NOTES ON THE PEERAGE.

4, The nobility of the Spencers has been illustrated and enriched by the trophies of Marlborough, but I exhort them to consider the Fairy Queen as the most precious jewel in theircoronel."

Gibbon.

Duke of NORFOLK. Bernard Edward Howard ; born in 1 7 6 5.

The Duke of Norfolk of James the Second's time was a staunch Pro- testant. "One day," says Burnet, "the King gave the Duke of Norfolk

the Sword of State to carry before him to the Popish Chapel : and he stood at the door. Upon which the King said to him, ` My Lord, your father would have gone further:' to which the Duke answered, ' Your Majesty's father was the better man, and he would not have gone so far." It was *wing to his nephew succeeding him that the title came again into the Roman Catholic line. Ancestry is but a relative affair. In 1621, when Lord Spencer was talking about what their ancestors did in the House of Lords, Lord Arundel cut him short, saying, " My Lord, when these things you speak of were doing, your ancestors were keeping sheep." Spencer instantly replied, "When my ancestors, as you say, were keeping sheep, your an- cestors were plotting treason 1"

Lord Howard, first Duke of Norfolk, commonly called Jacky of Norfolk, was a pensioner of France, and received, in addition to his pension from Louis the Eleventh, in less than two years, in money and plate, 24,000 crowns by way of direct bribe.—(Philip de Conzmines.) He got all the honours of Earl Marshal from the Mowbrays, Dukes of Norfolk, just then extinct, in return for his favouring the usurpation of Richard Crookback. He was killed, with his master, in Bosworth Field, August 22d 1485. The first of this line was killed in battle, and the three next were all executed on Tower Hill ; the fourth died in the Tower.

Thomas, Earl of Arundel, seventh in descent from Jocky of Norfolk, a man of proud and peculiar habits, introduced the Arundel Marbles into England.

Duke of SOMERSET. Edward Adolphus Seymour; born in 1 7 75.

The ancient line of Seymour is not only direct from the great Protector Somerset, uncle to Edward the Sixth,—who, if he had a fault in the esti- mation of his time, it was a sympathy with the people, and to which he fell a sacrifice,—but boasts, as its second founder, one of the brightest patriots our country numbers among her children. Sir Edward Seymour, seventh Duke, was an able member of Parliament in the reign of Charles the Second, to whom we are above all things indebted for his strenuous exertions which procured the passing of the Habeas Corpus Act.

Duke of RICHMOND. Charles Lennox ; born in 1791. Duke of GRAFTON. George Henry Fitzroy ; born in 1760. Duke of Beaufort. Henry Charles Somerset ; born in I 766. Duke of ST. ALBANS. William Aubrey De Vere Beauclerk ;

It is remarkable, that so many of the highest rank of nobility, in so moral a country as England, should be the produce of concubinage. Lennox, first Duke of Richmond, Was the son of Charles the Second, by a French woman, who was made Duchess of Portsmouth, in England; and Louis the Fourteenth, who was always glad to ennoble a bastard or his mother, made her Duchess D'Aubigne" in France, with a large domain ; and this was retained by the Dukes of Richmond till the French Revolution.

Fitzroy, first Duke of Grafton, Son of Charles the Second, by Barbara Villiers, afterwards Lady Castlemaine, created Duchess of Cleveland.

Beauclerk, first Duke of St. Albans,

Son of Charles the Second, by Eleanor Gwin, the actress.

'The descent in the Beaufort line is doubly bastard. The first Beaufort was a natural son of John of Gaunt : his descendant became Duke of So- merset, who,.being beheaded after the battle of Hexham, left only a natural pon, CharleS, who took thename of Somerset—he probably did not know

that of his mother, and dared not take that of Beaufort. He married the heiress of the Earl of Huntingdon, and was created Lord Herbert, and afterwards (1514) Earl of Worcester.

The Marquis of Worcester was of great service to Charles the First and his son, during and after the civil wars : after the Restoration, he was made Duke of Beaufort. It was to this Marquis of Worcester that Charles the Second granted that extraordinary patent by which he was empowered to create peerages himself, without reference to the King, and which lie was obliged to surrender at the demand of the House of Lords.

Duke of Leeds. Geo. William Frederick Osborne ; born in 1775.

The first person of any note amongst his ancestors was Edward Osborne, apprentice to Sir Thomas Hewett, cloth-worker. When his master's only child, Anne, was accidentally dropped out of the nurse's arms into the Thames, the apprentice, Edward, leaped into the water and saved her life. He afterwards married this Anne Hewett ; and with her got several valu- able estates. Osborne was Sheriff of London in 1575, and Lord Mayor in 1582. His great grandson, Thomas, was the first Duke of Leeds : he had previously been made Earl of Danby and Marquis of Carmarthen, and in 1694 was created Duke of Leeds; " to colour the dismissing him from business," says Burnett, " with the increase of title."

Duke and Earl of BEDFORD. John Russell; born in 1766.

The rise of the Bedford family is curious, though undeserving the attack of Burke. Philip, Archduke of Austria, bound for Spain, was obliged to put in, from stress of weather, at Weymouth. He was here attended by Mr. John Russell, a gentleman who had travelled, and could converse with him. When the Archduke went to court at Windsor (in 21 Henry VIII.), Mr. Russell accompanied him ; was recommended to Henry by the Prince, for his attention and intelligence ; and became a court favourite. He had part of the spoils of Stafford, Duke of Buckingham ; and at the dissolution of the religious houses, a very considerable share of valuable property, more especially the Abbey lands of Tavistock.

Duke of DEVONSHIRE. Wm. Spencer Cavendish ; born in 1790. The glory of this family is the having produced the Honourable Henry Cavendish (son of Lord Charles Cavendish, brother to the third Duke). " Since the death of Newton, " said Sir Humphry Davy, " England has sustained no scientific loss so great as that of Cavendish. His name will be an immortal honour to his house, his age, and his country." His dis- coveries respecting the nature of air and water laid the foundation of modern chemistry. He died worth one million two hundred thousand pounds—accumulation.

Duke of Atholl. John Murray ; born in 1755.

" All antiquarians are agreed that the common ancestor of the Murrays is one FRISKINUS, a gentleman of note and figure in the reign of King David." Such is the information we derive from heralds and antiquaries.

Duke of PORTLAND. W. H. C. Scott Bentinck ; born in 1768.

The first Bentinck came over with William—not the Conqueror, but the Revolutionizer. He was page to the Prince of Orange. His services are thus spoken of by Sir William Temple: "I cannot forbear to give M. Bentinck the character due to him, of the best servant I have known in prince's or private families. He tended his master during the whole course of his disease, both night andday andthePrince told me, that whether he slept or no, he could not tell ; but in sixteen days and nights, he never called once that he was not answered by Bentinck as if he had been awake. The first time the Prince was well enough to have his head opened and combed, M. Bentinck, as soon as it was done, begged of his master to give him leave to go home, for he was ableto hold up no longer: he did so, and fell immediately sick of the same disease, and in great ex- tremity : but recovered just soon enough to attend the Prince into the field, where he was ever next his person."—Memoirs, I., 97-8.

Duke of Manchester. William Montague ; born in 1771.

This family claims a descent from Drogo de Monte-acuto, who came over with the Conqueror : there is, however, not a word of truth in the pedigree. The real ancestor was Mr. Thomas Montagu, who died in 1517 : his son was a student in the Middle Temple, and came to be Speaker of the House of Commons. When the House of Commons refused to pass a subsidy bill of Henry the Eighth, that Monarch sent for Montagu the Speaker, and said to him, "Ho ! will they not pass my bill?" And lay- ing his hand on the head of Montagu, who was kneeling before him, he said, "Get my bill to pass by such a time to-morrow, or else by such a time this head of yours shall be off 1 " The bill was passed within the time. He became Chief Justice of the King's Bench, and afterwards of the Common Pleas—" a descent in honour, but an ascent in proflt.'1 From this man's son came the families of the Dukes of Montague (extinct), Dukes of Manchester, and Lord Sandwich.

Marquis of WINCHESTER. C. Ingoldsby Paulett ; born in 1774.

The man who founded this family enjoyed the place of Treasurer during Mary and Elizabeth, for thirty years. Being asked how he preserved him- self in the place through so many changes of government, he answered, By being a willow, and not an oak. The third Marquis of Winchester published a collection of essays, entitled Lord Marquis Idleness. (London, 1586, 4to.) " He had four na- tural sons by one Mrs. Lambert, a concubine, all knights ; viz. Sir Wil- liam, Sir Hercules, Sir John, and Sir Hector, to whom, as I have beard, he granted leases of lands for the term of one hundred years, of little less than 1,000/. per annum value; which lands unto this day are called the Bastard Lands."—Dug,dale.

This man's grandson was the first Duke of Bolton. He used to hunt by torch-light, and only spoke at a particular hour of the day. A most ex- tragavant and avaricious person : " he was," says Burnet, a most know- ing and crafty man, an artful flatterer, always carried his point, and in short the great riddle of his age."

The third Duke of Bolton married Lavinia Berwick, the famous Polly Peachant of the Beggar's Opera. She had been his mistress.

Marquis of LANSDOWNE. Henry F. Petty ; born in 1780.

The founder of this family was a physician and a man of science, Sir William Petty. He made a large fortune in Ireland, by purchasing land at a time when it was greatly depreciated. He was engaged in the survey of Ireland, and was secretary to Oliver Cromwell. Though the Lans- downes have assumed the name of Petty, Petty is only the maternal name; the male branch is that of Fitzmaurice, Earls of Kerry.

Marquis of STAFFORD. George G. L. Gower ; born in 1758. The family of Gower has some pretension to be considered of A nglo- Saxon origin. The object of the creation is thus stated by Burnet: "Finch, Gower, Granville, and Young Seymour, were made Peers la

1702, to create a majority in the Upper House ; while Hervey was ad- vanced at the same time, through private favour."

Marquis and Earl of Salisbury. J. B. W. G. Cecil ; born in 1791. First kart of Salisbury: " No act of power was ever proposed which he did not advance and execute with the utmost rigour. No man so great a tyrant in his country, or less swayed by any motives of justice or honour." -Lord Clarendon.

Marquis of Bath. Thomas Thynne ; born in 1765.

The family name is Boteville one John Boteville, however, got the name of John of M' Inne-from residing in one of the Inns of Court ; whence the aristocratic name of Thynne I Marquis of Londonderry, C. W. Vane Stewart ; born in 1778.

• A cavalry officer, who became an ambassador because his brother was

• a minister. His motto ought to be the sentence pencilled by Lord Liver- "pool on the back of his application • for a pension,-" THIS IS TOO BAD." He is agreat proprietor of coal-mines, through his wife, the heiress of 'Sir Harry Vane Tempest; a ward in Chancery, whom he carried by a coup de main in opposition to all her connexions.

Marquis of HEADFORT. Thomas Taylour ; born in 1787.

Was an Irish Representative Peer previous to this creation ; so that Reform gained nothing by it. He is originally of an English family.

Marquis of Waterford. Henry de la Poer Beresford ; born in 1811.

This powerful family is originally from the county of Stafford. Tris- tram Beresford, the founder of the Irish branch, was agent of the London Company for Planting Ulster. The son of Tristram represented London- derry in 1661, and in 1666 was made a Baronet of Ireland. The fourth Baronet married the heiress of the Earl of Tyrone, and was raised to the Irish Peerage in 1720, as Baron Beresford and Viscount Tyrone, and after- wards, in 1746, as Earl of Tyrone. The father of the late Marquis was raised to the Barony of Tyrone in England in 1786, and to the Marquisate of Waterford in Ireland in 1789. The family of the Beresfords monopo- lized until lately a very large proportion of the representation of Ireland ; and the Church equally with the State has been for the greater part at their disposal.

Earl of HUNTINGDON. Francis Hastings ; born in 1808.

• This is the son of Captain Hastings, R.N., who laid claim to the earl- dom of Huntingdon, and was successful. He also tried for the estates : the cause was never brought to an end, for want of funds. The conse- quence is, that the son of a poor Captain in the Navy becomes a pauper- peer, and his sisters pensioners on the people. Had his claims been dis- 'allowed, or were similar ones parried by an act of the Legislature, there would he no instances of elevating a quiet and respectable family of the middle ranks into the miserable splendour of titled poverty.

Earl of Pembroke. Robert Henry Herbert ; born in 1791.

The present representative of this family is an absentee. One of his ancestors was the favourite of James the First ; Philip Earl of Montgo- mery, of whom Clarendon says " he pretended to no other qualification than to understand horses and dogs."

Earl of DENBIGH. Bassel Percy Fielding ; born in 17 96.

Descended from a Count Geffrey of Hapsburg, who, under the name of Fielding, served .Henry the Third. Consequently this family is a branch of the reigning house of Austria-the descendants of Rodolph. Of this family is Henry Fielding, the author of Tom Jones-which is the greater distinction ?

Earl of Westmoreland. John Fane ; born in 1759.

The second Earl of Westmoreland wrote a poem against pride of ances- try, in which he says-

" Now cast how much thy merit's score

Falls short of those that went thee before; By so much art thou in arrear, And stain'st gentility I tear."-En. 1648.

Earl of Stamford. George Harry Grey; born in 1765.

Lady Jane Grey was of this family. The founder of its great wealth was the regicide Lord Grey, who obtained immense sums from the estates of the Royalists, while one of the principal leaders of the Parliament forces and in their councils. He died in prison. It was Lord Grey who is said by the Royalist historians to have " garbled the House of Com- mons, by means of Colonel Pride's Purge ; and that though Pride was the agent, Lord Grey stood behind with a paper in his hand of the names of such members as were too honest."

Earl of Winchilsea. George Finch Hatton ; born in 1791. • The Earl of Nottingham, ancestor of Lord Winchilsea, deserted his party in the reign of Queen Anne. He was thus advertised for by Swift : WHEREAS, a very tall, thin, swarthy-complexioned man, between sixty and seventy years of age, wearing a brown coat, with little sleeves and long pockets, has lately withdrawn himself from his friends, being seduced by wicked persons to follow ill courses,-these are to give notice, that who- ever shall discover him shall have ten shillings reward ; or if he will vo- luntarily return," &c. The head of this family was the Viscountess Maidstone : she bought her peerage from James the First, at the price of her beautiful seat of Copt Hall, Essex, which she presented to the Lord Treasurer Craufield. The xeign of the women in this family is not, therefore, illegitimate.

Earl of Chesterfield. George Augustus Stanhope ; born in 1 8 0 5.

The celebrated Lord Chesterfield died without issue, and the title went to a distant branch.

Earl of Cardigan. Robert Brudenell ; born in 1769.

The ancestor of this Earl, when imprisoned in the Tower during the Commonwealth, spent his time in making abstracts and other collections from the records there preserved. This was a respectable mode of ern ploying the leisure of confinement. The old Earl of Northumberland, when imprisoned there for fifteen years, engaged three doctors of great scientific acquirements, at a high salary, to keep him company ; they used to be called the Three Magi. Sir Walter Raleigh was in the Tower at the same time writing his History of the World, and the party used to spend their evenings together ; so that the Tower at that period, probably con-. tamed the best society of the day. Much poetry has been composed within its terrible walls, by the British nobility, more especially that of theEirl of Surry.

Earl. of Plymouth. Other Archer Windsor; born in 1789.

The name Other is an affectation of a Norwegian or Saxon name : a powerful lord so called lived in this country before the Conquest, from whom this family has some pretensions to descend. The male line, how- ever, became extinct ; and did names descend in the Peerage as in other families, they would now be called Hickman. The present Earl of Ply- mouth derives his origin from a gentleman of the name of Dixie Hickman of Kew. Theheralds, however, will trace through the female a pedigree to Otho or Other, in the time of Edward the Confessor, who is said to have come from Tuscany or from Norway-either will do.

Earl of Coventry. George William Coventry ; born in 1758.

Descended from William Coventry, a ribbon-manufacturer of Co- ventry. His son was Sheriff of London in 1416, and a mercer. He was one of the executors of Whittington, the thrice Lord Mayor ; and pro- bably took care of his cat, if the said cat survived the said Lord Mayor. The first Lord Coventry was keeper of the Great Seal in James the First's reign, and an eminent lawyer. He is said to have greatly contributed to making the Court of Chancery what it is. There is a fine character of him in Clarendon ; where he is praised for qualities which are not always hereditary.

One of the ladies of this family is said to be the author of the Whole

Duty of Man.* •

• See Ballard's Learned Ladies.

Earl of Jersey. George Child Villiers ; born in 1773.

A former Whig : he took the place of Lord Chamberlain under the Duke of Wellington, and was turned out by the present Ministry. His lady has always been a leader either of fashion or politics; by her mother, she is a granddaughter of Child the banker.

Earl of Dartmouth. William Legge ; born in 1784.

Of the honourable conduct which advances toplace and peerage, l)oding- ton gives an example in the conduct which led to Legge's elevation in 1758. " At last, Legge found out, that in return for his thinking of leaving his friends for the Duke of Newcastle, the Duke had betrayed him to them. He would have expostulated with his friends, but they would not suffer it ; and the negotiation taking place in their favour, they bade him take the Exchequer Seals under the Duke of Newcastle, and enter into further eclaircissement. He has done so, deteSted by Mr. Pitt and Leicester House; acting under one whom he hates ; who hates him, and has be- trayed him ; breaking faith with Lord Halifax, without whom he had en- gaged not to act ; and with Oswald, to whom he had pledged his honour, he would never come into the Treasury without him ;-and ALL FOR QUARTER-DAY." Earl COWPER. Peter Francis Cowper; born in 1778. . . .

This family was founded by Cowper, twice Lord Chancellor, in the reigns of Queen Anne and George. Of this family was Cowper the poet.

Earl of Macciesfie/d. George Parker; born in 1755.

This family was founded by a Lord Chancellor ; Parker, the son of an at- torney at Leake in Staffordshire. The lying heralds have had the impudence to take the attorney's pedigree up to Richard the Second. The attorney's clerk becoming a lord, he must necessarily be of Norman descent; so his ancestor .is found to:be William le Parker, lord of a great many lands in 1271. It is very possible that the attorney of Leake was of Norman de- scent : what of that? it was hot his pedigree that made him Lord Chan- cellor. The idea of the Lords being proud of their Norman blood after this, is certainly a joke.. The same Lord Macclesfield was arraigned and convicted of malprac- tices in his Court of Chancery, and sentenced to pay a fine of 30,0001. as a punishment for his offence. He had sold the places under him. Was this his Norman blood ? His descendant votes against Reform.

Earl of Harrington. Charles Stanhope; born in 1780.

The Earl of Harrington is marked as absent from the division. " He was married, and could not come."

Earl of Portsmouth. John Charles Wallop ; born in 1767.

The Wallops go a long way back into history. The patent of nobility granted in 6 George I. (1720), says, " We have determined to place among the Peers our trusty and well-beloved John Wallop, Esq. one of the Lords of our Treasury: of a very ancient, and during the reign of our Royal ancestors, the Saxons, in this island, of an illustrious family." No- thing need be said of the Wallop of the present day.

Earl of BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. G. R. H. Hampden; born in 1816.

The Hobarts all spring from Sir James Hobart, an Attorney-General in the time of Henry the Seventh. The first Lord Buckinghamshire got his title by his sister, Mrs. Howard, afterwards Lady Suffolk, being mistress to the King, George the Second. This is the lady so praised by Pope and Swift.

Earl of Fitzwilliam. William WentWorth; born in 1748.

The history of this family is very curious, and the documents of a na- ture scarcely to he doubted. It is descended from Sir William Fitz-Go- dric, cousin to Edward the Confessor ; whose son and heir, Sir William Fitzwilliam, was ambassador at the court of William Duke of Normandy, A.D. 1066, and came over with him as Marshal of his army, and fought at the battle of Hastings ; at which battle William gave him a scarf from his arm in honour of his bravery. From this man, in lineal descent of heirs male, comes the present venerable Earl.

Earl of CoRmvALLts. James Mann ; born in 1778.

Descended from a Sheriff of London, in 1378; Thomas Cornwallis, merchant.

Earl of Hardwicke. Philip Yorke ; born in 1757.

This family was founded by the Lord Chancellor of that name (1736). He was the son of an attorney at Dover.

Earl of RADNOR. William Pleydell Bouverie ; born in Sir Jacob Bouverie, the first Lord Longford, was a merchant in Lon- don ; and his peerage is said, by Horace Walpole, to have cost him t0,0001.

Earl of SPENCER. George John Spencer ; born in 1758.

The founder of the Spencer family, a rich knight of Henry the Eighth's time, was of so conscientious a character, that, in his will, ' he requires his executors to recompense every one that can lawfully prove that he has hurt him in any wise, so that they may make their daim within two years ;" and requires his executors to make proclamation thereof, once a month during the first year after his decease, at Warwick, Southampton, Coventry, Banbury, Daventry, and Northampton. His will is dated 1522.

Sir Robert Spencer, first Lord Spencer, was created by James the First. He was reported to have by him the most money of any.person in the kingdom : "this was the motive of his creation " in 1603. Earl of Bathurst. Henry Bathurst ; born in 1762.

The Bathursts were originally clothiers of Canterbury. The clothiers were a powerful body in Kent ; and, under the name of Grey Coats of Kent, formed. ajcipdsf.Y.olitieal Union, and had great influence at elec-. Lions. The first Lora Bathurst was a political adventurer, a nephew of Dr. Bathurst of Oxford; and a useful tool of Harley and St. John. He was one of the Twelve Peers they made to procure a majority in 1712. When his friends went out of office, Bathurst was famous for being a great 'protester. This family have always been fond of public money. In 1760, this first Lord Bathurst, "on account of his great age, refused to accept any office ; but on account of his great merit, took a pension on the Irish establishment of 2,0001. a year."

Earl of FORTESCUE. Hugh Fortescue ; born in 1753.

An ancestor of this family was the famous Sir John Fortescue, Lord Chancellor to Henry the Sixth, and the author of the book De Laudibus Lowum Earl of Digby. Edward Digby ; born in 1773.

This Lord's ancestor, Sir Everard Digby, was executed for his concern in the Gunpowder Plot. Also the celebrated Sir Kenelm Digby ; who, in order to improve his wife's beauty-the famous Venetia-fed her with capons fattened on sermons, and, as it is supposed, killed her with one of his newly-invented cosmetics.

Earl of Beverly. George Percy ; born in 1778.

The Earl of Beverley, who succeeded to the title last year, is grandson of Sir Hugh Smithson, first Duke of Northumberland, grandfather of the present Duke, by Algernon, his second son, to whom the remainder of the Barony of Lovaine was specially limited. The late Lord Lovaine was created Earl of Beverley in 1790. The first Duke of Northumberland, Sir Hugh Smithson, was also Earl of Beverley by a different patent, with remainder to his second son, the late Earl.

Earl of Carnarvon. Henry George Herbert ; born in 1772.

A branch of the great family of Pembroke and Montgomery. Lord Carnarvon was a Whig and Reformer; his present opposition arises, ac- cording to his own account, from not being able to get into the same quart bottle with Earl Grey.

Earl of Malmesbury. John Edward Harris ; born in 1778.

Mr. James Harris was secretary and comptroller to the late Queen Char- lotte, from 1774 to 1780: he had previously acted as Ambassador Extra- ordinary at the Court of France, in the interval between the departure of Lord Rivers and the arrival of Lord Grantham. His son, Sir James Harris, Knight, was Ambassador at St. Petersburg from 1776 to 1783, and afterwards at Paris from 1783 to 1788: the same person, created Baron Malmesbury in 1788, and Earl Malmesbury in 1800, was Plenipotentiary in 1796-7 in the first attempt to conclude a peace with the French Repub- He. The present Earl is his son : he was a Lord of the Treasury in 1804. He is a great advocate for the agricultural interest, and has obtained seve- ral committees for the purpose of inquiring into those parts of the trade and law of the empire which are more immediately connected with it.

Earl of Roselyn. James St. Clair Erskine ;

The present Lord Rosslyn is the great nephew of the Chancellor Lord Loughborough. He was a Whig, and an able defender of Queen Caroline. He accepted office under the administration of the Duke of Wellington, and deserted his party.

Earl of Wilton. Thomas Egerton ; born in 1799.

Sir Thomas Grey Egerton, the seventh baronet of this house, was created Baron Grey de Wilton in 1784; and in 1801 Viscount and Earl of Wilton, with remainder to Thomas Grosvenor Egerton, the second son of his daughter, who was married in 1794 to the present Marquis of Westminster.

Earl of Powis. Edward Clive; born in 1754.

Earl Powis is one of those who, according to the wise plan suggested by Sir John Malcolm, would have a tolerably large share in the nomination of the members of Parliament for Bengal, for he holds no less than 32,0001. of East India stock. The founder and maker of the family of Powis was the notorious General Clive, who having extorted from the unhappy natives of India half a million and upwards, found himself, in 1762, powerful enough to purchase indemnity for the acts by which his wealth had been accumulated, and an Irish coronet to consecrate its future application.

Earl of MANVERS. Charles Herbert Pierrepoint ; born in 1778.

The family of Manvers goes no further back in the male line than the commencement of the last century, when Sir Philip Medows was Mar- shal of the Palace. The son of Sir Philip married the heiress of the last Duke of Kingston, and the family assumed the name of Pierrepoint in

consequence.

Earl of Lonsdale. William Lowther ; born in 1757.

The most noticeable man among the ancestry of the Lowthers, was Sir Richard Lowther, who succeeded Lord Scrope as Warden of the West Marches under Elizabeth, and was afterwards several times employed as a Commissioner in the disputes with Scotland. The great grandson of Sir Richard was representative of Westmorland, and in 1640 was created a Nova Scotia baronet; he also represented the county until 1696, when he was created Viscount Lonsdale. The title lapsed hi 1756. The grand nephew of the third Viscount was in 1784 raised to the Peerage as Baron and Viscount Lowther and Earl of Lonsdale. The pre- sent Earl is second cousin of the first Earl. He has been one of the most extensive manufacturers of Representatives of the People in the House of Commons. Previous to the Delegation Parliament, he nomi- nated the two members for Westmorland, one for Cumberland, one for Carlisle, one for Appleby, two for Haslemere, and two for Cocker- mouth. He is now driven from Carlisle, Cumberland, and the half of Westmorland, from which Lord Brougham on three 'occasions sought, but in vain, to dislodge him. The eldest son of the Earl was at the head of the Woods and Forests, during the Duke of Wellington's Administra- tion ; he had been previously a Commissioner of the Board of Control and of the Treasury. The Lonsdale motto is "Mug/stratus indicat virum ;" which, by the practice of the family, may be interpreted, " No person unless in authority has a right to be called a man."

Earl of Harrowby. Dudley Ryder ; born in 1762.

' This family, like so many others, was made by the law. Sir Dudley Ryder, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench (1754), was the son of a Mercer in Smithfield'

Earl of MULGRAVE. Henry Constantine Phipps ; born in 1797.

• The most noted member of this family was Commodore Phipps, after- war& LordMulgraye, who made an extremely interesting voyage with a view to discover the North-west Passage. The present Lord is a man of literary talent and elegant pursuits ; he is the author of more than one popular novel.

Earl of St. Germains. William Elliot; born in 1 7 6 7.

The patriotic Sir John Eliot, who was one of the Commissioners of Impeachment of the Duke of Buckingham in Charles the First's time, and who, because he would not submit to the insolent demands of the Court, closed his life in the Tower, was the first great man of the house of Eliot. The grandnephew of Sir John Eliot married a daughter of Mr. Secretary Craggs, by whom he had a son, Edward, who was raised to the Peerage in 1784*, as Baron Eliot; the earldom dates from 1815 only.

Earl Howe. Richard Curzon Howe ; born in 1 79 6.

The Irish title of Viscount Howe was first conferred on Sir Scrope Howe, member for Nottinghamshire in the Convention Parliament. The third Viscount was the well-known General, who fell at Ticonderago in 1758. The fourth Viscount, created Earl Howe in 1788, is famous for the relief of Gibraltar in 1762, and still more for the victory over Villaret on the 1st of June 1794. The Barony of Howe descended to his Lordship's daughter, who married Mr. Curzon, son of the late Viscount Curzon ; and by him had a son, who in 1821 was created Earl Howe. This is he who was, until a few weeks past, Chamberlain to the Queen. He nominates one of the members for Clitheroe (Schdule B), for which his half-brother, Mr. R. Curzon, now sits.

Earl Somers. John Somers Cocks ; born in 1760.

The family of Somers owes its nobility to its borough influence. The honours of the celebrated Chancellor, -of whose family the present is a collateral branch, expired with him. The present barony of Somers was created in 1784; the viscounty of Eastnor and the earldom of Somers in 1821.

Earl of AMHERST. William Pitt Amherst ; born in 1773.

Earl Amherst is nephew of General Amherst, whose military exploits in the Canadian war from 1758 to 1764 are well known. The barony of Amherst was conferred on General Amherst in 1776; a second title, with remainder to his nephew, was conferred in 1788 ; the Earldom is dated 1800. Lord Amherst was formerly one of the Lords of the Bedchamber ; and is well known as the successor of Lord Hastings, Governor of India.

Earl of Dudley. John William Ward; born in 1781.

This family is descended from William Ward, goldsmith and jeweller to the Queen of Charles the First. Humble Ward, this jeweller's son, was made Lord Ward of Birmingham, in consequence of his having mar- ried the heiress of the family of Dudley, who was Baroness in her own right.

Earl of Devon. William Courtenay ; born in 1768.

The representative of this most ancient and noble family (Lord Courte- nay) has long resided abroad-under peculiar circumstances. The motto of this house is,

" Ubi lapsus r quid feel?"

E. Mount Edgecumbe. Richard Edgecumbe; born in 1764.

ThePresent Lord Mount Edgecumbe a few years ago wrote a book of his recollections of all the prima donnas that had appeared at the Opera in his time. His Lordship needs not fear that the Reform Bill will de• prive lovers of Italian music of their boxes at the King's Theatre.

Earl of BELHAVEN. R. Montgomery Hamilton ; born in 1793.

A descendant of the Lord Belhaven celebrated for the stand he made against the Union : he succeeded to the Scotch barony of Belhaven in 1814.

Earl of LUDLOW. George James Ludlow; born in 1 7 5 8.

Baron Ludlow, in Ireland, in 1755, and Earl in 1760. A General, Colo- nel of the 38th Foot, and Lieutenant-Governor of Berwick.

Earl of DUNMORE. George Murray ; born in 1762.

A branch of the Atholl family : the present Earl is the fifth in succes- sion in Scotland. His sister was married to his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex : the children take the name of D'Este.

Earl of BURLINGTON. Cavendish.

Lord Burlington is the uncle of the Duke of Devonshire ; and the fa- ther of William Cavendish, the late member for Cambridge, now mem- ber for Derbyshire, and a young man of promise.

Earl of MEATH. John Brabazon; born in 1772.

Jacques de Brabazon figures in the Battle Abbey roll. The first Irish creation goes as far back as 1616.

Earl of SHANNON. Henry Boyle ; born in 1771.

The author of the family of the Earls of Shannon was second son of the famous Lord Broghill, afterwards Earl of Orrery. The present Earl was born in 1771, and succeeded to the honours of his house in 1807.

Earl of Galloway. George Stewart. The Earl of Galloway traces his family to Alexander the Steward, great grandfather of Robert the Second, King of Scotland, and first of the miserable race to whom he bequeathed his name. The Scotch honours go back, the barony to 1607, the earldom to 1623. The English barony was conferred on the late Earl in 1796. By his high Tory principles and over- bearing conduct, he incurred the resentment of Burns, who has gibbeted him in several epigrams. One of them runs- " Bright ran thy line, 0 Galloway I

Through many a far-famed sire ; So brightly ran the Roman way, So ended in a - mire !"

The present Earl is a Tory like his father, but no poet has written of him.

Earl of Moray. Francis Stuart ; born in 1771. The Earl of Moray (Lord Stuart of Castle Stuart, in 1796) is lineally descended from the famous Prior of St. An drews, natural brother of Mary Queen of Scots, and after her deposition, Regent of the kingdolli until his assassination by a ruffian named Hamilton, whom Sir Waltet Scott has praised for the deed. The present Earl Moray was married first to Miss Scott of Balcomie, sister to the Duchess of Portland and Baroness Canning, by whom he has two sons-the eldest a lunatic. Earl of Delawarr. George John West; horn in 1791.

An ancestor of Lord Delawarr was the founder and colonizer of Virgi- nia ; which may be set against the blot in the escutcheon which fol- lows. The ninth Baron obtained an act of Parliament to disqualify his nephew and heir, William, who had attempted his life by poison, from succeeding to the heritable estates and dignity ; but this William having subsequently served in the English army, was knighted, and obtained at the same time a new creation of the dignity of Lord Delawarr.

Viscount Sydney. John Robert Townshend; born in 1805.

Lord Sydney is grandson of that Tommy Townshend of whom Gold- smith speaks in his Retaliation.

Viscount Hood. Henry Hood ; horn in 1753.

Grandson of the Reverend Samuel Hood, vicar of Thorncombe in Devon- shire, and son of Admiral Hood, who was made a Baronet, and subse- quently a Baron of Ireland, for his victory over De Grasse in 1782, and afterwards Viscount of England in 1796.

,Baron De Ros. Henry William Fitzgerald de Ros; born in 1793.

That a person in whose favour this title arose from the dead in 1806, should be placed at the head of the Peerage arrayed in the order of anti- quity, is one of the absurdities brought about by what is called ABEYANCE. In the case of baronies by writ of summons, the barony is inheritable by a female, in case of no male heir ; but if there are more than one female, it lies in abeyance until one of them, or her representative, become extinct: As soon as there is only one claimant, the barony is revived. If the coun- try really depended for its legislature upon the Peers, we wonder what would become of it in case of abeyance, in which the Peerage may lie dor- mant hundreds of years.

The present Lord De Roos, in right of whose mother this barony hap- pened to turn up, is nephew of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and a cousin of the present liberal Duke of Leinster. His father was Lord Henry, whose grief and indignation at the treatment his brother received from the Irish Go- vernment forms so affecting a part of the Life lately written by Moore. Lord De Roos voted against the Reform his uncle died for. He ought to know that people sometimes quote the trite saying of " evil communica- tions," &c.

Baron DE CLIFFORD. Edward Southwell ; born in 1767.

The family of De Clifford is as ancient as the Conquest. Its honours were for nearly a hundred years in abeyance. It is related of one of the ancestors, that being on bad terms with his father, in consequence of his dissipation, he turned outlaw, to replenish his resources, assembled a band of dissolute followers, harassed the religious houses, beat their tenants, and forced inhabitants of whole villages to take sanctuary in their churches. He is said, however, to have been reclaimed in good time, and became Earl of Cumberland.

This barony will again be in abeyance should the present Baron die without male issue.

Baron AUDLEY. George Tuchet ; born in 1783.

This family was for a few years deprived of its honours by attainder : they were subsequently restored by act of Parliament.

Baron WILLOUGHBY DE ERESBY. Pet. Willoughby ; born in 1728 .

The barony of Willoughby de Eresby was originally a barony of writ and, in consequence, at the death of the last Lord Willoughby, remained in abeyance between his two sisters until it was granted by patent in 1780 to the elder sister. The present Lord Willoughby is a son of Sir Peter Burrell, first Lord Gwydyr ; he married, in 1807, Miss Drummond of Perth, the wealthiest heiress that ever Scotland boasted of. He was deputy Grand Chamberlain, by appointment of his mother, who held that office conjointly with her sister, until her death, in 1828, gave the nomination to the mother of Lord Cholmondeley.

Baron Calthorpe. George Gough Calthorpe ; born in 1787.

The original name of the Calthorpes was Gough ; Richard Gough, the laborious and learned antiquary, was a member of the family. They took the name of Calthorpe in 1783, with the estates of Sir Henry Calthorpe of Elvetham. Sir Henry Gough Calthorpe was afterwards raised to the Peerage in 1796.

Baron Zouche. (Baroness); born in

The remarks we have made on the barony of De Roos are also appli- cable to this ; which, accounted one of the most ancient, was in abey- ance from 1625 to 1815, when it was called out by the Crown in favour of Sir Cecil Bishop. Sir Cecil dying without any male issue surviving, it again fell into abeyance; which was terminated in 1828 in favour of the present Baroness, the eldest daughter of the late Lord de la Zouche.

Baron STOURTON. William Stourton ; born in 1776.

This is one of the most ancient ennobled families in the kingdom : they have always been Catholics, they preserve the same name from a time beyond William the Conqueror, and there has been no abeyance or alien- ation. Charles, the seventh Lord Stourton, had the misfortune to be hanged for murder at Salisbury, in 1557 ; but then, in respect of his no- bility, he was accommodated with a halter of silk, and is buried in the Cathedral.

Baron Monson. John George Monson ; born in 1809.

Lord Monson is the owner of Gatton. His Lordship's representatives in the Lower House also voted against Reform. This Peer having but lately attained his majority, it is difficult to assert that he has changed his principles ; but as his family have been always Whigs, and as it was ostentatiously declared that in those principles he had been educated, it seems fair to suppose that the Wellington web of affected liberality en- tangled him sufficiently to second the address on the night of the Duke's notorious declaration against Reform, and that this, coupled with the unlucky purchase of Gatton, has placed him in a falselposition.

Baron SONDES. Louis Richard Watson; born in 1792.

The first Lord Sondes was a member of the Monson family; he took the name of Watson on account of the estates derived from his mother, Lady Margaret Watson, daughter of the first Earl of Rockingham; Lady Margaret married the first Lord Monson.

Baron Grantham. Thomas Philip W. Robinson ; born in 1781.

The first of the Robinsons was a Lord Mayor of York. The founder of their nobility was Sir Thomas Robinson, long time an ambassador at Vienna, while the King of Prussia was carrying on his cruel war against the Empress Maria Theresa: he was afterwards Secretary of State, emiliord Grantham.

Baron Scarsdale. Nathaniel Curzon ; born in 1752. One of the Coronation batch of 1761. (1 Geo. NI.) Baron HAWKE. Edward William Harvey Hawke ; born in 1799.

The Hawkes are a very modern family ; the first of the race was a cer- tain Edward Hawke, a barrister, whose son was indebted to his naval vic- tories in 1747 and 1759, for 2,0001. a year and a barony.

Baron FOLEY. Thomas Foley; born in 1780.

The ancestor of the Foleys was an extensive iron master in Worcester. His great grandson was raised to the Peerage in 1711.

Baron Bagot. William Bagot ; born in 1773.

The first Lord Bagot represented the county of Stafford for no less than twenty-six years : in 1780 he was ennobled. The present Baron. is married to a sister of the Earl of Dartmouth. His brother Sir Charles is Ambassador in Holland, and his brother Richard is Bishop of Oxford.

Baron Southampton. Charles Fitzroy ; born in 1804.

The Southamptons are a branch of the Fitzroys, of the house of Graf- ton. The first creation dates from 1780.

Baron Grantley. Flycher Norton ; born in 1795.

The head of this hou% was the celebrated Sir Fletcher Norton, who was Speaker of the Commons from 1770 to 1774, sitting at the time for Guild- ford. Sir Fletcher was created Baron Grantley in 1782. The father of the present Peer was one of the Barons of the Scotch Exchequer.

Baron Rodney. George Rodney ; born in 1782.

The present Lord Rodney is grandson, by the father's side, of the famous Sir George Rodney, commander of the English fleet in the action with Count de Grasse ; and by the mother's, of Thomas Harley, an Alderman of London.

Baron Carteret. George Thynne; born in 1770.

The present Baron inherits his titles and estates from his uncle, who took the name of Carteret from his maternal grandfather, second Lord Grenville.

Baron Berwick. Thomas Noel Hill ; born in 1770.

The father of the first Baron Berwick took the surname of Hill from his mother's brother, Sir Richard Hill ; his father's was Harewood, a tobac- conist of London. The first Baron was one of the batch of 1784.

Baron SUFFIELD. Edward Harbord ; born in 1781.

Second son to the first Baron, Sir Harbord Harbord, who was member for Norwich previous to his elevation to the Peerage in 1786.

Baron Dorchester. Guy Carleton ; born in 1811.

General Sir Guy Carleton, who, in 1786, received a Peerage and 1,0001. a year for his military services in America, was the founder of the family of Dorchester. The present Baron is grand nephew of Sir Guy.

Baron Kenyon. George Kenyon ; born in 1776.

The late Lord Kenyon was first brought into notice in 1780, by his de.: fence, along with the late Lord Erskine, of Lord George Gordon. In 1782 he was made Attorney-General ; in 1784 he received the Mastership of the Rolls, and in 1788 he succeeded the celebrated Earl of Mansfield as Chief Justice of the King's Bench. There are some fine rich sinecures in the family; of which more hereafter.

Baron Douglas. Archibald Douglas ; born in 1773.

The present Lord Douglas is son to the Archibald Douglas whose claim to the estates of the Duke of Douglas was so warmly contested about sixty years ago, and which is still spoken of in Scotland as the " Great Douglas plea !" He is doubly connected by marriage with the Duke of Buccleugh.

Baron LYTTELTON. William Henry Lyttelton ; born in 1782.

Lord Lyttelton is a descendant of the famous author of the "Treatise on Tenures," the commentary on which has bestowed immortality on Lord Coke. The first Lord Lyttelton was the well-known Chancellor of the Exchequer in George the Second's time, created Baron Lyttelton of Frankley in 1757. The barony expired with the son of the first Lord, but was revived in the person of his uncle in 1794.

Baron DUNDAS. Laurence Dundas; born in 1766.

The first of the Dundas family was a Lawrence Dundas, of Kerse, Commissary-General and army contractor from 1748 to 1759. "The son of Lawrence, and father of the present Lord, was created Baron Dundas in 1794.

Baron Yarborough. Charles Anderson Pelham ; born in 1781.

Lord Yarborough is a descendant, by the female side, of Sir William Pelham, famous for his military exploits in Queen Elizabeth's time. His son, Charles Anderson Pelham, is member for Lincoln.

Baron De Dunstanville. Francis Basset ; born in 1757.

A gentleman of ancient family in Cornwall ; he was an extensive dealer in boroughs. By acquiring two seats, he became a baronet; two addi- tional nominations made him a Peer; one or two more procured him a new Barony, with a limitation to his daughter and her issue male. I-Es ambition being gratified, he gradually disposed of all his boroughs, and has at this moment very little, if any, Parliamentary influence ; so that the commodity which raised him to the Peerage is now in the market for other speculators.

Baron Carrington. Robert Smith ; born in 1752.

A man of very low, if not Jewish origin ; and created first an Irish, then an English Peer, by Mr. Pitt, in consequence of his wealth. He assumed, most impertinently, the title of " Carrington," to create the impression that he was connected with the ancient family of Smith, which formerly bore it, but with which he had no other affinity than a common descent from Adam.

Baron Brodrick. George Brodrick; born in 1754.

The present Viscount is fourth in descent from Middleton, Lord Chan- cellor of Ireland, in the beginning of the reign of George the First. The family is one of the hundreds on hundreds which have been successively enriched, and ultimately ennobled, by grants arising from the forfeiture of the ancient nobility and gentry of Ireland.

Baron Ducie. Thomas Reynolds Moreton ; born in 1776. The noble blood of Dude is drawn from a Lord Mayor of London, who accumulated a large fortune in Charles the First's time, by the then not very honourable profession of banker, or rather money-lender. Sir William, son of the Lord Mayor, was created ViscountDowne in Irelanti at the coronation of Charles the Second.

Baron Montague. Henry James Montagu Scott ; born in 1776.

Lord Montague is uncle to the present Duke of Buccleuch. He suc- ceeded to the Barony as heir of his grandfather, John, last Duke of Mon- tague, who in 1786 procured its revival with a special remainder for that purpose.

Baron Arundel. Everard Arundel.

Lord Arundel has the melancholy distinction of being the only Catho• lic Peer who voted against Reform. Perhaps the motive may arise from the peculiarity of his affairs. His relation the Duke of Buckingham may have some influence with him, and he is said to entertain affectionate sympathies with Charles the Tenth.

Baron Walsingluvn. Thomas Grey ; born in 1778.

Is a Peer by the melancholy death of his brother by fire, lately. He is a clergyman, and did hope to be a Bishop, it is said; and revenges his disappointment on the People by an Anti .Reform vote.

Baron Arden. Charles George Perceval ; born in 1756.

Is a brother of the late Spencer Puma' the Minister, and has availed himself of that advantage.

Baron Wharneliffe. Stuart Wortley ; born in 1776.

Lord Wharncliffe owes a place in the Peerage partly to his personal importance, and partly to electioneering considerations : he is said to have found it more convenient to step quietly into the House of Lords than to retain his seat in the Commons at the expense of a contest for Yorkshire. He is a younger branch of the Bute family, and is descended from the celebrated Lady Mary Wortley Montague. He has always pro- fessed to be independent in politics, and has sometimes acted as if he were. He moved the declaration of incompetence against the remnant of the Perceval Administration, and has been for ten years the unsuc- cessful advocate of the repeal of the Game Laws.

Baron Wynford. William Draper Best.

Sir William Best was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas; the Ministers Ending Sir Nicholas Tindal inefficient as Attorney-General, were corn. pelled to remove him, which could only be done by finding him a better post : Best was infirm, and the necessity of his retirement evident : offers of various kinds were made to tempt him to vacate, but he manfully re- sisted all minor inducements. A peerage was the sine qua non of his moving: the Judge was firm, and even the conqueror of Bonaparte was compelled to give way. This at least is the common rumour; but we have heard that the Peer himself gives a different view of the transaction.

Baron TEMPLE MORE. Arthur Chichester.

Lieutenant- Colonel Arthur Chichester, grandson of the late and nephew of the present Marquis of Donegal. He was member for the county of Wexford. He married a daughter of the Marquis of Anglesea.

Baron Di NORBEN. Hughes.

Colonel William Lewis Hughes, a great proprietor of coal-mines, and other property in Wales.

Baron C LONC MIRY.

Lord Cloncurry in Ireland : lie has been distinguished during his whole life by his steady attachment to liberal measures.

Baron WENLOCK. Lawley.

The Barony of Wenlock became extinct in 1471. The estates passed to Thomas Lawley of Spoonhill, Shropshire, cousin of the last Baron. The grandson of this Thomas was created a baronet in 1641. Lord Wenlock is the sixth baronet,

Baron MOSTYN. Lloyd.

A Welsh baronet, and late M.P. for Flint.

Baron SE GRAVE. William Fitzhardinge Berkeley.

Colonel Berkeley, during the lifetime of his father, was known as Vis- count Dursley. He did not succeed to the Earldom, as it appeared that he vas born before marriage. A younger brother then became the heir to the title: he has not claimed. The estates descended by will to Colonel Berkeley. Segrave is an ancient barony in the family.

Baron PANaIURE. William Maule.

Brother of the Earl. of Dalhousie : he inherited the estates of Earl Pan- mure of Forth, Wexford. He has been for many years in the House of Commons, as member for Forfarshire, and never omitted a single occa- sion of voting for Reform.

Baron OAKLEY. George Cadogan.

Brother and presumptive heir to Earl Cadogan. Baron POLTIMORE. Poltimore.

The Bamfyldes were Lords of Poltimore, in Devonshire, in the reign of Edward the First. The baronetcy dates from 1641.

Baron de SAUMAREZ. James Saumarez ; born in 1757.

Lord de Saumarez was knighted in 1793, for the gallant capture of the " Riiunion ;" he commanded the Orion in the action off Orient in 1795; he participated in the victory of 1797, near Cape St. Vincent, and in that of Aboukir in 1798. His °Teat achievement, however, was the battle of Algeziras, on the 12th of Tune 1801, in which he defeated a very supe- rior force—French and Spanish. Sir James is of a very old family, set- tled time out of mind in the Island of Guernsey, of which he and his Countess are both natives.

Baron HOWDEN. John Francis Cradock.

Only son of the late John Cradock, Archbishop of Dublin. A distin- guished General in the Peninsular war. He was raised to the Irish Peerage in 1819. The Cradocks are Welsh, and Welsh antiquaries identify Cradock and Caractacus.