, only son of the preceding lady Mary, was born in October 1713, and
, only son of the
preceding lady Mary, was born in October 1713, and in
the early part of his life seems to have been the object of
his mother’s tenderest regard, though he afterwards lost
her favour. In 1716, he was taken by her on his father’s
embassy to Constantinople, and while there, was, as we
have noticed in her life, the first English child on whom the
practice of inoculation was tried. Returning to England
with his parents in 1719, he was placed at Westminsterschool, where he gave an* early sample of his wayward
disposition, by running away, and eluding every possible
search, until about a year after he was accidentally discovered at Blackwall, near London, in the character of a
vender offish, a basket of which he had then on his head.
He had bound himself, by regular indenture, to a poor
fisherman, who said he had served him faithfully, making
his bargains shrewdly, and paying his master the purchasemoney honestly. He was now again placed at Westminster-school, but in a short time escaped a second time, and
bound himself to the master of a vessel which sailed for
Oporto, who, supposing him a deserted friendless boy,
treated him with great kindness and humanity. This treatment, however, produced no corresponding feelings; for
the moment they landed at Oporto, Montague ran away
up the country, and contrived to get employment for two
or three years in the vintage. Here at length he was discovered, brought home, and pardoned but with no better
effect than before. He ran away a third time after which,
his father procured him a tutor, who made him so far regular that he had an appointment in one of the public offices and, in 1747, he was elected one of the knights of
the shire for the county of Huntingdon but in his senatorial capacity he does not appear to have any way distinguished himself; nor did he long retain his seat, his expences so far exceeding his income, that he found it prudent once more to leave England, about the latter end of
1751. His first excursion was to Paris, where, in a short
time, he was imprisoned in the Chatelet, for a fraudulent
gambling transaction: how he escaped is not very clear,
but he published a defence of himself, under the title of
“Memorial of E. W. Montague, esq. written by himself,
in French, and published lately at Paris, against Abraham
Payba, a Jew by birth, who assumed the fictitious name of
James Roberts. Translated into English from an authentick copy sent from Paris,
”