II. Prince David of Scotland had the Earldom of Stratherne conferred upon him by his father, King Robert II., in 1371. He left an only child, Euphemia, who succeeded him as Countess of Stratherne, and by her husband, Sir Patrick Graham, had a son, Malise, who succeeded his mother as Earl of Stratherne. By the jealousy of King James I. of Scotland he was deprived of his princely earldom in 1427, and was, by way of compensation, created Earl of Menteith. In the reign of King Charles I., Earl Malise's descendant, William, seventh Earl of Menteith, made a bold attempt to recover his birthright, which excited the jealousy of the government to such a degree, that in 1633 he was stripped of all his honours, and a new title, mean and hitherto unknown, the Earldom of Airth, was conferred upon him. His son John, Lord Kinpont, notwithstanding the small claim the King had on his gratitude, was a noble cavalier, and an attached adherent of the great Montrose. He left issue, a son, who succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Airth, but died without issue, and two daughters: 1, Mary, wife of John Allardice, of Allardice; and 2, Elizabeth, wife of Sir William Graham, of Gartmore, Bart. The descendants of these ladies are the coheirs of Prince David, Earl of Stratherne, and representatives of a junior line of the blood royal. The descendant and heir of Lady Mary Allardice was the late Mr. Barclay Allardice, claimant of the earldom of Stratherne. His daughter and heir, who married a Mr. Ritchie, is eldest coheir of Prince David of Scotland, while the youngest coheir is the descendant, if any such exist, of Lady Elizabeth Graham. Her son, Sir John Graham, Bart., died without issue; and her daughter Mary, wife of Mr. Hodge, had a daughter Mary, wife of a younger brother of Mr. Graham, of Gartmore. Her daughter Mary was wife of John Bogle, but we are unable to trace her line further. It has most probably died out in obscurity. EXISTING HEIRS OF THE KINGS OF SCOTLAND. I. Coheirs (along with the later Sovereigns of Scotland) of the ancient Celtic Kings. John Anstruther Thomson, of Charleton. George, Duke of Sutherland. II. Coheirs of the second Celtic Dynasty. 1. Heirs of Donald Baue. Venerable Thomas Thorpe, Archdeacon of Bristol. William Bernard, Lord Petre. 2. Heirs of King Duncan II. Richard, Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. George Harry, Earl of Stamford. Richard Duke of Buckingham and Chandos: second descent. Sir John Edward Harington, Bart., of Ridlington. The coheirs of Mary Mildmay, sister of Lord Fitzwalter and Henry Mildmay. III. Coheirs of King David I. 1. Coheirs of Baliol H.R.H. Henry de Bourbon, Duke of Bordeaux. A A George, Lord Rivers. George Lane Fox, of Bramham. Venerable Thomas Thorpe, Archdeacon of Bristol. William Bernard, Lord Petre. 2. Coheirs of Bruce, along with the Royal House of Stuart George, Duke of Sutherland. Heirs of Archibald Stewart, representative of Stewart of Craigie Hall, and New Halls. Richard, Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. Sir John Edward Harington, Bart., of Ridlington. 3. Coheirs of Hastings. Henry L'Estrange Styleman L'Estrange, of Hun stanton. Jacob Henry, Lord Hastings. IV., Coheirs of the Royal House of Stewart or Stuart. Mary Anna, Empress of Austria. Coheirs of the Branch of Albany. Archibald William, Earl of Eglinton and Winton. William Hay, of Dunse Castle. Coheirs of the Branch of Stratherne. Heir of Robert Barclay Allardice, of Ury. The Fortunes of the Widbilles; the last, a Knight of St. John. "Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none." SHAKESPEARE. "Rivers, Grey, Untimely smothered in their dusky graves." SHAKESPEARE. AMONG the vicissitudes of English families, none are more remarkable than the changes of fortune experienced by the Wydevilles, Woodvilles, or Widvilles, of Northamptonshire. Country gentlemen in the first instance, of that county of Northampton, which is so replete in gentle blood, that Norden has termed it "the Herald's Garden," the Widvilles suddenly rose to be statesmen and nobles-to be not only puissant princes, but the kinsmen and progenitors of monarchs-to be, in fine, a stem from which descends, through a line of sovereigns, the present gracious Queen of these realms. Like Banquo, Widville might be murdered; nevertheless, his issue was to be kings-the seed of Widville kings. The only difference is, that the imperial theme was to be told of the male line of Banquo, but of the female line of Widville. The masculine stem of the Widvilles sunk as rapidly as it rose. The last Widville, within but fifty years from their elevation to the Peerage, died an obscure Knight Hospitaller of St. John, and with him their very name has perished. I know of no family throughout these realms called Widville now. Their history, at one time part of the history of England, is worthy of re-consideration, and suggests much reflection on the vanities of human greatness. Temp. Edward III., the Widvilles were quiet gentry in Northamptonshire. Their respectability was, in the thirty-seventh year of that King's reign, rewarded with some county honours. The Richard de Wydevill of that day became sheriff of Northamptonshire, governor of the castle there, and escheator of the counties of Northampton and Rutland. His son John filled the same offices under Richard II., and must have rendered some signal service to Richard's enemy, the usurper Henry IV. The light of Lancastrian favour fell specially on this John Wydville's son, Sir Richard de Wideville, in whose person were achieved the high fortunes of his house, and whose blood was to mingle with the blood royal of England. Richard Widville was with Henry V. in France, and no doubt fought at Agincourt. His heroic master named him Seneschal of Normandy. Henry VI. made him Governor of the Tower, and knighted him at Leicester. In Shakespeare's First Part of Henry VI., we see him mentioned as "Woodville, Lieutenant of the Tower." He then went again to France, and fought gallantly under Talbot and Bedford. The death of the latter was the pivot on which |