“The more probable supposition, however, is, that he settled at Clifton from the connection that subsisted between Sir Henry Killigrew (who, I feel strongly inclined to believe, brought him to England) and Sir Nicholas Lower. Sir Nicholas Lower married Sir Henry’s daughter, and as they were now advanced in life, without any family, the society of Paleologus and his children might be desirable to them; particularly when we recollect that this was the time when the Greek language was so much in fashion in England, that even ladies studied it most zealously; that Lady Killigrew was one of the learned daughters of Sir Anthony Cooke, celebrated for her literary attainments, and particularly her knowledge of Greek; and it is reasonable to suppose her daughter, Lady Lower, wife of Sir Nicholas, was brought up with the same fondness for the classic languages; and where could she expect to find so able an instructor as a descendant of the first family in the Greek empire; or what place could be more suited to classical pursuits than the retirement of a country mansion, such as Clifton.
“On the 21st of January 1636, as appears by the monument, Theodore Paleologus died at Clifton, Sir Nicholas and Lady Lower being still alive; of whom the latter died in 1638, and Sir Nicholas in 1655.
“The Landulph register, perfect from 1540 to 1628, has then a great chasm till the year 1649; and during this interval all the entries that would have been probably most interesting to our inquiries were made.
“Some little time since I examined the duplicates of parish registers, deposited in the room of archives in Exeter cathedral; and after a laborious search among the registers of two centuries, thrown promiscuously together without arrangement as to either parishes or dates, and those for the most part obliterated by the damp, I had the good fortune to recover the Landulph register for the year 1636, which had the following entry:
“‘Theodore Palleologus was buryed the 20th daye of October.’
“By the monument Theodore is said to have died the 21st of January 1636; from the register it appears he was buried October 20, 1636. It can hardly be supposed the body was kept from January till October, and the difficulty is increased from the knowledge, that by the mode of calculation in use at that time, the year commenced at Lady-day; so that, if he died January 21, 1636, the 20th of October following must have been in 1637.
“The body, if it remained any considerable time uninterred, would have been inclosed in a lead coffin; but this was not the case, for about twenty years ago, when the vault was accidentally opened, the coffin of Paleologus was seen, a single oak coffin; and curiosity prompting to lift the lid, the body of Paleologus was discovered, and in so perfect a state as to ascertain him to have been in stature much above the common height, his countenance of an oval form, much lengthened, and strongly marked by an aqueline nose, and a very white beard reaching low on the breast.
“Of the five children left by him, no traces remain of two sons, John and Ferdinando. Whether they joined the brothers of Sir Nicholas Lower, who were distinguished cavaliers on the king’s side in the unhappy wars that distracted
the country soon after the death of Theodore, and in which Major Lower gallantly fell; or whether the miserable state of England induced them again to re-visit Italy, cannot be ascertained.
“Theodore was a sailor, and served on board the Charles II. Captain Gibson. He died at sea 1693, as appears by a will and power in the Commons, obligingly communicated to me by Francis Townsend, Esq. Windsor Herald. This is dated August 1, 1693, and solely in favour of his wife Martha. If he had any children they are not named in it. The signature is Theodore Paleologey; and though described simply as mariner, it should seem he was possessed of landed estate, as there are four witnesses, Charles Gibson, commander, J. Wright, John Corneth, Richard Roberts.