Page:Poems of Anne Countess of Winchilsea 1903.djvu/26

Of "sister bidy," as Dorothy called her, we know practically nothing except that she died unmarried in 1719-20. William was knighted and married as soon as he attained his majority. His relation to his sisters does not seem to have been close. In a codicil to his will he left Anne and Bridget £100 each, but his great ambition was to bequeath his estates so that they would remain under the Kingsmill name. He died in 1698 leaving a son of four who lived to the age of eighty-one unmarried. The estate, which was a large one, was apparently managed by Anne's husband, in whose note-book are many records of accounts paid for "my nephew Kingsmill," even the house servants receiving their wages through Mr. Finch. At the death of this nephew, the last male heir, the estates devolved upon a granddaughter whose husband took the name of Kingsmill. His nephew, the distinguished Admiral Sir Robert Kingsmill, a friend of Nelson, succeeded to the estates in 1805.

In 1683 we find Anne Kingsmill as one of the six maids of honor of Mary of Modena. As Maid of HonorGregario Leti, historiographer to Charles II., gives the list of the ladies who made up the household of the duchess in that year. First, there was Penelope O'Brien, Countess of Peterborough, who spoke French well, drew a salary of 1600 crowns, and had been with the duchess since her marriage. A more exciting personality was Susanna Armine, the famous Lady Belasyse, who, coming to court as a very young widow in 1670, had so attracted James by her