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foreign contests in which the nation was engaged. In the reign of Henry VIII. we find Sir John Byron Constable of Nottingham Castle and Master of Sherwood Forest. He seems to have held a high place in the favour of his sovereign, as well by the offices which were intrusted to him as by the share he received of the spoils which the ra-` pacity of the tyrant tore from the Church. On the dissolution of the religious houses, the church and priory of Newstead, the adjacent mauor of Papelwick, and the Church patronage annexed to it, with certain other lands, were granted by Henry VIII. in the thirty-second year of his reign, to this Sir John Byron.

This abbey of Newstead, or De Novo Loco, was founded in the year 1170, by Henry II. as a Priory of Black Canons, and dedicated to the Holy Virgin. Its revenues had been increased by various benefactions, so that, at the Dissolution, they were estimated at about two hundred pounds. Sir John immediately fitted up part of the edifice; but the church was suffered to go to decay, though the south aisle was actually incorporated into the dwelling-house, and now contains some of the most habitable apartments. It has remained the family seat from the period we have mentioned to the present time; but, owing to some unfortunate family differences between the grandfather and the father of the late Lord Byron, the elder nobleman was induced to sell every thing belonging to the mansion, and not only to suffer every part, both of the house and grounds, to go to decay, but even to dilapidate great part of it, until he was stopped by an injunction in Chancery. During the minority of the late Lord Byron it remained nearly in this state; and even when he came of age his finances were not adequate to the task of repairing and restoring it thoroughly. Although much has been done to it since, its appearance is not greatly altered from that described in the following account, which was written in the year 1812. Lord Byron's poetry has rendered every thing relating to Newstead Abbey interesting; and it is impossible to read this description of the halls of his ancestors without feeling that its local peculiarities must have had a considerable share in producing that romantic and melancholy tone which pervades the greater and the better part of his productions :—

The front of the abbey church has a most noble and majestic appearance, being built in the form of the west end of a cathedral, adorned with rich carvings and lofty pinnacles.

The castellated stables and offices are still to be seen, as the visitor enters into a sombre deserted court-yard, in the midst of which is a

curious erection of red stone, in the form of an antique cross. In front is the west end of the ancient church; also the venerable front of the mansion, with its towers and battlements, and Gothic windows; and on the right some additional buildings in the castellated style, originally intended for domestic offices, but now in a greater state of ruin thau the older parts of the house, yet assimilating well with it, particularly as being overshadowed with the darkening foliage of some lofty elms.

Ascending some steps, a heavy grated door and porch open into the great hall, quite in the antique style: its only ornaments are two pictures of a wolf-dog, and another from Newfoundland, favorites of his lordship; to the latter, indeed, he once owed his life.

The little drawing-room contains a few family pictures still interesting from their locality. In this apartment there is a very ancient carved wooden chimney-piece, in which are introduced four of the old monarchs of this kingdom, Henry VIII. and two of his concubines, and the family arms of Byron in the centre.

The gallery over the cloisters is very antique ; and from its windows we see the cloister court, with a basin in the centre, used as a stew for fish. It is impossible to contemplate this scene without a recurrence to past times; when we look down on the Gothic arches, or up to the hoary battlements, midst all the sombre silence that reigns around, busy fancy peoples the scene with ideal beings, and the shadows of some small ash trees in the area may readily be mistaken by an enthusiastic imagination for the shade of the passing religious from his cell to the altar.

The great dining-room is a most noble apartment, presenting a good idea of ancient manners, but now deserted and forlorn.

In passing towards the habitable part of the house, it was impossible not to feel something like an awful regret in passing the chamber of the late Hon. Mrs. Byron, exactly in the same state as when she breathed her last within it, only a few days preceding her clothes, her ornaments, were displayed as if she had just retired-alas! retired to return no more!

Our aged Ciceroni with great good will expressed a desire to show his lordship's study, and with all the respectful familiarity of an old domestic dependant went into the apartment, to request his lord's permission, which was readily and politely granted, though at a moment when a recent domestic loss must have rendered it an unwelcome request, and one, indeed, which the writer of these sheets would have shunned had it not been for the friendly and even hospitable attentions

of the venerable oid man. It was impossible to enter this sweet little apartment without noticing some of the very unusual ornaments for such a place; but as the house itself is literally a mansion of the dead, (for the monkish cemetery was in the cloisters,) it may account for the noble owner's taste in decorating it with two very perfect and finely polished skulls, instead of the more tasty ornaments of bow-pots and flower-vases. The other ornaments are some good classic busts, bookcases with a select collection, and a very curious antique crucifix.

A small drawing-room next to this apartment contains some good modern paintings. A portrait of his Lordship as a Sailor Boy, with rocks and beach scenery. Some good Sea Pieces. An exquisite Ma-dona. East and West Views of Newstead. Dogs, horses, &c.

We now come to a long range of deserted apartments. In one, called King Edward the Third's room, on account of that monarch having slept there, there is a very ancient chimney, which, together with the whole fitting up of the venerable apartment, seems to be coeval with the royal visit, and excites a most pleasing enthusiasın in the mind.

Next to this is the sounding-gallery, so called from a very remarkable echo which it possesses.

The cloisters exactly resemble those of Westminster Abbey, only on a smaller scale; but possessing, if possible, a more venerable appearance. These were the cloisters of the ancient abbey, and many of its ancient tenants now lie in silent repose under their flagged pavement. There is something particularly sombre in the circumstance of the ha bitable part of the house not only opening into this scene of departed mortality, but even having it in some measure as a thoroughfare. These cloisters lead into an ancient and extensive crypt under the body of the church, but for many generations used as cellars: here also was the singing-room for the practice of the choristers, now very handsomely fitted up as a bath; the ancient chapel, too, long used by the family for the same purpose, is still entire, though in ruin, and its ceiling is a very handsome specimen of the Gothic style of springing arches. This chapel was also used as a cemetery, and its light clustered pillars and ancient carved windows add much to the melancholy expression of the scene.

An ancient Gothic green-house, with an antique roof, now opens into the garden, which was once the burying-ground of the church, and in which a large circular vault has lately been dug, with a handsome pedestal of white marble, on one side of which an inscription tells the

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passing stranger that it contains the body of a Newfoundland dog, to whom his lordship once owed his life, and whom his gratitude has placed here. This garden also includes the dilapidated part of the church and is altogether a very interesting spot.

The following is the inscription alluded to:

Near this spot are deposited the remains of one, who possessed beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices.-This praise, which would be unmeaning flattery if inscribed over human ashes, is but a just tribute to the memory of Boatswain, a dog, who was born in Newfoundland, May, 1803, and died at Newstead, October, 1808.

When some proud son of man returns to earth,
Unknown to glory, but upheld by birth,
The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below.

When all is done, upon the tomb is seen,
Not what he was-but what he should have been.
But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend―
Whose honest heart is still his master's own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes, for him alone-
Unhonoured falls! unnoticed all his worth,
Denied in Heaven the soul he held on earth:
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive Heaven!
Oh, man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debased by slavery, or corrupt by power,
Who knows thee well must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!

Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy smiles hypocrisy, thy words deceit !

By nature vile, ennobled but by name,

Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.

Ye! who behold perchance this simple urn,

Pass on-it honours none you wish to mourn ;

To mark a friend's remains these stones arise-
I never knew but one, and here he lies!'

Sir John Byron, the first possessor of the abbey of Newstead, left that and his other possessions to his fourth son, of the same name, on

whom Queen Elizabeth bestowed the honour of knighthood in 1579. His eldest son, Sir Nicholas, served with distinction in the Low Country wars; and when the great Rebellion broke out, he was one of the first to take up arms in the defence of the Royal cause. After the battle of Edge Hill, where he displayed his courage, he was made Colonel-General of Cheshire and Shropshire, and Governor of Chester, which city he defended gallantly against the Parliamentarians, though at last he fell into their hands. Lord Clarendon speaks highly of his character, and of the exertions made by him in Cheshire to assist the King. He was,' says the noble historian, a person of great affability and dexterity, as well as martial knowledge, which gave great life to the designs of the well-affected; and, with the encouragement of some gentlemen of North Wales, he in a short time raised such a power of horse and foot, as inade frequent skirmishes with the enemy, sometimes with notable advantage, never with signal loss.'

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Sir John Byron, the younger brother of Sir Nicholas, was made Knight of the Bath at the coronation of King James I. He married Anne, the eldest daughter of Sir Richard Molyneux, Bart. by whom he had eleven sons and a daughter. The eldest of the sons served under his uncle in the Low Countries; and in 1641, when the House of Commons complained against Sir Thomas Lunsford, as being an unfit person to be Governor of the Tower, the King appointed this Sir John Byron to that office. In a short time, however, the new Lieu-: tenant became no less obnoxious to the refractory spirits in the City and Parliament than his predecessor; and information having been ́ given them that much provision was sent into the Tower every day, they sent for Sir John Byron, whò appeared at their bar, and gave so full answers to all the questions they asked of him, that they could not but dismiss him. However, they sent again to the King to remove him, and put a fitter man into the place, and recommended Sir: John Coniers to him as a man in whom they could confide; and, because they did not speedily receive such an answer as they liked, they appointed their Major-General Skippon to place such guards about the Tower as might prevent the carrying in more provision of victual thither than would serve for one day's consumption; notwithstanding which the King would not consent to their desire.

The Commons then applied to the Lords to join them in a petition to the King, praying him for the removal of Sir John Byron; but though the Peers in other respects gave too much way to the en

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