He had no place assigned him in the great funeral procession of Edward Earl of Derby in 1572, and his cousin Mr. Henry Stanley of Bickerstaffe being at that time the Comptroller,' Mr. ffarington had previously vacated the office.

His own domestic establishment at this period was large and well organised, his servants amounting to upwards of twenty, including his Gentleman, Steward, Clerks, and others, of whom he has preserved an exact account from the year 1574.2 Amongst his household relics is some curious plate, and his silver costrells or beakers, with his arms and several Latin and Italian mottos engraven upon them, are very beautiful specimens of ancient art.

The following letter3 addressed to him by his neighbour Mr. Molyneux of Euxton, a descendant of the Sefton house, the old Manerial Lords of Euxton, introduces us to a negotiation between two Lancashire gentlemen of this period for the sale of a horse, and also informs us of the value of their horses, the one in question being, on the authority of the vendor, a sober and well conducted rosinante, and "gentle as a lambe." It is scarcely probable, notwithstanding the numbers of horses which appear in the inventories of this time, that either Mr. ffarington or Mr. Molyneux had a training establishment, a large stud, or any ambition to engage in the excitement of the race course :

1 P. 96, Note, and Collins' Peerage. Collins, generally accurate, has misled all genealogists respecting the death of Edward Earl of Derby, having stated that event to have occurred in 1574. The Earl's Will is dated 28th August, 1572, and was proved by the Executors in Doctors' Commons on the 21st of November next following. Worden Evid.

"After my moost hartie comendacons unto yo' I am done to und stand by my wiff and Willm my Svantt that you are desyrous to bie my gelding and if you so be you shall have hym better cheape vnder the pryce that another shall paie for hym. I thynk there is as much proff in him (God save hym) as in any yonge gelding in Land. He hath no evill ppertie nor condicōn and as free gentle as a Lambe. I bowght hym of Thom's Nelson for viili and your price shalbe viiili if you like hym. And so yu may send for hym, ouel3 [only?] lett me knowe yo' mynd therein by the bearer. I thought not to have sold hym as yet ffor that I wold have seene the vt most of hys proff myself, albeit sithens hit is yor desire yor bedfellowes (as I am told) to have hym; and that I have another yonge nagge of my owne breede redy to ve my tourne I am better contented to leave hym. And thus I wyshe you moost hartilie well to fare as myselfe praying you to make my hvmble comendacōns to yor bedfellow. From Euxton this xiiiith of Maie

Addressed

To the right worshippfull

Mr Willm ffarrington

esquyer be this ad."

Yor symple freynd assured

Robert Molyneux

Although he lived a quiet life in the country, attended to his own business, and grew wealthy, he occasionally visited London, at that time the chief place of resort for fashionable families. The Queen took alarm at the rapid increase of her metropolis, and prohibited the building of any new dwellings within three hundred paces of the gates of London upon pain of imprisonment and forfeiture of the materials brought for the erection of such edifice, and at the same time, without the most distant reference to ventilation or

over-crowding, forbade more than one family to dwell in a house. This must have been as inconvenient a regulation. for families seeking a temporary abode in London, as it was arbitrary and impolitic on the part of the Queen. At this juncture, Mr. ffarington contemplated a visit to the great city, and the methods he adopted to secure lodgings, and the sort of accommodation offered to him, are narrated in the following letter:

"Ryght Worshippfull I commende me to you. I have travelled to gett and fynd convenyent lodging for yow and yoЄ bedfellowe wch I have found in this sorte bothe a house severall havinge no furniture nor implementes as also severall wth honeste householders hauinge ffurnyture as beddinge tables stoles &c brasse pewter kychen cum ptinen?, and others excepte Lynnen bothe shelves &c. Nowe I am to knowe of yoƐ mynde wch to conclude of as also the place scituate; for I can chose one in Holborne, one in Greate St Bartylemews by Smythfylde one in Aldersgate Streete wch is a voyde house and nothinge but bare walls, one in Watlyngestreete newe (wch I lyke beste of for comoditie of rowmes) as I assure you howses are very scarse and deare and yt ffrancis ffarrington can beare wytnes of for I have called to him e had his company herein. Some aske viiili some viili and the lesse vili to let 3 Rowmes wth a kitchen, a place for Woode, coles e beare, wth v chambers furnyshed or 3 bedds for halfe a yeare: and the voyde howse having nothinge in hitt is iiili & yett I am halfe promysed to have this in Watling Strete for iiili halfe a yeare or nere upon ffurnyshed and the rowmes moste convenyente. Thus I being desyrous of yoƐ mynde and answere hereof that I may conclude to have a place convenyent for yow agayneste Myghelmas, ende trowbling yowe, praying yow to make my commendacons to my good Parents & soe take the

1 Camden's Annals, p. 450.

paynes to see theyme at yoƐ leysure or waye lyethe. Thus besechynge god to haue yow both with yours in his kepinge for ever. ffrom London this 5. of Auguste Anno 1573,

On the death of Edward Earl of Derby in 1572 Mr. ffarington received a patent from his Lordship's successor as Steward of the Household, and entered upon the duties of his office.1 He had the correction of the faults of the ordinary servants and to examine and rectify all the evils of the household. He was required to censure delinquents, to check extravagance, to overlook the accounts of the purveyors and minor servants, and to pay the wages. His habits of business and vigorous mind would make ordinary difficulties disappear, and pointed him out as an individual well adapted to be placed at the head of a great household, where his talent would be required, and his tact have full

1 Worden Evid., and p. 21, Item 12.