HERALDRY. 791 
Cdered as holding only for life.—The one, which is the and from the death of the perfon lad feifed, until a male 
mod comprehenfive, is where a man is ennobled, to hold heir is produced, the honour is in abeyance. If the 
to him and his heirs for ever generally, abfolutely, and limitation is to the heirs general, the law of defcent will 
limply, without fpecifying what heirs. It is evident prefer the male line; and in default of the male, the 
the limitations created may be various ; we mud there- female mud be called in, if but one; but if more than 
fore necefiarily be direfted by the patent as to the de- one, as the honour cannot beheld in co-partiierfhip, the 
fcent of the honour. dignity will be in abeyance, and will fo continue until 
We will prefume the limitation to A. B. and the heirs the event of idue born, within the drift meaning of the 
of his body. This edafe is known by the name of Ejlate limitations contained in the patent. If the limitation is 
tail general ; for however often A. B. may be married, to A. B. and his heirs male, the heirs female never can 
his idue in general, by all and every fuch marriage, is in inherit, nor any idue derived from them, nor e converfo\ 
fuccedive order capable of inheriting the honour per and under the lad adumption, if he had iffiie a daughter, 
Jbrmam doni ; but the limitations are dill confined to fiich who dies leaving a fon, fuch grandfon, in this cafe, cannot 
heirs only of A. B. as have fprung, or (ball fpring, from inherit; for he cannot deduce his defcent wholly by 
his body; and to afcertain who thofe heirs are, we heirsmiale. L'itt. $ 21, 22, 24. 
mud refer to the dandard of the general law of defcents. It is prefumed that the term “ Abeyance,” with re- 
Cafes occur, where the limitation of the honour is to gard to this fubjeft, will be more clearly underdood by 
certain heirs of the body of A. B. and does not go to referring to the Barony of De Clifford, which is a ba¬ 
the heir general; for indance, where the honour is limit- rony ip fee ; and confeqtiently will defcend to the “ heirs 
ed ,-to A. B. and the heirs of his body, on his prefent general ;” and for the prefent illudration wq fhall pre¬ 
wife to be begotten ; in this cafe, no idue can inherit, fume the prefent nobleinheritor to die without idue. 
but fuch fpecial idue. This limitation would be In fearching'for the heir to this title, we mud refer 
called In Special Tail: and here we may obferve, that back to the father of the prefent peer, and who, in the 
the words of inheritance, to him and his heirs, creates year 1776, had a fummons to parliament in right of his 
gin ejlate in fee ; but they being to be heirs to be by him be- mother, by the title of De Clifford, Wedmoreland, 
gotten, this makes it a fee tail ; and the perfon being alfo and Vefey. His lordfhip had iifue four fons and five 
limited, on whom fuch heirs fhould be begotten, this daughters, viz.Edward,the prefent baron ; Robert; Hen- 
makes it a fee tail fpecial. Inheritances, in general and ry ; John; Mary f Catharine; Sophia; Elizabeth; and 
fpecial tail, are often diverfified ; but as we have dated Henrietta. The fons, (with the exception of the elded,) 
fufficient for our prefent purpofe, we refer the readers and the fird and fifth daughters, are refpeftively dead 
for a more full explanation of fuch different edates of without leaving furviving idue. The three other daugh- 
inheritance to our article Tenure. ters married as follows: Catharine to George Couf- 
In regard to the defcent of dignities, fpecially limit- maker, efq. Sophia, to vifcount Sydney; and Eliza- 
ed by the letter patent of creation; it mud occur, even betli, to the earl of Albemarle; Catherine is dead, 
to common obfervation,that the whole has an immediate leaving ifTue a fon and daughter; Sophia is alfo dead, 
reference to the terms of limitations; if the limitation leaving ifTue two daughters; and Elizabeth is living, 
is to the heirs male, none but male heirs can enjoy ; • and has a fon and feveral other children. 
It is cudomary, in drawing out tables of 
defcent, to didinguifh the females by a 
lozenge indead of a parallelopipedon; in 
which cafe.the above genealogy would ap¬ 
pear thus. 
The above fhort extraft from the genealogical table 
of the family, will let the doftrine of abeyance in an 
obvious point of view. On failure of idue male of the, 
father of the prefent lord, his daughters would inherit, 
but not in co-partnerfhip. The honour is therefore in 
abeyance, and the king can fummon any of the claim¬ 
ants, or withhold at his pleafure. On the death of the 
countefs of Albemarle, in the lifetime of George, the 
fon by the fird daughter, he will be entitled to claim 
the barony, in right of, and as heir to, his mother. 
But in the event of his death in the lifetime of the 
countefs, the barony is then in abeyance between the 
furviving daughter, the fiderof George; the daughters 
of Sophia the fecond fider, and the countefs of Albe¬ 
marle. Again, we fhall luppofe the death of the above- 
mentioned George without ifFue, and afterwards, that 
of the countefs of Albemarle. The honour is then in 
VOL. IX. N0.627. 
abeyance between the two daughters'of Sophia, and 
the fon of the countefs of Albemarle. The fon of the 
countefs of Albemarle cannot inherit in the lifetime of 
either of the daughters of the vifcountefs Sydney. Nor 
can either of the faid lad-mentioned daughters inherit 
in the lifetime of any children of the countefs of Albe¬ 
marle. And in the event of the above-mentioned 
George or his fider Sophia having ifTue, either male or 
female, the defcendants of Sophia and Elizabeth-their 
mother’s fider, would be equally precluded. 
It is therefore, clear that the legal claimant of an 
honour once in abeyance, mud be the male heir, de¬ 
fended from the elded furviving co-heir, at the death 
of the lad podedbr; all others danding in equal degree 
of confanguinity with fuch co-heir, to the lad polTelTor, 
and their defcendants, being alfo dead. This will give 
fomp idea to our readers of the poflibility of a barony 
$ Q being 
