Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-09-03
REACHING FOR AN EARLDoM.
Mary Coles Adventures Which Bcfog Piacs
in the Peerage.

| In the Peerage.
| From the Providence journal.
curious story Of the ways Of lords and
ladies at the end Of last century has been re-
told this week in our house of lords. sitting as
a committee of privileges to determine the
riyhtful heir to the Berkeley earldom-pro-
nounced .'Barkly." The claimants were Lord
Fitzhardinge, descendant of the fifth Earl of
Berkeley, and Mr.. Randall Mowbray Thomas
Berkeley, who is descended from the fourth
earl. Lord Fitzhardinge had an ancestor who
once before tried to get the earldom and failed
because it was held that he was not the descend
ant OF legitimate progeny Of the fifth earl
The story is most absorbing
| Mary Cole was the daughter Of a tradesman
OF Gloucester and was a lady's maid about
| 1854 to one Mrs. Foote in Kent. but a year or
| two afterward was living in London as Miss
tudor and as the mistress Of the fifth earl Of
/ Berkeley. She must have been a pretty
! woman. 1t Is now denied by Lord Fitzhard-
inge that she ever was Lord Berkeley's mis-
tress She certainly became his avowed wife
In l'96, and the contention is that she was
| secretly married to him all along. Even If she
was for years only the mistress of the earl OF
Berkeley, it is not alleged that she was a wan
ton woman, who had wickedly abandoned her
self to the seductions Of the Earl. On the con-
trary; 1t Is represented that she was one who
sacrlnced herself to save sister, or in the be-
Lief that she was saving a sister. Perhaps she
| was the victim of a stratagem.
The story OF this stratagem was told to the
house OF lords at the former trial in 1911, and
| came up for fresh consideration at the de-
| termination of the present claim. 1t was
| hev John Chapeau who told it, and he said it
was the story Mary Cole--then known to him
| as Miss Tudor--told him herself. He called on
Miss Tudor and found her discharging serv-
ant She was concerned about the girls fu-
ture and was endeavoring to persuade her to
| return to the country. She told Mr.. Chapeau
she was afraid OF the girl falling into temptu-
| ton II she remained alone in London with lit
tie or no money, and she added that she had
once been In the same plight herself. She at
nrst sought refuge with a gentleman friend
| OF her mothers, who was kind enough to her,
put who for some reason thought it hardly
proper that he should allow this young and
pretty woman to remain permanent inmate
| OF his house. He gave her a handsome pres
ent and sent her off. Mary took the money,
| but did not go home. She sought out a sister
whose condition proved to be pitiable. I'M
possible to stay there she thought. and marched
sans she paused with her hand on the door
knocker. Susan was the black sheep of the
| family. Her mother had told her never to
| speak to Susan, and here she was about to dis
| obey her mothers command. She left the
knocker alone and 'took turn to reflect
upon the situation. The thought of returning
| to the misery Of Sister AIMS household was too
awful. With a sudden impulse she hied her
again to that abandoned knocker and gave with
1t most emphatic knock.
She was answered by her sister Susan her
SELF coming out in all her fnery full dressed
for the opera The sisters embraced. The
generous II erring Susan lavished affection
on her sister, tore up fine laces at sixteen
shliilngs yard to deck out Mary for the opera
Also and straightway introduced her to all the
excltements of her own life One evening,
however, Mary begged that there might be no
supper with company, not even Lord Berke-
ley s. whom she had already met at Susan's
table. They were to have an evening to them
selves to make merry over the "reminiscences
OF their childhood and youth. In the midst of
their enjoyment startling incident happened.
The Rev. Mr.. Chapeau gave it in her own words:
In the midst of our mirth violent noise
was heard in the passage and in rushed two
| rutfians, one Selling my sister by the right
hand and the other by the left trying to drag
her out OF the house in order to carry her to a
sponging house. The men declared they would
not quit Susan unless they received 100 guineas.
She tainted away; then when she came to her.
self she found Lord Berkeley standing by her
sister Susan, who was not there before. Miss
Tudor fell upon her knees and desired my Lord
Berkeley to liberate her sister: that she had no
money herself to do it, and if he would do it he
might do whatever he would with her own per-
son; he paid down 100 guineas, the ruffians
quilted their hold and my lord carried of the
lady
SIN the conclusion" Mr.. Chapeau was asked
in 1911, Ibid her ladyship say anything"
YES, she said 4 have been much sold as
| any lamb that goes to the SHAMELESS"
This story Of Mary Cole is the one that the
house Of lords today, like the house of lords
in 1911, accepts as the true story OF Mary Coles,
alias Miss Tudors, early relationship with Lord
Berkeley. The lords do not believe that Lord
Berkeley married her before 1886. The chill
dren were not registered as legitimate until
1875, after the public marriage. Most conclu-
slve OF ALL the first son born after the marriage
OF 1876 was registered as Lord rather Wis
count Dursley, the title Of the oldest legitimate
son of the earl. This was damaging admis-
sion, fatal to the claim of previous children to
be legitimate. 1t seems odd that with such a
strong case against him as this Lord Fitz-
hardlnge should have dreamed OF reopening the
case and bringing to light the singular story of
his ancestry.
1t appears, however, that there had been dis
covered in the parish registers later entry in
these words: This child was enormously de-
| scribed as Lord Dursley, he being my fifth son
born In lawful wedlock-Berkeley, April 49,
ISL More than that there were other en-
tries showing the previous marriage. These
had been pasted up with a view to concealment
at the time Lord Berkeley did not want it
known that he had married Mary Cole. The
committee Of privileges would not believe in
the genuineness Of these entries, that the
new evidence in support of them was of any
consequence. They did not See why any Sec
ond marriage was necessary if all that had to
be done was to expose the concealed entry in
! the register OF the first marriage They did
not see the motive for cOncealing the mar
riage at all il there had been one seeing that
Lord berkeley was willing enough to own his
wife after he did marry her. Lord Bramwell,
one Of the members of the committee of prlvi-
leges, very tenderly says THAT the poor lady
was victim cannot be doubted. There is no
improbability in that She Is not the first girl
whom wealth has commanded. l doubt not
from the evidence she gave, and from other
| matters, she was not only beautiful, but other
wise attractive. doubt not the earl loved her
and she persuaded him to marry her. When
that marriage took place they did not contem-
| plate setting up earlier marriage. Had they
! done so they would not have christened the
| first after-born child Viscount Dursley In
! time they began to feel that it was hard on the
| eldest son that he should be set aside in favor
| Of another brother and they devised the
| scheme of a marriage in 1885 to prevent it, not
| intending to wrong any one but one of their
| own children in favor of another. OF course I
| cannot justify them, but only endeavor to show
how they might persuade themselves to do
| what they did"
The committee of privileges was unanimous
All the descendants of Lord Berkeley born
after the marriage in 1876 (and the previous
marriage being denied), the illegitimate issue
| from which Lord Fitzhardinge springs cannot
succeed, and the peerage goes 70 the descend
| ant of the fourth earl.
Royal Women Who Smoke.
| From the Tribune Of Geneva.
If women smoke much nowadays thew can at