applye myself to for my anuety, because shee sayeth you have not much bussinesse in London, neither have you any agent heere, wherefore make bould to wright these fewe lynes to you to knowe to whome I shall applye myself, and if you have no correspondence at London, if you please I shall drawe it upon you there; this quarter which is now goinge on makes three; I desire your answere the next returne,

apex

of Mr. Baker's dignity. Hee was chosen by the Protector to be a Parliament man. The other knight for this shire, chosen also by the Protector, was John Browne of Litle Nesse, a selfe conceited, confident person, butt one that Mr. Baker had a great respect for, because hee favoured the Independent party. This Parliament was picked by the Protector through the whole kingdom, and not chosen by the freeholders as usuall. Itt was thought that the Protector chose this Parliament on purpose thatt they might make him king; but this Parliament was too wise to doe that, although the Protector, when hee turned them out, called them a Parliament of fools. They made one onely act, which was that all persons should be marryed by Justices of the Peace; of which act Mr. Culpepper says merrylyAn act for marriages, from heaven sure sent,

6

The only business of one Parliament.'

"I have now brought Mr. Baker to his meridian; sed ad summum quicquid venit ad exitum prope est.' As he increased in dignity, soe he decreased in riches, which wasted faster than his father gott them; 'maxima paulatim ex minimis, minima subito ex maximis.' Hee had spent all the money that his father left him, and haveing noe child, he began to consider of an heire to his estate, and first he designed his sister's son, and to that end sent him to Oxford to learn University readinge; but he proved too extravagant, and gott much in debt, and profited nothing in learning, and therefore the uncle paid his debts and cast him off. When he came home, hee marryed a wife of noe fortune and hardly a good name, and this alienated Mr. Baker's affection whoally from him. Afterwards Mr. Baker designed a son of Judge Mackworth's for his heire, butt the young mann dyed before he came to maturity; and then Thomas Browne, the eldest son of John Browne, of Little Nesse (Mr. Baker's oracle) marryed with my cozen, Mary Gough, eldest daughter of my uncle, Johu Gough, of Besford, half brother to old Thomas Baker, and had a son by her, named Thomas Browne, and this young man Mr. Baker made choice of to bee his heire."

The family of Browne became extinct in the male line in 1783, on the death of Edward Browne, of Sweeney, and the estate was carried into the family of Parker by the marriage, in 1796, of Sarah Browne, niece of Edward Browne, and Thomas Netherton Parker, of the Whitehouse, Longdon, co. Worcester. On the death of the Rev. John Parker, of Sweeney, in 1860, the estate passed to his sister Lady Leighton, wife of Sir Baldwin Leighton, Bart., and is now (1875) in the possession of their second son, Stanley Leighton.

me.

by which I shall regulate myself according to your answer, and if there be anything heere wherein I may serve you, you may command Thus nott havinge farther for present, with the above prefixes for yourselfe, Lady, Childeren, and rest of your family, I humbly take my leave, and comitt you and your severall affaires to the protextion of the Almighty, In whom I will ever rest

"Your loving Kinsman by you to be commanded,

"THO. MYTTON.

"Sir, if it be your pleasure to vouchsafe me an answer I pray direct your letter to me at my house in Greate St. Ellines, nere St. Mary Axe."

PAPER XXXVI.

"NOBLE COUSEN,-Though I would not willingly omitt any opportunity of presenting my service to you, yet I should not have been forward to have mixed it with any trouble, had not my necessity urged me to what civility would have denyed me. At the beginning of these unhappy differences my husband unfortunately purchased some land in the Township of Iscoyd, in Flintshire, part of which land belongs to a farm called the Hullis farme, and for which Sir Thomas Brereton payd my husband £40 per annum since the purchase, but so it is, that one Jennings and others plead a lett of this farme by the sequestrators for this year for £6 10s., which contract, if not made before my composition, which was on the 27th of February last, will not stand good; he told my servant that he tooke the farine before the 27th of Feb., and yet told him also that his bargain was made with the reste of the tenants, which was but little before our Lady Day, so that there appears a manifest artifice in it. My request to you at this tyme is, that my servant by your order may have so much liberty as by the bookes to know when this contract was made, and if any fore-rent was payd, though not due till our Lady last, they alleadgeing the payment of a fore-rent. Sir, if there be anything wherein I may serve you, there is none shall more improve all opportunities to the best advantage of doing it than, Cousen,

"Your affectionate Cousen and humble servt.,
"RAHELL NEWPORT.2

"Dothill, Junij 290. "

1 Dothill, near Wellington, co. Salop. Lady Newport's daughter Mary married John Stevenson of Dothill. The property afterwards passed to the family of Forester.

2 Rachel, Lady Newport, was daughter of Sir John Leveson of Trentham, and widow of Sir Richard Newport of High Ercall, who was created a baron in 1642, on his presenting £6,000 to the king

PEDIGREE OF THE MYTTONS.

Roger Mytton of Wilts - Anne, d. to Rich. Hussey.

Steven Mytton Jane, d. to Sir Philip Strange of Knocking.

Owen Mytton of Wilts Joyce, d. to Wm. Purcell of Morton.

Phillip Mytton Jane, d to Sir Henry Vernon.

William Mytton Anne, d. to Sir William Pickton.

John Mytton Anne, d. to Sir Francis Darrell.

Hankin Mytton F

Reignold Mytton Anne, d. and heir to Sir Hamon Vaughan.

at Shrewsbury. He died in 1650, and was succeeded by his son Francis, who was made a prisoner at the taking of Oswestry. Both father and son were deeply involved in the Royal cause. Their estates were sequestered to the amount of £3,287 for the father, and £5,284 for the son, besides an annuity of £170. Lady Newport's letter refers to these sequestration troubles. A viscounty was conferred on the family in 1675, and an earldom in 1694, and in the year 1762 the family became extinct in the male line. In the female line, however, it is represented by the Bridgemans. Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Bart., having married Anne, daughter of the 4th Earl of Bradford of the first creation. The Bridgemans were ennobled in 1794 under the title of Baron Bradford, and in 1815 the Earldom of Bradford and Viscounty of Newport were conferred on Orlando the 2nd Baron. It is a singular coincidence that the ancient inheritances of the Newports, including the Roman city of Uriconium, the Feudal Castle of Shrewsbury, granted by Charles II to Francis, second Lord Newport, and the old but now decaying manor houses of Wroxeter and Ercall are all separated from the possession of the family which represents the blood of the ancient owners. These great estates passed by will through the Pulteneys and Johnstones to the Vanes, Dukes of Cleveland. We have presumed that this letter, which bears no endorsement, was written to Gen. Mytton, and the name "Cousen"

| a

William Mytton, Cicelie, d. to Sir Henry Delves of Cheshire.

1544, Sheriff of

THOMAS MYTTON, of Margaret, d, of Sir Robert Napier, of Luton, co. Bedford.

Richard.

Ludovice. Elinor. Cassandra. Margaret. Jane.

Reginald.
Peter.
Edward.

Sara.

Sir E. Acton of Aldenham.

Halston, Major-Gen.

of North Wales.

B. 1608, d. 1656.

Richard Mytton of Halston, sheriff of Shropshire,

Rebecca, d.to Roger Kynaston Mary.
of Hordley.

daur.

1686.

Sir Thomas Mackworth.
Harris.

Richard Mytton of Arabella, d. to Sir John Houblon, Lord Mayor of Halston.

London, 1695.

we imagine represents the distant kinship between the Myttons and the Newports, which began when two of their ancestors married respectively two sisters, co-heirs of Sir John Burgh of Wattlesborough, Dinas Mawddwy, and Radbroke (see pedigree at the end). The Earl of Bradford, Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire (1875) is the representative on the female line of the Newports.

The figures indicate the number of the paper in which the name