Masonic Contempoearies.—No. Iii.

circle of military officers that this country could then "boast , and held in the highest reputation as a cavalry commander . Whilst abroad at that time , 1809 , he succeeded his father in the Baronetcy , his elder brother having been deceased some years , was knighted in 1811 , and raised to the peerage in 1814 , as Baron Combermere , of Combermere , county Cheshire .

His lordship was entrusted , by the Duke of Wellington , with the A'ery arduous and delicate duty of Commander of the Cavalry in the Army of Occupation in Eranee , after the Battle of Waterloo , where he remained until the -withdrawal of that force . On his return from the Continent he was appointed

-Governor of the Barbadoes , which he held from 1817 to 1822 , and after which , for three years , had the command of the Army in Ireland , at a critical period , and managed A'ery skilfully to be popular when popularity was no easy matter to attain . His lordship ' s greatest achievementhoweverwas

, , the siege and capture of Bhurtpore , a fortress in India , deemed impregnable , and Avhich had successfully resisted Lorcl Lake and the British in 1805 . Twenty years afterwards it was the fate of that stronghold to fall before Lord Combermere ' s exertions ; for having

been nominated Commander-in-Chief of the Eorces in India , he took that celebrated fort in 1826 , and , for the time , re-established the rule of the East India Company Avhen their possessions were almost lost . Eor this gallant exploit his lordship was reAvarded by being created a Viscount , and in remembrance of those services he waslast yearenrolled amongst the first

, , series of the Indian order of Knighthood before alluded to . His lordship ' s commissions in the army bear date as follows : —Second Lieutenant , Eebruary 20 th , 1790 ; Lieutenant , March 16 th , 1791 ; Captain , Eebruary 28 th 1793 ; MajorApril 28 th 1794 ;

Lieutenant-, , , Colonel , March 9 th , 1795 ; Colonel , January 1 st , 1800 ; Major-General , October 30 th , 1805 ; Lieut . General , January 1 st , 1812 ; General , May 27 th , 1825 ; and Eield Marshal , October 2 nd , 1855 . Lord Combermere Avas appointed Colonel of the Eirst Eegiment of Life Guards in September 1829 ;

, he also held the ( since abolished ) Governorship of Sheerness ; and in October , 1852 , he was nominated by the Earl of Derby Constable of the Tower of London , and Lord Lieutenant and Gustos Eotulorum of the Tower Hamlets , which posts had recently become vacant by the death of the Duke of Wellington .

His lordship has been three times married : — -first , in 1801 , to the Lady Anna Maria Pelham-Clinton , eldest daughter of Thomas , third Duke of Neivcastle , but Avas left a widoAver in 1807 . He married secondly , June 18 th , . 1814 , Caroline , second daughter of William Eulke Greville , Esq ., Avho died January 25 th , 1837 leaving by his lordship two daughters and a son .

, The younger daughter , Meliora Emil y Anna Maria , is now the wife of J . C . E . Hunter , Esq " , of Straadarran , county of Londonderry ; and the eider is married to Arthur , fourth and present Marquis of Downshire ; while the son , Bro . the E . W . the Honourable Major Wellington Henry Stapleton Cottonwas born at

Bar-, badoes in 1818 , and served for many years in his father ' s regiment , the Eirst Life Guards . He is a Deputy-Lieutenant for Cheshire , and sat as M . P . for the borough of Carrickfergus , in the ConservatiA'e interest , from 1847 doAvn to the last general election .

Masonic Contempoearies.—No. Iii.

He is also D . Prov . G . M . for Cheshire , under his noble father . Lord Combermere , after remaining nearly two years a widower , married thirdly , October 2 nd 1838 , Mary Wortley , only child and heiress of Thomas Gibbins , Esq ., of Gibbins Grove , in the count y of Cork , by whom , however , he has no issue . In the Upper House of Parliament Lord

Combermere is very rarely tempted to speak , but he gives a steady vote and cordial support to all measures of a Conservative character and tendency . He held a seat in the Lower House from 1805 till his ele \ 'ation to the Peerage . Lord Combermereby virtue of his Colonelcy of the

, first Life Guards , holds the appointment of a Gold Stick in waiting , and enjoys the distinction of being , now even at his advanced age , one of the best dressed gentlemen about the Court of Her Majesty , as he certainly is one of the most popular . It is almost needless to add that his lordship looks far younger

than his years , and that those who see him Avould never be likely to guess that he has been a Eield Officer in the British Army for upwards of half a century . Viscount Combermere ' s Masonic career is not so easy to traceand we can only offer our readers the

, very meagre statement that his lordship Avas appointed , and still holds , the Provincial Grand Mastership of Cheshire' since 1830 , and that he is a member of the Cestrian Lodge , ( No . 615 , ) at Chester , Avhich he joined in 1848 . His Lordship is an annual subscriber to each of the Charities .

Masonic Facts.

MASONIC FACTS .

( Continued from ' page 126 . ) 97 . In the Chronicles vf yLliugchn , the following occurs relative to an exchange effected by the Abbot at Barton , A . D . 1100-1135 : — "Bernero vero , pro terra , qase a Bertona curiam versus itinerantibus dextrorsum estterram qua ? Blachegrave dicitur cum

, hospitio quod Goisfredi cementarii fuerat . " 98 . In the 21 st of Henry III . ( 1237 ) the following order was issued : — " The King to John Eraunceis : We order you out of the moneys of the queen-gold which are in your custody , to deliver to Brother John , of Waverley , mason , £ 10 for the work of our

Queen ' s chamber at Westminster . Windsor , May Sth . " 99 . The first record of a Clerk of the Works is in . 1241 , 25 Henry III ., when directions were given for certain works to be executed at Windsor Castle ; similar orders were issued in 1242 and 1244 . —Mr . Wyatt Papicorth in the Builder 1860 .

, 100 . On 19 th July , 1244 , Henry III . granted to EdwardEitz-Otho ( Master of the Works ) that "from the aqueduct which the King had constructed to the Great Hall at Westminster , he might have a pipe to his own court at Westminster , of the size of a goosequill . " —Bymers Pondera .

101 . The unrivalled Sainte Chapelle , Paris , built 1245-1257 , from the designs , and under the superintendence , of Pierre de Montereau , who died in 1266 , and was buried in it , with an inscription on the tomb , recording his Avorks . —De Gaumont Hist . Sommaire de VArchitect , p . 167 . The chapel cost 400 , 000 livres tournois , and the relics aud shrines 100 , 000 more . It