When a young man he was a
horseman, fearless and even reckless in his equestrian exploits. There
used to be a gate six feet high at Serlby Hall, the seat of Viscount
Galway, which it was said he had jumped one day when hunting.
The three brothers, Henry, John and George, formed a racing partnership
under the name of "Mr. Bowes" and were for a time successful in their
enterprise, their transactions bringing in considerable sums of money.
The death of the eldest, Henry, in 1824 transformed Lord John into
Marquis of Titchfield, heir to the Dukedom and enormous estates of the
House of Portland.
With all his splendid advantages of birth and fortune he does not appear
to have sought for a wife among the aristocratic families of the land,
and it is said that he only made one offer of marriage in his life; at
least that was known to his friends. This was to Miss Adelaide Kemble,
the celebrated actress.
The tempting proposal was probably made some time between June and
October, 1834, when the lady was twenty-five years of age and the
Marquis thirty-four.
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