Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-03-28
AN EARL'S LIFE.
Remarkable Freak OF a Former CrOny
of the Prince of Wales.

Remarkable Freak OF a Former CrOny
of the Prince OF Wales.
A spicy Big Springs CTexas) correspond-
ent of the st. Louis Post Dispatch writes:
There is an earl out here, and he passes
for good fellow, but that's all. The
democratic cowboy repudiates his title
and calls him "the Judge" which fits his
lordship no better than it does many of
the judicial persuasion. The noted Earl
of Aylesford is here. He made his APP
pearance last August, in charge of an
agent of Jay Gould. A pleasing location
at the head of a creek twelve miles north
of this village seemed to strike his fancy,
and he bought large tract of the Texas
and Pacific land grant and settled down,
as he says, to stay. He insists that this
is to be his future and permanent home,
and that no inducements could coax him
back to the fogs of London. Why did
he come here, and why does he stay? By
referring to Burke's Peerage you will see
that the seventh Earl of Ayesford is Mr..
Heneage Finch, and that he inherits his
title from famous iurist of that name.
He was born IN 1949, and came into
his estates, which are among the largest
and most profitable in England, about
the time he reached his majority. In
1871 he married Edith, the daughter of
Colonel Peers Williams, NJ. P, of Tenn
pie House, Berks, and has two children,
Hilda Gwendolin, born in 1872, and
Alexandra Monica, born in 1875, to
whom the Princess of Wales is god
mother The earl has three brothers,
Clement, Charles and Daniel all officers
in her maiesty's service. He was ar
intimate satellite of the Prince of
Wales, accompanying his royal highness
on his India expedition and being his
companion in many famous frolics that
her majesty's subjects are willing to for
give and forget. At one time the earl
was said to be the greatest spendthrift in
Europe, and when the crown prince of
Russia visited England he entertained
him on a scale of inordinate extrava-
gance After being divorced from his
wife the earl was banished from society
and limited to an allowance of $50, 900
year. He came to America, and after
! spending some time in New York sought
place in which to bury himself, and
finally selected Texas.
Mr.. Gould sent land agent out with
him, and when the location for a ranch
was decided upon, the earl deposited
$50, 900 in the bank at Big Springs and
commenced the erection of a house upon
his property 1t is a plain, implanted
frame affair, one-story AMI attic, with
seven rooms. The interior is plastered
and handsomely decorated. In
looks the earl is as fine a
specimen of manhood as one often en-
counters. He is six feet two in his stock
ings, broad, robust and bearded like a
Turk. His gray flannel shirt and cream
colored corduroys are very becoming, and
q scarlet tie under his chin gives a good
contrast to his sunburnt face. He had
not been here long when his two broth
ers, the Hon. Clement Finch and the
Hon. Daniel Finch, arrived, bringing
with them retinue of five servants,
twelve dogs, coach and dog cart and a
goodly quantity Of commissary supplies
Clement remained but a few weeks and
returned to England but Daniel shares
the earl's exile and appears to enjoy life
on the frontier as much as his celebrated
brother. Although the earl has $1,000
acres of land, he has, so far, purchased
no cattle and shows no sign of making
such aninvestment The popular opinion
is that he lacks the means. There are
twenty horses in the stables, but no cows.
The $50, 900 which was deposited in Au-
gust is pretty nearly exhausted, but a
draft on England for etO, 900 was placed
in the bank for collection recently, which
is supposed to represent the earl's annual
allowance, and the people expect him to
purchase herd of cattle when the cash
comes back.
The earl and his brother spend Their
time riding, hunting and having fun with
the cowboys, with whom they are very
popular. There was good deal of guy
ing at first, but his lordship took it Sc
good naturally and responded so prompt
ly and APPLY in kind that it soon ceased,
and the COW punchers now regard the
seventh earl of Aylesford as one of them
and treat him accordingly. AS l have
said they cali him "the Judge" and his
brother "the Kid, " and the familiarity
does not end there. Scarcely a knife is
lifted at the earl's table without the com
panionship of some cowboy from {
neighboring ranch, and the boys fol
miles around know that fresh bottle is
opened whenever guest enters the
house. Many night has the earl slep
beside the camp-fres or in the cabins o.
the herders, and as often has shared hi
bed with them.
Only once during his stay here has he
met with accident or injury, and tina
was when he attempted to separate {
, couple of fighting cowboys in a Big
Springs saloon and received crack over
the head with bottle that laid him fla
on the Reer