Gloucester, the unfortunate Jacoba, after many displays of a noble and valorous spirit, was obliged to yield to the Duke of Burgundy; and the terms which he prescribed were of such a nature, as plainly declared the motives by which bis conduct had been actuated. By one article it was stipulated, that all the dominions of Jacoba were to be governed by himself, with the title of her Lieutenant. By another, that, being now a widow by the death of the Duke of Brabant, she should never contract a future marriage without the consent of the States of her Provinces, and of the Duke of Burgundy. Jacoba was not more than twenty-seven years of age when these rigorous terms were imposed upon her; she submitted to her hard fate with a magnanimity becomg her character as a heroine; and being divested of all authority as a Sovereign, while she retained the name, she retired into the province of Zealand, where she lived upon a slender revenue which she derived from the parsimony of the Duke of Burgundy. There, in those islands that are surrounded by the Scheld, where, dividing itself into many chanuels, it pours its waters into the ocean, she indulged those melancholy reflections which the unhappy vicis situdes of her life suggested. Some times, to relieve her melancholy, she jomed in the village sports, and instituted exercises in horsemanship, or in archery. In these exercises, where in she excelled, and which were so congenial to her active aud martial spirit, she was delighted to win the The Duke of Burgundy, who had prize, and to be proclaimed by the employed spies to watch the conduct voice of the villagers Queen of the of Jacoba, was no sooner apprised rural sports. In this manner did Ja- of this marriage, than he hastened to coba pass her time during a period of draw from it that advantage which years, her beauty as yet but little it afforded to his ambition. While impaired by time or the sorrows of he was inwardly pleased, he affected her life--when Love, which had prov-violent indignation. He ordered Bored to her the source of so many dis- selen to be apprehended, and conveyed tresses, once more surprised her in from Zealand to the Castle of Rupelher retirement, and prepared for her monde in Flanders, situated at the new misfortunes. Among the Lords confluence of the Rupel and the of Holland who had been the most Scheld. With a view to alarm the adverse to the interests of Jacoba, Princess, he caused a report to be and who on that account had been spread that the life of Borselen was rewarded by the Duke of Burgundy, to atone for the presumption of was Francis Burselen, Lord of Mar- which he had been guilty. The Printendyke. This nobleman had large cess of Hainault, auxious to save her estates in Zealand, where he frequent- husband from the danger in which ly resided. His opposition to the in- his attachment to her had involved terests of Jacoba had long kept him him, collected a small force in Zeaat a distance from that Princess, till land; and, having armed some vessels, an accidental circumstance gained him access to her acquaintance. Margaret of Burgundy, the mother of Jacoba, having sent to her daughter a present of a fine horse from Hainault, and Jacoba, from the extreme meanness of the Duke of Burgundy, being unable to reward the person by whom the horse had been brought, so liberally as she wished; Borselen, who had learned her distress from a domestic, took occasion to present a large sum of money with such grace and delicacy, that Jacoba, touched with his generous sympathy, forgot all the prejudices which she had entertained against him, and intimated her wish to have an opportunity of thanking her benefactor in person.Kindness from a person whom she had long considered as an enemy had melted the tender heart of Jacoba into feelings of admiration and gratitude, and personal acquaintance prepossessed her still more in his favour (for Borselen to a graceful person joined the most engaging manhers). At length her inclination for this nobleman, growing from the solitude in which she lived, and perhaps also from the hard restraints imposed upon her, became so strong that she could no longer conceal the impression he had made upon her, and love took possession of her heart. The charms of Jacoba had inspired Borselen with a reciprocal passion; and she, forgetting the disparity of rank and the engagements by which she was fettered, united herself with him by a private marriage. two sailed up the Scheld, in the hope of surprising Rupelmonde, and delivering her husband. On her approach to Rupelmonde, she learned that her design had been discovered, that a large force was assembled to oppose her, and that the Duke himself was in the Castle. Disappointed in her scheme, Jacoba requested that she might be permitted, from her vessel, to speak with her cousin the Duke of Burgundy; and the Duke not declining the conference, she inquired with all the anxiety that love and fear could dictate, if her husband was yet alive. In answer to this question, the Duke gave orders, that Borselen should be brought forth on the terrace that bordered the river, when the Princess, with the ardour that was natural to her, transported with joy at the sight of a person so dear, and forgetting that she gave herself into the power of the Duke, instantly sprang from her vessel upon the shore, and ran with eagerness to embrace her busband. Philip had now obtained the advantage which he sought; and, detaining the Princess, wrought so powerfully on her fears for her husband, that, in order to purchase his freedom and his life, she consented to yield up to the Duke of Burgundy the entire Sove reignty of all her dominion: so high a price did the ambition of the Duke require for the ransom of Borselen! Having thus obtained the object to which he had long aspired, the Duke took possession of the States of Jacoba; and those Provinces, accustomed to his controul, and by his arts indisposed towards their Sovereign, submitted quietly to his Government. In return for the ample concessions of Jacoba, certain estates were assigned to her in Holland and Zealand, which she, setting no bounds to her affection for her husband, bestowed in free gift on Borselen, who was created Count of Ostervant by Philip, and decorated with the Order of the Golden Fleece. Thus was acquired by Philip Duke of Burgundy, and by him transmitted to his descendants, the Province of Hainault, and with it the Provinces of Holland, Zealand, and Friesland. This Prince has been distinguished by the title of Philip the Good, an appellation to which he is in some degree entitled from the general mild ness of his government; but impar tial History will always reproach him with the wrongs done to the Countess of Hainault; and his unkind and ungenerous treatment of this Princess, his kinswoman; and the unfair advantage that he drew from her errors in conduct, errors that merit great indulgence, imprint a deep and indelible stain ou his memory. Jacoha, who, in place of all her pompous titles, now bore only the title of Countess of Ostervant, retired into Zealand, to taste the pleasures of a comparatively humble station, in the society of a husband who had given her such unequivocal proofs of entire affection, and whose love she rewarded with the possession of her whole heart. Jacoba died at the age of 36, and was buried in the tomb of the Counts of Holland. During the last and happiest period of her life Jacoba used to amuse herself in framing vases of earthen ware. Many of these were afterwards found in the lake that surrounded the Castle where she resided, and were long religiously kept by the people of the country, who named them the Vases of the Lady Jacoba of Hainault. In my next letter, I purpose concluding my observations on the Province of Hainault; and hope also, to introduce your Readers to Brussels and Waterloo. CLERICUS LEICESTRIENSIS. (To be continued.) Jan. 9. Mr. URBAN, PEN years are now elapsed since The Froprietors of the Continu ation of Granger's Biography threw out a hint that it might be expedient to incorporate both Works in a new edition, to be enriched with the accounts of Portraits either wholly omitted in those works, or engraved since their publication. The four 8vo volumes of Granger are, I believe, now out of priut, so that it should seem to be the time to carry into effect an enlarged edition. If the Proprietors make known their intentions, there can be no doubt but corrections and new matter would be chearfully contributed. It is a pity that the elegant amusement of cullecting Portraits should be damped from the want of assistance, not only in their chronological arrangement, but in reference to their connexion with the History of the Country. Yours, &c. STEVEN MUSGROVE. Mr. Mr. URBAN, Towcester, Jan. 1. W church and Parsonage of Bar- How much the County of Northampton is indebted to him, his valuable History eviuces, though he did not survive the completion of his labours; and much also is the County obliged to the Committee who superintended the publication of the Work; ampong whom Sir T. Cave, bart. Sir G. Robinson, bart. Sir W. Dolben, bart. and Rev. Peter Whalley, should particularly be noticed. A slight sketch of the early history of this parish, as given by Bridges, may suffice. The village is situate on a gentle ascent, and bounded by Warkton on the North, on the West by Kettering, from which it is divided by the rivulet Ise, on the South by Burton Latimer, and on the East by Cranford. In Bridges's time it contained 19 families; but before the inclosure, which was early in the seventeenth century, the town was considerably larger. The village derived its additional name from the family of Segrave, the most eminent member of which was Nicholas de Segrave, who Edward IV. was Marshal of Eng. 1. land, and obtained license to make a castle of his manor-house at Barton. At the time Mr. Bridges wrote his History, he held this manor, with a considerable estate here, which his father had purchased about 1665. The Duke of Montague was then lord paramount. tolph, consists of a body and South "The Church, dedicated to St. Bo-" aile leaded, and chancel covered with slate. At the upper end of the South aile is the burial-place of the Bridges family. Between the church and chancel is a low broad embattled tower (built on four spacious Saxon arches) in which are four bells. The Church and Chancel, including the Tower, are 314 feet long, the body and aile 148 feet broad. The tower and body of the Church, except the upper part, which by the difference of the stone appears to have been raised, are very old. The South aile is more modern. The window of the North side has been apparently altered, to answer the window of the South aile. To the South are plain marks of a cross aile." The Porch was rebuilt in 1804, under the direction of the Hon. and Rev. R. B. Stopford. When forming the paved way to that entrance, a stone coffin was discovered, with a cross, &c. on its lid, which has been placed in the Church. The North door-way of the Church, inside the Porch, is of Saxon workmanship, with a curious sculpture over it, worthy the attention of the Antiquary. The following monumental inscriptions are not in Bridges's History: "Johannem Bridges, Armig. Literarum et Literatorum amantissimum, ingenti Librorum supellectile et quædam de Patriis Antiquitatibus placuit D. O. M. in pulverem et terram diruere, ubi omnia ista pereunt. Natus Binfieldiæ in agro Berch. mortalitatis exuvias deposuit apud Hospit. Lincoln, 2. Anno Salutis MDCCXXIV. Etatis LVIII. Hoc Marmor Sepulchrale Brooke Bridges propriis Sumptibus "Infra hunc fornicem sepulchralem cineres suos deponi voluit GENT. MAG. March, 1817. rerumque |