42 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



made fiies under hedges. At a 

 place near Brentford, "a woman 

 connected with Webb made tea 

 for them. They stopped on Beck- 

 enham Common to rest the horse, 

 about ten o'clock at night; when 

 a horse patrole passing at the time, 

 suspected something to be wrong, 

 but could not ascertain what. He 

 insisted on the driver moving oft'; 

 and when he was about putting the 

 horse into the cart, an accident 

 happened which nearly led to their 

 discovery. The Frenchmen all 

 being at the back of the cart, the 

 driver lost the balance, when 

 he was putting in the horse, and 

 the cart fell backwards, which 

 caused the Frenchmen to scream 

 violently; but it is supposed the 

 patrole had gone too far to hear 

 the noise. Webb was apprehend- 

 ed, and examined before a magis- 

 trate in Kent, but he discharged 

 him. However, afterwards, the 

 magistrate meeting with Webb in 

 Maidstone, where he was attend- 

 ing the assize on a similar charge, 

 he took him into custody. 



29. The late Dotvager Countess 

 Stanhope. — Her ladyship's will, 

 which has been proved in Doctors' 

 Commons, is in these words, 

 viz. 



" Ovenden, 11th Feb. 1805. 



" This is the last will and testa- 

 ment of me, Grisel, dowager 

 countess Stanhope, written with 

 my own hand. After payment of 

 all my lawful debts, I give and be- 

 queath all I am possessed of at my 

 death to my dearly beloved son, 

 Charles earl Stanhope, from my 

 approbation of his private and 

 public conduct ; and I appoint him 

 my executor. If 1 die at Ovenden, 

 I wish to be very privately buried 



in tlie family vault in Chevening 

 church. 



" Witness my hand, this eleventli 

 day of February, in the year of 

 our Lord one thousand eight hun- 

 dred and five. 



"G. Stanhope." 



There are two codicils to the 

 will, both dated in the year 1808, 

 the first of which contains the fol- 

 lowing clause, namely, 



" I, Grisel, countess dowager 

 Stanhope, having written, in my 

 own hand, on several books which 

 I have given to my dear son, the 

 words, ' For Chevening Library,' 

 I do hereby will and desire that all 

 such books shall belong to my said 

 son only, as I am much dissatisfied 

 with the conduct of my grandson, 

 Philip Henry (lord Mahon) with 

 respect to my most honest, most 

 worthy, and most dearly beloved 

 husband." 



By this, and the second codicil, 

 sundry legacies are left to several 

 of her ladyship's servants, to her 

 son's steward, and to the poor of 

 Chevening village, who have re- 

 sided there twenty years, or up- 

 wards. 



Amongst her ladyship's papers, 

 a remarkable manuscript, written 

 in her own hand, was found, 

 which contains the following pray- 

 er to the Almighty, composed by 

 her husband, the late Philip earl 

 Stanhope, which exhibits not only 

 a religious zeal the most fervent, 

 but also a high degree of sublime 

 patriotic devotion. 



Copy of my dear lord's prayer, 

 from the original in his own hand- 

 writing: — 



" O Almighty and everlasting 

 God, the all-wise and all-rigliieous 

 ruler of mankind, vouchsafe to 



grant 



