allies of our unfortunate monarch, Charles the First, and in his time was accredited to the English court as ambassador. DOM ANTONIO DE SOUSA DE MACEDO, representative of one of the noblest houses of Portugal, and who remained at his post long after the breaking out of the great civil war, accompanying the king through many of the changes of the war, and during this period rendering important services to the royal cause, so much so that the personal security of the ambassador was risked, and his life endangered upon more than one occasion. Eventually Dom Antonio returned to Portugal, and was elevated by Alphonso the Sixth, King John the Fourth's son and successor, to the post of Minister, Secretary of State to the Kingdom, which important post he filled for several years with highest honour and distinction. Dom Antonio was also a Commendador da Ordem de CHRISTO, or Commander of the Order of CHRIST, in those times a decoration of highest distinction. Upon the death of Dom Antonio he was succeeded in his vast hereditary possessions, by his eldest son DOм LUIZ GONÇALO DE SOUSA DE MACEDO, also a commander of the order of CHRIST. By King Alphonso he was elevated to the Peerage by the title of Barao da Ilha Grande de Joannes, in the Kingdom of Brazil, and in his day became one of the most powerful Lords of the Court of Portugal. Upon the restoration in England, Charles the Second, desirous of marking in a most special manner the estimation in which the services of the father to the martyred Charles the First were esteemed, passed a patent under the Great Seal, creating the son, DOM LUIZ GONÇALO an English Peer, by the style and title of BARON OF MULLINGAR, the original of which patent is still guarded in the archives of the House of Mesquitella. The patent runs as follows, AND IS COPIED VERBATIM from the original parchment. ac Carolus Dei gratiâ Magnæ Britanniæ Franciæ et Hiberniæ Rex Fidei Defensor &c. Omnibus et singulis ad quos præsentes Literæ pervenerint salutem. Cum Antonius de Souag Nobils Lusitanus Serenissimi Potentissimi Principis Joannis quarti Portugalliæ Regis in Anglia Residens, multis abhinc unis (cum maximè flagrarent insani et præcipites Regnorum Nostrorum motus) Patri Nostro beatissimæ memoriæ utilissimam gratissimamque operam navaret et difficillimis illis temporibus Regium Nomen inter Rebelles (etiam non sine summo capitis periculo) fortiter asserere et vindicare auderet ; tam singularia officia constantiæ et affectûs erga Coronam Britannicam præstita sine aliquo honoris et gratitudinis indicio ex parte Nostrâ præterire noluimus, sed paterna merita saltem in personâ filii ejus agnoscere, et honestâ aliquâ benignitatis Nostræ tesserâ condecorare æquum duximus: Sciatis igitur quod Nos pro Regiâ Nostrâ potestate, ex mero motu, certâ scientiâ, et gratiâ Nostrâ speciali; Ludovicum Gonzalum de Souça prædicti Antonii filium creavimus constituimus et fecimus ac per præsentes Literas creamus, constituimus et facimus Baronem de Molingariâ ipsumque et hæredes masculos ab ipso legitimé progenitos titulo Baronis de Molingaria in perpetuum gaudere volumus, unà cum omnibus juribus, privilegiis et præminentiis ad dictum Baronis honorem gradumque pertinentibus, ita pleno amplo et absoluto modo ut ulli alii Barones gaudent vel gavisi sunt. In cujus rei testimonium præsentibus hisce Literis Sigillum Nostrum apponi fecimus. Dat'é Palatio Nostro Westmonast, vicesimo octavo die Junii anno Domini Millesimo sexcentesimo sexagesimo primo et Regni Nostri decimotertio.-Carolus R.-L. S. To Dom Luis Gonçalo, Lord Mullingar, succeeded his eldest son, DOM ANTONIO DE SOUSA DE MACEDO-also a commander of the order of CHRIST, Barao da Ilha Grande de Joannes, who in his turn was succeeded by his eldest son, DOM LUIZ DE SOUSA DE MACEDO, as third Baron, commander of the order of CHRIST, a Lieut.-General in the Royal Armies, Barao da Ilha Grande de Joannes, but who was further elevated in the peerage by King Joseph in the year 1754, being created Visconde de Mesquitella. This nobleman died without MALE issue, the English barony consequently of MULLINGAR became vested in the male representative of Dom Luis Gonçalo, the first peer, while, according to the law regulating peerage succession in Portugal, the Portuguese honours of the house devolved upon the eldest daughter of the deceased peer. DONA MARIA JOZE DE SOUSA DE MACEDO, Viscondessa de Mesquitella and Baroneza da Ilha Grande de Joannes who married, Doм JOZE, Francisco da Costa, Sousa, e Albuquerque, a distinguished officer of the royal household (official-Mor), Commander of the order of Aviz, Governor and Captain-General of the Kingdom of Algarve; and, dying, was succeeded by her eldest son, DOM LUIZ DA COSTA E SOUSA DE MACEDO E ALBUQUERQUE, raised by King John VI., in 1818, to the title of Conde, and is the present Count of Mesquitella. The Count is official Mor da Coroa, Commander of the order of Aviz, and comptroller of the household of her Royal Highness the Infanta Dona Isabel Maria, formerly regent of the kingdom, and eldest sister of his Majesty Dom Miguel, Primeiro. This nobleman, true to the traditions of his race, and emulous of the unswerving loyalty of his ancient line, sided in the late civil contest, and was firm to the last in his allegiance to the Ex-King DOM MIGUEL; and his name is one of the foremost on the list of peers and gentlemen, who, in that unhappy struggle, sacrificed all for loyalty and duty, and preserved untarnished the honour of a loftily descended house. We were at the city gates, a more rural saunter invited, and we bent our way in the direction of Bella Vista, literally cleaving a way through corn-fields, and vines, and flowers, until a snugly ensconced little venda or wine-house, with its bough swinging at the door, and its promise of rustic cheer made us resolve on testing the "bush" and an hour's repose. Our peerage story told, our day's gossipping ended. But should our first walk then have sufficient attraction to the reader, we may, in another number, take a different route, and tell how we sped in our hunt after historic sites, and what we saw of RUINS and of "Ivied tower and fane." G. C. H. HIGH SHERIFFS OF ENGLAND. 1850. Ar first the government of counties was directly exercised by the earl or count under whose jurisdiction they were placed; but in process of time the dignity and the duty became separated, till the attendance of the earl at court rendered it necessary to impose the executive functions of the office upon a deputy permanently residing within the county. This deputy is the vice-comes, sheriff, shrieve, or shire-recve. The civil administration of the county has long devolved upon this officer, but he soon became independent of the comes or earl; and though still in Latin styled vice-comes, he receives the charge of the county under letters patent direct from the Sovereign. The shrievalty is held only for a year, nor can any man who has served the office be appointed a second time within three years. Anciently the freeholders chose the sheriff in those counties where the office was not hereditary. The city of London nominates the sheriff's of Middlesex; two individuals are appointed by the city, as Sheriffs of London and Middlesex: yet they constitute but one officer, and if either should die, the other cannot act without a colleague. In his judicial capacity the Sheriff presides at the county court, and by him all county meetings are summoned; the elections of the county members and of the coroners are conducted by him, and he makes a return of those duly elected. He is unable, however, to try any criminal offence, and cannot act as an ordinary justice of the peace during his tenure of office. As a keeper of the queen's peace, he is strictly the first man in the county, and superior to every noble within the shire. In the preservation of the peace he is armed with ample powers, and for his assistance he may command all the people of his county to attend him; these form the posse comitatus or power of the county. In his ministerial capacity he executes all writs and other process directed to him from the courts; he summons and returns the jury for all trials, and is responsible for the due execution of the judgment of all courts, civil or criminal, from the exaction of farthing damages to the execution of capital punishment. As the queen's bailiff, the rights of the Crown are in his especial custody; he must seize all lands devolving on the Crown by attainder or escheat, levy all fines, take charge of all waifs, strays, &c.-Dodd on Dignities. BEDFORDSHIRE.-RICHARD THOMAS GILPIN, Esq., of Hockliffe Grange, a Magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of the counties of Bedford and Bucks, and Lieutenant Colonel of the Bedfordshire Militia. The family of Gilpin, of Hockliffe Grange, claims to be a branch of the ancient house of Gilpin, of Westmoreland, of which was the famous Bernard Gilpin, rector of Houghton-le-Spring, one of the most learned divines and Church Reformers of his time. The grandfather of the present Lieutenant Colonel Gilpin, Thomas Gilpin, Esq., was High Sheriff in 1752. Col. Gilpin married in 1831 Louisa, dau. of Gen. Gore Browne, of Weymouth. Arms. Or. a boar passant sa. Crest. Three spears, one in pale and two in saltire or. headed arg. tied with a scroll bearing for Motto. Une foy mes me. BERKSHIRE. ROBERT ALLFREY, Esq., of Wokefield Park. This gentleman, a county Magistrate, eldest son of the late Edward Allfrey, Esq., of Salehurst, in Sussex, and Banstead, in Surrey, by Margaret, his wife, dau. of Robert Shedden, Esq., of Gowerstreet, descends from an ancient family long settled in the county of Sussex as shewn by the Heraldry Visitations. Mr. Allfrey was born 10th Oct., 1809, and is married to Caroline, dau. of William Hobson, Esq. Arms. Per fesse sa. and erm., a pale counterchanged, three ostrich's heads erased arg. gorged with crowns and lines or. Crest. An ostrich's head and neck, gorged with a crown as in the arms, between two ostrich feathers arg. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.-WILLIAM SELBY LOWNDES, Esq., of Whaddon Hall The family of Lowndes, one of great influence and extensive landed property, is separated into three leading branches -the first represented by WILLIAM SELBY LOWNDES, Esq., of Whaddon and Winslow; the second, by WILLIAM FRANCIS LOWNDES STONE, Esq., of Brightwell Park, co. Oxford; and the third, by WILLIAM LOWNDES, Esq., of Chesham, who served as High Sheriff in 1848. The founder of the House in Buckinghamshire was William Lowndes, a scion of the ancient family of Lowndes of Leigh Hall, in Cheshire. He purchased Winslow early in the 16th century, and there settled. His great grandson was the celebrated WILLIAM LOWNDES, Esq., Secretary to the Treasury, and Chairman of Ways and Means; to whom the nation is indebted for having originated the Funding System. In requital of his public services, Queen Anne conferred upon him the office of Auditor of the Land Revenue, with an augmentation to his arms. The present High Sheriff of Bucks has inherited the high honor of quartering the Royal Arms of Plantagenet. Arms, Arg. fretty az. the interlacings each charged with a bezant on a canton gu. a leopard's head erased at the neck or. Crest. A leopard's head, as in the arms, gorged with a laurel branch ppr. CAMBRIDGESHIRE and HUNTINGDONSHIRE. JOHN VIPAN, Esq., of Sutton. CHESHIRE.-SIR ARTHUR INGRAM ASTON, G.C B., of Aston. The Astons of Aston, were an eminent knightly family, for a long series of generations one of the first consideration in the palatinate of Chester, allied by marriages with heiresses to the Duttons of Halton, the Massys of Horton, the Harewells of Shotery, &c. The representative, temp. Charles I., Sir Thomas Aston of Aston, was a gallant cavalier commander, and obtained a baronetcy from his royal Master The eventual heiress, Catherine Aston, wife of the Hon. and Rev. John Hervey, D.D., fourth son of John, first Earl of Bristol, succeeded to the estates at the decease of her brother, Sir Thomas Aston, Bart., M.P. for Liverpool, and they are now enjoyed by her descendant and representative, SIR ARTHUR IN GRAM ASTON, G.C.B., the present High Sheriff of Cheshire, formerly so well known as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of Spain. Arms, Per chev. sa, and arg. CUMBERLAND-THOMAS SALKELD, Esq., of Holm Hill. The Salkelds, formerly seated at Little Salkeld, Corby, and Whitehall, co. Cumberland, and Ross. gill. in Westmoreland, are of very ancient lineage and high county consideration. George Salkeld, who sold the ancient family residence in the time of the civil war, is supposed to have been the last of the elder branch. Arms. Vert, fretty arg. DERBYSHIRE.-ROBT. ARKWRIGHT, Esq., of Sutton, second son of the late Richard Arkwright, Esq., of Willersley Castle, co. Derby, who served as High Sheriff in 1801, and grandson of Sir Richard Arkwright, to whom we owe the Spinning Frame. Sir Richard was Sheriff in 1787. The present Robert Arkwright, Esq., of Sutton, born in 1783, married Frances Crawford, daughter of Stephen George Kemble, Esq., of Durham, and has issue. Arms. On a mount vert, a cotton tree fructed ppr. on a chief az. betw. two bezants an inescutcheon of the field, charged with a bee volant ppr. Crest. An eagle rising or. in its beak an inescutcheon pendant by a ribbon, gules, thereon a hank of cotton or. The DEVONSHIRE.-WILLIAM ARUNDELL YEO, ESQ., of Fremington. family of Yeo, anciently seated at Heanton Sachville, Hatherleigh, Huish, &c., co. Devon, is stated to have been previously settled at Tre Yeo, in the parish of Launcelles, Cornwall. The heiress of the senior line married Henry Rolle, Esq., and is now represented by Lord Clinton. A younger branch still exists, and its head is the present High Sheriff, WILLIAM ARUNDELLYEO, Esq., of Fremington, whose mother was heir ess of Arundell of Trevelver inCornwall, descended from a scion of the noble family of the name. To the estate of DORSETSHIRE. -HENRY RALPH WILLETT, Esq., of Merly House, Wimborne Minster. DURHAM. ROBERT HILDYARD, Esq., of Horsley. ESSEX. THOMAS BURCH WESTERN, Esq., of Felix Hall, co. Essex, and Tattingstone Place, Suffolk, a Magistrate for both counties, and a Deputy Lieutenant of the latter. Of the family of Western, sprung from I We Sterne, who came from Holland, and settled in England, in the fifteenth century, were three brothers, Samuel, Thomas, and Maximilian, of whom the eldest is represented, in the female line, by Lord Bateman; the second was great grandfather of the late Charles Callis Western, Lord Western; and the third was great great grandfather of the present Thomas Burch Western, Esq., the High Sheriff of Essex, who is married to Margaret Lætitia, daughter of William Bushby, Esq., of Kirkmichael, county Dumfries, and has issue. Arms. Quarterly, first and fourth, sa. a chev. between two crescents, and a trefoil slipped in base or. for WESTERN. Second and third, quarterly arg. and az. on a bend gu. three martlets or. for LE GROS. Crest. A demi lion rampant or. holding in his paw a trefoiled slipped vert. Mottoes. Nec temere nec timide; and above the crest, Principiis obsta. GLOUCESTERSHIRE.-THOMAS GAMBIER PARRY, Esq., of Highnam Court, only son of the late Richard Parry, Esq., Governor of Bencoolen, by Mary Gambier, his wife, neice of Lord Gambier, and grandson of Thomas Parry, Esq., of Banstead Manor House, Surrey. Highnam Court, which Mr. Gambier Parry now possesses, was formerly the fine old seat of the Guise family. Mr. Parry was born 22d Feb. 1818, and married 3th of August, 1839, Anna Maria Isabella, second dau. of Henry Fynes Clinton, Esq., of Welwyn, Herts, a lineal descendant of the second Earl of Lincoln. Arms. Arg. a fesse between three lozenges sa. Crest. Three battle axes erect ppr. HEREFORDSHIRE.-JAMES CHEESE, Esq., of Huntington, a county Magistrate. The family is of respectability in Herefordshire. The present High Sheriff is the only surviving son of the late Edmund Cheese, Esq., of Ridgebourne, Kington, by Mary, his wife, dau. and heir of James Watkins, Esq., of Clifford, co. Hereford, descended from the Watkins' of Breconshire. He was born 2d Oct., 1798, and married 31st Oct., 1821, Anne Bisse, dau. of John Cowper, Esq., son of Launcelot Cowper, an eminent Merchant of the city of Bristol. Arms. Az. a lion rampant or. quarterly with WATKINS, viz., gu. a chev. betw. three spears' heads embrued arg. Crest. A lion's head erased or. HERTS. FULKE SOUTHWell GreVILLE, Esq., of North Myms Place, second son of Algernon Greville, Esq., by Caroline, his wife, dau. of the late Sir Bellingham Graham, Bart., and great-great-grandson of Fulke Greville, Esq., of Wilbury, Wilts, author of "Maxims and Characters;" whose father, the Hon. Algernon Greville, was second son of Fulke, fifth Lord Brooke. The House of Greville was founded by William Greville, a wealthy citizen of London, temp. Richard II. described in his epitaph as "the flower of Woolstaplers,' "but its greatness and distinction may be dated from the marriage, temp. Henry VIII., of Sir Fulke Greville, Knt. of Milcote, with Elizabeth Willoughby, the richest heiress then in England, granddau. of the Lord Brooke. Of this union, Sir Fulke Greville, the accomplished scholar, and courtier of the days of Elizabeth and James I., was the grand son. To him the latter monarch gave Warwick Castle, with its dependencies, and subsequently the Barony of Brooke. His Lordship lies buried in his own vault in the great Church of Warwick under a monument he had |