Page:The house of Cecil.djvu/115

 ��THE FIRST EARL OF EXETER 93

daughters ; two more daughters died in infancy. Of the sons, William, the eldest, succeeded his father as second Earl of Exeter ; Richard was already (1587) member of Parliament for Peterborough ; Edward, afterwards Viscount Wim- bledon, was serving in the Low Countries ; and Christopher and Thomas were still boys. Lucy, the eldest surviving daughter, was married to Lord St. John, afterwards Marquess of Winchester, 1 and on his return from the Netherlands, in 1587, Sir Thomas wrote to Lord Burghley, to inform him of the expected advent of his first grandchild. 2

Cecil was at this time superintending the building operations which his father was carrying out at Burghley, and in the same letter he urges the purchase of some hangings which Pallavicini had delivered to him, and offers to join Burghley in buying them and to pay half the price ; " rather than your Lordship should refuse them, being already made fit for the rooms here, and hardly to get the like hangings as the times are now, I will strain myself therein." He adds that the buildings are going on very fast, and hopes that next year his father " can get leave to see the perfection of your long and costly buildings, wherein your posterity I hope will be thankful unto your Lord- ship for it, as myself must think myself most bound, who of all others receiveth the most use of it."

��1 Their grandson was the first Duke of Bolton, and the present Marquess of Winchester is their direct descendant. Hatfield MSS., III. 276.

�� �