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GEORGE II. who held great offices. Norroy walked after the Archbishop of Canterbury and before the Master of the Horse; Clarenceux between the first and second daily waiters, followed by the Lord Chamberlain of the Household, who preceded the royal corpse. Garter went between the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, which he carried reversed, and a Gentleman Usher; after Garter came the chief mourner. At this, and all funerals of Sovereigns, Queens, and those of any of the royal family, Clarenceux invariably carries, on a cushion, the crown or coronet, and Garter in the prayer of interment proclaims the stile of the illustrious dead.

Garter.

GARTER, PRINCIPAL KING AT ARMS.

Geo. 1.-JOHN ANSTIS, Esq.

Was of a Cornish family, seated at St. Neots, being son of John Anstis of that place, Esq., by Mary, daughter and coheir of George Smith. Garter was born September 28th, (Brooke, Somerset, says, 29th.) 1669, admitted at Exeter College in Oxford in 1685, and three years afterwards entered in the Middle Temple. As a gentleman of good fortune, he became well known in his county. The borough of St. Germain returned him one of their members in the first Parliament called by Queen Ann. Opposing what was called the Whig Interest, he distinguished himself by his voting against the bill for occasional conformity: for which his name appeared amongst the " Tackers" in the prints of that time. He was appointed in 1703 deputy-general to the Auditors of Imprest, but he never executed this office, and one of the principal Commissioners of Prizes. His love of, and great knowledge in the science of arms so strongly recommended him, that April 2, 1714, the Queen gave him a reversionary patent for the place of Garter. Probably this passage in a MS. letter to the Lord Treasurer, dated March 14, 1711-2, relates to his having the grant. He says, "I have a certain information it would "be ended forthwith, if the. Lord Treasurer would honor me by speaking to her Majesty at this time, which, in behalf of the Duke of Norfolk, "I most earnestly desire, and humbly beg your Lordship's assistance "therein. If it be delayed for some days, I shall then be back as far as "the delivery of my petition. I am obliged to attend this morning at "the Exchequer, about the tin affair, and thereby prevented from waiting

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Garter.

upon your Lordship. With all duty, I am your Lordship's most obe- GEORGE II. "dient, and faithful humble servant, John Anstis." If it does relate to the reversionary patent, it is evident that he long wished, and with difficulty obtained it. In the last Parliament of Ann he was returned a member for Dunheved, or Launceston, and he set in the first Parliament of George I. He fell under the suspicion of government, as being one of the several gentlemen in the House of Commons, who were thought to have designs of restoring the Stuarts. He was imprisoned; and Edward Harvey, Esq. another suspected member, unable to bear the jealousy of the court, stabbed himself. At this critical time Garter's place became vacant, by the death of the venerable Sir Henry St. George. Undismayed, he claimed the office. His grant was disregarded, and October 26, 1715, Sir John Vanbrugh, Clarenceux, had the appointment. Unawed by power, fearless of danger, and confident in innocence, he first freed himself from all criminality in having conspired against the succession of the illustrious House of Brunswick, and then prosecuted his claim to the office of Garter, pleading the right of the late Queen to give him the place. It was argued, that in a contest about the right of nomination in the reign of Charles II, the Sovereign gave it up, only retaining the confirmation of the Earl Marshal's choice: Mr. Anstis urged, that Charles only waved his claim. The matter came to a hearing April 4, 1717. The competitors claimed under their different grants. The controversy was not ended until April 20, 1718, when the right being acknowledged to be in Mr. Anstis, he was created Garter. He had, for some time previous to this decision in his favor, resided in the College. Disputing the prejudice which had been against him, he gained the good opinion and favor of the government. He even obtained a patent under the great seal, giving the office of Garter to him, and his son John Anstis, junior, Esq., and to the survivor of them: this passed June 8, 1727, only two days before the death of George I. He died at his seat, at Mortlake in Surrey, on Sunday, March 4, 1744-5, and was buried the 23d of that month, in a vault in the parish church of Dulo in Cornwall. "In him were joined the learning of "Camden and the industry, without the inaccuracy, of Sir William Dugdale." He was a most indefatigable and able officer at arms; and though he lived to age of seventy-six, yet we wonder at the greatness of his productions, especially as he was a person of great consequence, and busied with many avocations out of the College. In 1706, he published a "Letter

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GEORGE II.

Garter.

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concerning the Honor of Earl Marshal," 8vo; in 1720, "The Form "of the Installation of the Garter," 8vo; in 1724, "The Register of the "most noble Order of the Garter, usually called the Black-Book, with a Specimen of the Lives of the Knights Companions, "two volumes in folio; in 1725," Observations introductory to an historical Essay on the Knighthood of the Bath," 4to. intended as an Introduction to the History of that Order, for which it is there said the Society of Antiquaries had began to collect materials. His Aspilogia, a Discourse on Seals in England, with beautiful draughts, nearly fit for publication, from which Mr. Drake read an abstract to the Society in 1735-6, and two folio volumes of Sepulchral Monuments, Stone Circles, Crosses, and Castles, in the three kingdoms, were purchased, with many other curious papers, at the sale of Mr. Anstis' library of MSS. in 1768, by Thomas Astle, Esq. F. R. and A. S. Besides these he left five large folio volumes on the "Office, &c. of Garter King at Arms, of " Heralds and Pursuivants, in this and other Kingdoms, both royal, princely, ".and such as belonged to our Nobility," now in the possession of George Nayler, Esq., York herald, and genealogist of the Order of the Bath, &c. who obligingly permitted me to inspect them. Of these I have spoken particularly in the preface. "Memoirs of the Families of Talbot, Carew, Granvile, and Courtney;" ""The Antiquities of Cornwall;" "Collections, "relative to the Parish of Coliton, in Devonshire," respecting the tithes, owing to a dispute which his son, the Rev. George Anstis, the vicar, then had with the parishioners. The matter came before the Court of Exchequer in 1742. The late Dr. Ducarel possessed it. "Collections relative to "All Souls' College, in Oxford." These were very considerable: that College purchased them. Sixty-four pages of his Latin Answer "to the "Case of Founders' Kinsmen," were printed in 4to. with many coats of arms. His "Curia Militaris, or Treatise on the Court of Chivalry, "in three books:" It is supposed that no more than the preface and contents were ever published. Mr. Reed had those parts; the whole, however, was printed in 1702, 8vo: probably only for private friends. Mr. Prior mentions this Garter in an epigram:

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"But coronets we owe to crowns,
"And favor to a court's affection;

"By nature we are Adam's sons,
"And sons of Anstis by clection.”

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