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No. 78.]

NEW MONTHLY

MAGAZINE.

JULY 1, 1820.

[VOL. XIV.

MEMOIR OF THE RIGHT HON, ROBERT GROSVENOR, Earl Grosvenor.
Nobilitatis, virtus, non stemma, character.

IN this brief Memoir we have the satisfaction of presenting our Readers with some account of a British Nobleman, no less distinguished by his amiable, virtuous, and liberal character, than by his princely possessions and illustrious descent.

The noble family, of which he is the head, is descended in the male line from a long train of famous ancestors, who flourished in Normandy with great dignity and grandeur, from the time of its first erection into a sovereign Dukedom, A. D. 912, to the conquest of England in 1066. They possessed the honourable and powerful office of Groveneur ;* and from that place of high trust they took their surname. The family is traced to an uncle of Rollo, the ancestor of William duke of Normandy, under whose standard Gilbert Le Grosvenor served in his victorious expedition into England. The earldom and county of Chester being granted to the Norman Earl Hugh of Avranches, nephew to King William and uncle to Gilbert Le Grosvenor, the latter obtained the moiety of the lordship of Lostock, called Over Lostock, in that county. The pedigree of this ancient family has been preserved with peculiar clearness, from the circumstance of a celebrated heraldic suit, which was contested before the High Constable and High Marshal of England and other commissioners in the 12th year of Richard II., between Sir Robert Le Grosvenor and Sir Richard Le Scrope, on the subject of a coat of arms, viz. Azure, one Bend, Or; the result of which was a decree that the Grosvenors should in future bear, instead of the Bend, a Garb, Or; which arms have ever since been borne by this family.

Richard Grosvenor of Eaton was created the first Baronet of this family on

Le Groveneur was the Grand Huntsman, an office of great dignity in the forest system

of those times.

NEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 78.

the 23rd day of February, 1621-2. His son, Sir Richard Grosvenor, the second Baronet, was a faithful adherent of King Charles I., and suffered the sequestration of his estate for his fidelity to the royal cause. On Eccleston-hill, near Eaton, a seat was lately remaining, on which, according to tradition, he used to indulge in the melancholy pleasure of gazing on the fair, possessions of which he had been unjustly deprived. The fourth Baronet, Sir Richard Grosvenor, officiated as Grand Cup-bearer of England at the Coronation of George II.; as did Sir Richard, the seventh Baronet, at that of George III., as lords of the manor of Great Wymondley in Herts. The last-named Sir Richard was created Lord Grosvenor, Baron Grosvenor of Eaton, by letters patent dated April 8, 1761. He married Henrietta, daughter of Henry Vernon of Hilton in the county of Stafford, esq. by whom he had issue the present Earl, and three other children. On the 5th day of July, 1784, he was advanced to the dignities of Viscount Belgrave and Earl Grosvenor.

The late Earl Grosvenor, although calumniated by some scurrilous writers whose venal pens he disdained to bribe, was one of the most honourable, benevolent, and accomplished, gentlemen of his time. But his passion for the sports of the turf was indulged to excess, and was rendered, perhaps, the more injurious to his fortune, by the unblemished honour and integrity which he preserved in the transactions to which it gave rise. His public conduct was no less irreproachable. In early life he was attached to the politics of Lord North; but when that Statesman proved obstinate in his determination of continuing the American War, with little reasonable prospect of success, Lord Grosvenor ceased to support his measures. He did not, however, join the opposite party, but retired wholly from public affairs. Toward the end of his life, the immense resources which VOL. XIV.

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This nobleman was born on the 22d day of March, 1767. Though early deprived of the advantages of a mother's care, he was reared with an affection not inferior to maternal by the virtuous and venerable Lady Jane Grosvenor, his paternal grandmother, and her daughter. To them he is indebted for the early infusion of serious and religious principles which have been through life the unerring guides of his conduct; and their memory is cherished by his Lordship among his dearest attachments.

He commenced his public education at Harrow School, and completed it at Trinity College, Cambridge, where, under the instructions of the learned Professor Hailstone, he became proficient in the numerous attainments requisite for a brilliant career in the elevated rcgion in which he was destined to move. On his leaving college, it became the anxious wish of his father that he should add to the knowledge derived from literary sources, a familiar acquaintance with foreign manners and institutions. He was well aware of the dangers and temptations to which the morals of youth must necessarily be exposed in making the tour of Europe, whether entirely free from restraint, or under the nominal controul of a hireling, whose principal care is usually to gratify every wish of his charge. His Lordship knew the inefficacy of such arrangements, and preferred entrusting the conduct of his son to his own discretion, aided by the legitimate influence of an elder friend of eminent talents, experience, and independent principles. Mr. Gifford, who had long enjoyed the Earl's friendship and confidence, was selected for this delicate charge, which his regard for the father, and his knowledge of the amiable and unsophisticated character of the son, induced him to accept with pleasure.

Accordingly Lord Belgrave and Mr. Gifford visited together every part of Europe, during a peregrination of several years; in which his Lordship was every where caressed and admired; while the regularity and propriety of his conduct, amidst all the temptations of Continental dissipation, exempted his elder companion from every solicitude with

respect to the influence which paternal anxiety expected him to possess.

Lord Belgrave entered early into pubfic life, under the auspices of Mr. Pitt, who was well acquainted with his talents, and desirous to avail himself of his parliamentary support. He sat first as member for East Looe, and afterwards for the city of Chester. When he first spoke in the House of Commons, an ineffectual and unfair attempt was made to disconcert him, by ridiculing a Gréék quotation which he introduced with great propriety. But his Lordship was not then aware that, in that grave assembly, an English jest or sarcasm is always an overmatch for a Greek sentiment,

In 1789 his Lordship became one of the Lords of the Admiralty, which office he held till June 1791. Two years afterwards he was made one of the Commissioners for India affairs. The only public situation which he now holds is that of Lord Lieutenant of Flintshire.

When the French revolutionary go. vernment, intoxicated with Continental victories, threatened the invasion of this country, Lord Belgrave was one of the foremost of those patriots who displayed so gallantly the formidable power with which an invading enemy would have had to contend. A strong and well-disciplined regiment was raised, chiefly by his active exertions, in the united parishes of St. Margaret and St. John the Evangelist, Westminster, in which his Lordship then resided. This corps he commanded for several years, during which its discipline, attention, and strength were conspicuous; but from ill health he at length determined to abstain from active exertion, and the bustle of public life. He therefore resigned the command of this corps, to the great regret of the members; and for several years indulged in domestic retirement.

His Lordship's political sentiments induced him originally to support the measures of Mr. Pitt; and although he has at a subsequent period been found among those who oppose the policy founded on that great statesman's principles, the manner and spirit of opposition is in him conciliating and becoming-it bears the character of disinterestedness and sincerity. Although we cannot ascribe to his political views the comprehensiveness which the circumstances of this country have required, and still demand, we admire his steady and consistent regard for public econo

my, as well as the motives of his zealous endeavours to secure the performance of religious duties, and the due observance of the sabbath, His Lordship is one of the few who are entitled to insist on these points, since not only is his own piety exemplary, but it is evinced by acts of benevolence which prove it the genuine offspring of Christianity.

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In 1795 his Lordship was married to Eleanor Egerton, only child of Sir Thomas Egerton, afterwards Lord Grey de Wilton, descended from the ancient and honourable house of Malpas, one of the baronies of the palatinate of Chester founded at the Conquest, which produced the Earls of Cholmondeley, and the Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater. Perhaps there never was an union in the higher circles which was more generally approved than that of the Earl and Countess; nor one in which the universal anticipation of conjugal happiness, founded on the excellent and congenial dispositions of the parties, has been more completely justified by the result. The assiduous care of the Countess in educating her children, in instilling virtuous and pious sentiments into their tender minds, and preserving them from every tincture of pride and bigotry, has been a source of pure and rational delight to herself, and entitles her to the praise of a most exemplary mother. Those tender cares have found their inestimable reward in the excellent chaacters of her Ladyship's children. The eldest son, Richard Viscount Belgrave, the heir apparent of his father's title, was born in 1795, and was married in 1819 to the Right Honourable Lady Elizabeth Mary Leveson Gower, daughter of the Marquis of Stafford*.

The Honourable Thomas Grosvenor, the second son, who lately succeeded, on the death of his maternal grandfather, to the earldom of Wilton, is now on his travels in Italy. The Honourable Robert Grosvenor, the third son, is a promising young man, now (we believe) at college. The illustrious parents expe

*The following lines on this auspicious marriage, are extracted from a beautiful ode, unpublished, by the fair authoress of The Veils, or the Triumphs of Constancy. "Yet can the muse of Heaven intreat

For you, blest pair, one blessing more?
Of worth, of love, of wealth or state,
Has Heaven one richer gem in store?
On you unchequer'd pleasures wait,"

Your cup of joy is brimming o'er;
Oh! may its sweets for ever flow
As brightly as they sparkle now!"

rienced a severe shock of domestic misfortune in the loss of their only daughter, Lady Mary, who had attained the age of twelve years, and whose amiable and affectionate disposition had greatly endeared her to all who knew her.

Eaton Hall, the recently erected and beautiful family mansion of his Lordship, is situated about three miles to the south of Chester, on the edge of an extensive park, abounding with large and venerable timber. It is of the cathedral Gothic style of architecture of the time of Edward III., and stands on the site of the old mansion, a square brick fabric, erected by Sir Thomas Grosve nor in the reign of King William III. In this magnificent building, of which the interior, and even the furniture, are executed in a corresponding style, Mr. Porden the architect has been eminently successful in adapting the rich variety of our ancient ecclesiastical architecture to modern domestic convenience. Under his directions

"the mansion rose

In ancient English grandeur; turrets, spires,
And windows, climbing high from base to roof
In wide and radiant rows, bespoke its birth
Coeval with those rich cathedral fanes
(Gothic ill-named) where harmony results
From disunited parts, and shapes minute,
At once distinct and blended, boldly form
One vast majestic whole."

Mason's English Garden. The arms of no less than seventeen heiresses, who in the course of its long descent of ancestry have intermarried into this noble house, are introduced with great propriety in various parts of the edifice, combined with those of Grosvenor and Wilton.

His Lordship's magnificent gallery of pictures at Grosvenor House is one of the most valuable, pure, and diversified collections in the possession of any individual, and exhibits exquisite specimens of the works of the greatest old and modern masters of the Foreign and British Schools. The basis of this collection was laid by the late Earl Grosvenor, who with great judgment selected some of the best pictures formerly in the possession of Lord Waldegrave and Sir Luke Schaub: to which he added some very fine works, purchased for him in Italy, by Mr. Dalton, then keeper of his Majesty's pictures. It is, however, still more creditable to his Lordship's liberality and discrimination, that he discovered and patronized the rising talent of the English School, and selected some of the best productions of West, Gainsborough, Wilson, and

Stubbs, which confer additional splendour on this collection. But the taste and judgment of the present Earl have added the most valuable pieces to the Grosvenor gallery, particularly by the purchase, a few years ago, of the pic tures of the late Mr. Agar, which contained, among other inestimable treasures, eleven fine pictures by Claude. After the death of Mr. Agar, it was determined to bring the whole of his collection to public sale: and the disposal of it was confided to an agent, not less distinguished for his fine taste and judgment, than for his honourable zeal in promoting the interests of those who consign property to his care. A considerable sensation was produced by the announcement of the sale. The pictures had already been removed to Pall Mall; and notices of the intended auction having been transmitted to every part of the Continent, many persons willing to become purchasers had arrived, but only in time to learn that the entire collection was destined to add to the magnificence of Grosvenor House. This gal

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lery is liberally opened to the view of the professors and admirers of painting It evinces the exalted taste of the illus trious proprietor, to whom, and to pa trons like him, British artists look, up confidently for that discriminating encouragement which alone can enable them to emulate the glory of ancient art.

The vast revenue of Earl Grosvenor is chiefly derived from his extensive lands in Cheshire, his mines in Flintshire and Denbighshire, and a large estate in one of the most valuable parts of the world, the western division of the English metropolis. Formerly the lessees of the London property easily obtained renewals of the leases granted to the builders upon payment of small fines. But the present Earl, while he permits the res newal of the leases, is careful to reserve: a due increase of rent; thus adding to his income and that of his successors. Wealth in such hands is a blessing to the community, as it will ever be regarded as a trust for the reward of virtue, merit, and industry, and the support of religion and social order,,,

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THE CORONATION.

THE general interest with which this important national solemnity is anticipated, will probably ensure the favour able reception of a few remarks on the origin and nature of its constituent ceremonies, and the most remarkable customs observed in its celebration.

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As to the Recognition, it will be recollected that among the AngloSaxons the principle of lineal hereditary descent was not always adhered to, but was regulated by popular election.

At a great national assembly or general council held at Calcuith in the year 785, it was declared that kings are fawfully to be ELECTED by the clergy and elders of the nations.

The following testimony is from the venerable Bede, and it receives additional weight from having been translated into English by the greatest of our kingsby ELFRED Nemo seipsum poterit regem constituere; quin populus libertatem eligendi regem, quem voluerit, sortitur: sed postquam in regem inauguratus fuerit, tunc imperium in populum rex habet." In the Will of kingElfred is a clause which shows that he did not consider his crown as conferred either by inheritance

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from his royal forefathers or by the pope's consecration, but that he held it as a gift which, to quote his Own words, Deus et principes cum senioribns populi misericorditer ac benigne dederunt.

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It sufficiently appears, as well from the mode in which the crown was conferred on William I. and his confirmation of the Confessor's laws, as from the testimonies about to be cited, that at the coming in of the Normans the right of national election was neither lost nor discontinued: and we are surprised at finding a too common error repeated by Mr. Turner in his learned History of the Anglo-Saxons, that "the Norman conquest terminated the power of the Witenagemote, and changed the crown from an elective to an hereditary succession." Such an assertion can only be reconciled with historical fact by giving it a very limited interpretation. That the pretensions of hereditary descent were not, after the Conquest, so frequently past by in the exercise of the elective right, we must readily admit; but that any so great and general change was then effected, we shall not be disposed to acknowledge.

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A catalogue with etchings of the whole collection has lately been published by Mr. Young, keeper of the British Institution, by permission of the noble proprietor, accompanied by historical notices of the principal works.

The speech of the archbishop at the nomination of King John to succeed to his brother's throne is remarkably in character with the authorities of earlier date. It is well known to you all that no man hath right of succession to this crown, except that by unanimous consent of the kingdom, with invocation of the Holy Ghost, he be elected for his own deserts."

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Even the law books of our Norman jurists, which have nearly the reverence of oracles amongst us, proclaim the custom of the nation in electing its king. The Mirrour says of the early English, "eslierent de eux un roy à reigner sir eur" and that being elected, they did limit him by oaths and laws. If Bracton or if Fleta may be judges of this question, they will tell us that in their times our king was elective; Non a regnando dicitur, sed a bene regendo, et ad hoc electus, est:" and again, ad hoc autem creatus rex et electus, ut justitiam faciut universis," "

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The present form of the Recognition is as follows; the Archbishop of Canterbury addressing the assembly on the four sides of the theatre successively, says, Sirs, I here present, unto you King-the rightful inheritor of the Crown of this realm: wherefore, all come this day to do your homage, service, and bounden duty, are ye willing to do the same?"

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This form of address does not occur in any of the rituals or accounts of Coronations prior to that of Charles II by Ashmole; nor was the term recognition ever before applied to this part of the ceremony. It appears singularly inapplicable. But the various addresses of the Archbishops on the several Coronations of Henry I, Richard II, the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Henries, and Edward VI, all require the assent of the people to the Coronation of the monarch.

The following was the prescribed form in the reigns of HENRY VII. and HENRY VIII. This done, the cardynall as archbishop of Caunterbury, shewing the king to the people at the iiij. parties of the seid pulpyt, shall seye in this wyse. Sirs [1] here present. Henry rightfull and undoubted enheritour, by, the lawes of God and man to the coroune and royall dignitie of Englande, with all things therunto annexed and apperteynyng;

See Mr. Taylor's learned work, "The Glory of Regality, from which this article is chiefly selected.

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electe, chosen, and required by all the thre estatez of this lande to take uppone hym the seid corone and royall dig mitee. Wheruppon ye shall understande that this daye is prefixed and p poynted by all the pyers of this lande for the consecration, enunction, and coronacion of the seid mooste excellent prince Henry. Woll ye serve at this tyme and geve your wills and assents to the same consecracion, enunction, and coronacion? Wherunto the people shall say with a grete voyce Ye, ye, ye, so be it: Kyng Henry, Kyng Henry."

The Coronation Oath has undergone many changes. The first on record is that of Ethelred II, who was crowned in the year 978: this curious relique is preserved in the Latin ritual used at the time, and in a contemporary English version: the latter also contains an admirable exhortation to the sovereign on the duties of his office, and on his responsibility as the pastor of his people, From Edward II to Henry VIII, the sovereign swore to grant and keep the laws, customs, and liberties, granted to the clergy and people by Edward the Confessor. In the Coronation oaths of the Stuarts, several important innovations were made, which gave rise to much controversy. At the Re volution a new form was settled by Parliament, in which some changes have since been made by the same authority, agreeably to alterations in the state of the Kingdom. As this oath is a necessary and most important constitutionul act; it might be interesting to inquire into the actual relation between the King and his subjects, previously to his Coronation.

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The ceremonies of unction and coronation are of Jewish origin, and were introduced by Christianity into the different European nations. Charle magne was the first of the Western kings, and Ethelstan the first English monarch crowned. The use of the sceptre is much more antient. In Homer we read of σκηπτούχοι βασιλήες, sceptered kings, but none are men tioned as crowned.

The Chair on which our kings sit to s receive the crown is principally remarkable for its marble seat, which hath aces quired no trivial fame from the pens of old historians. Their legends inform us that this is the very stone on which the patriarch Jacob laid his head in the plain of Luz; that it it was brought from Egypt into Spain by Gathelus the supposed

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