(Transcription) Western Morning News • 25 Sep 1911, page 8

EARL OF ST. GERMANS.
CORNWALL MOURNS THE LOSS OF A POPULAR NOBLEMAN.
With deep regret we announce the death of the Earl of St. Germans at Port Eliot, his Cornish seat, yesterday afternoon, shortly after four o'clock. To Cornwall the sad news will come as a great shock, as his fatal illness was so short that it was known to only a few beyond the village of St. Germans. His lordship had been ailing for a few days, and about four o'clock on Friday morning had a paralytic stroke. Dr. Harman, of St. Germans, at once attended, and the following day Dr. Fox was called in consultation. After his seizure his lordship was conscious, but never spoke. It was hoped that he would rally, especially as he had good sleep during Saturday night, but the end came unexpectedly and quite peacefully yesterday. Lord Eliot, who was serving with his regiment, the Scots Greys, at York, was telegraphed for on Friday, and arriving on Saturday morning was present, with his mother the Countess, when his father passed away. All Cornwall will mourn the loss of a nobleman keenly conscious of the responsibilities of his station, and of one who took a deep interest in county movements. Those who lived on his estates will feel his death as that of a personal friend, a considerate landlord, and a sympathetic neighbour.

In the parish church, at evensong, Canon Westmacott said: I cannot commence my sermon without alluding to the great grief which is overshadowing us to-night. There is not one in the parish who does not but feel that he has lost a very great friend — one who was intersted in every detail connected with the welfare of the parish. Our grief is a very real one, and I am confident that it will be more and more felt as time goes on. But what is our grief when compared with the loved ones of his family? I crave for your prayers and sympathy on their behalf. As Christians let us pray to God for His help to enable them to bear their heavy grief and sorrow.

The funeral will take place at Port Eliot on Wednesday, leaving the house at noon.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
Henry Cornwallis Eliot, Earl of ST. Germans, and Baron Eliot of St. Germans, belonged to a family long associated with the county of Cornwall. Born on February 11th, 1835, he was the son of Edward Granville Eliot, third Earl (who died on October 7th, 1877), and of Lady Jemima Cornwallis, third daughter of the second Marquis Cornwallis (died July 2nd, 1856), and brother of William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot, fourth Earl, who died on March 19th, 1881. After being educated at Eton, and when thirteen years of age, his lordship entered the Royal Navy as midshipman, and served principally with the Mediterranean fleet until 1853. Unfortunately he became very deaf, and was obliged to leave the service. Later, when on a visit to Plymouth for a single day, watching some practice shooting from a ship in the Sound, he was struck with a stray shot, and lost the sight of an eye. On January 28th, 1855, he entered the Foreign-office as a junior clerk, and was secretary to Earl Vane's Special Mission to St. Petersburg in July, 1867, to invest H.I.M. Alexander with the Order of the Garter. He was promoted to acting assistant clerk on January 13th, 1872, and assistant clerk on May 27th in the same year. He succeeded to the title of Earl of St. Germans on the death of his brother on March 19th, 1881, in which year also, on October 18th, he married the Hon. Emily Harriet Labouchere, third daughter and co-heir of Henry, late Lord Taunton (a title now extinct). He was made a Deputy-Lieutenant of the county of Cornwall on March 20th, 1883, and was patron of the livings of St. Gennys and Jacobstoe, in Cornwall, and of Latton and Ensey, Wilts.

The late Earl, the fifth of the line, lived the quiet, unostentatious life of a country squire, chiefly making Port Eliot his home. With the modesty so essentially characteristic of him, he once wrote to a member of our editorial staff: "I am sorry to hear that you are thinking of publishing a sketch of my life, as it can be of no public interest. The dates of my birth and marriage, &c., will be found in any book of reference, and also the fact that I was five years in the navy and 26 in the Foreign-office. I really do not see what more there is to say about me." He was greatly interested in antiquarian subjects, as was evidenced by his introduction and chronological summary to the late Prebendary Hingeston-Randolph's "Architectural History of the Conventual and Parochial Church of St. Germans, Cornwall" (1902).

His lordship was a liberal contributor to the restoration of the old parish church of St. Germans. The church was reopened with great state and ceremony on September 12th, 1894, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the late Lord Eliot acting as one of his Grace's train-bearers. The cost of the restoration was £6,000. The Earl also subscribed liberally to the funds for the erection and completion of Truro Cathedral. Lord St. Germans was unable, on account of ill health to be present when the King and Queen, then their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, opened the Cathedral in the summer of 1894, but he organized a demonstration of school children at St. Germans on the occasion of the Royal train passing over the viaduct on their return journey. In the St. Germans Mutual Improvement Society, established in 1868, he took a practical interest, and, in 1892, he provided for the use of the members two large rooms in the Townhall building, one for a library, containing five hundred volumes, and reading-room, and the other for a recreation-room.

He was one of the patrons for the diocese of Truro of the Church Teachers' Benevolent Institution, founded in 1857, to afford relief to teachers in times of temporary affliction or distress; to provide small annuities for disabled teachers or their widows; to assist, by home allowances, teachers' orphans, and to assist retiring teachers to utilize their small savings for the purchase of immediate annuities. He was also an ex-officio member of the Truro Diocesan Conference; a past president of the Devon and Cornwall Female Orphan Asylum for rearing and educating good servants, established in 1834; president, in 1892, of the South Devon and Cornwall Institution for the Instruction and Employment of the Blind, Plymouth: president, in 1882, of Plymouth Public Dispensary (charitable and provident), Catherine-street, established in 1798; and a patron of the Plymouth Industrial Exhibitions and the Plymouth Amateur Swimming and Life-Saving Society.

On the death of the late Sir Colman Rashleigh, formerly Liberal M.P. for East Cornwall, the Earl of St. Germans was unanimously elected leader of the Liberal Unionist party in South-East Cornwall, and earned the affection and esteem of every Unionist in the division and county, and also the respect of his opponents. Many years ago his lordship indulged in yachting, and when holding the office of commodore he opened the clubhouse of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Madeira-road, under the Citadel, Plymouth, on January 17th, 1899.

TREASURER OF A COUNTY FUND.
His lordship, at the request of the Lord-Lieutenant of the county, and Lady St. Germans, acted as treasurer to the fund for the presentation of silver shield, &c., to the first class cruiser Cornwall, launched by Lady ST. Germans at Pembroke in 1902. The Cornwall is one of a class of ships which are being named, by command of his Majesty the King, after various English counties. The presentation took place in Plymouth Sound on December 20th, 1904, the gifts of the people of Cornwall, consisting of a silver bowl for the officers, a sliver shield for gunnery competitions for the crew, and a gong. At the back of the shield is a silver plate, bearing the words:– "This shield is intended to be kept on board H.M.S. Cornwall while in commission, and to be competed for annually but the crews of the several guns, the name of the captain of the winning gun each year to be inscribed on one of the spaces for the purpose. When the Cornwall is out of commission the shield will be taken charge of by the officer in command of the Naval Barracks at Keyham." The shield is adorned with maritime emblems, and mermaids on one side and mermen on the other, and naval emblems form part of the decoration. On the top are the firteen balls, for many centuries the arms of Cornwall, and underneath it is the old motto, "One and All." There is also the coronet of the Duke of Cornwall. King George and Queen Mary, who were then the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, presented their portraits to the wardroom. At the bottom of the shield is a picture of the ship, and in the centre is a group of men working the gun in the casemate, this having been taken from a group of men at work on the gunnery ship Cambridge. Around the border is a twist of rope, and each of the circles is intended to hold the name of a winning captain and the year in which he won his distinction. There are thirty circles round the border, and before the last is reached it is safe to assume that H.M.S. Cornwall will be on the obsolete list. The gong was purchased with the balance of the fund. It repeats the bells, and gives notice when boats are going ashore. It also produces the Westminster chimes, and bears emblems to show whence it comes. Both the Earl and Countess of St. Germans were present at the ceremony of presentation by the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe as Lord-Lieutenant of the county. Capt. C.H. Robertson, C.M.G., received the gifts on behalf of the officers and men of the cruiser, and humorously remarked that he did not know what the Cornish view of the motto "One and all" was, but they had accepted it as meaning that they did not care how many enemies came, and that they were going to attack them all. It is of interest to recall that two or three ships in the navy have borne the name of Cornwall, and all had good records. One was an 80-gun ship, more than 200 year ago, in 1692, and another– possibly the same— an 80-gunship in 1748, and the third a 74-gun ship in 1778.

SILVER WEDDING CELEBRATIONS.
Earl and Lady St. Germans celebrated their silver wedding at their seat at Down Ampney, Gloucester, on October 18th, 1906, but the tenantry on the Port Eliot Estate showed their goodwill and affectionate regard for both on August 30th of that year, when they combined in one celebration the silver wedding and the coming-of-age of the late Lord Eliot. The gift of the tenantry was a silvery cup, twenty-two inches in height, of the 18th century pattern, exactly similar to one presented to Lord Eliot, and the household and estate staff gave to the Earl and Countess a replica in sliver of the famous Warwick vase. The original vase, which is of white marble, 5ft. 7in. high and 8ft. across from handle to handle, is an exquisite example of Roman art, probably used in a Bacchanalian temple. It dates from 117 to 138 years after Christ, and was recovered from the lake in the precincts of the villa of the Emperor Hadrian near Tivoli, in 1770. The vase is now in the grounds of Warwick Castle, where a handsome conservatory was built for its reception. The Earl and Countess entertained the tenantry and the emplyees, as well as their families, to the number of twelve hundred, at luncheon and tea, and in the evening there was a display of fireworks in the grounds of Port Eliot.

The silver wedding was observed amidst great rejoicings at Ampney House, the Gloucestershire seat. The tenantry and workpeople of Down Ampney, Latton, and Ensey, with their wives and families, to the number of 600, were entertained at dinner and tea. The present from the tenantry was handsome silver tea tray, Queen Anne pattern, suitably inscribed. Many presents and congratulations were received by Lord and Lady St. Germans, including a beautiful collection of silver dessert dishes from their Cornish friends, and a silver-framed mirror from the associates, working and honorary, of the East Cornwall branch of the Girls' Friendly Society, of which Lady St. Germans is secretary. There was also a silver-mounted potato bowl from "Eleven Eliots" nephews and nieces. An interesting feature was the presentation to Lady St. Germans of a man who had been 65 years on the same farm. The tenants' gift to Lord and Lady St. Germans was a heavy solid silver two-handled Queen Anne tea tray, 26 inches long, in the centre of which was engraved the St. Germans coat-of-arms. The rejoicings closed with a display of fireworks, including a portrait of the late Lord Eliot, and aspirations for the long life and happiness of the Earl and Countess and family.

RELATIONS WITH THE TENANTRY.
The relations of the Earls of St. Germans and their tenantry have always been of a most friendly and kindly character, and several farms on the estate have been occupied by the same families for several generations. This was referred to by the late earl on the coming-of-age of the late Lord Eliot, in August, 1906, when he pointed out that during the past twenty-five years many of the old tenants had been succeeded on the farms by their sons or other relatives. It was always a great pleasure to him when this was able to be brought about. Of course, he added, they had some new tenants amongst them, but he hoped and felt satisfied that they would in time be succeeded by their sons, and their sons' sons, to keep up the custom which had existed on that estate for so long of keeping families on the farm, and in the hands of the same families as much as possible.

In August, 1909, an overpowering grief befell his lordship. There is no doubt it greatly affected his health. Lord Eliot, his son and heir, who was born in 1885, and was an officer of the 2nd Coldstream Guards, had recently returned from Egypt to spend a holiday at Port Eliot. A cricket match in the grounds had been arranged, and a large house party and many neighbours had assembled in the highest expectation of a happy day. The absence of Lord Eliot, who was to captain one of the teams, was noticed, and when a search was made he was found dead in the gunroom, death being due to a gunshot wound. The terribly sad affair turned the day into one of mourning, and evoked the sympathy of the whole county and far beyond. The widowed Countess, who mourns her husband and elder son in a little more than two years, will have the deepest sympathy of a very large circle of friends and of the tenantry of the Cornish, Gloucestershire, and London estates. In all her husband's public activities she bore a helpful part.

FAMOUS ANCESTORS.
The Earl was a descendant of the famous Cornish patriot, Sir John Eliot, who, when a comparative youth, was drawn from St. Germans to exercise unchallenged authority at the port of Plymouth. Born in or about the year 1590, he was knighted at Whitehall on May 10th, 1618, after four years representation of St. Germans at Westminster. Later he sat for Cornwall. From 1615 to 1624 he dealt with Western pirates with a firm hand, and in Whitfield's "Plymouth and Devonport" are several accounts of his daring exploits. "Eliot's career at Plymouth," the historian says, "was conceived in the broadest standard of statesmanship. Turkish, Moorish, and Dutch pirates had previously entered the harbour without resistance, sent the inhabitants into captivity, and sold the cargoes in the vicinity. Sternly resolved to curb these truculent knaves, Sir John prosecuted the local confederates who supplied them with stores and provisions. He also put several Turks and renegades upon their trial, ‘both those that this year came into Plymouth and some others that have been auncientlie in the gaol and upon tryalls neglected.' Twenty red-handed rascals he hanged in one day, but, with the fine sense of equity that marked all his actions, he pardoned the wretches who had been rotting in the gaol without trial for over eight years. Thus, without waiting upon the whim of the judges, he set the humane precedent of not allowing malefactors to linger for an age in filthy dungeons. Another instance of his alertness is forthcoming in the controversy that distracted Plymouth and Saltash over a sunken vessel that obstructed the navigation of the harbour. When the legal owners of the Tamar and the Plym were ordered to remove it the Mayor was aghast, and urged that while the cost would be ruinous, the advantage must be mainly for Plymouth. Cynically retorting upon her neighbour, Plymouth replied that, as Saltash insisted upon exacting the duties for the shipping, it should keep Catwater free. Eliot drily summarised the contentions: ‘Plymouth envies Saltash the privilege of the harbour, and will undertake to be the Prince's tenants therein. Saltash fearing to refuse the charge apprehends that the president will trench upon the interests of the Prince.' Plymouth pushed its advantage, and, as Eliot was unable to find a bass of agreement that would not injure his old friends, he raised the ship himself, at a cost of £300." Eliot's fearlessness brought him into conflict with his King, and he was committed to the Tower, but the Parliament "was never quiet till the King released him." He was deprived of his office as vice-admiral of Devon, and again sent to the Tower, and in the evil-smelling cell to which he had been again committed for arraigning the Sovereign, Eliot's indomitable spirit took its flight in 1632.

Edward Eliot, born in 1727, and who died at Port Eliot in 1804, was created baron in 1784. He was a Commissioner of the Board of Trade, Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall, M.P. for St. Germans from 1748 until 1768, for Liskeard from 1768 to 1774, again for St. Germans from that year until 1775, and for Cornwall 1775 to 1804. He assumed the surname and arms of Craggs, in addition to those of Eliot, by Royal licence in 1789. He had three sons, the eldest of whom was born in 1758 and died in 1797. This gentleman also took a considerable part in politics, representing both St. Germans and Liskeard in turns, was a Lord of the Treasury, a Remembrancer of the Court of the Exchequer, and a Commissioner for Indian Affairs. His brother John was created Earl of St. Germans in 1815. As the Hon. John Eliot he was for many years the representative of Liskeard in the House of Commons and, in 1810, he also served as lieutenant-colonel commandant of the 1st (East) Cornwall Regiment of Militia. He died without issue on November 17th, 1823, and was succeeded by his brother William.

William, like John, was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridgeshire, and when 23 years of age he represented St. Germans in Parliament. A year later, 1791, he was appointed secretary of the Legation at Berlin. He was also secretary of the Embassy to the Hague in 1793, Envoy-Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to Munich, 1796; Minister-Plenipotentiary to the Palatine and Diet of Ratisbon in the same year; a Lord of the Admiralty in 1800; M.P. for Liskeard 1802, 1806, 1807, 1812, 1818, and 1820-23; Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign Department June 5th, 1804-January, 1805; and a Lord of the Treasury, March 31st, 1807, to January, 1812. He was a colonel of the Royal Cornwall Regiment of Militia and a Deputy-Lieutenant fo the county. At his death, on January 19th, 1845, he left three daughters and one son.

This son, Edward Granville Eliot, born on August 29th, 1798, was also a diplomat of some repute. Serving first as an attache of Legation at the Hague, he became Secretary of Legation at Madrid in 1823, and the Secretary of Legation at Lisbon in the following year. For many years he was M.P. for Liskeard; a Lord of the Treasury from April 24th, 1827, to November 22nd, 1830; Envoy Extraordinary to Spain, 1834-1835; M.P. for East Cornwall, 1837 and 1841-45; Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, September 3rd, 1841, to January 16th, 1845; Postmaster General, December 30th, 1845, to July 6th, 1846; Special Deputy Warden of the Stannaries, October, 1852; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, January 4th, 1853, to March, 1855; and a Lord Steward of the Household, 1857 to 1858, 1859, to 1866. He was also a lieutenant-colonel-commandant of the North Cornwall Regiment of Yeomanry, and was for many years a Privy Councillor, both of the United Kingdom and Ireland. He died on October 7th, 1877, and his two elder sons having also died, the next Earl was William Gordon Cornwallis Eliot, the third son.

The fourth Earl was summoned to Parliament as Baron Eliot of St. Germans on September 14th, 1870. As the Hon. William G. C. Eliot, he acted as attache at Hanover, Madrid, and Lisbon; he received the post of second paid attache at Berlin on November 29th, 1853; first paid attache at Constantinople on March 9th, 1857; first paid attache at St. Petersburg, June 28th, 1858; and his other appointments before receiving the title of Lord Eliot, 1864-77, were:— Secretary of Legation at Rio de Janeiro, Athens, and Lisbon, acting secretary of Legation at Washings, and charge d'affaires at Athens and Rio de Janeiro. From 1866 to 1868 he was M.P. for Devonport. He succeeded as the fourth Earl of St. Germans on October 7th, 1877, and he died a bachelor on March 19th, 1881.

ART TREASURES.
The Eliots were patrons of Sir Joshua Reynolds in his struggling days. One of his earliest pictures is a small group of the Eliot family, which still hangs at Port Eliot. The group represents Richard Eliot, his wife, and family, with Captain Hamilton and Mrs. Goldsworthy. It is a picture of much importance to those who study Reynolds's career, for although the figures in it are somewhat conventionally treated, suggestive of his master Hudson's influence, there is about the grouping much of the life-likeness and brio which one associates with Hogarth's family groupls. The earliest portrait by Reynolds belonged for many years to Lord Edgcumbe, says Lord Ronald S. Gower, F.S.A., in his work on Sir Joshua Reynolds, by whom it was given to Mr. Boger. Lord St. Germans, who inherited it, kept it at Port Eliot. At Port Eliot also is the earliest known landscape by Sir Joshua. It is a panoramic view of Plymouth Harbour. Somewhat too brown in tone, says the critic, it has the merit of being a very faithful transcript of the lay, with its picturesque surroundings of hills and islands, with a foreground of the wooden ships of Old England brightening and giving life and action to the scene. Another Reynolds at Port Eliot is a painting called "Hope Nursing Love," exhibited at the first Royal Academy Exhibition. There are three copies, one being at Bowood, Lord Lansdowne's place; another at Port Eliot, and the third at Sandye-place. The actress, Miss Morris, sat for Hope. Reynolds evidently liked it, and hence his repetition of it at least thrice. A sad episode attaches to this painting. The bright young acress, who was the daughter of Governor Morris, had, when she sat for her lovely profile to Sir Joshua, just commenced her career on the stage. In the course of the next year she had what is called "stage fright," fainted on the stage, and was carried out, never to appear again in a theatre; she died in the following year. Another of the pictures in the mansion is the portrait of an old man, which, according to the testimony of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who in the early days was an inmate in the house, was painted jointly by Quintin Matsys and Rembrandt, vis., the head by the former, cut out of another picture, and the drapery and background by the latter artist. Then there is a small cabinet picture by Rembrandt, illustrating the story of Bel and the Dragon; nine ancient pictures, said to have belonged to the Priory, representing events in the life of our Saviour; and a half-length portrait of John Hampden, said to be the only original painting of that distinguished patriot.

Port Eliot, the home of the Earl of St. Germans, is a large and handsome, but irregular building, seated in a finely-wooded park, in the immediate vicinity of the ancient borough town of St. Germans. The estate was formerly called Porth Prior, from occupying the site of an ancient priory, or religious house, which was founded in an early period of the Anglo-Saxon dynasty. Mr. Whittaker contends that a Bishop's See was settled here as early as 614, but we ("Devon and Cornwall Illustrated") have no proof of any Bishop being seated at St. Germans before the year 910, when Athelstan was appointed to this seat. The See remained here until the following century, when it was transferred to Crediton, and thence to Exeter in 1050. King Henry VIII. leased the site of the priory with its lands to John Champernowne and others. Of this Champernowne Carew relates a story about the mode of his obtaining Porth Prior. In 1565 the whole was granted to Richard Eliot, Esq. [sic], from whom the present Earl is descended. The mansion, though embattled, and assuming some features of antiquity, is comparatively modern, parts of it having been raised at the beginning of the 19th century. The dining-room occupies the site of the refectory, and here there is a series of portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds of members of the Eliot family. There are also some good pictures by old master. The house is close to the ancient priory church, which occupies rising ground on the south side. The church shows some interesting features of Norman architecture, in its western doorway, and two lateral towers of different forms and dimensions. According to the Exeter Register, the south aisle of this church was built in 1621; and Carew states that in 1592 "great part of the chauncell felle suddenly down upon a Friday, very shortly after the public service was ended, which heavenly favour, of so little respite, saved many persons' lives, with whom immediately before it had been stuffed." The park-like grounds are some hundreds of acres in extent, and they included a large track of land reclaimed from the tidal waters of the Lynher creek some one hundred and fifty years ago. In the higher portions of the ground are extensive views of the surrounding country. The chief entrance lodge to Port Eliot is a Gothic structure, bearing the arms of the family, built in 1848. A few miles from the village is St. Germans Hut, a delightful seaside resort, belonging to the Earl of St. Germans. Through the kindness of his lordship, St. Germans Hut is much frequented by pleasure parties from Plymouth and the neighbourhood.

FAMILY MEMORIALS.
In the parish church are many memorials to the Eliot family. In the north tower of this ancient church, built of local stone and granite, is an exquisite monument, with effigies of Edward Eliot, of Port Eliot, 1723, and his two wives, by Rysbach. The monument formerly stood in the interesting side chapel, with its granite stoup, and an ancient miserere chair, with a moveable seat, on which is the rude carving of a hunter carrying game. Two memorial windows were placed in the south wall at the cost of the Earl of St. Germans, one in 1873 to Lady Caroline Eliot, and the other in 1877 to Harriet, widow of John, the first Earl of St. Germans. In 1854 a cenotaph erected by the tenants bears the inscription "To the memory of the Hon. Granville Charles Cornwallis Eliot, son of the Right Hon. Earl of St. Germans and Jemima, his wife, lieutenant and captain of the Coldstream Regt. of Foot Guards, who fell while acting as adjutant in the battle of Inkerman." In 1785 that portion of the churchyard lying within the grounds of Port Eliot was levelled, and a new cemetery laid out on the opposite side of the road. The vault of the Eliots is situate in the new portion.

THE NEW EARL.
The new earl— the sixth in succession— is John Granville Cornwallis Lord Eliot, born on June 11th, 1890. He was the Earl's youngest son, and became Lord Eliot on the deeply-regretted death of his elder brother, Edward Henry John Cornwallis, who was born on August 30th, 1885, and died in August, 1909. The present earl, who succeeds to the title at a much younger age than any of his predecessors, is a lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons Royal Scots Guards, stationed at York. He is well known to the tenantry, as much of his boyhood was spent in the ancestral home in Cornwall, and how greatly he is esteemed and with what confidence he was regarded as the future head of his family, was amply shown at the celebration of his coming-of-age at St. Germans on June 10th last. In accordance with his own wishes, as well as those of his father and mother, the celebration was a quiet one. It was in accord, too, with the feelings of all on the estates, for the terrible blow that fell upon the family less than two years before was still held in sad and vivid remembrance. The celebration consisted of a dinner at the Eliot Arms in the village, and was attended by about fifty of the principal tenants. The Earl did not feel equal to attending, but the Countess was present to support her only surviving child, and expressed regret at the absence of Lord St. Germans. The toast of Lord Eliot was happily proposed by Mr. W. Paige, who took his lordship by surprise by presenting him, on behalf of the tenantry, with a gold-mounted hunting crop and a pair of spurs. Mr. Paige remarked that they all admired Lord Eliot, for he had joined the army to show his readiness to defend his country. He was a chip off the old block, and that meant a lot, for no landlord in the county was more appreciated than their own. Lord Eliot had the same kindly heart as his father, and rode straight to hounds. Mr. Henry Maynard, another tenant, joined in the eulogy, and unfortunately his hope then expressed that it would be many a year before they would know Lord Eliot by any other name has not been realized. Canon Westmacott, the vicar, thanked God Lord Eliot was no "slacker." Keen at cricket, he was keener with the gun, and keenest of all with the hounds, and the Canon's experience was that a whole-hearted sportsman usually lived the cleanest, straightest, and very often the most religious life. Lord Eliot, he added, had tremendous responsibilities before him, and knew where to go to find the strength to meet them. Mr. R. Banbury added that Lord Eliot had a rich heritage in the love and esteem in which his revered parents were held. Received with great enthusiasm, his Lordship said he knew they realized the difficulty and knew the reason they wanted his twenty-first birthday to be kept rather quiet. They were most of them old friends. He knew he was lucky in having such a good example in his father as a landlord. No business of any kind, whether city business or that of landlord and tenant, could be run unless there was absolute good feeling between the two. Friendship and comradeship were wanted, and he believed that existed on the Port Eliot estate. It existed now, and he was sure it always would.

Lord Eliot on the following Monday attended a gathering of tenants of the Earl's Gloucestershire estates. Congratulatory addresses from the tenantry in Cornwall and Gloucestershire were sent to his lordship at a later date.