The Portland daily press., 1883-03-29
TLsndon Times.
Dukes Of Four Centuries.

On the 2Sth of June in the present year
the Dukedom of Norfolk will be four centu-
ries old. The occurrence of such an ami
versary cannot but awaken the historical as
sociations which cluster in such profusien
around the name of Howard. There were
dukes of Norfolk, It's true, before the title
was conferred upon the -Howards, and the
Howards themselves were famous before
they acquired the dukedom. But the title
conferred on Sir John Howard, the jock
ey of Norfolk has remained in the same
family, and has descended or been revived,
exclusively in the male line, ever since Rich
ard III. bestowed it on his great supporter,
Now brays who had held the earlier duke
dom. There are few families in England
which can exhibit an older title or boast Of
a more eventful history. The Duke of Nor
folk is the premier Duke of England, and
ranks among hereditary Peers Immediately
after the Princes of the blood. One earldom
alone, that of Shrewsbury, and not more
than a dozen baronies, can boast If All earl
Ter creation, so that apart from his ducal
rank the head of the Howards is entitled to
rank by mere length of descent as one of the
first mobiles in the land. Nor is the family
less remarkable for its historical eminence
than it is for its length of descent and the
variety of the branches in which its name
has been ennobled. The first Duke of Nor
folk of the present line was the descendant
and the ancestor of sovereigns. The stem
of his family may be traced with certainty
in bo M 10 limo ~ Cir William Harrard xubo
was Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas in
the reign of Edward l., and though the eau
tious Dugdale declines to carry the line
further back, there is, nevertheless, good
ground for believing that it may traced to
HereWard, the exile, who was Danished by
William the Conqueror. The mother of Sir
John Howard, the Jockey Of Norfolk,"
was of even more illustrious descent. Her
father was Thomas Mowbray, the last Duke
of Norfolk Of the earlier creation, and her
mother was the daughter of Richard, Earl
of Arundel and Surrey, the descendant and
representative of William de Warrenne,
Earl of Surrey. who married Gundred,
daughter of William the Conqueror. When
Sir John Howard was created Duke of Nor
folk, in 1883, his son, Thomas Howard, re-
ceived at the same time the title Of Earl of
Surrey. The earldom of Arundel remained
for some generations independent but it
was EftnLudly dDSDiD6u tDbD bUc ldIAllIy VI
Howard by the marriage of the fourth Duke
Thomas, with Mary, the daughter and heir
of Henry Fltz-Alan, Earl Of Arundel, whose
only son by this marriage became Earl of
Arundel in right Of his mother after the at
tainder Of his father.
Such is the earlier genealogical history of
the great Howard stock, which soon spread
out into so many illustrious branches that
Pope could speak in his day Of sail the blood
E.fl a HI .1.rNt. 81
very quintessence Of English nobility. The
first Duke Of the line was slain at Bosworih
fighting on the side OF Richard LII. The Duke
was attainted by Parliament after bis death,
and all the honors Of bis house were forfeit
His only son, Thomas, was thrown into the
Tower, where he remained in prison for
three years. On his release his title Of Earl
Of Surrey was restored TO him, and in 1913
the dukedom, which had been lost at Bos-
worth, was recovered at flodden, where the
Earl Of Surrey commanded the English
troops. In 1914 the revived title of Duke OF
Norfolk was granted TO him as the reward Of
his brilliant victory. From this time for
ward for nearly a century the viclssitudes OF
the house CT Howard and its relations to
that of Tudor form no inconsiderable part
of the history Of the kingdom. The sons Of
the second Duke we're renowned in war by
land and sea, two of bis granddaughter be-
came Queens of England, and his grandson,
Lord Howard Of Edingham, the second
holder of that title, commended the British
fleet which Withstood and vanquished the
Armada. Catharine Howard, the wife of
Henry VIII. was the daughter Of Edmund
Howard, who was Marshal Of the Horse,
Ender his father, at Flodden. Edward How
ard, another son of the second Duke, was a
sailor of renown, who was made Admiral of
the Fleet by Henry VIII, and slain In ac-
ton off Brest in 1913. Elizabeth, the Dukes
daughter, married Thomas Boleyn and her
daughter, Anne Boeyn, became the mother
of Queen Elizabeth. In spite Of the services
of his father and neutrality-suspicious., indeed,
in consequence Of them-the third Duke,
Thomas, with his renowned son, Henry
Howard, Earl Of Surrey, fell under the dis 4
pleasure of the imperious monach Of whom
Sir Walter Raleigh said that he spared
neither woman in his lust nor man in his
pride. The accomplished Earl of Surrey,
equally celebrated as soldier, scholar and
noet was accused with his father of Popish
intrigues, and both were thrown into prison
on a charge Of high treason. The gallant
and unfortunate Henry Howard, Earl OF
Surrey" says Sir Walter scott, was I'M
ouestionably She most accomplished cavalier
of his time. and bis sonnets display beau
ties which would do honor to more pol
ished age. He was beheaded on Tower Hlll
in 1916 victim to the mean Jealousy OF
Henry VIII, who could not bear SO brilliant
a character linear his throne" The princl-
pal charge against him was that he had
quartered the arms of Edward the Confessor
on his escutcheon, and though this was am
ply justified by heradic authority, it cost
the unfortunate Surrey his life. The Duke
himself escaped; the warrant of his execu-
ton was signed on the very day Of Henry's
death, but it was never carried out, and the
third Duke of Norfolk was subsequently re-