story of "The Peasant Countess" of "Burleigh House by Stamford town," in
his popular poem, "The Lord of Burleigh." He relates how Henry Cecil, in
the guise of a landscape painter in humble circumstances, wooes and weds a
rustic maiden, and how a shadow overcasts her bright dream when the real
rank of her husband is made known to her:--
"But a trouble weighed upon her,
And perplexed her night and morn,
With the burthen of an honour
Unto which she was not born.
Faint she grew, and ever fainter,
And she murmured, 'Oh, that he
Were once more that landscape-painter,
Which did win my heart from me.'
So she drooped and drooped before him,
Fading slowly from his side:
Three fair children first she bore him,
Then before her time she died."
The poet tells how keenly the Lord of Burleigh mourned her loss, and that
he buried her in the dress in which she was married.
The real facts, however, are not so poetical; yet Hazlitt says that the
story outdoes the "Arabian Nights." The following particulars may be
regarded as a correct version of this romantic tale. Henry Cecil was born
in the year 1754, and was the only child of the Hon. Thomas Chambers Cecil
by his marriage with Miss Charlotte Gardner. At the age of nineteen he had
lost his parents, and was the presumptive heir to his uncle's estates and
the earldom of Exeter. He was by no means popular with his uncle, and
seldom troubled the inmates of Burleigh House with his presence. While
still a minor, he married into a good old west of England family, his wife
being a lady of great personal charms, named Emma Vernon, the only
daughter of the Squire of Hornbury Hall, in the county of Worcester. The
union was not a happy one, young Cecil being far from an exemplary
husband. He wasted much of his time and money in gambling. After fifteen
years of married life he sought and obtained a divorce. His own folly and
other circumstances rendered him a poor man, and induced him shortly
before the time he obtained a divorce to quit the society of those in his
rank of life, and settle down in one of the secluded villages in
Shropshire. He selected Bolas Magna, a charming little place, nestling
among apple orchards and green lanes. Here he was known as John Jones, and
was lost to the fashionable world, out of sight and out of mind. For a
short time he lodged at the village hostelry, freely conversing with the
customers who came at night to smoke their pipes and drink their beer. The
days he spent in sketching the pretty bits of scenery in the district.
The noisy life of an inn soon palled upon him, and he sought lodgings at
some of the farmhouses, but his search was almost futile, as he was viewed
with much suspicion; indeed, some went so far as to hint that he was a
highwayman. The honest country folk failed to discover any visible means
of his making money, although they saw that he spent it pretty freely. He
at last procured lodgings at the dwelling of a labourer called Hoggins,
and soon made himself a favourite in the humble household. Cecil appears
to have been anticipating the day when he would be a free man, and, even
before he had obtained a divorce, he paid some attention to an attractive
young woman named Taylor. She, however, being engaged, did not favour his
suit. He then made love to Sarah Hoggins, the daughter of his landlady--a
young, comely, honest girl, who reciprocated his affection. Her mother was
doubtful about the matter, feeling that the marriage of her girl with a
stranger was a step that might lead to serious results, and she had a
lingering suspicion that there might be some truth in the rumour of her
lodger being a highwayman. The father was more favourably inclined; he saw
that the man had plenty of money, and it was a golden opportunity not to
be missed, and he encouraged the match. Eventually the mother had to give
way. In June, 1791, he obtained a divorce, and, on the 3rd of October, in
the same year, in the little church of Bolas, Henry Cecil and Sarah
Hoggins were married. He bought a piece of land near Hodnet, and on it
built a house, the largest in the neighbourhood. The local tradesmen
looked upon him with mistrust, and he had to make liberal advances of
money before they would undertake the work. Here he lived with his young
wife, teaching her such accomplishments as she would require in her
future high station. He did not, however, give any hint as to his real
character. His superior manners and education, in spite of the mystery of
his life, made him friends, and inspired some confidence, so that the
ratepayers elected him to one of their parish offices. The duties of his
parochial appointment took him to the sessions at Shrewsbury, where he
encountered a brother magistrate, who had been an old schoolfellow,
although not recognised by him. As a proof of his disposition to oblige
his friends and make himself generally useful, it is recorded that on one
occasion he gratified his father-in-law by carrying a large pig as a
present to a neighbouring squire.
A little daughter was born at Bolas, who died after living a few days, and
was buried in the churchyard, without a stone to mark her grave, which is
now forgotten.
After he had been married about two years he read in a country newspaper
an account of the death of his uncle, which occurred towards the close of
the year 1793. Early in the following January, he repaired, with his wife,
then nineteen years of age, to Burleigh House. He merely told her that he
had to go to a distant part of the country, and wished to have her
company. They travelled on horseback, the wife being seated on a pillion
behind her husband, according to the fashion of the period. They stopped
at the several noblemen's and gentlemen's seats on their route. At last
they reached Burleigh House, where she was told that she was a countess,
and the mystery of Henry Cecil solved.
When surrounded by the titled and the great, she sighed for a humbler
position, but nevertheless she made an excellent wife and mother, and the
happiness of her husband was complete. It was of short duration, for in
the flower of her life she died, deeply lamented, on January 17th, 1797.
In addition to the first-born previously mentioned, they had a daughter
and two sons. One of the sons was the peer who succeeded his father. Lord
Burleigh settled seven hundred a year on his wife's parents, and gave them
the house he had just vacated. The Countess was cordially received by the
Earl's relatives, and mixed in the fashionable society of London, and won
respect and regard from all with whom she came in contact.
Lawrence painted her portrait. She is represented as far from rustic in
appearance, her face being oval and very pleasing.
It remains to be stated, to complete the outline of the life of Henry
Cecil, that he was created a marquis, that he married for his third wife
the Dowager-Duchess of Hamilton, and died in the year 1804.
The Compiler of "Old Moore's Almanac,"
Henry Andrews.
The name of Henry Andrews is familiar to the literary and scientific world
as the compiler for many years of "Old Moore's Almanac," but the
particulars of his life are not generally known. His career, although not
an eventful one, was most honourable, and furnishes a notable example of a
man who, from a humble beginning, by perserverance attained an important
position in life.
He was born at Frieston, near Grantham, on February 4th, 1744, of parents
in poor circumstances, who were only able to afford him a limited
education. In his earliest years he appears to have had a love for
astronomy, a science in which he afterwards became one of the most
proficient of his day. It is recorded that when only six years old he
would frequently stand in his shirt looking at the moon out of his chamber
window at midnight; when about ten years of age, he used to fix a table on
Frieston Green on clear frosty nights, and set a telescope thereon
through which to view the stars. The young student would afterwards sit
by the fireside with a table covered with books, making astronomical
calculations.
At an early age he left home to earn his own living, the first situation
he filled being that of servant to a shopkeeper at Sleaford. We next trace
him to the city of Lincoln, where he was engaged to wait upon a lady.
During his leisure time, he took every opportunity to make weather-glasses
and weather-houses. The last situation he held as a gentleman's servant,
was under J. Feriman, Esq., who found Andrews so intent on study that he
kindly allowed him two or three hours daily to devote to that purpose.
We are told that on the 1st of April, 1764, he went to Aswarby Hall, the
seat of Sir Christopher Whichcote, to view the eclipse of the sun which
was visible on that day. A number of ladies and gentlemen had assembled
for the same purpose. Having previously calculated a type of this eclipse,
he presented the same to the company, showing them the manner of its
appearance in a dark room upon a board, and, after it was over they
unanimously declared that his calculations came nearer than any given in
the almanacs. Shortly after the above meeting, he opened a school at
Basingthorpe, near Grantham. We presume the venture did not prove
satisfactory, for we find that he was afterwards engaged as an usher in a
clergyman's boarding-school at Stilton. His next move was to Cambridge,
hoping there to obtain assistance in prosecuting his studies from the men
of science in the University. Accustomed to a quiet life, he could not
endure the bustle of that ancient seat of learning, so left and settled at
Royston, Hertfordshire, where he opened a school, and continued to reside
until the day of his death. He had only reached the age of twenty-three
when he took up his residence at the latter town.
A few years after Andrews settled there, we find his name on the
title-page of an almanac, and an advertisement of his school. The
title-page of the publication is curious, and reads as follows:--
"A Royal almanac and meteorological diary for the year of our Lord,
1778, and of the Julian period 6491. The second after Bissextile or
leap year, and the eighteenth year of the Reign of his Majesty King
George III. Containing the feasts and fasts of the Church of England;
the times of the lunations; the rising and setting of the sun; the
equation of time for the regulating of clocks and watches; the moon's
rising and setting; the times of high water at London Bridge, morning
and afternoon; the aspects of the planets and weather. Also, for every
sixth day, the increase and decrease of days; the beginning and end
of daylight; the nightly rising, southing and setting of the planets
and seven stars; adapted to the meridian and latitude of London.
Likewise an exact meteorological journal for the preceding year, or
the state of the barometer and thermometer, with the wind, weather,
&c., as they were registered every day. Also the depth of rain which
fell, and the observations made every month. To which are added the
eclipses of the sun and moon and other remarkable phenomena that will
happen this year; the Middlesex commencement of the sessions of the
peace; a table of the terms and their returns, and for finding the
times of high water at most of the seaports of this kingdom. By Henry
Andrews, Teacher of the Mathematics, at Royston, Herts. London:
Printed for T. Carnan, in St. Paul's Church-Yard, who dispossessed the
stationers of the privilege of printing almanacs, which they had
unjustly monopolised 170 years, 1778. Price 1s."
Following is a copy of his advertisement:--
"At Royston, Herts., Young Gentlemen and others may be commendably
boarded with the Author of this Almanac at reasonable rates, and be
taught by him as follows, viz., Writing, Arithmetic, Mensuration,
Geometry, Trigonometry, Navigation, Astronomy, the use of the Globes,
&c."
For forty-three years Henry Andrews compiled _Moore's Almanac_ for the
Company of Stationers. The following extract from a letter written by
Andrews' only son, proves that he did not receive liberal remuneration for
his arduous task. Mr. W. H. Andrews stated:--"My father's calculations,
etc., for _Moore's Almanac_ continued during a period of forty-three
years; and although through his great talent and management he increased
the sale of that work from 100,000 to 500,000 copies, yet, strange to say,
all he received for his services was L25 per annum. Yet I never heard him
murmur even once about it; such was his delight in pursuing his favourite
studies, that his anxiety about remuneration was out of the question. Sir
Richard Phillips, who at times visited him at Royston, once met him in
London, and endeavoured to persuade him to go with him to Stationers'
Hall, and he would get him L100; but he declined going, saying that he was
satisfied."
He was compiler of the _Nautical Ephemeris_, and on retiring from the
appointment he received the thanks of the Board of Longitude, accompanied
by a handsome present, as a just tribute of long and able services, for
which he would not receive more than a nominal payment.
In 1805, Andrews built a house in High Street, Royston, and in it he spent
the remainder of his life. It is worthy of note that he paid the builders
of the work as it progressed, on account of the men being in poor
circumstances, a good proof of his kind consideration.
At the age of seventy-six, Andrews closed his well-spent life. We find in
the _Gentleman's Magazine_, of February, 1820, a short notice of his
career, concluding thus:--
"His profound knowledge of Astronomy and the Mathematics was acknowledged
by all scientific men who were acquainted with his abilities, but the
greatness of his mind was never more conspicuous than during the period of
his last illness; and on his deathbed not a murmur escaped his lips, but
serenity of mind, patience, and resignation were constantly depicted in
his countenance, in which amiable situation he continued until the vital
spark fled."
He was interred in the new burial ground, Royston, and over his remains
was placed a tombstone, bearing the following inscription:--
"In memory of Mr. Henry Andrews, who, from a limited education, made
great progress in the liberal sciences, and was justly esteemed one of
the best Astronomers of the Age. He departed this life, in full
assurance of a better, January 26th, 1820, aged 76 years."
A portrait of Henry Andrews was published, and is now very rare. Dr.
Charles Mackay, in his entertaining volume entitled "Extraordinary Popular
Delusions" (issued by Routledge), gives a small portrait, and under it
states, "Henry Andrews, the original 'Francis Moore.'" This is a mistake,
as the Almanac was named after Francis Moore, physician, one of the many
quack doctors who duped the credulous in the latter part of the 17th
century. In Chambers's "Book of Days" (Vol. I., pages 9-14) will be found
some very interesting information respecting Almanacs and Almanac Writers.
We find it stated that "Francis Moore, in his Almanac for 1711, dates from
the sign of the Old Lilly, near the old barge-house, in Christ Church
Parish, Southwark, July 19th, 1710." Then follows an advertisement, in
which he undertakes to cure diseases. Lysons mentions him as one of the
remarkable men who, at different periods, resided at Lambeth, and says
that his house was in Calcott's Alley, High Street, then called Back Lane,
where he practised as astrologer, physician, and schoolmaster. _Moore's
Almanac_ had appeared some years prior to 1711. We refer the reader
wishing to obtain information respecting written and printed almanacs, to
"The Book of Days."
James Nayler,
The Mad Quaker, who claimed to be the Messiah.
History furnishes particulars of many men who have claimed to be the
Messiah, and perhaps the most celebrated of the number is James Nayler,
"the mad Quaker." He was born at East Ardsley, near Wakefield, in the year
1616. It is certain that his parents were in humble circumstances, and it
is generally believed that his father occupied a house near the old
church, and that he was a small farmer. James Nayler, for a person in his
station in life, received a fairly good education. In his early manhood he
was a husbandman, and resided in his native village. When about twenty-two
years of age he married, as he puts it, "according to the world," and
removed to Wakefield.
Shortly after his marriage, the Civil War broke out in England, and Nayler
took his share in the struggle between King and Parliament. He joined, in
1641, as a private, the Parliamentarian army, and his conduct and ability
gaining him advancement, he rose to the position of quarter-master under
General Lambert. While in Scotland ill-health obliged him to retire from
active service, and he returned home.
Nayler carefully studied the Scriptures, and was a zealous member of the
Independents, worshipping at Horbury, but he left this body in disgrace.
It transpired that he had been paying attentions to a married woman named
Mrs. Roper, of Horbury, whose husband had been absent from her for a long
period, and that she became a mother, and that Nayler was the father of
the child. The Rev. Mr. Marshall, the minister of the Independents,
exposed him, and took him severely to task, so that he was finally
expelled from that body.
George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, visited Wakefield in
the year 1651, and made a convert of James Nayler. Here commences the real
interest of Nayler's career--a career in which there is much to deplore,
but much also certainly to cause wonder. He possessed extraordinary gifts
as a preacher, and impressed the people with the truth of his teaching,
more especially in the North and West of England. Troubles beset him
almost on every hand,--troubles often caused through his own mistaken
zeal and frail conduct; but he bore his trials with a noble Christian
spirit. Nayler had no sooner joined the Quakers then he commenced what he
termed his travels. At the quarter-sessions held at Appleby, in 1652, he
was tried and found guilty of blasphemy, and sentenced to twenty weeks'
imprisonment. On being released he continued spreading his doctrines in
the North. We gather from the remarks of an officer who had served under
Cromwell a testimony to the power of Nayler's preaching. "After the battle
of Dunbar," says the officer, "as I was riding in Scotland at the head of
my troop, I observed at some distance from the road a crowd of people, and
one higher than the rest; upon which I sent one of my men to see, and
bring me word what was the meaning of the gathering; and seeing him ride
up and stay there, without returning according to my order, I sent a
second, who stayed in like manner; and then I determined to go myself.
When I came thither, I found it was James Nayler preaching to the people,
but with such power and reaching energy as I had not till then been
witness of. I could not help staying a little, although I was afraid to
stay, for fear I was made a _Quaker_, being forced to tremble at the
sight of myself. I was struck with more terror by the preaching of James
Nayler than I was at the battle of Dunbar, when we had nothing else to
expect but to fall a prey to the swords of our enemies, without being able
to help ourselves. I clearly saw the Cross of Christ to be submitted to,
so I durst stay no longer, but got off, and carried condemnation for it in
my own breast. The people there cried out against themselves, imploring
mercy, a thorough change, and the whole work of salvation to be effected
by them."
Nayler, in 1654 after visiting in the West, wended his way to London, and
preached to two congregations which had been formed by Edward Burrough and
Francis Howgil, members of the Society of Friends, who suffered
imprisonment with him at Appleby. He broke up both congregations, and drew
after him "some inconsiderate women."
His mind gave way, and he believed that he was the Messiah.
"Notwithstanding the irregularities of Nayler's life," says Scatcherd, the
learned historian of Morley, "there were many things in the man, which,
with low and ignorant people, exceedingly favoured his pretensions to the
Messiahship. He appeared, both as to form and feature, the perfect
likeness to Jesus Christ, according to the best descriptions. His face was
of the oval shape, his forehead broad, his hair auburn and long, and
parted on the brow, his beard flowing, his eyes beaming with a benignant
lustre, his nose of the Grecian or Caucasian order, his figure erect and
majestic, his aspect sedate, his speech sententious, deliberative, and
grave, and his manner authoritative." Carlyle has drawn a pen picture of
Nayler, but not with the skill of the foregoing.
It is not our intention to attempt to trace Nayler from place to place in
his wanderings, but to touch on the more important episodes of his closing
years. He visited the West in 1652 on a religious mission, and revisited
it again four years later. During his visit to Cornwall, he prophesied,
and subsequently one of the charges made against him was that he
proclaimed himself to be a prophet. At Exeter he was charged with
vagrancy, and imprisoned. During his confinement he was visited by a
number of women, who had been moved by his teaching. Amongst the number
was a widow named Dorcas Erbury. She fell into a swoon, and it was
supposed that she was dead. Nayler went through certain ceremonies, and
he pretended to have restored her to life. Referring to this when examined
by the Bristol Magistrate at a later period, the woman said: "Nayler laid
his hand on my head after I had been dead two days, and said, 'Dorcas,
arise!' and I arose, and live, as thou seest." On being asked if she had
any witness to corroborate her statement, she said that her mother was
present. The local authorities at Exeter released Nayler after detaining
him for a short time. At this period some strange scenes occurred. "The
usual posture of Nayler," says Scatcherd, "was sitting in a chair, while
his company of men and women knelt before him." These, it appears, were
very numerous and constant for whole days together. At the commencement of
the service, a female stepped forth and sang:--
"This is the joyful day,
Behold! the King of righteousness is come!"
Another, taking him by the hand, exclaimed:--
"Rise up, my love--my dove--and come away,
Why sittest thou among the pots."
Then, putting his hand upon her mouth, she sunk upon the ground before
him, the auditory vociferating:--
"Holy, holy, holy, to the Almighty."
His procession through Chepstow caused much amazement in that quiet place.
"Nayler" is described as being mounted on the back of a horse or
mule;--one Woodcock preceded him bareheaded, and on foot:--a female on
each side of Nayler held his bridle; many spread garments in his
way,--while the women sang: "Hosannah to the Son of David--blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord--Hosannah in the highest!"