to Thomas Lord Wharton. He had to his second wife Grace, i daughter of Robert Shakerley, of Little Longsdon in Derbyshire, Esq. but had no issue by her.

GEORGE, the SIXTH EARL OF SHREWSBURY, whilst a youth, in the time of Queen Mary, when his father was general of the English army against the Scots, commanded under him 3000 soldiers, and relieved the Earl of Northumberland, then in danger at Lovick; after which he was a colonel of 500 horse on the borders. On April 24th, 1561, he was m chosen one of the Knights of the Garter, and installed at Windsor May 17th following. In 11 Eliz. he had the custody of Mary Queen of Scotland committed to his charge; and on January 16th, 1571-2, at the arraignment of the Duke of Norfolk, was made lord high steward of England for that service. Also, after the execution of his. Grace, he was constituted Earl Marshal of England. Camden ? gives this account of him: "In those ticklish times he made a shift to assert his honour, and make good his trust for fifteen years together, against all the machinations and slanders of the court party, and the ill conduct of his second wife, to such a degree, that he left behind him the double character of a wise and faithful statesman, and a brave and worthy commander.'

"From the remarkable period," says Lodge, "when the Queen of Scots was committed to his custody till his death, the most material circumstances of his history will be found in the uninterrupted series of letters between him and his friends, which composes the second volume of the Illustrations. In perpetual danger from the suspicions of one Princess, and the hatred of another; devoted to a service which it is to be hoped his heart did not approve; vexed by the jealousy and rapacity of an unreasonable wife, and by the excesses and quarrels of his sons, from whom he was obliged to withdraw that authoritative attention,

i Lodge calls her widow of Robert Shakerley, of Holme in Cheshire. He adds that, "very soon after the death of this Lady, the Earl made an overture of marriage to the Lady Pope, widow of the famous founder of Trinity College, Oxford. Some original letters between these experienced wooers upon that occasion, are extant in the unpublished Talbot MSS.; but the etiquette of courtship in those days required more time than could be spared by two lovers, whose united ages made up somewhat more than a century, and the good old Earl was arrested by death, when perhaps he had not made half his advances"

* Camd Eliz. p. 572.

P Pat. Eliz. p. 6.

Ibid. p. 147.
n Camd. p. 147.
4 P. 572.

m Ex Collect. T. Meller, Gent.

Ibid p. 215.

the whole of which was required by his charge; we shall view this nobleman through the long space of fifteen years, relinquishing that splendour of public situation, and those blandishments of domestic life, which his exalted rank and vast wealth might have commanded, to become an instrument to the worst of tyrants, for the execution of the worst of tyrannies. Be it remembered, however, in apology for him, that he lived at a time, when obedience to the will of a monarch was considered as the crown of public virtue: "when man, always the creature of prejudice, instead of disturbing the repose of society with the theory of natural liberty,erred with equal absurdity but less danger, in the practice of unconditional submission." r

By his testament, bearing date June 24th, 1590, he bequeathed his body to be buried at Sheffield in Yorkshire, and ordered," That 2007. should be yearly employed for ever, to the benefit of the poorest artificers of the town of Pontefract, in the said county, for the increase of trades and occupations there. And that the mayor of the said town, and his brethren, or the major part of them, with the mayor, by the assent of the Earl of Shrewsbury for the time being, shall, on Monday in Whitsun week, pay and lend to every poor artificer of the said town, so far as the said money will extend, the sum of 51, for three years then next following, the borrowers putting in good sufficient security for the repayment thereof." He departed' this life on November 18th, the same year, and was accordingly buried at Sheffield, where in his life-time he erected a noble monument for himself, whereon is a Latin inscription, which sets forth: "That he was descended from an unblemished and noble stock before the Norman conquest. That as he excelled in mind, so was he skilled in affairs of war. In Scotland, when on those troubles that happened there he was sent thither with 3000 forces, he came away with the character of a brave and gallant soldier; as afterwards he did, when he came from Berwick. On the arrival of Mary Queen of Scots in Enggland, she was put under his care, anno 1568, and so continued till 1584. His behaviour to her was generous and honourable, sparing no cost for her entertainment; neither can words express the care and concern he had for her. Nor can envy itself say otherwise, than that he was a faithful, provident, and prudent person; which shewed that his integrity was not to be sus

Lodge, vol. i. p. 15.

• Ex Regist. Drury, qu. 86. F. F. in Officio Armor f 240.

pected in the least, although evil-disposed persons gave out that he used too much familiarity with his royal prisoner. Thus, though noble by descent, he was more noble and illustrious in his actions, famous at home and abroad, loyal to his Prince, and true to his country, and resigned his soul in a good old age."'t

By Gertrude his first wife, daughter" of Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland, he had issue four sons and three daughters, viz. Francis Lord Talbot, who married Lady Anne, daughter of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, aforesaid, and died without issue, anno 1582.

Second, Gilbert; third, Edward, both successively Earls; and, Fourth, Henry, who died on January 20th, 1595-6, having taken to wife Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir William Reyner, of Overton Longvile, in com. Hunt. and had issue by her (who was widow of Sir Thomas Holcroft, Knight,) two daughters, his heirs, scil. Gertrude, married to Robert Pierrepont, of Holme Pierrepont, in com. Nott. Esq. (afterwards Earl of Kingston) whom she survived, and dying in 1649, aged sixty one, was buried at Holme Pierrepont in Nottinghamshire; and Mary, first to Thomas Holcroft, and secondly to Sir William Armin, of Osgodby, in com. Linc. Bart. and died in 1675.

The three daughters of George, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, were Lady Catherine, wife of Henry Herbert, Earl of Pembroke ; Lady Mary, of Sir George Saville, of Thornhill, in Yorkshire, Knt. and Bart. ancestor to George Saville, Marquis of Hallifax; and Lady Grace, wedded to Henry, son and heir to Sir William Cavendish, of Chatsworth in com. Derb. Knight; s. p.

To his second wife he married Elizabeth, one of the daughters, and at length heirs, to John Hardwick, of Hardwick, in com. Derb. Esq. widow to Sir William Cavendish, of Chatsworth aforesaid, Knight, treasurer of the chamber to King Henry VIII. but by her had no issue.

Lodge observes, that "the Earl's second wife, by whom he had no children, was too remarkable a character to be slightly mentioned. She was a daughter and co-heir to John Hardwick of Derbyshire, and had been already thrice married; to Robert Barley, of Barley in that county; to Sir William Cavendish, who is mentioned above; and to Sir William St. Lo, captain of the guard to the Queen Elizabeth. She prevailed upon the first of

See Dug. Bar. vol. i. p. 333.

Cat. of Nob. by R. Brook and Glover, ut antea.

these gentlemen, who died without issue, to settle his estate on her and her heirs, who were abundantly produced from her second marriage. Her third husband, who was very rich, was led by her persuasions to make a similar disposition of his fortune, to the utter prejudice of his daughters by a former wife; and now unsated with the wealth and the caresses of three husbands, she finished her conquests by marrying the Earl of Shrewsbury, the richest and most powerful peer of his time." "Him she brought," (says a right reverend author, who thought it became him to speak kindly of her because he had preached her great grandson's funeral sermon) "to terms of the greatest honours and advantage to himself and her children; for he not only yielded to a considerable jointure, but to an union of families, &c." In other words, she drew the Earl into the same disgraceful and imprudent con-cessions which she had procured from his unlucky predecessors; and partly by entreaties and partly by threats, induced him to sacrifice, in a great measure, the fortune, the interest, and happiness of himself and his family, to the aggrandisement of her children by Sir William Cavendish. To sum up her character with the brevity here required, she was a woman of a masculine understanding and conduct; proud, furious, selfish, and unfeeling. She was a builder, a buyer and seller of estates, a money lender, a farmer, and a merchant of lead, coals, and timber. When disengaged from these employmeuts, she intrigued alternately with Elizabeth and Mary, always to the prejudice and terror of her husband. She lived to a great old age, continually flattered, but seldom deceived, and died in 1607, immensely rich, and without a friend. The Earl was withdrawn by death from these complicated plagues on the 18th of November, 1590."

X

GILBERT, his son and successor, SEVENTH EARL, in 15 Eliz., (his father then living) was one of those who went over into France with Edward Earl of Lincoln, lord admiral of England, for confirming the league then made; and in 32 Eliz. (his father still living) was summoned to parliament, and there sat as a Baron. In 39 Eliz. he was sent ambassador into France, at which time a he used these titles in his lodging escutcheons, Gilbert Conte de Shrewsbury, Baron Talbot, Strange de Blackmere, Comyn de Badenagh, Valence, Montchensy, Furnival, Verdon et Lovetot; Chevalier du tres noble Ordre de la Jarritiere. He was

x Camd. Eliz. p. 236. z Camd. p. 678.

y Journal of Parl.

a Ex Coll. St. Lo Kniveton, Arm.

с

installed one of the Knights of the Garter on June 20th, 1592. In 1603 he was constituted warden and chief justice of all the forests beyond Trent.

"Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury," says Lodge "came into public life when the English nation was rapidly emerging from that simplicity of manners, to which it had so long been confined by bigotry and war. We shall accordingly observe in his character certain amiable features and certain faults, which were equally unknown to his ancestors. We shall find him the accomplished courtier, and well-educated gentleman, occasionally relapsing into the pomp and the ferocity of an ancient Baron. The story of his public life lies within a narrow compass; for he was never called to any high office of the state, though apparently better qualified than any of his predecessors of whom we have been treating. His case, in this respect, was peculiarly hard; for, though it should seem that Elizabeth passed him over upon some suspicion of his disaffection to her; yet in the next reign he appears to have been thrust aside as one of the old followers of her court. He was summoned to parliament as a Baron a few months before his father's death; was installed a Knight of the Garter, on the 20th of June, in 1592; in 1596, went ambassador to France, to ratify the treaty of alliance with Henry the Great ; and was appointed by James, at his accession, chief justice of the forests north of Trent. He married Mary, third daughter of Sir William Cavendish, a lady who seems to have inherited no small portion of her mother's extraordinary disposition.

In 1611, this Countess was suspected of. being an accomplice in the flight of Lady Arabella Stuart, and was accordingly imprisoned; of which an account is preserved in Winwood's Memorials, in a letter from Mr. John More to Sir Ralph Winwood, dated June 18th, 1611.d

After two years confinement, the Countess was released without any farther proceedings.

e

The Earl departing this life at his house in Broad-street, London, on May 8, A. D. 1616, was buried at Sheffield, with his ancestors; having issue by Mary his wife, daughter of Sir William Cavendish, of Chatsworth, Knight; George, who died an infant; and three daughters, who surviving him, became heirs to the

Ex Collect. T Meller, Gent.

c Pat. 1 Jac p. 16. "See it printed in Memoirs of Peers of James 1. p. 16. Catal. of Nobil. by R. B.