34 
appointment of Lord Deputy of Ireland, the Lord Mayor and 
his brethren were desirous of personally waiting upon Lord 
Wentworth, to give him thanks for the many kindnesses he had 
shewn to the city; and they sent the sword-bearer to the 
Manour to inquire when his lordship would be at leisure to 
receive them. It is not recorded that the interview took place, 
and most probably the compliment was declined. Not many 
days previously, this remarkable man had been plunged into 
the deepest distress by the premature and unexpected sudden 
death of his wife, the Lady Arabella Wentworth, to whom he 
was devotedly attached. She was a lady, Sir George Radcliffe 
tells us, exceeding comely and beautiful, and yet much more 
lovely in the endowments of her mind.” Her death took place 
at the Manour, on the 5th of October, in this year, when the 
bereaved husband was himself suffering from severe illness. 
On Tuesday morning (Sir George says) I took this Earl out 
of bed, and carried him to receive his last blessing from her.” 
Writing to Sir Edward Stanhope, on the 25th of October, 
Wentworth says, ‘^God hath taken from me your noblest cousin, 
the most incomparable woman and wife my eyes shall ever 
behold.” He remained but a short time at York after the date 
of this letter. 
There can be no hesitation in asserting that the pestilence of 
1631 was the last by which York was visited in the 17th cen¬ 
tury. Except that some of the towns on the banks of the rivers 
Tyne and Wear were slightly affected, all the northern counties 
escaped the great plague which desolated London and its vicinity 
in the year 1665. 
November 4th.—Eev. J. Kenrick read a paper entitled, 
A Retrospect of the Early History of the Yorkshire Philo¬ 
sophical Society. 
It is well that on the occurrence of such strongly marked 
periods of their history as a half-century, both individuals and 
public bodies should pause for a short time—review their past 
course, consider their actual position, and see what lessons for 
the future they jointly suggest. The first of these offices is all 
that I now venture to undertake. 
