Long after this period, “Henry the Eighth invested Anne Bollen, to whom he was affianced, Marchioness of Penbroke, with a mantle and coronet, in regard both of her nobility and also her virtues—for so runne the wordes of the patent. At length King Edward the Sixth adorned Sir William Herbert, lord of Caerdiff, with the title of Earl of Penbroke, after whom succeeded his sonne Henry, who was Lord President of Wales under Queen Elizabeth. And now”—says our old King-at-arms, speaking courteously of his contemporaries—“his sonne, richly accomplished with all laudable endowments of body and minde, enjoyeth the same title. And this family of Herberts, he concludes, is honourable, and of great antiquity in these parts of Wales, as lineally propagated from Henry Fitz-Herbert, Chamberlayne to King Henry the First, who married the said King’s Paramour, the mother of Reginald, Earle of Cornwall, as I was first informed by Robert Glover, a man passing skilfull in the study of genealogies, by whose untimely death that knowledge hath sustained a great losse.”
So much for the Genealogy of the old lords of Pembroke. In this department of history—the tracing of genealogies—in which the Cambrian families are proverbially expert, but which others affect to ridicule, we must not omit the defence of a learned Welshman: “That there have been,” says he, “parasites in the art, must be acknowledged; and family pride may sometimes have been flattered. However, upon the whole, much credit is due to our ancient genealogists, who were appointed and patronized by Royalty, and professed that art prior to their initiation into the higher mysteries of Bardism. Their records are still extant, and bear every mark of authenticity. A bard and a genealogist were synonymous; and though a bard can plead licentia poetica, yet fiction was not allowed in recording the actions of their heroes,[379] nor in registering the descent of families. The Welsh bards continued their genealogical pursuits down to the reign of Elizabeth; therefore, as Humphrey Lwyd, a learned antiquary and historian, observes: “Let such disdainful heads as cant know their own grandfathers, leave their scoffing and taunting of Welshmen for that thing that all other nations in the world do glory in.” Yet, in justice to the ancient Saxons on this point, it must be allowed that they themselves were not altogether indifferent to the study of genealogy, since their deducing of their King Ethelwulph from Adam is an instance of their accuracy in the art—
“Can Bourbon or Nassau go higher?”[380]
On the “Herbert genealogy,” Mr. Willatt relates the following characteristic Anecdote.—About two miles from Abergavenny, says he, is Handel—once a mansion of no less magnificence than antiquity; but in the present day it is only interesting from its having been the cradle of the ancient and numerous family of Herbert. Of the vast possessions of this family, the inheritance of the last lineal descendant, who died twenty years ago, had dwindled down to less than two hundred a year. But however reduced in fortune, his pride of ancestry had lost nothing of its strength or spirit by the change. Meeting a stranger one day near his mansion, who took an interest in the local history and natural beauties of the scenery, they entered into conversation.
“And pray, Sir,” inquired the stranger, “whose is that antique-looking mansion before us?”
“That, Sir,” replied the last of the Herberts, “is Handel—a very ancient house, for out of it came the Earls of Pembroke of the first line; and the Earls of Pembroke of the second line; the Lords Herbert of Cherburg; the Herberts of Coldbrook, Rumney, Cardiff, and York; the Morgans of Acton came out of it; so also did the Earl of Hunsdon; the Joneses of Treowen and Llanarth, and all the Powells. Out of this house also, by the female line, came the Dukes of Beaufort!”
“And pray, Sir,” inquired the stranger, “who lives in it now?”
“I, Sir—I live in it,” was the answer.
“Then pardon me, Sir, if I presume to give you a little advice. Do not lose sight of so many prudent examples, but come out of it yourself, or it will assuredly fall in upon you, and crush you in its ruins!”