MEMOIRS O F JOHN HOLLES, First Earl of Clare. Ob. Oct. 4, 1637. JOHN HOLLES, first Earl of Clare, of whose curious character there is such a spirited and comprehensive delineation in "The Royal and Noble Authors," was born at Haughton, in Nottinghamshire, about the 8th year of Queen Elizabeth's reign, being son and heir of Densil Holles, who died 1590, near nine months before his father, who was Sir William Holles, of Haughton, second son of Sir William Holles, who died 1542, having been Lord Mayor of London in 31 Hen. VIII. and having raised such a fortune that he not only left his eldest son an estate, which, in the time of Charles I. might be computed worth 10,000l. a year; but also to his second son 3,000l. a year more. There is a singularly entertaining account of the Holles's in Collins's noble families of Čavendish, &c. extracted from the MSS. Memoirs of that very excellent antiquary, Gervase Holles, which he drew up for the history of his own family. From the same source the following anecdotes of the Earl of Clare will be drawn. At thirteen years of age, he was sent to Cambridge, where the expectations of abilities which he raised were great: thence he went to Gray's Inn, where he spent some years not fruitlessly, but in such studies as were necessary for the management of his private estate, and performance of public offices. Thus accomplished he attended the court, then served in the Netherlands under Sir Francis Vere. He distinguished himself in the navy against the Spanish Armada, 1588, and was then of so active a body, that being heavily armed at all pieces, he would easily climb to the top of the tallest ship of that fleet. In 1591 he married Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Stanhope, of Shelford; yet, after this marriage, he made several sallies out of the kingdom, and spent many years either in travel, or military employment. He had the courage to oppose Queen Elizabeth's favourite, Lord Burleigh; and James's minion, the Duke of Buckingham. When the latter Prince "brought with him a crew of necessitous and hungry Scots, and filled every corner of the Court with these hungry Blue-Caps," he retired in disgust into the country. He was a favourite of Henry, Prince of Wales, who made him comptroller of his household, 1610, and visited him at Haughton, where he was enter * Gervase Holles, Coll. Nob. Fam. p. 84. tained splendidly for many days. With this Prince's death, his favor at court again vanished; and three years after he was brought before the Star Chamber for private conferences with Garnet and Jervis, the Jesuits, and imprisoned; from which confinement he bought himself out at once into a peerage, by a present of 10,000l. to Buckingham, and afterwards obtained the earldom of Clare for 5,000l. more, though that title had been just before declared by the court lawyers to be peculiar to the blood royal ; such was the extraordinary conduct of that court. From this period he continued to oppose Buckingham, and act with the same patriotism in Parliament as before. He now disobliged King Charles, and altogether therefore estranging himself from the court, lived in the country, at his mansion at Haughton, and house at Nottingham, cherishing quiet and contented thoughts in a retired life. He died at his house at Nottingham, Oct. 4, 1637, aged 73, and three or four months; of which event he seemed to have some presage, for the Sunday before, going from prayers in St. Mary's church, he suddenly put his staff upon a particular spot, and said “ here "will I be buried.' "He was of a gallant presence, full six feet high; strait, and of a strong limb. In his youth he was somewhat lean; but in his later days, he grew well in flesh, though not corpulent; his hair was of a light brown, something towards an auburn; his eyes grey; his skin white, and his cheeks rosy; in his face there was a strong mixture of severity and sweetness, and his motion was stately befitting so great a person." A lady told Gervase Holles, that" once when he was a young man, he came to the Earl of Huntingdon's, where he found divers persons of quality dancing, and he fell into the dance with them, with his cloak and rapier on, which he performed with the best grace that ever she had seen any done in her life. He was an excellent horseman, and active even in his age, for he has been often seen walking from Chaloner house, in Clerkenwell, where he then lived, to the Parliament at Westminster, his coach passing after him," &c. But his mind was yet more excellent than his person, for it was adorned with all the ornaments, the university, inns of court, King's court, camp, travel, and language could enrich him with. And John, Lord Cobham, said, "I have travelled the best parts of Christendom, and have conversed with the most noble persons in those places where I came, yet in all my life I never met with so exactly accomplished a gentleman as my Lord of Clare.*" * Gervase Holles, ut supr. p. 96. where see many more entertaining particulars. The Earl was father of Densil, the patriotic Lord Holles, and father in law of the famous Earl of Strafford. |