even to exultation. Should the catastrophe appear to have been precipitated by habits of profuseness and improvidence often committed by persons in an humbler sphere of society with comparative impunity-it is, forthwith, regarded as a visitation of "poetical justice," and contemplated with a degree of complacency proportioned to the distance from which its operation from our own position in life may happen to be removed.

The desecration to which the ancestral halls of the Duke of Buckingham have lately been subjected, has been regarded almost as a national disgrace; and Rumour has, accordingly, been busy in assigning causes for the event, and denouncing the imprudence which is presumed to have occasioned it. The prima facie evidence supplied by the compulsory disposal, by public auction, of so large and remarkable a collection, is, no doubt, strong; and the popular regret for the circumstances which necessitated such a result has only been surpassed by the obloquy with which the supposed delinquent has been visited, for not having preserved himself from such a contingency. Yet, if all the imputations which have been so freely indulged in were well founded, it cannot be denied that the penalty has been, at least, adequate to the offence. The "household gods" of the ancestral home of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos have been shivered to fragments, which can never again be re-united. Those public and private testimonies of the estimation in which the family has been held from generation to generation, and which must have possessed for their owners a value wholly extrinsic of their commercial worth, have been torn from them, and "scattered to the four winds of heaven." The halls of STOWE, like those of the poet's Tara, are desolate, and not even a "harp" is left within them, whose "breaking chords" may tell to the future visitor the tale of the "ruin" that has overtaken them.

The collection of objects of art and vertu at STOWE is considered to have been one of the most magnificent and extensive ever formed in this country. In Majolica or Raffaelle Ware, and in Dresden and Oriental China, it was peculiarly rich; whilst of wrought Silver, including many exquisite specimens of the cinque cento age (from the designs of Benvenuto Cellini, Fiamingo, and others), it contained a larger proportion than is to be found in any private, or perhaps royal, residence in the kingdom. Some notion of the estimation in which many of the antique articles in wrought Silver were held, may be inferred from the competition which was excited for the possession of them, and the apparently enormous prices which many of the specimens realised. Large, however, as these prices appear to have been, such was the extraordinary artistical beauty of many of the articles, both in design and execution, that if they had been disposed of by Messrs. CHRISTIE and MANSON, in London, in the height of the season, they would in all probability have produced still more exorbitant Fine specimens from the designs of Benvenuto Cellini and Fiamingo are, indeed, so extremely rare, as to warrant much higher prices than they have ever yet brought in this

sums.

country. The collection of Pictures was, on the whole, of a less important character than might have been expected. It included some chefs-d'œuvres of the old masters; but most of these realised comparatively inadequate prices. Among the portraits were some fine specimens of Holbein, Vandyck, Zucchero, Lely, Sir Joshua Reynolds, &c.; but those o a high quality as works of art formed a small minority of the whole. The Marbles and Bronzes, although several of them were antique, and some from well-known chisels, brought, on the average, nothing approaching to their value.

The avidity with which catalogues of sales by auction of collections vastly inferior in interest and importance to that of STOWE have, from time to time, been sought for by persons of taste, has suggested the publication of the following pages. The object of the Editor has been to furnish a volume of somewhat deeper interest than a mere priced catalogue; and with this view he has endeavoured, so far as patient and diligent research might enable him so to do, to put upon record such facts as seemed calculated to illustrate the origin, history, merits, and intrinsic value of the subjects calling for particular remark at his hands. In his comments upon the characteristic traits of the articles specially referred to, the Editor has studied to observe a rigid impartiality; and if, occasionally, his judgment may be found at variance with that of their possessors, it must be borne in mind that he lays no claim to infallibility for his opinions. His desire has been to provide a trustworthy manual for the amateur and man of taste, to assist him not only in ascertaining the existing value of objects of art and vertu, but in tracing to their new owners those that have lately been dispersed. It is only by a careful perusal of priced catalogues of the sales of collections of works of this description, that the amateur, who has not leisure to attend and purchase for himself, can arrive at a proximate acquaintance with the cost at which it is possible to obtain them. The bookseller, the picture-dealer, and the connoisseur, must all graduate in this branch of bibliography, if they would correctly inform themselves of the value of the objects in which they are respectively interested. The catalogues of the collections of Mr. Heber, Sir Mark M. Sykes, Horace Walpole, Mr. Beckford, and many other distinguished amateurs, are now rarely to be obtained, and never except at prices enormously beyond their original cost; whilst copies annotated with the pen are only to be purchased at a sacrifice which few virtuosi will in these days care to incur.

The plan of the present volume includes,. it will be seen, a CLASSIFIED CATALOGUE of the entire sale, with notes of the price, and the name of the purchaser-where it has been possible to ascertain it-of each lot. Among the inferior class of agents, however, who attend even first-class sales of this description, there are some who have reasons sufficiently cogent for concealment, whether they purchase on their own account or on commission; and from this order of persons, accordingly, the Editor has not only

received no assistance whatever, but has had every obstacle to the acquirement of the information of which he was in search thrown in his way. Fortunately, the number of such vicarious purchasers has been comparatively small, and the articles of which they have possessed themselves correspondingly insignificant.

The original catalogue, like most similar publications, contained some not unpardonable errors. It is very modest praise of the present compilation to say that from such mistakes it may claim to be comparatively free. That which was excusable in the fugitive call-book of the hour, would be grossly censurable in what is intended for a permanent book of record, reference, and consultation. But accuracy in such matters can exist only comparatively, and it is by this rule the Editor asks the intelligent and good-natured to govern their judgment of his performance. The text of the original volume-for obvious reasons-has been reprinted verbatim, the corrections being confined to the annotations accompanying the respective lots.

Among the many obligations the Editor has to acknowledge for facilities afforded him, he deems it right to mention that to the Proprietors of the MORNING POST newspaper he stands indebted for the opportunity of having been present throughout the whole of the sale of the STOWE Collection; and he would be justly liable to the imputation of ingratitude if he omitted to acknowledge the liberality of the Proprietors of the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS, in placing at his disposal many of the illustrations by which his work is embellished. It will be seen, however, by the frontispiece and other engravings executed expressly for its pages, that the Editor has spared no expense to render it worthy of the distinguished encouragement it has already received.

THE FAMILY OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS.

THE House of BUCKINGHAM and CHANDOS, in which the honours of several families are now united, takes its recent origin from Sir Richard Temple, Knight and Baronet, of Stowe, who-descended from a long line of Saxon ancestors, and, more modernly, through heiresses, from the Lords Cobham-was highly distinguished for his military services in the wars of Queen Anne, under the Duke of Marlborough.

Peter Temple was owner of the manor of Stowe in the reign of Edward VI. He married Millicent, daughter of W. Jekyll, of Newington, Esq., and by her was father of two sons-John and Anthony. The latter was the father of William Temple, ancestor of the celebrated baronet of that name, and also of the present Viscount Palmerston. John, the eldest son, married Susan, daughter of Thomas Spencer, of Everton, in the county of Northampton, Esq., by whom he had six sons and six daughters. Sir Thomas Temple, the eldest son, succeeded his father at Stowe, and inherited the greater part of the estate: he was knighted by King James I., in June, 1603; and at the institution of the Order of Baronets, in 1611, was advanced to that dignity. He wedded Hester, daughter of Miles Sandys, of Latimers, in Buckinghamshire (Vide Lot 204— Pictures: note). Sir Thomas was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Peter Temple, who served in the two last Parliaments of Charles I. He married two wives-first, Anne, daughter and coheir of Sir Arthur Throgmorton, of Paulerspury, in Northamptonshire; and secondly, Christian, sister and coheir of Sir Richard Leveson, of Trentham, in Staffordshire. By the first of these ladies, he had two daughters; and by the latter, he had Sir Richard Temple, his successor. Sir Peter died in 1653, and was buried at Stowe. Sir Richard, his son, succeeded to the family honours, and served in the Restoration Parliament for the town of Buckingham, of which, and the county thereof, he was constituted Lord Lieutenant, on the 15th of November, 1 Sir Richard was a leading member in the House of Commons during the reign of Charles II., and dis tinguished himself in promoting the bill for the exclusion of James Duke of York from succeeding to the throne. He married Mary, daughter of Henry Knapp, of Weston, in Oxfordshire, Esq., and by her had four sons, all of whom died without issue, except the eldest, afterwards Lord Viscount Cobham. Sir Richard was also by the same lady father of six daughters, of whom two died young. Maria was espoused first to Dr. West, Prebendary of Winchester, by whom she was mother of Gilbert West, the poet; and secondly, to Sir John Langham, of Cottesbrooke, in Northamptonshire, Bart; Hester, second daughter, was married to Richard Grenville, of Wotton-under-Barnewood, in the county of Bucks; Christian was married to Sir Thomas Lyttelton, Bart., and by him became mother of George Lord Lyttleton; and Penelope was the wife of Moses Berenger, of the City of London, Esq. Their father died in 1697, and was succeeded by his son, the above-named Sir Richard, who was elected one of the members for the town of Buckingham, in the room of his parent. In 1703, he was constituted Lieutenant of the town and county of Buckingham; and elected to Parlia ment for the county of Bucks. In the first year of Queen Anne, he was appointed Colonel of a regiment

of Foot; and distinguished himself at the sieges of Venlo and Roremond, acting there as a volunteer. He afterwards served with his regiment in Flanders and Germany; and, in 1706, was declared a Brigadier-General. Having borne a considerable part at the siege of Lisle, in 1708, he was sent express by the Duke of Marlborough to the Queen with an account of the surrender of that fortress; and, on the 1st of January, 1709, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, from which he was, on that day twelvemonth, further advanced to that of Lieutenant-General. On the accession of George I., in October, 1714, he was created Baron of Cobham, in Kent, and five days after, declared Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Emperor Charles VI. In June, 1715, his lordship was made Colonel of the first regiment of Dragoons, and in the next year, he was constituted Constable of Windsor Castle. In May, 1718, he was created Viscount Cobham and Baron Cobham, with remainder to the heirs of his body, and in default thereof, the dignities of Viscountess Cobham and Baroness Cobham to his sister Hester, wife of Richard Grenville, Esq., of Wotton-underBarnewood, in the county of Bucks, failing which, with the like remainder to his sister, Dame Christian Lyttelton. In the year 1721, his lordship was appointed Colonel of the first regiment of Dragoon Guards; and, in February, 1728, he was nominated Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of the county of Bucks. He was likewise one of his Majesty's Privy Council, and Governor of the Isle of Jersey, but resigned all his offices in 1733, in consequence of his opposition to the Excise Bill. In 1742, being then Field Marshal, and Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance, he was appointed Colonel of the first troop of Grenadier Guards; and, in 1744, he obtained the command of the sixth regiment of Horse. In May, 1745, his lordship was nominated one of the regents during his Majesty's absence beyond seas; and was further declared Colonel of the tenth regiment of Horse. His lordship is, perhaps, best known as the friend and patron of Pope, in whose poems his memory is embalmed he died at Stowe, in September, 1749, without issue, having married Ann, daughter of Edmond Halsey, of the Borough of Southwark, Esq., who survived his lordship until March, 1760. Upon his lordship's decease, the dignities of Viscountess Cobham and Baroness Cobham devolved on his sister, Hester Grenville, widow and relict of the before-mentioned Richard Grenville, of Wotton. Her ladyship died in October, 1752, leaving issue, seven sons and one daughter, the latter of whom married, in 1754, the Right Hon. William Pitt, afterwards created first Earl of Chatham. Her second son, the Right Hon. George Grenville, after passing through various offices, became prime minister to George III., and died in 1770. His character was thus drawn by Burke, in his speech on American taxation (1774) :-" Undoubtedly Mr. Grenville was a first-rate figure in this country; with a masculine understanding and a stout and resolute heart, he had an application undissipated and unwearied. He took public business not as a duty he was to fulfil, but as a pleasure he was to enjoy; and he seemed to have no delight out of this house, except in such things as some way related to the business that was to be done within it. If he was ambitious, I will say this for him, his ambition was of a noble and generous strain. It was to raise himself, not by the low pimping politics of a court, but to win his way to power through the laborious gradations of public service; and to secure himself a well-earned rank in Parliament, by a thorough knowledge of its constitution, and a perfect practice in all its business." Henry, third son, died young, and was buried at Wotton. The Right Hon. James Grenville, fourth son, was the father of Lord Glastonbury. The Hon. Henry Grenville, fifth son (a twin, whose brother died in infancy), was appointed Governor of Barbadoes, in 1746, and subsequently, in 1761, nominated Ambassador to the court of the Grand Seignior. He married, in 1757, Margaret, sister of John Hodgkinson Banks, Esq., and by her had a daughter, Louisa, born in August, 1758, who wedded, in 1781, Charles Lord Viscount Mahon, afterwards third Earl Stanhope. Thomas, the seventh son, was brought up to the sea service, and passed through the inferior ranks to that of captain, in which station, while he commanded his Majesty's ship Romney, he took a very rich Spanish prize. This gallant officer lost his life, greatly lamented, in the memorable defeat of the French fleet in May, 1747. Richard Earl Temple, the eldest son, was returned as member of Parliament for Buckingham, in 1734, of which

It has never been explained why Mrs. West's issue was postponed to those of Mrs. Grenville and Lady Lyttelton.