Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-06-17
~ A FALLING HOUSE.
The Duke Of Hamilton and IN,
% Waning Fortunes OF His Family.

The Duke Of Hamilton and the
2 waning Fortunes OF His Family.
From the New York Times.l
Our Italian correspondent, in his last
letter, tells curious, miserable story
about a young lady who is. in the pres
ent generation, the only daughter of a
semi-royal historic house, the princess OF
Monaco. The recent annals Of her fam
ily have certainly been Of a melancholy
and humiliating character. The prin-
cess grandfather, the tenth duke of
Hamilton. married a daughter of the
celebrated Beckford of Fonthill, author
of Vathek. The duke was a man of
amazing pride and selfimportance; and
it Is recorded that, when the intended
marriage of the queen with the late
prince consort was announced, his grace
in acknowledging the announcement of
the event, which was forwarded TO him,
intimated that he thought that her maj
esty might have looked nearer home,
which was understood to be his mode of
signifying that he would himself have
been most appropriate father-in-l law for
Queen Victoria. Eaten up with vanity, he
objected to his son marrying a lady of
charming disposition, to whom he was
deeply attached, because she was not of
the highest rank-although she did, Gu
riously enough, subsequently marry a
duke; SO his son ultimately married the
youngest daughter of the grand duke of
Baden, which brought very great salts
faction to the foolish old father.in law,
insomuch as his daughter-in-law thus
gained recognition abroad as royalty,
although at the English court she occu-
pied only sort of uncomfortable semi
royal position.
The tenth duke, whose principal occu-
patton in life had for some years been
preparation for his obsequies, which
were to include the placing his body,
embalmed by methods for which he had
sent to Egypt, in an enormus black
marble mausoleum, specially erected for
the accommodation of his precious
corpse, died in 1852. Two years before
that event, the decline Of this proud
family commenced. His only daughter
had married the late duke of Newcastle,
when she was eighteen-the marriage
being, no doubt, brought about by the
desire of her family to secure desirable
match. In 1850 this lady, having then
familyof several children, miseonducted
herself in a manner which obliged her
husband to seek divorce.
From that time the whole of her fami-
ly have, with one exception, gone
wrong Her eldest son is bankrupt,
another became mixed up with persons
Of the worst character, and to this hour
it is considered by many very doubtful
whether the announcement of his death,
followed by funeral of which details
were given in the papers, was not in
truth mere ruse to escape the penalty
of his misdemeanors. A third son mis-.
behaved himself in his profession, had
TO leave it, and has also been through
the bankruptcy court The daughter
married drunkard whose mind gave
way through the habits he had contract
ed. So much for the tenth Duke of
Hamilton's daughter and her children.
To turn to the son. His wife had no
taste for country life, and preferred the
atmosphere of continental courts, where
her pretensions to royal rank gained full
admission. So they abandoned the
princely homes in England and Scot
land, whence they drew 100000 a year,
to live principally at Paris. The ex-
Emperor being the Duchess first cousin,
received her with the utmost impresse-
ment, and, indeed, her grace was of no
little use in giving tone to the i'm
perial court, which, being entirely ig-
nored by the Faubourg, was at one time
sadly in need of the presence of ladies
whose rank and position were unexcep-
tionable. lJIiLII IItiff
Some ten years ago, London and Paris
were startled to know that the Duke OF
Hamilton had died suddenly in the latter
capital The details soon followed. He
had been supping at the MaisSn Doree,
and had been challenged by friend to
see which of them could carry the great
est number of petitS UerreS. In leaving
the house he fell, struck his head, and |
within a few hours the eleventh Duke of
Hamilton and Brandon lay dead. An
imperial frigate carried his body to Scot
land for burial in the mausoleum which |
his father had erected, and his son, then |
a youth of eighteen, reigned in his stead.
And fine reign his has been. Ham
ilton house in London, after passing
into the hands of one of the most noted |
turfmen of the day, was sold to the son
of successful iron-master The same
gentleman, so knowing in horse-hesh,
and in those who think that they, too,
know about it, rules in Hamilton palace,
and his presence there is almost calcu-
lated to bring the grand old duke out Of
the mausoleum to haunt the "horsey"
usurper. The dukes only brother was
a few weeks ago in the throes of insol-
vency, aud his unfortunate sister is as
we read yesterday, trying to seek refuge
for her child from its father, whom she
ireads-all because her mother pre-
Ferred making her the wife Of awretched
of trumpery petty state,
mainly subsisting on the ruined fortunes
IF gamblers, to seeing her the wife Of
some honest-hesrted Scottish gentleman.
Madame Janauschek's N aid Taking
her Life for the Man she Loved.
PITrsBURG, June 5.-Last night