—Some, even educated persons of this day, if asked which are the three estates of the realm, will reply, the Queen, Lords, and Commons. That the three estates do not include the Queen, and are therefore the Lords, the Clergy in Convocation, and the Commons, is obvious from the title of the "Form of Prayer with Thanksgiving to be used yearly upon the 5th day of November, for the happy Deliverance of King James I. and the Three Estates of England from the most Traitorous," &c.; and also from the following passage of the Communion Collect for Gunpowder Treason:—
"Eternal God, and our most mighty Protector, we Thy unworthy servants do humbly present ourselves before Thy Majesty, acknowledging Thy power, wisdom, and goodness, in preserving the king, AND the three estates of the realm of England assembled in Parliament, from the destruction this day intended against them."
W. FRAER.
Queries.
BENSLEYS OF NORWICH.
As I am much interested in the above family, which I know to have existed at Norwich, or the vicinity, for a century or more, and have reason to think was one of some consequence, will you, through the medium of your useful columns, allow me to ask some of your intelligent correspondents who reside in that neighbourhood the following Queries?
1. Is anything known of the family of the late Sir William Bensley farther back than his father, Thomas Bensley? Sir William was born in the county of Norfolk, and at an early age entered the navy; transferred himself to the Honourable East India Company's service, made a large fortune, was elected a Director of the Company 1771, created a baronet 1801, and died without issue 1809.
2. Was Mr. Richard Bensley, an actor of some celebrity, who made his "first appearance" in 1765 (he had previously been an officer in the Marines, and, as I am informed, held the appointment of barrack-master at Knightsbridge till his death in 1817), any connexion of the above, or at all connected with Norwich?
3. Cowper, in one of his letters [to Joseph Hill, Esq., dated Huntingdon, July 3, 1765], says:
"The tragedies of Lloyd and Bensley are both very deep. If they are of no use to the surviving part of society, it is their own fault," &c.