It has been remarked that Forster would not in after-years have been chosen Member of Parliament for Abingdon and would not have been given University and other honours if he had been what suspicion made him. But would he not? Dudley could have procured all these things, and more, for his faithful man, even as he was in a position to secure most things for himself. The year following the tragedy of Cumnor Place, Forster purchased the freehold of it; Owen probably being unwilling any longer to hold a house with such dark associations. And here he lived the remainder of his life, dying in 1572. In those twelve years he almost wholly rebuilt Cumnor Place, which he left by will to Dudley, who had, in the meanwhile, become Earl of Leicester. If the Earl accepted this gift, he was to pay £1,200 to Forster’s heirs. The Earl did accept, but sold the property soon after. It is not to be supposed that he would care to be any longer associated with the ill-omened place. By this sale Cumnor passed to the Norris family, ancestors of the Earls of Abingdon, who still own it. The entry of Forster’s funeral at Cumnor is to the effect that “A. F., gentleman,” was buried on November 10th; and it has been thought curious that the word “gentleman” takes the place of some other word first written and then erased: whether the first was uncomplimentary, or merely the Latin word _miles_, as sometimes suggested, is now of course beyond the wit of man to discover. Those who visit Cumnor with this pitiful story in their recollection, and are disappointed at finding Cumnor Place no longer in existence, will find in the Purbeck marble monument to Forster an interesting relic, bringing them into touch with these long-vanished personages; but they will find no support of the charges brought against him. Nor could such support be in any way expected; but in the long Latin eulogistic verses engraved in brass under the brass effigies of himself, his wife, and their three children, we find him credited with an astonishing variety of virtues and accomplishments. He was, it seems, distinguished for his skill in music, languages, and horticulture, and was charitable, benevolent, and full of religious faith. The brass portraiture, too (which, after all, is not necessarily a portrait), represents him as a man of singularly open countenance. Apart from the personal association, the tomb is interesting as combining late Gothic and Renaissance decoration. It has already been said that Cumnor Place is a mansion of the past, and that it was finally demolished by a former Earl of Abingdon in 1811. An amusing story is told, to the effect that when the popularity of Scott’s _Kenilworth_ aroused a keen interest in Cumnor, the Earl undertook to drive some guests over to see the house, forgetting that he had, several years earlier, given orders for it to be demolished. The disappointment of himself and his friends on arriving at Cumnor was very keen.