Wilts Obituary. 



61 



private collection — and those who visited Fonthill know what magnificent 

 treasures in the way of Persian carpets, Chinese porcelain, and art objects 

 of all kinds he had gathered together in that storehouse of precious things. 

 In the way of Greek antiquities, too— especially gems and gold work — he 

 possessed most valuable things ; but his name was most widely known for 

 the absolutely unrivalled collection of autograph letters which he had 

 succeeded in amassing — numbering upwards of seven thousand, and con- 

 taining such items as the letter written by Mary Queen of Scots to Henri III, 

 of France at 2, a.m., on the morning of her execution, and two hundred un- 

 published letters of Napoleon I. Of this great collection — always open to the 

 inspection of writers aud students of history — he printed six quarto volumes 

 of indices, averaging three hundred pages each, and a " second series " of 

 seven volumes, in which the fullest possible extracts from the autographs 

 are given. He also printed a catalogue of the collection of engravings 

 mentioned above. He was, however, not merely a collector. He was also, 

 in the best sense of the term, a patron of the art of the present day — and 

 his special interest during the later years of his life lay in encouraging the 

 finest forms of modern handicraft. " He used to maintain," says The Times, 

 " that there are modern workmen in many countries who can produee as 

 fine examples of cameo cutting, inlaying of metals, glass work, &c, as were 

 ever produced before if they are property paid for their time and not over- 

 whelmed in the general rush for cheapness." 



The Standard, Dec. 31st, 1897, contained an interesting article on the 

 collection of autographs, reprinted in the Salisbury Journal, Jan. 1, 1898. 

 Obit, notices. Times, Dec. 27th ; Daily Chronicle, quoted by Wilts County 

 Mirror and Salisbury Journal, Dec. 31st ; Salisbury Journal, Dec. 25th, 

 1897 ; World, Jan. 5th, 1898. ■ 



Major-G-eneral Arthur G-o dolphin Yeatman- Biggs, 



C.5. Died at Peshawur on Jan. 4th, 1898, of dysentery, Itrought on by 

 exposure and fatigue whilst in command of a division during the campaign 

 on the N.W. frontier of India. Born 1843, the second son of Mr. Harry 

 Farr Yeatman, of Stock House, Dorset, and Emma, heiress of the late Mr. 

 Harry Biggs, of Stockton House, Wilts, he inherited the latter estate and 

 assumed the name of Yeatman-Biggs. Originally destined for the bar, he 

 entered the Royal Artillery at the age of 17, being then the youngest officer 

 in the service. He was present at the taking of the Taku forts in China, 

 where he was slightly wounded. He became captain, 1874 ; brevet-major, 

 1880 ; major, 1881 ; brevet-lieutenant-colonel, 1882 ; brevet-colonel, 1886 ; 

 lieutenant-colonel, 1889 ; C.B., 1891 ; major-general, 1897. He served on 

 the staffs of Lord Roberts and Lord Wolseley. He was in the South African 

 campaign of 1879, and in the Egyptian campaign of 1882, being on both 

 occasions mentioned in despatches. Iu 1894, he acted as Assistant-Adjutant- 

 General in India. Duriag the recent frontier fighting he was in command 

 at the capture of Dargai. 



On coming into possession of Stockton, he spent large sums on the very 

 careful restoration and furnishing of that beautiful old Jacobean house, 



