His short lettre to his cosen Stonehouse of [Radley[171]] by Abingdon
that 'if his majestie should take advice of his gunsmiths and
powder-men he would never have peace'--from Sir John Lenthall: as also
of his draweing the remonstrance of the Parliament when 'twas formed
a commonwealth--within five or six lines of the beginning he sayes
'restored to it's auncient goverment[172] of a _commonwealth_.' When
'twas read Sir Henry Vane stood up and repremanded and 'wondred at
his impudence to affirme such a notorious lye.' H. M., standing up,
meekely replied that 'there was a text had much troubled his spirit for
severall dayes and nights of the man that was blind from his mother's
womb[173] whose sight was restored[174] at last,' i.e. was restored to
the sight which he should have had.
[175]Insert the song of
'Oliver came to the House like a spright' etc.
Obiit at Chepstowe, a prisoner, September ... (about the middle) anno
Domini 1680.
He was very hospitable and exceeding popular in Berks, the whole
countie.
Memorandum when his study was searcht they found lettres[XII.] to his
concubine, which was printed 4to. There is witt and good nature in them.
[XII.] H. Martin, esq., his letters in 4to to his miss, printed[176]
anno <1685>, but 'tis not to his disgrace: evidence of reall naturall
witt and bôn naturel.--MS. Aubr. 8, fol. 11.
Becket in the parish of Shrineham, his chiefe seate: in the Vale of
White-horse: now major Wildman's.
=Richard Martin= (1570-1618).
[177]Richard Martin[U] was borne....
Insert here his picture[V] which I sent to Mr. A. Wood[W].
He was of the ancient familie of the Martins of Athelminston in the
countie of Dorset, a very faire seate. The name was lost about 50
yeares since by a daughter and heire, who was maried to ... Bruen, who
had a daughter and heire maried to Sir Ralph Banks, who sold it to Sir
Robert Long (1668). In the church are severall noble monuments. Their
crest is an ape; men use to say 'a Martin ape.'
(In queen Elizabeth's time, one Penry of Wales wrote a booke[XIII.]
called _Martin Marprelate_, on which there was this epigram:--
Martin the ape, the drunke, and the mad,
The three Martins are whose workes we have had.
If a fourth Martin comes after Martins so evill,
He can be no man, he must be a devill.)
[XIII.] He was hanged for it. He was kin to my great-grandfather.
He was a very handsome man, a gracefull speaker, facetious, and
well-beloved. I thinke he dyed of a merry symposiaque.
He was recorder but a moneth before his death[178].