alas! the wound was mortal, and the unfortunate Clifton expired in the field.”
“While Byron calles; ‘Stay, worthy Clifton, stay,
‘And heare my falthfull promise once againe,
‘Which if I breake, may all my deeds be vaine.’
But now he knowes, that vitall breath is fled.
And needlesse words are utter’d to the dead;
Into the midst of Richard’s strength he flies,
Presenting glorious acts to Henries eyes.
And for his service he expects no more
Then Clifton’s sonne from forfeits to restore.”
The generous warrior’s expectations were happily realised; and the estate which was possessed by his unfortunate friend’s ancestors several centuries prior to the battle of Bosworth, is now enjoyed by Sir Robert Clifton, Bart.
Sir John Byron’s descendant and namesake was made a K.B. at the coronation of James I. and married Anne, sister to Viscount Molyneux, an Irish peer. By that lady he had seven sons, who were distinguished for their loyalty to the unfortunate Charles I.; John, the eldest, makes a conspicuous figure in the pages of Lord Clarendon, for his activity, and the important commands entrusted to him. He was created Baron Byron, of Rochdale, co. Lancaster, Oct. 24, 1643; and died in France, without issue, during the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He was succeeded by his brother, Richard, who held a command at the battle of Edgehill, Oct. 13, 1642, and afterwards received the honor of knighthood from his ill-fated monarch. Thomas, a younger brother, commanded the Prince of Wales’s regiment at the battle of Hopton-heath, Mar. 19, 1643, and is described by Clarendon as “a gentleman of great courage, and very good conduct, who charged with good execution.” The other four brothers, William, Robert, Gilbert, and Philip, fell at Marston-moor, July 2, 1644, a circumstance alluded to by the late Lord Byron in his first juvenile poem, addressed to Newstead Abbey, the ancient and dilapidated residence of the family[1]:
- ↑ Sir John Byron, of Clayton, Knt. obtained a grant of the above abbey from King Henry VIII.
