Note 32 — INGESTRIE HALL, STAFFORDSHIRE.
Reading edition
One member of the Talbot family, Charles Talbot (son of the Lord Chancellor), who died in 1733, made the tour of Europe with Thomson, the author of the “Seasons,” to whom Lord Talbot was a liberal patron and kind benefactor.—His poem on “Liberty,” which was conceived during their travels, opens with an affectionate tribute of sorrow to the memory of his friend.
“O my lamented Talbot! while with thee, The Muse gay roved the glad Hesperian round, And drew th’ inspiring breath of ancient arts; Ah! little thought she, her returning verse Should sing our darling subject to thy shade! And does the mystic veil from mortal beam Involve those eyes, where every virtue smiled, And all the father’s candid spirit shone? The light of reason, pure without a cloud; Full of the generous heart, the mild regard; Honour disdaining blemish, cordial faith, And limpid truth that looks the very soul.”
Thomson also composed a poem “To the memory of Lord Talbot,” which is equally creditable to the Chancellor and the Poet, and reflects great honour on Lord Talbot’s family, to whom it is addressed.