1810.] 
heir of Edward, Earl of Oxford. By 
her he had, 1. “Lady Elizabeth Caven- 
dish Bennet: afterwards the wife of 
the Earl of Stamford: 2. William Henry, 
who succeeded him. 3. Lady Margaret 
Cavendish Bentinck; and 4 _ Lady Frances 
Cavendish Bentinck, who both died, 
unmarried; and 5. Lord Edward Charles 
Cavendish Bentinck, born in 1744. 
Wiliam. -Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 
third Dake, and fourth Earl of Portland, 
who forms the subject of the present 
Memoir, was a youth of some promise. 
After a prefatory education, partly at 
home, under a Ae tutor, being then 
Marquis of Vitchfeld, he was sent to 
Oxford, and entered of Christ Church. 
In 1756, he recited publicly some Eng- 
lish verses, in such a manner, as to at- 
tract notice, On the dst of February, 
1757, he obtained the degree of M.A. 
but it was not until October 7, 1792, 
that his lordship proceeded D.C. L. 
when it was conferred by diploma. | 
After finishing his education at this 
learned seminary, Lord Titchheld was 
sent abroad, in company with his only 
brother, or Edward Bentinck, on their 
travels. In conformity to the established 
etiquette of that day, they made the 
grand tour; and soon after their return 
home, both became members of parlia- 
ment. The Marquis served for Weobly,* 
in Herefordshire, a borough supposed to 
be then somewhat under the influence of 
the family; while Lord Edward wits 
elected, first, for the city of Carlisle,t 
and secondly, was nominated a knight- 
of the shire for the county of Notting- 
ham; of which county his brother be- 
cane Lord Lieutenant. 
Lord Titchfield sat but a few months 
as acommoner, for his father, the Duke 
of Portland, died soon after he took his 
- seat; and we accordingly find a new 
writ issued, June 6, 1762, so that we 
believe he never had an opportunity of 
speaking, as the house did not meet for 
wd 
* He was returned during the twelfth 
parliament of Great Britain, which met 
November 25, 1762. 
‘+ He was nominated for Carlisle, along with 
Mr. Musgrave, in the thirteenth poulipment 
of Great Britain, which met in i768. — After 
the dissolution, he was returned for the 
county of Notts, on the death of Henry 
Earl of Lincoln, and served during four suc- 
cessive parliaments ; but chaiehes to make 
way for his nephew, in 1796. He married 
the daughter of Colonel Cumberland, now a 
“veteran author, as well as veteran officer of 
Vpiunteers, . 
Afemoirs of the late Duke of Portland. 
587 
the dispatch of business until the sne- 
ceeding autumn. From the first moment 
that He was admitted to his seat amoung 
the Peers, the new Duke of Portland, 
who by that time had attained the O4th 
year of bis age, took an active part in 
the proceedings of the House, and then, 
as well as for many years atcer, seemed 
desirous both of ear ning, and of ¢ deserving, 
popularity. His estate was not large, as 
it was encumbered with 
an immense 
jointure of about sixteen thousand 
pounds per annum, to his mother, the 
dowager.* This circumstance ob! iged 
him to have recourse, early in life, to 
expedients for raising money, which en- 
cumbered his fortune, crippled his inde- 
pendence, and is supp: wee to have in- 
duced him suddénly, and une wieeredly, 
to alter the whole tenor of his political 
conduct. 
Tn 1763, his Grace gave.an early pre- 
sage of his patriotism, by a strenuous 
opposition to the cyder-bill, a measure 
which was engendered daring the Earl 
of Bute’s adn ninistration, and brought 
pS Ua Sed cen NPS 
* The Duchess Dowager of Portland, a 
daughter of the Earl of Oxford, and Aram 
daughter of John Holles, Deke a6 Newcast!e, 
possessed a great taste fa: verti, and expended 
an immense sum of money, on the attainment 
of objects suitable to her finely-cultivated 
taste. To convey some idea of her collec- 
tion, it is only necessary to look over the ca- 
talozue, which is crowded with curiosities. 
That superb article, denominated, by way of 
eminence, §*the Portland Vase,” was pur- 
chased by her Grace, for one thousand gui- 
neas, 
It had been originally in possession of the 
Barberini family, and was supposed to have 
been intended as the depository of the ashes 
of the dead. All the figures, which were 
of most exquisite workmanship, are executed 
in basso reliewo, being formed of white opaque 
glass, raised on a proud: ot deep blue glass. 
Some antiquaries have Balen ted the period 
of its production, ta- be many centuries an- 
terior to the Christian @ra; and M. D’An- 
carville has written on this subject like a 
man of sense, while Mr. Rudgwood has 
treated it like an artist. 
It was the opinion of the Mite Dr. Darwin, 
that the subject was a representation of the 
Eleusinian mysteries. The figures represent 
the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, the por- 
trait of Atis, the first great Hierophant; a 
grand procession, &c. &c. A Plate of the 
compartments is introduced in vol. i. of the 
Botanical Garden, where the following al- 
lusion will be found : 
cs Or bid mortality rejoice and mourn, 
Over the fine forms of Portland’s mystic 
urn.” f 
forward 
