SESSION 1891-92. xxix 



a copy of a miniature in the possession of the Duke of Buccleugh, 

 said "to be by Peter Oliver, and dated 1620. It was then the 

 custom to have a miniature painted from life, and a life-sized copy 

 made of it, the first artists of the day making such copies. There 

 is also an excellent bust in terra-cotta, coloured, representing 

 Francis Bacon in his twelfth year, and believed to be by an Italian 

 artist. On either side are similar busts of his father and mother. 



Francis Bacon was the fifth and youngest son of Sir Nicholas 

 Bacon, who married twice, having three sons and three daughters 

 by his first wife, and two sons by his second wife, who survived 

 him, and resided at Gorhambury until her death in 1601. His 

 second son, Nathaniel, had a daughter, Anne, who married first Sir 

 Thomas !Meautys, and next Sir Harbottle Grimston, who also had 

 been married before, to ^ary, daughter of Sir George Croke. From 

 Sir Harbottle' s daughter Mary, by his first marriage, the present 

 Earl of Yerulam is descended. 



Sir Nathaniel Bacon was a talented artist, and two paintings 

 by him attracted much attention. One, a likeness of himself, is 

 believed to be one of the best ever painted in England by an 

 amateur. The other, " the Cook-maid," is also an excellent paint- 

 ing, and is of special interest as probably representing his step- 

 mother. Lady Anne, the mother of Francis, about the year 1577, 

 when Sir Nicholas entertained Queen Elizabeth. The Cook-maid 

 is represented holding a live turkey in her arms, and with a number 

 of dead birds on the table before her, including ducks and pigeons, 

 herons and bustards, yellow-hammers, bullfinches and chalfinches, 

 and a swan. There is a distinct likeness between the bust of Lady 

 Anne Bacon and the Cook -maid in this picture. 



Sir Thomas Meautys and Sir Harbottle Grimston are also por- 

 trayed, the former by Vansomer ; and amongst other paintings of 

 the time of Francis Bacon may be mentioned one of Queen 

 Elizabeth, painted by Hilliard in 1570, and presented by the 

 Queen to Sir Nicholas Bacon ; and one of James the First, 

 painted for Sir Thomas Meautys. 



A much older portrait than any of these is that of Sir Edward 

 Grimston, an ancestor of the Earl of Verulam, who died in 1478. 

 The portrait is on a panel and was painted by Petrus Christus 

 in 1446, at Burgundy, while Sir Edward was Ambassador at 

 that Court. 



Other interesting relics were also shown by the Earl, including 

 a work-box which formerly belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, 

 and the famous Yerulam jug, which, with a skeleton and two 

 other glass vessels, was found in 1813 in a Roman stone coffin dug 

 up in a field on Kingsbury Farm. This coffin was for many years 

 lying by the road-side, and is now in St. Michael's churchyard. 



On leaving the house the President conveyed the thanks of 

 the members present to the Earl of Verulam for his kindness 

 in not only allowing them to see his art-treasures, but also much 

 increasing their interest by his remarks on their history and 

 associations. 



