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A Genealogical Account of Fielding, Earl of Denbigh.

THIS noble family is defend. fons and one daughter. His eldeft

ed from the earls of Hapfburgh, in Germany. Geoffrey, earl of Hapfburgh, being reduced to extreme poverty by the oppreffion of the emperor Rodolph, one of his fons went into the fervice of Henry III. during his wars in England; and becaufe his father had pretenfions to the dominions of Lauffenburgh and Rhin Filding, took the name of Fielding. Henry, concerned at the low condition of this gallant young nobleman, gave him a confiderable fupport in rents and fee-farms, lying in different parts of England. He was fucceeded by his fon Sir John Fielding, who having ferved in the. wars of France, was dignified with the honour of knighthood. He married Margaret, daughter of William Purefoy of Drayton, in Warwickfhire; and at his death left an only fon, William, who married Agnes, daughter and heir to Sir John Luz. He was afterwards knighted by Henry VI. and loft his life in the battle of Tewksbury.

William was fucceeded by his fon Everard, who was created a knight of the Bath at the marriage of prince Arthur, fon to Henry VII. His fon and fucceffor, William, was knighted by Henry VIII. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Poulteney; and was fuc ceeded by Bafil Fielding, Efq: married to Godith, daughter of William Wallington of Barchefton, in Warwickshire, Efq; and left two May, 1763.

fon, Bafil, who fucceeded him, was knighted by queen Elizabeth. His youngest fon William, waiting on king James at his first entrance into the kingdom, was knighted at Belvoir-castle, on the 23d of April, 1603; and in the 18th year of that prince's reign, was advanced to the peerage by the title of lord Fielding of Newnham-Padox, in the county of Warwick. On the 14th of September, 1623, he was created earl of Denbigh.

On the breaking out of the civil war, he adhered ftedfaftly to the royal party, performed the part of a brave and useful officer in feveral engagements, and was at last mortally wounded in a fharp fkirmith with the enemy near Birmingham, in Warwickshire, on the 3d of April, 1643. He married Mary, daughter to Sir George Villiers, and fifter to the duke of Buckingham, by whom he left three fons and four daughters.

He was succeeded in his honours and eftate by Bafil his eldeft fon, who, at the beginning of the civil wars, joined the parliament's forces, under the earl of Effex, and was at the battle of Edgehill, where his father commanded in the king's army; but afterwards concurring in the restoration of king Charles 11. was, by that monarch, created lord St. Liz. He married four wives; his firft was Anne, daughter to Richard Wefton, earl of Portland, lord-high-treasurer of England; his Hh

fecond,

fecond Barbara, daughter to Sir John Lamb; his third, Elizabeth, daughter and coheir to Edward Boucheir, earl of Bath; and his fourth, Dorothy, daughter to Francis Lane of Glendon, in the county of Northampton, Efq. But having no iffue by either, he was fucceeded in his honours by William earl of Defmond, his nephew, fon and heir to George earl of Defimond, his bro

ther.

This nobleman married, firft, Mary, daughter and co-heir of Henry Cary, earl of Monmouth, by whom he had no iffue. His fecond wife was Mary, daughter to Sir Robert King, by whom he had two fons, Bafil and William, and a daughter, Mary, married to Evelyn Pierpoint, marquis of Dorchefter. Bafil, his eldest fon, fucceeded him in his honours, and married Hefter, daughter to Sir Bafil Firebrace, by whom he had four fons and fix daughters. He died on the 18th of March, 1717, and was fucceeded by William late earl of Denbigh, born October 26, 1697. He married Ifabella, daughter to Peter de Young

of Utrecht, and fifter to the Marchionefs of Blandford, by whom he had only one fon, Bafil, the present earl of Denbigh, born the 3d of January, 1719.

On the death of his father, which happened on the firft of Auguft 1755, he fucceeded to the honours and eftates of that noble family. He married Maria, daughter to Sir John Bruce Cotton, of Conington, in Huntingdonshire, bart. by whom he has a fon and heir, born the 15th of June, 1760.

Armorial Bearings.] Argent, on a fefs, azure, three lozenges, or.

Creft.] On a wreath, an eagle with two heads difplayed, fable, armed and membered, or, and charged on the breaft with the above paternal coat.

Supporters.] Two bucks, proper, attired, and unguled, or.

Motto.] Crefcit fub pondere virtus. Virtue gains ftrength from adverfity.

Chief Seats.] At NewnhamPadox, in Warwickshire; at Martinfthorp, in the county of Rutland; and Hanover-fquare, London.

The Hiftory of OMRI and RASSID. An Oriental Tale.

WHEN Allah beftows his favours upon the faithful, they fhould return hin their hearty thanks; when he with-holds them, they should not repine, but reft contented; for the all-feeing eye of Him that Laid the foundations of the earth, can alone difcern what may prove hurtful or advantageous to the fons of men. Let thofe who doubt of this truth liften to the hiftory of the families of Omri and Rafid, and their hearts will readily

yield to conviction. In Bagdad, that fuperb feat of the califfs, which, in magnificence and wealth, vied. with the antient Babylon; there lived, in former ages, two citizens whofe induftry the Prophet bleffed,, and who rofe to wealth by their unccafing labours. The name of the former was Omri, that of the latter was Raflid. As they had all their lives been neighbours, they were to each other objects of conftant emulation, infomuch that..

Omri thought himself poor if Raflid poffeffed a fequin more than himfelf, and Raffid redoubled his efforts to grow rich, whenever his ftore was 'exceeded by that of Omri. In a word, the happiness of those two men depended entirely upon a mutual comparison of their circumftances, and through all the events of life, they kept a conftant eye upon each other. Many years did not pafs before Omri took a wife, and Raffid feeing his neighbour married, refolved not to remain fingle. Omri had espoused Arpafia, the daughter of Hifpal, whofe beauty was of a brightness that might raise defire in the commander of the faithful. The ringlets of her hair equalled the ebony in blacknefs; in her eyes, which were of the fame colour, mildness was blended with luftre; and when the fpoke, the hearer was delighted, and every word the uttered conveyed pleasure to his heart. When Raffid beheld the beauty of Arpafia, he repined to fee his neighbour poffeffed of fuch a jewel; he, for the first time, felt a want that had been unknown to him before, and began to with he had an amiable companion for life. He caft his eyes upon Selima, the daughter of Saadi Haffan, whofe charms even furpaffed thofe of Arpafia; and if Raffid was happy in the poffeffion of beauty, his happiness was greatly enhanced by the reflection that Selima out-fhone the wife of his neighbour.

The happiness of Omri diminished in proportion as that of Raffid encreafed, for his neighbour's felicity was as it were a glafs, in which he contemplated his own. The warmth of his paffion for Arpafia continued

indeed unabated, and in his eyes her charms feemed to furpafs thofe of Selima, and even to equal thofe of the Houries, in whofe embraces the faithful are bleffed in paradife : but as all thofe who lived in the neighbourhood, extolled the charms of Selima above thofe of Arpafia, he thought his happiness imperfect, and his blifs was impaired by comparifon. Twelve moons had not paffed before a fon was born to Omri ; his birth was celebrated with great rejoicings, and the fcale of Raffid's happiness funk as foon as that of Omri began to rife. He every day importuned Allah and his holy prophet Mahomet to grant him a fon, but Selima continued barren; and Raffid, though he tenderly loved his wife, could not be happy whilft heaven refused to crown his love, by granting him the offspring he wished for. But his difcontent fwelled beyond all bounds, when, with the next revolving year, a daughter was born to Omri, whose infant charms promised one day to equal thofe of Arpafia, and who was the darling of her father and mother. He inwardly repined at the difpenfations of heaven, and could fcarce forbear to utter blafphemous expreffions against Allah, and against his holy prophet Mahomet. His prayers were however heard at length, and Selima was delivered of a fon; but his birth was a fource of afiction, and not of joy, to his parents. The infant feemed to be an out-caft of Nature, his deformity fhocked thofe who gave him birth, and his fickly conflitution gave them conftant uneafinefs.

Raffid now murmured at heaven
Hh2

for

for granting his prayers, and Allah
appeared to him as unjuft in giving,
as in with-holding what he defired.
His impious difcontent foon met
with farther punishment: Selima
was the year following delivered of
a daughter, whofe bodily defects
equalled, or rather furpaffed thofe
of her brother. The unhappy
parents often wifhed in fecret for
the death of their children, and
their affliction was encreafed by be-
holding the brilliant beauty and
rare accomplishments of Omri's fon
and daughter. Omri and Arpafia,
on the other hand, exulted in the
excellencies of their offspring, and
their triumph was greatly heighten-,
ed by comparing their own children,
with thofe of their neighbour's.
Almannor, the fun of Raffid, and
his fifter Zelis, were grieved at be-
holding the coldness and indifference
with which they were treated by
their parents; they were not con-
fcious of having done any thing to
incur their difpleafure, and they
could not without forrow, fee their
dutiful attachment returned with
negle&. They, however, found
fome confolation in the company
of each other, and Almannor's ten-
dernefs for Zelis was fome allevia-
tion to what the fuffered both from
her bodily infirmities, and the un-
kindness of her parents; whilft the
affection of Zelis for her brother
enabled him, in fome meafure, to
fupport the weight of evil under
which he groaned. Yet a ftate of
mitigated mifery was the most that
thefe unhappy children could boaft,
whilft Amram and Zeneide, the fon
and daughter of Onri, were poffef
fed of a felicity which excited the
eavy or admiration of all who knew

them. But profperity endures only for a time, and the brightest days of joy are fucceeded by mourning and forrow.

The Angel who fends evil upon mortals, had long beheld with regret the continued happiness of Omri and his family; he refolved therefore to fhed his baleful influence upon them, and make them fuffer their fhare of mifery and evil. By merchandize, Omri had amaffed the wealth he was poffeffed of; with every wind there arrived veffels from all the ports of the Eaft, in the cargoes of which he poffeffed a fhare. The angel of evil therefore, envious of the profperity of Omri, raised a ftorm in the air, by ich many of his veffels were caft away, and Omri was on a fudden reduced to a state of indigence, which almost obliterated the memory of the affluence he before enjoyed. Had his fufferings been confined to himself, he might have borne them with conftancy and refolution; but when he faw his beloved wife Arpafia, and Amram and Zeneide, his children, whofe happiness was more precious to him than his own, involved in the fame mifery, he found his anguish too fevere to be borne, and he funk beneath a weight of forrow. But his affliction was greatly increafed when he caft an eye upon Raffid and his family, and faw them bleffed with affluence and wealth. He could not bear the thoughts of refiding any longer at Eagdad, where he had been an object of envy to all who knew him; and he refolved to retire to Balfora, and there, by labour and induftry, endeavour to procure a fubfiftence for himself and

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