_Options_ being personal property, Mr. Pegge's interest, on the demise of the _Archbishop_, fell into the hands of the Hon. Mrs. _Cornwallis_, his Relict and Executrix, who fulfilled his _Grace's_ original intention in the most friendly manner, on the death of Mr. _Seward_, in 1790[22]. [22] It was said at the time, as we recollect, that this piece of preferment was so peculiar in its tenure, as not to be strictly _optionable_; for, had the _See_ of _Lichfield_ been possessed by a Bishop inimical to the Archbishop or to Mr. Pegge at the time of the vacancy of the Stall, such Bishop might have defeated his _Grace's_ intentions. The qualifications of the Residentiaries in this Cathedral we understand to be singular, dependent on the possession of certain _Prebendal Houses_, which are in the absolute disposal of the Bishop, as a _sine quâ non_, to constitute the eligibility which is vested in the _Dean_ and _Chapter_. As matters stood, in this case, at the death of Mr. _Seward_, the present Bishop of Lichfield (_Dr. James Cornwallis_), Mr. Pegge's warm Friend, co-operating with the Dowager Mrs. _Cornwallis_, removed every obstruction. The little occasional transactions which primarily brought Mr. Pegge within the notice of Bishop (_Frederick_) Cornwallis at Eccleshall-castle led his Lordship to indulge him with a greater share of personal esteem than has often fallen to the lot of a private Clergyman so remotely placed from his Diocesan. Mr. Pegge had attended his Lordship two or three times on affairs of business, as one of the Parochial Clergy, after which the Bishop did him the honour to invite him to make an annual visit at Eccleshall-castle as an _Acquaintance_. The compliance with this overture was not only very flattering, but highly gratifying, to Mr. Pegge, who consequently waited upon his Lordship for a fortnight in the Autumn, during several years, till the Bishop was translated to the Metropolitical See of _Canterbury_ in 1768. After this, however, his Grace did not forget his humble friend, the _Rector of_ _Whittington_, as will be seen; and sometimes corresponded with him on indifferent matters. About the same time that Mr. Pegge paid these visits at Eccleshall-castle, he adopted an expedient to change the scene, likewise, by a journey to London (between Easter and Whitsuntide); where, for a few years, he was entertained by his old Friend and Fellow-collegian the Rev. Dr. _John Taylor_, F. S. A. Chancellor of Lincoln, &c. (the learned Editor of Demosthenes and Lysias), then one of the Residentiaries of St. Paul's.