Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 20.djvu/358

 fled in at the gate so fast, that he fell down in the dirt, and so the gate was shut' (, Mem. III. i. 138). 'Old Gage fell down in the dirt, and was foul arrayed &hellip; and &hellip; came in to us so frightened that he could not speak' (, Narratives of the Reformation, Camden Soc., pp. 165, 167). At Mary's marriage with Philip of Spain the lord chamberlain was again one of her train-bearers (25 July 1554). On Palm Sunday, 18 March 1555, he received Elizabeth under his charge as constable at the Tower gates (Queen Mary and Queen Jane, pp. 70, 168). He seems to have treated the princess severely, 'more for love of the pope than for hate of her person' (, Hist. of Reformation, ii. 259;, ii. 503), and on her release was, with Sir [q.v.], placed as a guard over her at her own house. Gage died at his house, Firle, Sussex, on 18 April 1556, and was buried on 25 April, 'with II herolds, with a standard of arms, and four of images, and with a hearse, and two (white branches), two dozen of stuffs, and eight dozen of stockings' (, Diary, p. 105), at West Firle Church, where he and his wife lie under a fine altar-tomb. By his wife Philippa he had four sons and four daughters. His portrait, painted by Holbein, is at Hengrave.



GAGE, JOSEPH or JOSEPH EDWARD, or  (1678?–1753?), grandee of Spain, general in the Spanish army, was second son of Joseph Gage of Sherborne Castle, Dorsetshire, and grandson of Sir Thomas Gage, fourth baronet, of Firle, Sussex. Joseph Gage the elder (an English jesuit) entered the English College at Rome as a ‘converter’ 14 Oct. 1670. He married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of George Penruddock of Southampton, who brought great estates to the Gage family, and by her, who died 5 Dec. 1693, had, besides daughters, two sons, whereof Thomas, the elder, conformed to the church of England, and became the first Viscount Gage and father of General [q. v.], and Joseph or Joseph Edward, the younger, ultimately became Count Gage. The latter, who apparently married young, was in Paris in 1719, when he is said to have acquired Mississippi stock representing the value of 13,000,000l. Intoxicated with his success, Gage, whom French writers call Mons. Guiache, sent a gentleman to Augustus, king of Poland, to offer 3,000,000l. for the crown, which was declined. He next sent an agent to the king of Sardinia, to offer a vast sum for that island, which proposal was likewise rejected. Friends advised him to invest a quarter of a million in an English estate, to fall back upon in event of the failure of the Mississippi scheme. This was not done, and when the crash came he was ruined, and with his wife removed to Spain, where they were well received at Madrid. Gage at first tried gold-mining in Asturias, it is said without much result. A patent for fishing wrecks on the coasts of Spain and the Indies probably was more successful. At any rate, in 1741 Gage was presented by the king of Spain with a silver mine of great value, and was made a grandee of the third class. In August 1742 Gage was appointed to command the Spanish army in Italy, superseding the Duke de Montemar. The queen of Spain at this time, having put her son Don Carlos on the throne of Naples, was striving to place his brother Don Philip on the throne of Lombardy. In the remarkable campaigns which ensued in 1743–6 Gage proved himself an able, although an unsuccessful commander. Gage began by attempting to penetrate into Tuscany, but, foiled by the Austrians under Traun, retired to winter quarters in Bologna and the Romagna, the opposing imperialists wintering in the duchies of Parma and Modena. While in the Bolognese Gage received a peremptory order from the queen of Spain to fight within three days, under pain of dismissal like his predecessor. He displayed much address in obeying the mandate. Knowing that the Austrians were weakened in numbers and not expecting an attack, he resolved to surprise their position at Campo Santo, a short march distant. To divert the attention of the people of Bologna he gave a grand ball, whereat the Spanish officers were present, but withdrew during the night to join their men. The Austrians were, however, forewarned. A bloody engagement followed, begun by moonlight before dawn and continued till after dark, 4 Feb. 1743, with no decisive result. Eventually the Spaniards retired on the Neapolitan frontier. A ‘Te Deum’ was celebrated at Madrid for the victory, and Gage was made a grandee of the first class. The same year Gage was surprised by the Austrians under Count Brown at Villetri, but subdued the resulting panic, and by his masterly arrangements compelled Brown to retire. In his report of the affair to the king of Naples Gage generously admitted: ‘I have been surprised in my camp, which has been forced. The enemy even reached the headquarters, but have been repulsed with loss. Your majesty's arms are victorious, and the king-