66 JBisJiojo Tanner, his Family and Writings. 



on his Monument, was just settled clown on the Lavington Estate, 

 which he held by descent thro' his Mother, one of the Coheirs of the 

 Lees of Ditchley, from Elizabeth, heiress of Sir John Dauntesey, 

 and second wife of Sir John Danvers the Regicide. James, Earl of 

 Abingdon, was the intimate friend of the then Warden of All Souls, 

 the Hon. and Rev. Leopold William Einch; who dedicates to his 

 Lordship, an edition of Cornelius Nepos; and, in so doing, uses 

 expressions of high eulogy, and special esteem. Lord Abingdon 

 doubtless was well acquainted with the Tanners, both Father and 

 Son. John Aubrey was a constant guest at Lavington-Dauntsey 

 Manor House, ("his cousin's " as he delighted to call it,) and we 

 know he was there in the summer of 1694 as he then compiled his 

 Miscellanies; and in dedicating them to Lord Abingdon, bears a 

 just, but honorable tribute to the merits of young Tanner, in these 

 words: "It was my intention to have finished my description of 

 Wiltshire, half finished already, and to have dedicated it to your 

 Lordship; but my age is now too far spent for such undertakings, I 

 have therefore devolved that task on my countryman Mr. Thomas 

 Tanner/'' "[the present worthy Chancellor of Norwich'" is inserted 

 in Edition of 1720,] "who has youth to go through with it, and a 

 genius proper for such an undertaking/'' Lord Abingdon was doubt- 

 less inclined to befriend the Vicar of the Parish adjoining his resi- 

 dence, a country Parson with small preferment, and a large family; 

 who had three Sons to educate for the Church. We may well sup- 

 pose that his Lordship would apply to his friend the Warden of All 

 Souls, to see what could be done for young Tanner, so as not to re- 

 move him from the University, and from the help there to be found 

 in connection with his favorite literary pursuits. That this was most 

 likely the case appears from the letters written about this time by 

 the Vicar Tanner to his Son, then a resident in Queen's Coll., in 

 which there are frequent allusions to "your business; " "the matter 

 you wrote about" mention of the time "when Mr. Moore, the Earl's 

 Chaplain, expects his Lordship's return;" with many like intimations 

 that steps were being taken near home, connected with the Son's 

 advancement at Oxford. But the point is set at rest by the follow- 

 ing Letter, from the Vicar to his Son, Oct. 13th 1694 among the 



