"The Register book says "1706 William ye son of Charles Orfeur Esqr & Jane his wife was buried April ye 23d Affi pro Mr. Nevinson of Torpenhow. "These confirm one another, the death on the 20th & burial on the 23rd April. "In the sincere hope that the above may be of use to you, This monument is of the altar form, with two panels on each side, separated by a baluster in the middle, having another at each end: on the eastern end of the monument is an hour glass, and on the western a death's head and cross bones. The top slab appears to have been renewed, perhaps about the commencement of this century, but the inscription was probably copied literally, and is as follows: Here lies ye body of Jane by her first Husband John Sen Esqr: 2 Sons: Charles and William who Anne, Bridget, Pheby (who died She was one of ye best of cember 1720. & much lamented Qualis erat Dies illa Supremus indicabit Extract from a letter of Joseph & Mary Tyndal 6 ffeby 1803. Nephew Thomas We look long to hear from you and hath seen Josh Dodd and his Daughter Betty lately who are both well as we are at present they both are uneasy to hear from you as well as us so we all of us desire you will write the first opportunity & give us particular account in what situation of life you are all in we mean your brother as well as your own family Aspatria . From yr Affectionate Uncle & Aunt Jos & MARY TYNDAL Addressed Mr. Thos Orfeur Fighting Cock Row Yarmouth Norfolk 219 XXII. Bernard Gilpin. Read before the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archæological Society at Kentmere, June 4th, 1878, and Reprinted from the "Westmorland Gazette" of June 8th. LTHOUGH within the historical period man has never in Western Europe had to dread the ravages of beasts of the feline tribe, such as still strike terror into the hearts of the inhabitants of Oriental countries, yet we gather from many sources that such roads as existed in England, even after the Conquest, were by no means safe for the traveller, even so far as the beasts of the field alone were concerned, putting to one side the attacks to which he was liable from the lawless members of his own kind. The wild cattle of Chillingham, preserved in the park there, and those of Ribblesdale, existing into the present century, represent a race which roved unrestricted over moor and glen; and the wild boar, now happily extinct, because its ferocity and untameable strength did not allow it to be kept within limits such as even the herd I name had to submit to. Tradition has preserved many a legend with regard to these feræ naturæ, or, where that has failed, heraldry depicts the ferocious desolaters of a district by a pictorial representation on a shield, or a fac-simile on a crest. That of the Dacres was a bull, statant, tail extended, gules; and that of the Radcliffes was a bull's head, erased, sable, ducally gorged, and chained azure. Even more common in the noble art than the representation of the bull is that of the wild boar; the Philipsons, the Sandfords, and others bearing the same, sometimes with reference to an ancestral exploit, sometimes as typical of unextinguishable courage. We can only regret that the ancestor of the Bacon family should have condescended to such a punning coat as they have adopted, though the heraldic description is made as ferocious as possible. Although the period at which the wellknown Gilpin exploit took place is thought by Bishop Nicolson to be much earlier than the pedigree he had before him, and which is given in Burn and Nicolson, would warrant, yet in the carefully drawn up one before me several generations are intercalated, which would pretty nearly bring the tale into accordance with the period with which it is traditionally associated-the reign of King John. I do not doubt that a Richard Gilpin did emulate the doughty deeds of Aruns of Volscinium, Who slew the great wild boar, The great wild boar that had its den And wasted fields, and slaughtered men, The tradition is well rooted, has long existed, and it is certain that this neighbourhood abounded in wild swine from the traces left in local names-Grisemere, Grisedale, Boredale, Swinsty, Swineshide, etc., in our own district; of Brancepeth (Brawnspath) in Durham, and Swinburn in Northumberland. The Rev. Charles Farish, whose mother was Elizabeth Gilpin, in his "Minstrells of Winandermere," which graceful poem would supply us with many beautiful illustrations of the scenes we are now visiting, in his "Boatman's Story" relates the old legend to which I am alluding : At Crookbeck were his footsteps seen, The holy pilgrim he affrays; O waly, waly Kendal Green, And waly, waly Bowness braes! Ev'n when they kiss'd St. Mary's ground, They cast an eager glance around, Mistrusting every foam tusk'd wave. For the wild boar is ranging nigh, Bark'd are the trees about Boar-stile, At Underbarrow is his sty, Oh, waly sweet St. Mary's Isle ! But hark at Kendal rebecks sound, And Bowness Milbecks echo wakes, In death his burning thirst he slakes. The gallant hero wash'd his spear, And well he won his honest arms, And well he won his Kentmere lands; He won them not in war's alarms, Nor dipt in human strife his hands. Kentmere Hall (or more properly, I think, Kentmire Hall, for it is so called by both Carleton and Gilpin, though the name becomes less poetical but more like its congener, Longmire) became the mansion of the Gilpin family, though it was never a manorial seat, until it was lost to them under the following circumstances. George Gilpin, great-grandson of the apostle Bernard's elder brother William, bore an active part in the cause of Charles the First, and had to take refuge abroad. His wife was Catherine, daughter of Robert Philipson, of Holling Hall, and uncle of Sir Christopher of that name. Wishing to save his lands from forfeiture, he adopted a device which was common during the time of the Wars of the Roses, of conveying them to two trustees, one being on each of the conflicting sides, a Philipson was one, and a Captain Nicolson, of Hawkshead, of the Parliament side, the other. Captain Gilpin died beyond sea and Nicolson came into possession of the estate, which he held until the good times of the Restoration came round, when Sir Christopher Philipson ousted him; and, partly by the strong hand, and partly by payments to buy off claimants, as I gather, maintained his very questionable title. Although the patriarch of the family distinguished himself by his courage, and although that was undoubtedly a characteristic of the race, yet they have in the persons of various members of the family been still more distinguished by piety, gentleness, and good sense. All these are admirably illustrated, and the ancestral courage proved also in the well-known anecdote of Bernard Gilpin, who, always submissive to the decrees of providence, was |