died unmarried; William, who died in his infancy; George, who died unmarried; alfo Gervafe, who was feveral times member for Appleby in Weftmoreland; and on Mar. 21, 1703, the 2d of queen Anne, was created baron of Pierrepont and Ardglass in Ireland; and Octob. 19, 1714, 1ft of king Geo. I. was made a peer of this kingdom, by the title of baron Pierrepont of Hanflape in Bucks. He married Lucy, daughter to Sir John Pelham of Laughton in Suffex, bart. but dying in 1715, without iffue, thofe titles became extinct. The five daughters of William were Frances, married to Henry earl of Ogle, afterwards duke of Newcastle, Eleanor and Margaret, who died young, Grace wedded to Gilbert earl of Clare, and Gertrude third wife to George viscount, and afterwards marquis of Halifax, by whom he had a daughter Elizabeth, wife to Philp, earl of Chesterfield, and father to the prefent earl Philip Dormer. The above-mentioned Robert, eldeft fon and heir of William Pierrepont married Elizabeth daughter and co-heir to Sir John Evelyn of Weft-Dene in Wilts, knt. and died in the life-time of his father, anno 1699. He left iffue three fons, Robert, William, and Evelyn, and a daughter, Gertrude, married to William lord Cheyney, vifcount Newhaven in Scotland. Robert, the eldest son of the faid Robert, on the death of Henry marquis of Dorchef ter in 1680, fucceeded to the title of carl of Kingston, and dying unmarried in 1682, William his next brother enjoyed the title. This William, earl of Kingston, married Anne, the eldest daughter of Robert, lord Brooke, by whom he left no issue; and dying in Septemb. 1690, Evelyn his only brother and heir fucceeded him in honour and estate; while a commoner he was member for EastRetford in Nottinghamshire, and upon the demife of his brother, took his place in the house of peers, November 1690. Her majesty queen Anne, in confideration of his great merits, was pleafed to advance him 29 December 1706, and fifth of her reign, to the honour of marquis of Dorchester, with remainder to Gervafe lord Pierrepont and his heirs male. On November 4, 1714, he was conftituted lord Warden and chief juftice in Eyre, of all his majefty's parks, &c. beyond Trent. The year after, king George I. created him duke of Kingston by letters patent, dated July 20, 17453 on December 14, 1716, his grace was appointed lord privy-feal; and February 6, 1718-19, lord prefident of the council; and April 29, 1719, elected a knight of the most noble ander of the garter; and was thrice, in the fame reign, appointed one of the lords juftices, while his majesty was at Hanover. He married to his firft wife, the lady Mary Fielding, daughter to William, and fifter to Bafil earl of Denbigh, by whom he had an only fon, William, and three daughters, lady Mary, married to Eward Wortley Montagu, efqs fon and heir of Sidney Wortley, Montagu, fecond fon of Edward the firft earl of Sandwich; lady Frances, married to John Ereskine, late cartof Mar, whofe only daugh. ter was married to her first coufin James Erskine, fon of James Brikine, commonly called lord Grange; and lady Evelyn, the first wife of John Lord Gower, created earl Gower. His grace married to his fecond wife, in August 1784, the lady Isabella Bentinck, Bentinck, fifth and youngest danghter to William earl of Portland by his first wife, and filter to Henry duke of Portland; and by her had two daughters, lady Caroline, married in Jan.1748-9, to Thomas Brand, efq; of Fyfeld in Effex, and died June 1753; and lady Anne, who died unmarried in 1739. His grace departed this life, Mar. 5, 1725-6, and was fucceeded by his grandfon, Evelyn, the prefent duke of Kingfton, son of William his only fon, who was born October 21, 1692, and died in the 21st year of his age, leaving iffue by Rachel his wife, daughter of Thomas Baynton, efq; (who furviving him died, May 18, 1722) the aforefaid Evelyn, now duke of Kingiton; and an only daughter, lady Frances, married to Philip Meadows, efq; eldeft fon and heir of Sir Philip Meadows, knightmarshal, by whom he had five fons, Evelyn, Charles, William, Edward, Thomas; and a daughter, Frances. This Evelyn, duke of Kington, upon the breaking out of the rebellion in Scotland in 1745, raised a regiment of light horfe for the fervice of the government, who were in the battle of Culloden, and let loose in the purfuit, did great execution; upon their difbanding, his grace received a letter from Mr. Fox, fecretary at war, thanking him for their fervice, and defiring his grace to thank the officers and foldiers, in his majefty's name, for their bravery. They have fince been re-formed into a regiment of dragoons, and the duke of Cumberland commander of them. His grace, befides being mafter of his majefty's ftag-hounds on the north of Trent, and a knight of the garter, is a lieutenant-general of his majefty's forces, and ftill unmarried. Armorial Bearings.] Argent, femé of cinqfoils, gules, a lion rampant, fable. Creft.] On a wreath, a lion ram"pant, fable, between two wings erect, argent. Supporters.] Two lions fable, arm. ed and langued gules. Matto.] Pie repone te.Devoutly repofe yourself. Lat. Chief Seats.] Holme-Pierrepont, and Thoresby park in Nottinghamthire, Tong-caftle in Shropshire, Bradford in Wilts, Hanflape in Bucks, and Arlington-ftreet, London. the knowledge of her father, who renounced her for this act of difo. bedience that the captain confoled himfelf for the rigour of the parent, with the poffeffion of the lady, who was not only remarkably beautiful in perion, but highly accomplished in her mind, and amiable in her difpofition. Such, a few months ago, were those two perfons whom you faw acting in fuch a vulgar capacity. When they first entered the prifon they were undoubtedly the handfomeft couple mine eyes ever beheld, and their appearance won univerfal respect even from the most brutal inhabitants of the jail. The captain having unwarily involved himself as fecurity for a man to whom be had lain under obligations, became liable for a confiderable fum; and his own father-in-law being the fole creditor of the bankrupt, took this opportunity of wreaking vengeance upon him for having efpoufed his daughter. He watched an opportunity until the captain had actually ftept into the poft-chaife with his lady, for Portsmouth, where his fhip lay, and caused him to be arrefted in the most public and shameful manner. Mrs. Clewlin had like to have funk under the first tranfports of her grief and mortification; but thefe fubfiding, fhe had recourfe to perfonal follicitation. She went with her only child in her arms (a lovely boy) to her father's door, and being denied admittance, kneeled down in the freet, imploring his compaflion in the most pathetic ftrain; but this hard-hearted citizen, inftead of recognizing his child, and taking the poor mourner to his bofom, infulted her from the window with the most bitter reproach, faying, among other fhocking ex preffions, "Strumpet, take yourfelf away, with your brat, otherwise 1 fhall fend for the beadle, and have you to Bridewell." The unfortunate lady was cut to the heart by this ufage, and fainted in the ftreet; from whence the was conveyed to a public house by the charity of fome paffengers. She afterwards attempted to foften the barbarity of her father, by repeated letters, and by interesting some of his friends to intercede with him in her behalf; but all her endeavours proving ineffectual, fhe accompanied her husband to the prison of the King's-bench, where the muft have felt, in the fevereft manner, the fatal reverfe of circumftance to which he was expofed. The captain being difabled from going to fea, was fuperfeded, and he faw all his hopes blafted in the midst of an active war, at a time when he had the fairest profpects of fame and fortune. He saw himself reduced to extreme poverty, cooped up with the tender partner of his heart in a wretched hovel, amidst the refuse of mankind, and on the brink of wanting the common neceffaries of life. The mind of man is ever ingenious in finding refources. He comforted his lady with vain hopes of having friends who would effect his deliverance, and repeated affurances of this kind fo long, that he at length began to think they were not altogether void of foundation. Mrs. Clewlin, from a principle of duty, recollected all her fortitude, that he might not only bear her fate with patience, but even cɔntributed to alleviate the woes of her husband, whom her affection had ruined. She affected to believe the fuggeftions of his pretended hope; hope; fhe interchanged with him affurances of better fortune; her appearance exhibited a calm, while her heart was torn with anguish. She affifted him in writing letters to former friends, the laft confolation of the wretched prifoner; the deli. vered thefe letters with her own hand, and underwent a thousand mortifying repulfes, the most shocking circumstances of which the concealed from her husband. She performed all the menial offices in her own little family, which was main tained by pawning her apparel; and both the husband and wife, in fome measure sweetened their cares, by prattling and toying with their charming little boy, on whom they doated with an enthusiasm of fondnefs. Yet, even this pleafure was mingled with the moft tender and melancholy regret. I have feen the mother hang over him, with the moft affecting expreffion of this kind in her afpect, the tears contending with the fimiles upon her countenance, while fhe exclaimed: "Alas! my poor prisoner, little did your mother once think the fhould be obliged to nurfe you in a jail." The captain's paternal love was dashed with impatience-He would fnatch up the boy in a transport of grief, prefs him to his breaft, devour him as it were with kiffes, throw up his eyes to heaven in the most emphatic filence; then convey the child haftily to his mother's arms, pull his hat over his eyes, ftalk out into the common walk, and finding himself alone, break out into tears and lamentation. Ah! little did this unhappy couple know what further griefs awaited them! The fmall-pox broke out in the prifon, and poor Tommy Clewlin was infected. As the eruption appeared unfavourable, you may conceive the confternation with which they were overwhelmed. Their diftrefs was rendered inconceivable by indigence; for, by this time, they were fo deftitute that they could neither pay for common attendance, nor procure proper advice. I did, on that occafion, what I thought my duty towards my fellow-creatures.-I wrote to a phyfician of my acquaintance, who was humane enough to vifit the poor little patient: I engaged a careful woman prifoner as a nurse, and Mr. Norton fupplied them with money and neceffaries.' Thefe helps were barely fufficient to preferve them from the horrors of defpair, when they faw their little darling panting under the rage of a loathfome peftilential malady, during the exceffive heat of the dog-days, and ftruggling for breath in the noxious atmosphere of a confined cabin, where they fcarce had room to turn, on the most neceffary occafions. The eager curiofity with which the mother eyed the doctor's looks as often as he vifited the boy; the terror and trepidation of the father, while he defired to know his opinion; in a word, the whole tenour of their diftrefs, baffled all defcription. At length the phyfician, for the fake of his own character, was obliged to be explicit; and returning with the captain, to the common walk, told him in my hearing, that the child could not poffibly recover. -This fentence feemed to have petrified the unfortunate parent, who food motionless, and seemingly bereft of fenfe. I led him to my apartment, where he fat a full hour in that began to groan hideously; a fhower of tears burft from his eyes; he threw himself on the floor, and utterred the most piteous lamentation that ever was heard. Mean while, Mrs. Norton being made acquainted with the doctor's prognoftic, vifited Mrs. Clewlin, and invited her to the lodge. Her prophetic fears immediately took the alarm. "What! (cried fhe, ftarting up with a frantic wildness in her looks) then our cafe is defperate-I fhall lofe my dear Tommy!-the poor prifoner will be released by the hand of heaven!-Death will convey him to the cold grave!"-The dying inmocent hearing this exclamation, pronounced these words: "Tommy won't leave you, my dear mamma -if death comes to take Tommy, pappa fhall drive him away with his word." This addrefs deprived the wretched mother of all refignation to the will of Providence. She tore her hair, dashed herself on the pavement, fhrieked aloud, and was carried off in a deplorable state of diffraction. That fame evening the lovely habe expired, and the father grew frantic. He made an attempt on his own life, and being with difficulty reftrained, his agitation funk into a kind of fudden infenfibility, which feemed to abforb all fentiment, and gradually vulgarized his faculty of thinking. In order to diffipate the violence of his forrow, he continually fhifted the scene from one company to another, contracted abundance of low connexions, and drowned his cares in repeated intoxication. The unhappy lady underwent a long series of hysterical fits and other complaints, which feem 3 ed to have a fatal effect on her brain as well as conftitution. Cordials fpirits; and the found it neceffary were adminiftred to keep up her to protract the use of them to blunt the edge of grief, by overwhelming reflexion, and remove the fense of uneasiness arising from a diforder in her ftomach. In a word, the became an habitual dram-drinker; and this practice exposed her to fuch communication as debauched her reafon, and perverted her fense of decorum and propriety. She and her husband gave a loose to vulgar excess, in which they were enabled to indulge by the charity and interest of fome friends, who obtained half-pay for the captain. They are now metamorphofed into the shocking creaous plebeian, and the into a ragged tures you have seen; he into a riottrull. They are both drunk every day, quarrel and fight one with another, and often infult their fellowprifoners. Yet, they are not wholly abandoned by virtue and humanity. The captain is fcrupulously honeft in all his dealings, and pays off his foon as he receives his half-pay. debts punctually every quarter, as Every prifoner in diftrefs is welcome and his wife never fails, while it is to fhare his money while it lasts; in her power, to relieve the wretched; fo that their generofity, even in this miferable difguife, is universally respected by their neighbours. Sometimes the recollection of their former rank comes over them like brandy, and then humorously rally a qualm, which they difpel with one another on their mutual degeneracy. She often ftops me in the walk, and pointing to the captain, fays, become a black-guard jail-bird, My husband, tho' he's must 66 |