married, in 1820, Julia, youngest daughter of General Sir
John Floyd, Bart., and when his death occurred, his family consisted of
Robert, his successor in the baronetcy, then secretary of legation in
Switzerland; Frederick, then M.P. for Leominster; William, a captain in
the royal navy; John Floyd, an officer in the Fusilier Guards; Arthur
Wellesley, not then quite of age; Julia, married to Viscount Villiers;
and Eliza.

The circumstances of Sir Robert's death were as follow: On Saturday,
the 29th of June, he had been to Buckingham Palace, where he had made, a
call, and entered his name on her majesty's visiting book. He then rode
slowly up Constitution Hill. When he arrived nearly opposite the wicket
gate leading to the Green Park, his horse suddenly became restive. The
baronet was a bad horseman, and he soon lost all control of the animal,
which at last threw him over its head. Several gentlemen rendered
assistance immediately, and among them two medical men. Mrs. Lucas, of
Bryanstone Square, was passing in her carriage, in which he was
conveyed to his residence. Dr. Foucart, of Glasgow, and Sir James
Clark accompanied him in the carriage. An examination of his person was
immediately made, when the medical gentlemen present pronounced that he
had incurred severe injury of the shoulder and fracture of the collar
bone; it was hoped that no internal consequences had been produced by
the fall. The fracture was compound. He continued to grow worse in spite
of every surgical remedy, until the Tuesday night following, when, a
little after eleven o'clock, he expired. After death it was perceived,
_for the first time_, that the fifth rib had been fractured on the left
side. It is astonishing that the faculty Were unable to discover this,
for it was the region in which he had felt most pain. This was supposed
to have been the cause of his death; but the family opposed a _post
mortem_ examination.

Mr. Becket Denison and Lord Villiers had ridden the horse to prove it,
and it had met the bands and the omnibuses without shying, so that no
apprehension was entertained that Sir Robert's deficient horsemanship
would be of any serious consequence with so quiet an animal; he had also
ridden it regularly for a week without having any cause of alarm. The
event seemed, therefore, one of those singular providences which so
often occur, baffling human precautions, confounding calculations, and
showing that that the ways and destinies of m