322
NOTES AND QUERIES. 112 s. 11. OCT. 21,
elegancies, especially Indian ; in the hall are
contrivances of Japan skreens instead of wainscot :
and-there is an excellent pendule clock inclos'd in
the curious flower-work of Mr. Gibbons in the
middle of the vestibule. The lands kips of the
skreens represent the manner of living, and
country of the Chinese. But above all, his lady's
cabinet is adorn'd on the fret, cieling and chimney-
piece with Mr. Gibbons's best carving. There are
also some of Streeter's best paintings, and many
rich curiosities of gold and silver as growing in the
mines. The gardens are exactly kept, and the
whole place very agreeable and well water' d.
The owners are good neighbours, and Mr. Bohun
has also built and endow'd a hospital for eight
poor people, with a pretty chappell, and every
necessarie accommodation."
On Sept. 16, 1683, Evelyn writes : " At the elegant villa and garden of Mr. Bohun 's at Lee. He shewed me the zinnar tree or platanus, and told me that since they had planted this kind of tree about the Citty of Ispahan in Persia, the plague, which formerly much infested the place, had exceedingly abated of its mortal effects, and render'd it very healthy."
The late Mr. F. H. Hart in his ' History of Lee ' (Lee, 1882), pp. 7-11, gives an account of " Boone's Mansion " (an ancient red-brick mansion in the Old Road, which was sur- rounded by a moat, and pulled down in 1824), the Boone estate generally, and the old Boone's Almshouses, built in 1683 and designed by Sir Christopher Wren. These were pulled down in 1876, leaving only the ancient chapel.
The founders were Christopher Boone, merchant, of London, and Mary his wife.
What was the precise relationship between the Rev. Ralph Bohun, D.C.L., and Mr. Christopher Boone ? And how precisely did the former derive his kinship with William of Wykeham ? What happened to the Gibbons carvings when the mansion was demolished ? JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT.
'THE
MORNING
1772-1916.
POST,'
(See ante, p. 301.)
IT is not known when Peter Borthwick first became connected with The Morning Post, but it was somewhere about -1848, when Michele was editor. Borthwick had been member for Evesham 1835 to 1847, and had made his mark ; he was strongly opposed to the abolition of slavery. In 1845 he got into disgrace with the Queen. The Morning Chronicle had printed a paragraph stating that the title of King Consort was about to be conferred on Prince Albert, and Borthwick asked Peel in the House of Commons as to its truth. The Queen wrote to Peel on the 18th of February :
" The Queen was much hurt at Mr. Borthwick's
most impertinent manner of putting the question
with respect to the title of King Consort, and
much satisfied with Mir Robert's answer."
' Letters of Queen Victoria,' vol. ii. p. 34.
Peter Borthwick was remarkable for his good looks ; these he transmitted to his son He was of olive complexion, with a profusion of black hair. Although his first speeches in the House commanded attention, Sir Robert Peel being much impressed by them, they pro- voked later on not so much cheers as yawns, which once called from him a retort less felicitous than funny. " If," he said, " I am not allowed to conclude at my own time and in my own way, I am determined not to conclude at all " (Escott's ' Masters of English Journalism,' pp. 186-7).
Borthwick was 44 when he began work on the paper with which his own and his son's names were to be so long associated. He at once interested himself in all matters relating- to the Press, and in 1849, on my father's founding the London Association for the Repeal of the Advertisement Duty, he became its chairman. He worked with alF his might to mend the fortunes of the Post r and he soon brought in his son Algernon to help him. On the 25th of September, 1850,. when the boy was only 20, his father ap- pointed him Paris correspondent. The young man showed such capacity that two years afterwards he was appointed acting editor in London. In that same year, 1852, on the 18th of December, his father died sud- denly, at the early age of 48. Bravely he had struggled, and an increased revenue showed the result of his control ; but his own monetary difficulties were too much for him,, and although friends showed every kindness, nothing could save the broken man. He worked to the end, and the last leader he wrote appeared in the week of hu death.
T. B. Crompton, to whom the paper was mortgaged, at once confirmed Algernon Borthwick's appointment as editor, with full control. The young editor also re- ceived a promise that the property should not be sold without his first having the refusal. He well deserved such a promise, for while in Paris at the time of the Coup d'Etat he had been able to supply the most private information, and at the special request of the Prince President had called on him at the Elysee, and been thanked by him for the impartial view taken by the Post in French affairs. That Algernon was far- seeing is shown in a letter he wrote to his father in February, 1852 :
" France ..:. is the natural ally of England. England wants the friendship of France. If this
