tions mentioned in the MS. with the exception of one other cousin, whose genealogical position has not been traced. Mr. Pament, No. 37. My couz. Pament, No. 341. It would here be desirable to return to the personal history of Sir Nicholas Lestrange, were there any materials for that purpose. But beyond the circumstance of his being created a Baronet (during his father's life-time) by patent dated June 1, 1629, the page of history is silent. On the breaking out of the civil war, his father, Sir Hamon, became the governor of the neighbouring town of Lynn on the King's behalf, and defended it when besieged by the Earl of Manchester. On its capitulation, in Sept. 1643, we find Sir Hamon himself retained as one of the hostages, until the performance of the conditions; whilst among the parties to the treaty on the Parliamentarian side, were Col. Russell, and Mr. Philip Calthorpe. C The name of Sir Nicholas Lestrange does not occur in this affair; but in the course of the following year his brother, afterwards Sir Roger made himself conspicuous in an attempt to surprise the town, for which, being seized, he was tried by a court martial, and narrowly escaped with his life, continuing in prison for about five years after. Though Sir Nicholas's anecdotes do not abound with historical or political information of much importance, there are several towards the end of his collection containing allusions which shew that they were written in the times of "civil discord." In his No. 407 the year 1640 is mentioned (see p. 56), and in No. 502 occurs the year 1642. The two following are particularly impressed with the characteristics of the times. b Another was Capt. Clinch, who was the authority for Nos. 531 to 534, 545, 548, and 550 of Sir Nicholas's Anecdotes. This was either Colonel Francis Russell, already noticed in p. xvii, or his brother Colonel John Russell, an officer who distinguished himself both in the battle of Marston Moor, and in Oliver's army employed against Spain. "Tobias Fryar, a pretended zelote, but true ringleader and head of all factious and schismaticall spiritts in the country, puft up with the pride and strength of his party, would needs be stand to be Kt (or rather K[nave]) of the shire for Norff. but fell most shamefully short and lost it, with many squibs and disgraces: only, for his comfort, a True Disciple of his sayd, However, I am sure Mr. Fryar stood for Christ Jesus, for none but reprobates and prophane wretches went against him.'-No. 553. Dr. Baron." "A regiment of King Charles's horse, in a summer night, yet very darke, casually fell in upon the enemie. The Colonell bared his upper parts to his shirt, charged, routed, chaced, killed most, tooke the rest. One wondering at the defeat and strange execution in the darke, an officer swore they had light enough, for they fought and could distinguish colours by the moonshine of their Commander's shirt. "No. 566. Frat. Rog." Before the close of the Protectorate, Sir Nicholas Lestrange died in his 52d year, on the 24th July 1655, and was buried at Hunstanton. His eldest son, Hamon, became the second Baronet," but died unmar The time of this political contest was probably the election of the Long Parlament in 1640. Like other political aspirants, Mr. Frere was not easily discouraged, and we find he was actually elected one of the Members for Norfolk to the Short, or Barebones, Parliament of 1653; and again to Cromwell's second Parliament in 1654. He was, by purchase, of Redenhall in Norfolk, in the church of which parish is a Latin epitaph recording his death on the 6th Feb. 1655, in his 66th year (see History of Norfolk, 1806, v. 365), and also on his gravestone the following: "TOBIAS FRERE, Esq. Febr. 6, 1655, His Corps lye here: his Soule, like to the dove, In all the publications on the Baronetage, including Courthope's "Synopsis of the Extinct Baronetage of England," 1835, and Burke's "Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England," 1838, this Sir Hamon has been omitted in the descent of the title. The date of his death, and the circumstance of his dying unmarried, were proved before the House of Lords, by the epitaph and arms still on the graavestone in the chancel at Hunstanton. Minutes of Evidence on the Camoys Peerage, 1838, p. 392. ried, only eight months after, on the 25th Feb. 1655-6, aged 24; nor was the second son, Sir Nicholas, much longer lived, dying on the 13th Dec. 1669, aged 37. He had, however, two wives, of whom the first was Mary, daughter of John Coke, esq. of Holkham,—the same "great fellow" of whom and his surname Sir Nicholas s tells the anecdote, No. XC. p. 61. The male line of the family became extinct in 1760, on the death of Sir Henry the sixth Baronet, a grandson of the second Sir Nicholas; and its present representative, Henry Lestrange Styleman, Esq. of Hunstanton, is great-grandson of Sir Henry's sister Armine, the wife of Nicholas Styleman, of Snettisham, esq. The good things which Sir Nicholas has recorded, on the part of his faithful wife, are generally of the most trifling description, and among them is the following, the only one it is believed in which he mentions any of his children : "Fil. me. Nick. reading the chapter of Salutations, Colos. 4, 9, instead of Onesimus, read the word divided thus, with One simus, &c." No. 556. "My Wife." ANECDOTES AND TRADITIONS. PART I. NO. I. SIR DRUE DRURY'S PENMANSHIP. SIR DRUE DRURY being an ill scribe, having writt a thing very ill, Sir Robert Bell check't him thus:-" Fie, Drue, pr'y-the write so that a man may be saved by the reading on't however." L'Estrange, No. 2. My Father. The allusion here made is to the reading, by which criminals proved themselves entitled to the benefit of clergy. The passage actually read upon those occasions is a subject of some doubt; or perhaps the custom differed in various places. The first verse of the 51st Psalm, “miserere mei," &c. was often selected, and from that circumstance acquired the name of the neck verse. See a note by Sir Walter Scott to Canto I. of the "Lay of the Last Minstrel." Barrington, however, in his "Observations on the Statutes," p. 350, states, on the authority of Lord Bacon, that the Bishop was to prepare the book, and the Judge was to turn to what part he should think proper. At present no one can claim the benefit of clergy; it is entirely abolished by the Act 7 and 8 Geo. IV. c. 28, and every one guilty of felony, whether peer or commoner, layman or spiritual, learned or unlearned, gentle or simple, is made liable to the same punishment. NO. II. LADY HOBART'S GRACE. The Lady Hobart, every one being sett at the table and no body blessing it, but gazing one upon an other, in expectation who should CAMD. SOC. 5. B be Chaplaine-"Well," sayes my Lady, "I thinke I must say as one did in the like case, God be thanked, nobody will say grace."" L'Estrange, No. 7. Lady Hobart. We have here an anticipation of Sheridan's well-known speech when unexpectedly called upon to say grace at a public dinner,-"What no clergyman present? Thank God for all things!" So true it is that there is nothing new under the sun, and so justly may all professed sayers of good things exclaim with Donatus, the preceptor of St. Jerome, Pereant qui ante nos nostra dixerunt!'"' One of the most striking cases is that of Talleyrand's well-known apophthegm,—“ Language was given to man to conceal his thoughts !" The wily diplomatist, no doubt, thought so, and said so; but so had Goldsmith long before him, who tells us in his fifth essay, "that the true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them." Lady Hobart was probably Dorothy, wife of Chief Justice Sir Henry Hobart, daughter of Sir Robert Bell, Lord Chief Baron (see hereafter, No. 24), and aunt of our author. NO. III.-SHAKSPEARE'S GIFT TO HIS GOD-CHILD. Shake-speare was god-father to one of Ben Jonson's children, and after the christ'ning, being in a deepe study, Jonson came to cheere him up, and ask't him why he was so melancholy? "No, faith, Ben, (sayes he) not I, but I have been considering a great while what should be the fittest gift for me to bestow upon my god-child, and I have resolv'd at last." "I pr'y the, what?" sayes he. “I' faith, Ben, I'le e'en give him a douzen good Lattin Spoones, and thou shalt translate them." L'Estrange, No. 11. Mr. Dun. The MS. from which we are selecting, is the original authority for this anecdote, which we cannot forbear inserting, although we know it has frequently been printed. To omit it would be to destroy the completeness of our selection; and few persons will object to be reminded of so pleasant an illustration of the friendship betwixt the Bard of Avon and rare old Ben. It gives us, as it were, a taste of the combats between the wits of those days, so charmingly described by Beaumont in his letter to Jonson "What things have we seen Done at the Mermaid! heard words that have been So nimble and so full of subtle flame, As if that every one from whom they came Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest! |