord Lieutenant of the County), andhe bore such sway there, that “the multitude of vulgars flocked about him when he came to town, as if he had been their topical deity.” When he was taken prisoner on his road to London, he met my Lord Essex at Barnet, who was proceeding with the army against the King. That nobleman stopped his coach, intending to go and salute Lord Montagu, who presently ordered his coachman to drive on, as this was no time for compliments. When brought before the Committee of State, where he pleaded nobly, the verdict was that he should be detained a prisoner, but that it might be in his own daughter’s house. This he utterly refused, saying, that if he deserved to be a prisoner, he deserved to be sent to a prison, and that he would not be sent to the house of the Countess of Rutland, which would be irksome to him, that lady being busy in the Parliament’s cause—unless the warrant named her house as his prison; “whereat the Countess was much disgruntled.”

Lord Montagu was accordingly conveyed to the Savoy, near the Strand, in the suburbs of London, where he departed this life on the15th of June, 1644. He was thrice married; first to Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sir John Jeffrey, of Chitingley, Sussex, Knight, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, by whom he had an only daughter; secondly, to Frances, daughter of Thomas Cotton, of Connington, Hunts, by whom he had a son who died unmarried, Edward his successor, William, and the aforesaid Countess of Rutland; thirdly, to Anne Crouch, of Cornbury, Herts, by whom he had no issue.

Lord Montagu was grandfather to Ralph, first Duke of Montagu. He was interred in Weekly Church, Northamptonshire, where a splendid monument commemorates his many virtues.

By WALKER.

Half-Length.

(Green Cardinal edged with Gold, fastened in Front with a Jewel. White Satin Hood, White Tippet, Pearl Necklace.)

Born, ——. Died, 1654.—Daughter of William Stewart, Esq., through whom she claimed distant kinship with the King of England. Widow of William Lynne, of Basingbourne; married Robert Cromwell, Esq., by whom she had four sons, of whom only one, Oliver, grew up to manhood, and six daughters. On the death of her husband she continued the Brewery, out of the profits of which and a scanty pittance of £60 a year, she gave her numerous daughters a good education, and dowries on their marriage, “with which they were not ashamed to ally themselves with good families.” Mrs. Cromwell was indeed a most exemplary and loveable woman; of an angelic temper and disposition, yet full of self-help, she retained the simple tastes and gentle humanity which had characterised her in the Brewery, at Huntingdon, when transplanted, by her son’s wish, to the splendour of the Palace at Whitehall, where her life was fretted by her anxiety for the safety of her beloved son. Oliver’s filial duty was undeniable: he appreciated to the utmost his mother’s excellent qualities; and on her death he causedher to be buried with great pomp in Westminster Abbey, though her tastes would have pointed to a quiet funeral, in a country churchyard, where her remains would have been left unmolested. At the Restoration her body was dug up, and with many others, cast ignominiously into a hole.

In one of the many “Lives of the Protector,” the portrait at Hinchingbrook is alluded to as most characteristic. “The small pretty mouth, the full large melancholy eyes, the fair hair under the modest little hood, the simple but refined dress with the one small jewel clasping her handkerchief.” The same writer speaking of her says: “Her single pride was honesty, her passion love.”

A Copy of Vandyck in Lambeth Palace.

By STONE.

Three-quarter Length.

Born at Reading, 1573.—Beheaded, 1645.Son of a clothier. Fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford. He afterwards took Orders, and was very vehement against the Puritans. Had many different livings; became Chaplain to James I., whom he accompanied to Scotland. Became Prebendary of Westminster, and consecutively Bishop of St. Davids, Bath and Wells, and London, and subsequently Prime Minister and Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1622 he held a famous conference with Fisher the Jesuit in the presence of the Duke of Buckingham and his mother, who were wavering in their allegiance to the Protestant faith, and were fixed therein by the eloquence of Laud. He was more than once tempted to abjure his own religion by the offer of a Cardinal’s hat, but each time he gave an emphatic denial. He was very strict in requiring the revision and licensing of published books by high ecclesiastical authority, and concerned in several prosecutions of the Star Chamber against Bishop Williams, the master of Westminster School, &c.

When the Parliament of 1639 was abruptly dissolved, the odium of the measure was thrownon Laud, and he was attacked in his Palace at Lambeth by the mob. The execution of Strafford was the forerunner of his own; he had made himself unpopular with the Nation and with the Commons, and on the accusation of Sir Henry Vane, he was sent to the Tower in 1641, where he was detained for three years and treated with much severity. In 1644 he was tried, and though nothing treasonable was proved, a bill of attainder was passed. He made an eloquent defence, but all in vain, and he suffered death on Tower Hill in 1645, displaying great courage. Clarendon says: “His learning, piety, and virtue, have been attained by few, and the greatest of his infirmities are common to all men.”

Of all the Prelates of the Anglican Church, Macaulay says that Laud departed farthest from the principles of the Reformation and nearest to Rome. He hated Calvinism, he had a passion for forms and ceremonies, disapproved of the marriage of ecclesiastics; all which opinions would have made him detested by the Puritans, even if he had used legal and gentle means only for the attainment of hisends. His understanding was narrow, he had but scanty knowledge of the world under his direction; every corner of the realm, every separate congregation, even the devotions of private families were subjected to the vigilance of his spies. Unfortunately for himself and for the country, the King was influenced in all public matters by the counsels of the Primate.

By WALKER.

Half-Length.

(Black Gown, White Collar, Black Skull Cap.)

Born, ——. Died, 1617.—The second son of Sir Henry Cromwell, Knight (surnamed the Golden Knight) of Hinchingbrook, Huntingdon, by Joan, daughter of Sir Ralph Warren, Lord Mayor of London. A younger son with a slender pittance, he was, by the countenance of his brother, Sir Oliver, made Justice of the Peace. He went, on his marriage, to live inthe town of Huntingdon, at a house which had been a Brewery for many years, and the business of which he thought it prudent to continue with the help and good management of his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of William Stewart, of Ely, undoubted descendant of the royal line of Stewart; a connection on which the Protector, with the inconsistency he often evinced in such matters, prided himself highly. Robert Cromwell’s immediate ancestors were of a Welsh family named Williams, one of whom married the sister of Cromwell, Earl of Essex, Prime Minister to Henry VIII., whose son having risen into favour at Court and received the grant of several Church lands near Huntingdon, fixed his residence in that town, and assumed the name of Cromwell. In a tournament at Westminster, on May Day, 1540, where Sir Richard Cromwell had stricken down challenger after challenger in honour of his King; Henry VIII., in high good humour, called out: “Formerly thou wast my Dick, but hereafter thou shalt be my diamond,” at the same moment dropping a diamond ring, which the knight picked up and restored to hisMajesty. “No,” said Henry, laughing, and placing it on his favourite’s finger: “henceforth thou shalt bear such an one in the forejamb of the demi-lion in thy crest;” and such a ring, says one of his chroniclers, did Oliver wear when he entered the lists against his lawful sovereign.

“Mr. Cromwell and his wife,” we are told by the same biographer, “were persons of worth, in no way inclined to disaffection, civil or religious; they lived on a small pittance, and brought up their children well, through the exercise of honest frugality.” Robert Cromwell died at Cromwell House, Huntingdon, in 1617, and was buried at All Saints Church in that town. His widow survived him 37 years.

By SIR PETER LELY.

Three-quarter Length.

(Auburn Ringlets. Orange Satin Gown with Pearls. Right Hand holding her Dress.)

Born, 1647. Died, 1690.—Elizabeth Wriothesley was the youngest daughter of Lord Treasurer Southampton, by Lady Elizabeth Leigh, sole daughter and heiress of the Earl of Chichester. Her eldest sister, Lady Audrey, was betrothed to Josceline, Lord Percy, son of the tenth Earl of Northumberland, but dying before her fifteenth year was completed, the name of her sister was substituted for hers (by family arrangement) in the marriage contract. In the year 1662, Elizabeth being then about fifteen, and Lord Percy barely 18, the marriage was solemnised. The bride’s sister, Lady Rachel Russell, observes it was acceptance rather than choice; yet the union proved very happy. At first the young pair were not much together; the bridegroom remained with histutor, and the bride with her parents, at Titchfield, in Hampshire; but in 1664-5, her letters to Lady Rachel are dated from Petworth, where she was living with her husband. She had a daughter born in 1666, and a son and heir in 1668; in 1669, another daughter, who died an infant. Lord Percy succeeded his father in 1668, and the following year their son died, which made so sad an impression on Lady Northumberland, then just recovering from her confinement, that change of scene was considered necessary for her, and she left England for Paris with her husband and the celebrated Locke (as their physician), in whose care Lord Northumberland left his wife while he proceeded to Italy. At Turin he was attacked by fever, and died in the flower of his age, a brilliant future lying before him, with every prospect of happiness.

Lady Northumberland remained at Paris, where Ralph, Lord Montagu, was then Ambassador, and he soon became attracted by the beautiful young widow, paying her gradual and delicate attentions; but it was two years before he ventured to pronounce himselfher ardent admirer. In the winter of 1672 she went to Aix, where Montagu followed her. Madame de la Fayette writes: “Je vous envoie un paquet pour Madame de Northumberland; on dit que si M. de Montagu n’a pas eu un heureux succès de son voyage, il passera en Italie pour faire voir que ce ne’est pas pour les beaux yeux de la Comtesse qu’il court le pays.”

But it seems he followed her back to Paris, in spite of those predictions. In another letter from Madame de la Fayette, she writes: “Madame de Northumberland me parait une femme qui a été fort belle, mais qui n’a pas un seul trait de visage qui se soutienne, ni oû il soit resté le moindre air de jeunesse; elle est avec cela mal habillée, point de grâce, etc.” She also alludes to her understanding, what Madame de la Fayette said to her as if her knowledge of the French language was limited. The same writer says: “J’ai fort parlé d’elle à Montagu; il ne fait aucun façon d’étre embarqué à son service, et parait rempli d’espérance.” (April 15, 1673.)

There were as usual fluctuations in his hopes and fears, the lady being at one timejealous, we are told, of the Duchesse de Brissac, a former “flame” of the Ambassador’s; but in 1673 they came to England, and were privately married at Titchfield, Lady Northumberland’s paternal home. Evelyn talks of her eight, or even ten years after this, as the “beautiful Countess,” a testimony we accept more willingly than that of the fault-finding Madame de la Fayette. She was in England in 1675, and was at issue for some time with the Dowager Countess of Northumberland, her mother-in-law, respecting the care and guardianship of Lady Elizabeth Percy, the only surviving child and heiress of the late Earl; the subject of the girl’s marriage, and the choice of a husband being a great bone of contention. Lady Rachel Russell says: “My sister urges that her only child should not be disposed of without her consent, and in my judgment it is hard, yet I fancy I am not partial.” The old lady was triumphant, however, and contrived to get the young heiress into her power, or rather to assert her power over her fortunes, and Elizabeth Percy had the strange fate of being three times a wife, and twice a widow ere she was sixteen.She married, when only thirteen, Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, who immediately assumed the name and arms of Percy; but he died a few months after his marriage, in 1680. The child-widow had then among many other suitors, Count Königsmark, the celebrated adventurer, and Thomas Thynne, of Longleat, to whom her grandmother hastened to betroth her, lest she should show a preference for the foreigner. But before the marriage could be actually solemnized, he was murdered in his coach at the instigation of his rival; and the beautiful heiress married shortly afterwards the sixth Duke of Somerset, surnamed the Proud.

The girl’s mother does not seem to have been consulted in any of these matchmakings; her own married life was not a happy one. Montagu was boundlessly extravagant; he was now occupied in building Montagu House with his wife’s money; he was involved in political intrigues which did not redound to his honour, and in 1678 he went to Paris on his astrological mission, and renewed his loves and quarrels with the Duchess of Cleveland and others. He returned to England, to involve himself infresh plots, and in 1680, accompanied by his wife, he went to Paris in disgrace and pecuniary difficulties; circumstances not calculated to improve a temper naturally irritable.

Lady Rachel Russell often speaks of her sister when in Paris; of that lady’s sympathy with the Protestants after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes; her anxiety on account of her daughter, Anne Montagu’s, health, etc. A year afterwards she lost her eldest son, aged 12; and it must have been a source of regret that she was not at hand to comfort Lady Rachel in the hour of her sorrow, Lord William Russell’s execution taking place while his sister-in-law was still in Paris. On Lady Northumberland’s return to England, we hear of her at Windsor with her “lovely boy,” and little Anne. On her husband’s creation as Earl, his wife dropped her widowed title, and called herself Countess Montagu. After the Revolution, Lord and Lady Montagu spent most of their time at Boughton, at which place the latter died in September, 1690, aged forty-four.

Lady Rachel Russell speaks thus of herdeath: “She was my last sister, and I loved her tenderly. It pleases me to think she deserves to be remembered by all who knew her; but after 40 years’ acquaintance with so amiable a creature, one must needs, in reflecting, bring to remembrance so many engaging endearments as are at present embittering and painful.”

One son and one daughter survived; John, Lord Monthermer, afterwards second Duke of Montagu; and Anne, mother to the Lady Hinchingbrook, by whose Will this picture was bequeathed to her son, the fourth Earl of Sandwich.

By SIR PETER LELY.

Three-quarter Length.

(Buff Coat and Cuirass. Lace Cravat and Ruffles. Blue Sash over the Shoulder. Broad Red Sash round the Waist. Right Hand holding a Truncheon, which rests on the Mouth of a Cannon; Left Hand on his Hip.)

By RILEY.

Three-quarter Length.

(Curled Wig. Loose Gown of Orange Silk.)

Born, ——. Died, 1708. The only surviving son of Edward, second Lord Montagu of Boughton, by Anne, daughter of Sir Ralph Winwood. He was educated at Westminster and on the death of his elder brother succeeded him as Master of the Horse to Queen Catherine, Consort of Charles II. He was sent as Ambassador to Paris, in 1669, for which office, says a contemporary, he was more indebted to the partiality of the fair sex, than to his own merits. He told Sir William Temple he was resolved to become Ambassador in France, and Sir William asked him on what he founded his hopes, as neither the King nor the Duke of York were attached to him. “They shall act” said Montagu, “as if they were;” upon which Sir William Temple remarks that his appointment wasbrought about by the favour of the ladies, who were always his best friends, for some perfection the rest of the world did not discover.

He was famous when in France, for the state in which he lived. “He entered Paris,” (says Collins) “with a more than common appearance, having seventy-four pages and footmen in rich liveries, twelve led horses with their furniture, twenty-four gentlemen on horseback, and eighteen English noblemen and gentlemen of quality in four rich coaches with eight horses each, and two chariots with six, made as costly as art could contrive.” The King and the Duke of Orleans received him with great honour, and he was entertained both at St. Cloud and Versailles, the fountains of which played in his honour; and it was here he imbibed a taste for building and laying out gardens, which he afterwards indulged to a great extent. The beautiful and youthful Countess of Northumberland, who had lately become a widow, was residing in Paris, and as we mention in the notice of her life, Montagu became her suitor, and eventually her husband. They were married privately in England in1673. After his marriage he became a Privy Councillor and Master of the Great Wardrobe, an office he bought of the Earl of Sandwich. He busied himself in building on a magnificent scale, and found his wife’s money most useful to him in carrying out his plans.

Although already rather in disrepute at Court, King Charles II. did not disdain to employ Montagu in 1678 on a new, and in every sense of the word, extraordinary mission to Paris. At that time there resided in the French capital, an astrologer who had gained great credit by predicting, not only the restoration of the English Monarch, but the exact date, May 29, 1660, of his return to England, and that some time before it actually happened. Charles, in consequence, had the firmest belief in the wise man’s auguries, and he despatched Montagu on an errand to ask his advice and predictions on some subject of political importance. The Envoy-extraordinary sounded the Necromancer, and finding the black art did not blind its professor to self-interest, the King’s messenger offered the wise man a large bribe to shape his predictions according to his(Montagu’s) directions; then, with an imprudence which was inconsistent with his previous cunning, he went off to the Duchess of Cleveland and confided his secret to her. But Barbara was angry with her former admirer, and jealous of his admiration for her own daughter, and she resolved to be revenged. Accordingly she wrote to the King and told him the whole story. “Montagu,” she says, “has neither conscience nor honour; he has told me several times he despises you in his heart, and that he wishes the Parliament would send you and your brother to travel, for you are a dull, ungovernable fool, and he is a wilful fool.” This version of the story is taken from Algernon Sidney’s correspondence.

In consequence of this letter Montagu was recalled, and found himself but coldly received at Court, and all hopes of a place under Government were at an end. The ex-Plenipotentiary now threw himself into all manner of contending intrigues of a political nature. He was accused of receiving a large bribe from Louis XIV. to compass the impeachment and ruin of Lord Danby (Treasurer) who was veryobnoxious to the French Government, and an enemy to the Roman Catholics; yet at the same time he took a prominent position in the popular party. He was said to have been instrumental in bringing over Louise de la Quérouaille, afterwards Duchess of Portsmouth, and to have endeavoured to persuade her to use her influence with the King to exclude his brother from the succession. Finally his vote for the exclusion bill rendered him so obnoxious at Court, that he thought it best to depart once more to Paris with his wife and children. Hence he was summoned by a sad catastrophe, he had lent his magnificent house in Bloomsbury to the Earl of Devonshire, whose servant, in airing one of the rooms, set fire to it, and the “noble mansion” was burned to the ground. The conflagration was witnessed by Lady Rachel Russell, who says: “I heard a great noise in the square, and sent a servant to know what it was, and they brought me word Montagu House was in flames. My boy awaked and said he was nearly stifled, but being told the cause, would see it, and so was satisfied, and accepted a strange bed-fellow,for the nurse brought Lady Devonshire’s youngest boy, wrapped up in a blanket.” The loss was computed at £30,000; but Montagu rebuilt it on a more magnificent scale. Collins says: “It is not exceeded in London.”

Under William III. Montagu’s star was once more in the ascendant; he being one of the Lords who invited over the Prince of Orange. In 1689 he was created Viscount Monthermer and Earl of Montagu, and attended their Majesties’ coronation in his new dignity. In 1690, while engaged in beautifying and laying out Boughton, his excellent wife, who called herself Countess Montagu, died, but he soon gave her a successor. The new made Earl was not content with his coronet, and coveted the “strawberry leaves.” He applied to the King for a dukedom, mentioning among many other cogent reasons: “I am now below the younger branches of my family, my Lord Manchester and my Lord Sandwich;” also that he had taken to his second wife, the daughter of the Duke of Newcastle; and above all that he had been first and last to advocate the cause of William. “I hope it will not be to my disadvantagethat I am alive, and ready to do so again, instead of having lost my head with Lord William Russell.” The King refused the dukedom, but showed Lord Montagu much favour, and was his visitor at Boughton, in Northamptonshire where the Court was sumptuously entertained.

Collins says: “My Lord was content with his fortune, and would accept no office save the one he had bought.” Of this he had been unlawfully deprived by James II., who bestowed it on Lord Preston. My Lord Montagu thought himself bound in honour to bring Preston to account, and when the office was restored to him and considerable damages awarded, he was so considerate of Lord Preston’s ill circumstances that he generously forgave him not only the damages, but the costs of the suit.

Queen Anne bestowed upon him the coveted dukedom; in the fourth year of her reign she created him Marquis of Monthermer, and Duke of Montagu. His first wife died in 1690; when he lost no time in soliciting the hand of the relict of Christopher Monk, second Duke of Albemarle, and daughter and sole heiress ofHenry Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle. He does not appear to have been so disinterested in his views where money was concerned as Collins would have us believe; since this lady, in spite of her enormous wealth, was a confirmed lunatic, and an obstacle to their union existed in the fact that she had announced her resolution of wedding no one but a sovereign. Montagu was accordingly presented to her as the Emperor of China, and after a short period of eccentric wooing they were married. Until her death the poor maniac was addressed as Empress of China, and served on the bended knee. Lord Ross wished to marry her, and when the Duke prevailed in his suit wrote the following lines:—

“Insulting Rival, never boastThy conquest lately won;No wonder if her heart was lost,Her senses first were gone.From one that’s under Bedlam’s lawsWhat glory can be had?For love indeed was not the cause,It proves that she was mad.”

“Insulting Rival, never boast

Thy conquest lately won;

No wonder if her heart was lost,

Her senses first were gone.

From one that’s under Bedlam’s laws

What glory can be had?

For love indeed was not the cause,

It proves that she was mad.”

She survived her husband twenty-six years, and died at Newcastle House in Clerkenwell, being interred in Westminster Abbey, as became her Imperial dignity.

Ralph, Duke of Montagu was, as his picture shows, of a middle height, inclining to fat, and of a dark complexion. He was a man of pleasure, and self-indulgence, but of refined taste in architecture, and his gardens at Boughton were world famed. On one occasion he was showing them to the Duke of Marlborough, who said he believed the water-works were the finest in the world. “They are not to be compared,” replied the courteous host, “to your Grace’s fireworks.” St. Evremond, who was a constant visitor at Boughton and in London, and who met the Duke frequently at the Duchesse de Mazarin’s little salon in Chelsea, was a pensioner on his bounty, and is never tired of extolling his hospitality and generosity, also the charms of the Saturday and Wednesday receptions, at Montagu House.

“On admire avec raisonVotre superbe maison,A tous étrangers ouverte;Les jets d’eau de Boughton,Les meubles de Ditton, etc.”

“On admire avec raison

Votre superbe maison,

A tous étrangers ouverte;

Les jets d’eau de Boughton,

Les meubles de Ditton, etc.”

He says the cascade at Boughton, though smaller than the one at Versailles, is more beautiful. The oldgourmetis never tired of praising the good living and extolling the comestibles that the Duke had sent him, and he says: “J’ai été à Boughton voir milord, la bonne compagnie, l’érudition, les perdreaux, les truffes;” in fact all that had charms for him in the absence of the Duchesse de Mazarin herself, to whom he writes. The two men met frequently at the house of the beautiful Hortense, one of whose most fervent admirers was the Duke of Montagu. To her he was most generous, for in one of her letters she says that if Montagu discovered you liked or admired a thing, you need take no more thought about it: “‘Quelque dépense qu’il faille faire, quelque soin, quelque peine qu’il faut employer pour l’avoir, la chose ne vous manquera pas.’ Ce sont les propres paroles de la feue Duchesse de Mazarin.” But it seems that there was some interruption in their intimacy, for in one of Algernon Sidney’sletters there is this passage: “Montagu goes no more to the Duchesse de Mazarin; whether his love or his politics proved too pressing, I know not, but the town says he is forbid the house.”

His Grace departed this life on the 9th of March, 1708, at Montagu House in Bloomsbury, afterwards the British Museum.

By MRS. BEALE.

Three-quarter Length.

(Seated. Light Auburn Hair, Dove-coloured Dress. Pearl Ornaments. Holding a Flower in the Left Hand.)

Lady Anne Boyle was the fourth daughter of Richard, second Earl of Cork and first Earl of Burlington, by Lady Elizabeth Clifford, only daughter and heiress of the fifth Earl of Cumberland. In 1667 she married Viscount Hinchingbrook, eldest son of the first Earl ofSandwich, by whom she had two sons and one daughter. Pepys seemed well contented with the marriage for his patron’s son, though he is dissatisfied at not having a favour sent him, and Lady Sandwich was so much pleased with her new daughter-in-law as apparently to be consoled for her first born having lost the chance of marrying the great heiress, Mistress Mallet.

The first time Pepys saw her at Lord Crewe’s he saluted her and invited her to his house; he thought her mighty pleasant and good humoured, but neither did he count her a beauty or ugly, but a comely lady; and when she accepted his hospitality next day he found her “a sweet natured and well disposed lady, a lover of books and pictures, and of good understanding;” and he goes on to visit her and her lord afterwards at Burlington House next to Clarendon House, which he was glad to see for the first time.

Lady Hinchingbrook and her sister Henrietta, Countess of Rochester, were undoubtedly shining lights of modesty, and domestic virtue in this profligate age.

She was buried in the family vault at Barnwell, where a touching inscription records her many virtues, and the regret her death occasioned.

By HIGHMORE.

Three-quarter Length.

(In an Orange Gown, Lace Tippet and Ruffles. Holding a Fan. A Blue Hood tied under the Chin.)

By WHOOD.

Full-Length.

(As a Child: in a Rich Crimson Dress, embroidered with Silver. White Apron, Lace Cuffs, and Stomacher. Holding a Basket of Cherries, with which she is Feeding a Parrot.)

The eldest daughter of Edward Richard, Viscount Hinchingbrook, by Elizabeth Popham. Died in childhood.

By SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE.

Full-Length.

(In a White Dress with Brown Drapery. Leaning on an Anchor.)

Born, 1781. Died, 1862. The only daughter of Armar Corry, first Earl of Belmore, by Harriet, eldest daughter and co-heiress of the second Earl of Buckinghamshire. Married in 1804, George, Earl of Sandwich, who died at Rome; by whom she had John William, seventh Earl; Harriet, Lady Ashburton, and Caroline, Comtesse Walewska.

By VAN ZOORST.

Portrait of a Youth in Black. Unknown.

(Brown Hair and Eyes. Small Moustache.)

By VAN ZOORST.

Half-Length.

(Purple Vest, Broad Belt, Buckle on Shoulder.)

By WISSING.

Three-quarter Length.

(Loose Dress. Blue Scarf. Seated on a Bank, putting a Wreath of Flowers round the Neck of a Lamb.)

By HOGARTH.

Small Half-length.

(A Fair Boy in Crimson Coat and Waistcoat, and Frilled Shirt.)

The fourth son of John, fourth Earl of Sandwich. Born, 1745. Died, 1752. Buried at Barnwell.

By WHOOD.

Three-quarter Length.

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