Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-05-29

Mr.. Thomas Coutts died, aged 81, in
he gave it the fame it enjoys. Lady
Burdet;, the mother of Baroness Bur-
dett Coutts, was his third daughter by
his first wife, an excellent woman of
very humble origin. He left the whole
of his immense wealth, after providing
handsomely for his daus hters, to his
second wife, Miss Mellon, a celebrated
actress, and she no doubt in accordance
with his wishes, bequeathed it TO his
grand daughter. Why lady Burdett-
COutts was thus selected has not been
explained. As soon as Mrs. Coutts was
known to have inherited this prodigious
fortune she became central figure in
English society. The London papers of
1924, when she emerged from widow
hood, devoted much space TO her
doings: "Mrs. COutts entertained at
dinner last night ii. X. III. the Duke of
York, the Duke OF Wellington, the
Duke and Duchess of Argyll, etc., and
she figures in half dozen novels of
that day, notably in Disraeli's "Vivian
Gray" Five years later she married
the Duke of St. Albans, but life
annuity OF. ESQ, 600 a year was all he or
his family got by the marriage. The
lady knew full well how TO hold the
purse-strings, for in her youth every
penny had been of importance to the
struggling actress.
In the early part of her career the
Baroness Burdett- Coutts was, like
Queen Victoria-to whom men in the
pit of the theatre used to write notes to
say they had caught the glance of her
eye, and were ready TO consent to
become prince consorts-dreadfully
pestered by would be suitors, and a GER
tain Mr.. Dunn became such an insuffer-
able nuisance that she had to seek
legal remedy.
There is little doubt that her money
has made. her an old maid, but she
probably finds compensation in the fact
that it has also made her the most popu-
lar woman in London, with which city
she has always closely identified her
self; for Lady B. Coutts, with all her
millions, has no country seat, except a
villa, inherited from the Duchess of st.
Albans, at Highgate, in sight of the me-
tropolis. Her town house is an immense
bay-windowed mansion in Stratton
street, a cul de sac which runs along
side the walls of Devonshire House in
Piccadilly. Its windows command a
fine view of what is called the Green
Park of Buckingham Palace. The
mansion contains quantities of very
costly objets d. art, including a cabinet
said to have been appraised at $1,000
guineas.
She entertains a great deal, and gives
perhaps larger dinner parties in her
vast diningroom than any other person
in London, but neither her dinners nor
her balls are exceptionally recherche.
Still she sees all the most interesting
people. She is an intimate friend of
Mr.. Gladstone, who in 1871 advised the
Queen to raise her to peerage, and he
and his family passed several weeks
with her in town some years ago when
his own house was not available.
Lady Burdett-Coutts is now about
sixty she is tall and thin, with a very
expression of countenance and
pleasing manner, the latter being utter
ly devoid of the slightest arrogance or
pretension. To whom Lady Burdett
Coutts' enormous wealth will ge is not
known. Her brother, Sir Robert, is
queer old bachelor, with s20e, 900 a
year, but she has nephews and nieces
who are by no means wealthy, and who
for humping legacies.