The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 21, 1904, Page 17

Pages 171020 » * CALL | Pages 17t020 » FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 1904. HOLDERS OF ILLUSTRIOUS TITLES ARE EXAMPLES OF HER ——e Present Duke of Wellington a Nonentity. - Nelson and Byron Lack Genius of Ancestors. ON, Aug. 20 —His Grace the t Duke of We gton, who is the dozen other tinguished titles, called day to pay his I nation bestowed es in Berkshire the Iron Duke, thereafter the uld make good his aiso of some King t When a e Strathfield tenure of th by presenting t € sovereig n t anniversary of w ion of layed repro- to make up, - them the Duke erably less than eremony of pre- & g unting is one tha ¢ glad to forego. ceremony pe e com- loves to brief hour or two lic life, an act to comparisons d the famous soldier his fortune, honors conscious of g example of There is he knows s of living tral fame. He when in 1800 his rd Duke, died he succeeded to the d a seat in that the terms of the h the nation and thus Wellington, the death of v it came about yuke took possession mediocrities, the By property of about 19,000 this source siderably less s been enjoyed by his he was further embar- i by the obligation to pay allow- t e estate to the surviving 1e second and third Dukes. MAKE NDS MEET. hat with a large fam- uke has had a hard time of it ake ends meet. Although as sciple of Mars in his younger days ayed few of those talents which shed the conqueror of Na- rumor has it that among the n the Guards he contracted an expensive taste for card playing, from e consequences of which his purse 1 ers. However that may be, e necessity for retrenchment com- some time ago to seek & the Btrathfieldsaye estate, linger so many memo- TO tor around which ries of the national hero, but he has not yet succeeded in letting it. And though tenant it has never been openly piaced on the market it hes more than once been reported that his Grace of Weliington was trying to let or sell Apsiey House, the famous town residence of the vic- f Waterloo. Indeed it has been stated that on one occasion he had nearly con ded arrangements for its sale to a South African millionaire with social ambitions, when some rich frien thinking that the place should be preserved as a sort of national heir- loom, contributed enough between them to tide the Duke over his pecuni- ery difficulties. When in town the Duke and Duchess reeide at Apsley House in very quiet style and do little entertaining, for it is well understood among their aristocratic friends that y cannot afford swell balls and din- parties. In fact Arthur Charles finds that being a Duke isn’t what it is cracked up to be by a ng shot—especially when there is no ank account to back it up. His na tastes are those of a country squire and he finds his chief delight in hunting and shooting. He has a eat aversion to public functions and avoids them as much as possible. Also he has a great dislike to being photo- 4, probably because he does not r advertise the striking dissimi- Jarity between his own physiognomy and that of his great ancestor with which the world is familiar. NOT POPULAR IN GUARDS. The eldest son and heir, the Marquis of Douro, is now 28 years old and still unmarried. It would surprise no one if he should some day emulate the ex- - of the Duke of Marlborough and ish the family exchequer by wed- an American heiress. Among his tocratic associates in the Guards he tor Wellesley ap! popular, for no better reason P ¢ than that he takes the profes- sion of a soldier seriously. They have named him “Do-go” and not long since treated him to a severe ‘rag- ging,” which is English for “hazing.” It Wouid be difficuit to find a man in appearance, tastes and temperaments more unlike England’s greatest Ad- miral than the present Earl Nelson. He i the son of Neison’s brother, the cler- gyman, who, after the death of the na- tional hero at Trafalgar, succeeded to the title. Nelson himself, as is of course well known, was the son of a e DITY'S LIMITATIONS ek MALPILAOUET ATOD . parson—his father being vicar of Burn- ham Thorpe in Norfolk. It is quite natural, therefore, that the clerical strain should predominate in the pres- ent holder of the titles and estates, who has long been conspicuous at church congresses—and conspicuous in little else. The fighting blood in the family, which missed him, came out strong in his younger brother, Maurice Horatio Nelson, who entered the navy when a youngster of 13 and rose to be a rear admiral before he retired. In one respect, however, Earl Nelson resembles the first and famous Nelson. The latter, despite the fact that for long years his home was on the rolling deep, suffered, as his blographers re- cord, greatly from sea-sickness. And Neptune exacts the same tribute from this third Earl if ever he ventures on salt water when the sea is a bit rough. For that reason, perhaps, he has al- ways stuck pretty close to dry land. EMINENTLY RESPECTABLE. The Earl is now 70 years old and has always been a steady-going, emi- nently respectable sort of man. He lives in a superb mansion known as Trafalgar House, near Salisbury, which, with the surrounding estate, was pur- chased for $400,000 by the trustees of the parliamentary grant of $800,000, made immediately after the death of the great admiral. His heir, Viscount Trafalgar, who is in his fiftieth year, will not, however, succeed to the pen- sion of $25,000 a year which a grateful nation voted to the first Earl, for its duration is limited to three lives. Strong religious tendencies character- ize all the members of the family. One son holds the rectory of Shaw. Lord Byronm is another peer who has inherited an illustrious name with none of the genius which made that name famous. Like the poet, however, he awakened suddenly one day to find himself famous. That happeried a few e ago when his heavy loans to a certain Mrs. Howard Kingscote formed the subject of inguiry in the bank- ruptcy court. On that occasion a let- ter wae read from the woman who had got him ivto the mess, in which she wrute; “You can go bankrupt or not as you like, for there is no bigger cad in England than you are, nor bigger idiot.” He is not a lineal descendant of the poet, who, as is well known, died with- out issue. The poet was the sixth Baron to inherit the title. The present Lord Byron is the son of the second #on of the seventh Baron, and succeed- ed his uncle, the eighth Baron, in 1870, at which time he was only fifteen. He doesn’t loock a bit like his illustrious namesake. In appearanoe he is a dark, dapper man of medium height with a slight mustache and hair once black now abundantly tinged with gray. He cares nothing for sports and derives his sole outdoor amusements from long walks and occasional bicycle rides. FAVORS THE IRISH. Though occasionally availing himself of his privileges as a member of the House of Lords, Lord Byron has never taken part in its discussions. He af- filiates with the Torles, but on Glad- stone’s Home Rule bill went into the lobby against his party. When asked to explain his action he replied that he had made up his mind never to cast a vote agalnst a measure favorable to the Irish people because the Irish poet Moore had defended his illustrious namesake. There could be no more striking study in contrasts than that presented by the present Duke of Marlborough and his renowned ancestor, the victor of Malplaquet and Blenheim and other famous battles. Between the short, slight figure and bovish physiognomy of the former and the stalwart form and strong handsome countenance of the great soldier there is nothing sug- gestive of even remote - relationship. Like the Duke of Wellington, the hus- band of Consuelo Vanderbilt helds his ancestral estates on condition that a “tenure flag” is presented every year to his sovereign. Stimulated by his American wife’s ambition, he strives hard to amount to something in public life, and, the standard by which peers are measured in these days not being a very high one, he succeeds fairly well. But it is his cousin, Winston Churchill, who Inherits most of the brains of the .family. i Sy 3 ROYALTY RECEIVES DREXELS Enélish Society Envious of Success of These Americans. Gain the King’s Favor Through Influence of Mrs. Sam Lewis. LONDON, Aug. 20.—English society is much mystified and rendered somewhat envious by the suddenness with which the Drexels have found their way to the personal friendship of the King and Queen. Outside the royal residences they go nearlyeverywhere where their Majes- ties are to be found. They are spending money like water, and it is estimated that during the present season their disbursements will exceed those of any couple going in for the luxuries of the London season. Their magnificent yvacht, the Margharita, has taken a DAN CUPID RIDES IN AUTO CARS AND CHAUFFEURS WIN THE HEARTS OF HEIRESSES + | ] 1 ~ % 2 ORIGINAL AND PRES- ENT HOLDERS OF FAMOUS TITLES. —F The terms distinguished party out te Kiel. Drexels, it s said, are on of the greatest intimacy with Mrs. “Sam” Lewis, the widow of the famous money lender, whose re- cently announced engagement to a young guardsman caused somewhat of a sensation. Mrs. Lewis knows more of the inside lives and means of soci- ety than perhaps any other woman in England. She could even tell interest- ing stories about royal personages. She is, therefore, able to get her friends in- troductions to court through channels that few are aware of. Because of cer- tain heavy financial transactions he has had with her the Prince of Wales, it is whispered, would not be above coming to her aid in this direction if ghe appealed to him. If she has inter- ested herself in the Drexels it is no wonder that they have “got there” so quickly and so well. ROMANCE OF THE MAILS. The envelopes of a whole packet of letters fust received from Chicago are being framed preparatory to being hung in the hall of a fashionable May- fair house. For around these envel- - opes hangs an amusing little bit of ro- mance and the raconteur who now claims their possession holds them as proof positive of the veracity of his story, without which he thinks no one would believe it. For some little time he has had a maid at his house in whom all the family took much in- terest, as she was a nice, ingenuous sort of a girl and did her work well. They knew that she was engaged to be married to a young man of a scientific turn of mind, who was in the employ of the leading makers of barometers and other meteorological instruments in London. He was sent by his firm to Chicago on business matters and the lovers were parted. Letters came thick and fast from Chicago to the maid in Mayfair and there was no suggestion of any sort of breach between the two. But as time went on it was observed that the girl appeared much per- plexed and worried and the master of the house finally asked her if anything was amiss between her and her sweet- heart. “No, sir,” answered the girl, “except that every letter I have from my young man says ‘Why don't you write?” He says he hasn’'t had one letter from me since he's been in America and I've written dozens. Directly I receive a letter I write one back. Twice every week I've written and he says he hasn’t had one.” “Have you sent them to the proper address—the address on his letters?” was the natural inquiry that followed. “Yes, sir, every time,” replied the malid, “but he seems to be moving about so much.” “Oh, that explains it, he's traveling about the different cities in the States.” TAKES THE TEMPERATURE. “No, sir, he’s in Chicago all the time and he’s in the same street, but he seems to move his lodgings every week, sometimes it'’s one number and in the next letter it's another.” “Let me see the address,” said the employer, and the girl rushed upstairs, returning with a packet of her sweet- heart's epistles. Trying hard not to read the endearing terms with which the letters commenced the master glanced at the top of the first page of some half dozen of them. He found “Chicago, 78 Fahrenheit” on one, on another “Chicago, 72 Fahrenheit,” on a third, “Chicago, 80 Fahrenheit” and so on. This was too much for both mas- ter and mistress. Even the girl's real distress could not stem their lavghter and the young man of scientific mind was looked upon immediately as the author of one of the finest stories that could go the rounds. {The meaning of the word Fahrenheit with the varying numbers attached was promptly ex- plained to the girl, who in her next i e e S letter harked back to the address sup- plied her before her sweetheart left for the land of the Stars and Stripes. Now, more than ever, was the fam- ily interested in their maild, and after a considerable amount of red tape from the Dead Letter Office at Chicago has been returned a whole pile of letters that had steadily gone on accumulat- ing week by week, addressed to “Mr. e » No. — Fahrenheit, Chicago, I, U. 8. A As a proof of the whoele story, and te prevent much handling wearing them out, the envelopes are now at the framer’s being arranged be- hind a sheet of glass. —— COMPANIES WILL "NUI' INSURE EIGHTH HUSBAND Decline Business Offered by Woman ‘Whose* Spouses Die With Alarming Fregnency. MADRID, Aug. 20.—A woman at Lo- grono has just married her eighth hus- band. Her first marriage took place when she was only 16 years of age and she has been busy marrying ever since. Her last husband died of heart dis- ease within two months of his wedding and none of the others enjoyed more than two years of married life. The woman, who is now a little over 80, is very handsome and belongs to a distinguished family. Her two broth- ers are profegsors at the Madrid Uni- versity and her father was a talented author. A life insurance office has refused to insure the life of her latest husband, who is a well-to-do photographer. —_—— Terrific Speed Attained. PARIS, Aug. 20.—Rigolly, who won the ten kilometers (6% miles) race at Ostend for cars weighing up to 1000 kilos (2400 pounds), on a Gobron-Bril- Her car, drove at the rate of over 80 miles an hour. His time was 4 minutes 39 seconds, the,previous record being 5 minutes 11 seconds. The slowest of the five com- peting cars traveled at the rate of 74% miles an hour, -~ - T Romances of the “Devil Wagon” Stir Society. —_— Why English Bar Good-Looking Drivers. LONDON circles, wher emotional y chauffeur fast coming to be regarded as more dangerous to society than the le which he controls, despite the fact that one paper has dubbed it the ‘murder car.” Har a week passes by in which he does not figure in some tragic nee a few days ago two chauffeurs w ed in a divorce case whi aled a blighted home and red n rched. Abe same time a p deb tante was found d »d in a lake. A letter which she had left explaining her reasons for committing suicide was destroyed by her guardia tents might not be m as is well k family she had love with the chauf- feur and n nger had the courage to face g 1 that he was not married man children, but winning her affections he had been base enough to show the let- e had written him to other ser- vants of the household The Lor set is eagerly awaiting the case of Miss Ba Iy clings t her har cently passe: day and has a s ear with expectations, bound to_be realized if she lives, of Inheriting an additional $75,000 a This may perhaps ac- count for the faet that the chauffeur has refused an offer made by the girl's father of 000 cash down to call the match off 1 exile himself until the young girl has outgro her infatua- tion for him. He will come of age in September, and girl has so far ylelded to stren persuasion as to cons to the postponement of the marriage until October, but stoutly protests that she will make no further concessions to her parents’ feelin, The father has issued his ultimatum to the effect that the day she oS her home to become the bride of the chauffeur its doors will be ed against her fore and he will never see her again. The anguished mother's pleadings have proved futile to move either of them Now that every family influence that could be brought to bear upon the girl to induce her to change her mind has been tried and failed, commen friends are suggesting to her parents that they should make the best of the matter. “She is bound to marry the chauffeur and you cannot prevent her,"” they say, “but you could no doubt get her consent to the stipulation that she take him abroad for two or three years and have him educated there and trained in the usages of polite society. People have short memories in London and well dressed and well behaved, with a handsome face and figure, he will experience no dificulty in being received In soclety, especially if he spends money freely.” But the stern father will not agree to any such compromise. Though the proposition 1s a novel one, as far as dealing with a husband is concerned, it has its counterpart In several in- stances that could be cited in which men have married pretty girls In humble circumstances, sent them abroad and put them In the hands of society polishers, with such excellent results that on their return they have been able to take their places alopg- side of their husbands and make no breaks that would betray their lowly origin. A striking recognition of the dangers involved in bringing a chauffeur inte the household is afforded by an adver- tisement for a motor car driver which recently appeared in which it was stated “only plain looking men need apply.” Time was when, among the servants, coachmen had far the best opportunities for capturing romantic heiresses and that they have not failed to make the most of their chances numerous soclety scandals attest. But now the chauffeur is distinctly ahead of the Jehu in playing this sort of game with Cupid, despite the fact that he is often required to wear goggles and a hideous mask. It would seem that the exhilaration of “moting” ex- ercises a peculiar psychological influ- ence over susceptible feminine hearts. —— End of Old Paris Newspaper. PARIS, Aug. 20.—The Daily Messen- ger, the oldest English newspaper in Paris, formerly known as Galignani's Messenger, has ceased to exist. For ninety years, during the vicissi- tudes of the Allies’ occupation of Paris in 1815 and the German occupa- tion in 1870 and the communist insur- rection during the following year, the paper made its regular daily appear- was mentioned in the novel. v,” and also by Thackeray and Wilkie Collins. It was bought in 1889 for the Han- sard union and became involved in the fall of that corporation. It has strug- gled on since then until it ceased pub- lication. - ¥ = -