By Mr. Cunnington. 91 
Lackham. The will of Mr. James Montagu disappointed the 
expectations of his brother the Colonel, who had been led to suppose 
that the family estates would have been left to himself, at least for 
his life; instead of this he had only a rent-charge of £800 per 
annum, subject to which the estates were devised to his eldest son 
George, for life, with remainder to the children of the latter in tail. 
The Testator had borrowed, sometime before his death, a sum 
of £25,000 on bond, from the late Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough, 
to enable him to complete the purchase of Pewsham Forest, con- 
tiguous to his estate at Lackham, a provision was made in the 
will for the gradual liquidation of this debt, and out of this 
document there afterwards arose a long course of most expensive 
litigation, in which unfortunately the son was arrayed against the 
father, (an unseemly contest to say the least of it!): this, and the 
son’s extravagant habits, ultimately deprived the family of the 
whole of their estates. The affairs were thrown into Chancery. 
The costly and dilatory proceedings of this court, carried on as they 
were by his own son, tended very much to harass and embitter the 
latter years of Colonel Montagu’s life. He had the mortification 
to see the fine old timber upon the estates, which had been estimated 
at £70,000 cut down, and the valuable library of books, and 
collections of relics and curiosities, the gradual accumulations of 
two ancient families, sold and dispersed under a decree of the court. 
Even the pictures were included in the general devastation, though 
the chief of these were subsequently bought in. 
In the year 1811 Colonel Montagu experienced a most severe 
trial in the death of the younger of his two surviving sons, Frederick 
Montagu, of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusileers, who was then serving 
in Portugal as Brigade-Major under the late Lord Beresford. 
This promising young Officer fell at the early age of twenty-six 
at the battle of Albuera, where, as on many previous occasions, he 
had greatly distinguished himself. Colonel Montagu’s grief was 
extreme for the loss which thus suddenly befel him, as the comfort 
and satisfaction which he had always derived from the dutiful 
conduct of this his favourite son, had proved some compensation 
for the disappointment occasioned by the other. He erected a 
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