CHAPTER I.

Antiquity of the Shirley Family. Saxon Origin. Norman Dignities. Royal Alliances. Foreign Crowns. British Coronets. The Clanricardes. Battle of Aghrim. The Parkers. The Lord High Chancellor found guilty. The Levinges. Irish Alliances. Birth of Lady Selina. Her Early Character. First Religious Impressions. The Grave of Youth. Piety. Private Prayer. Fashionable Life. Marriage. The Huntingdon Family. Its Ancestry. Tho Earl of Huntingdon. His Character. “Tears of the Muses.” Self-righteousness. The Methodists. Lady Margaret Hastings. The Light of Religious Truth. Force of Example. Conversion.