The Helena independent., 1893-12-29

THE NEW COUNTESS OF WARWICK.
but also in the leadership of English fash
ion. It ia difficult to know which Of these
two things affects more strongly the prin-
cess
Then, too, Lady Brooke is a very bril-
liant woman. Her conversation is of the
most sparkling brilliancy, and besides this
1t is marked by q freedom from conven-
tionality which horrifies the somewhat
straitlaced princess, who has inherited
all the love of etiquette of her mother, old
Queen Louise of Denmark.
The Prince Of Wales is most easily bored.
The one thing of which he stands in the
greatest dread is ennui, and If there Is
any one person more than another in Eng
land who is capable Of driving dullness
away it is the beautiful and witty Countess
Of Warwick.
The Prince of Wales has, during his mar
Eied life Of over quarter of century, had
many of those f1irtations which the French
so appropriately term aventures, and on
one memorable occasion he has even been
brought into court as the correspondent in a
divorce case Notwithstan ng this, and
notwithstanding the fiagrancy of his liai-
sons both in England and on the conti-
nent, the princess has never condescended
to manifest any signs of jealousy until the
Countess Of Warwick appeared upon the
scene. .,a.~
Should the queen die at the present mo-
ment and the prince ascend his mothers
throne there is no doubt that the Countess
Of Warwick would become quite as impor-
tant and as influential parsonage in shap-
ing the will of the monarch and the desti-
nies of the nation as were the Marchioness
Cunningham in the case Of King George
Nv and the Duchess of Portsmouth in the
case Of King Charles II.
The friendship between the Prince Of
Wales and the Countess of Warw' y dates
from the period of her marriage 1881.
The latter took place in Westmins, abbey
and was the only ceremony of the kind in
which u son of the queen has acted the part
ST best man to commoner, for such the
present Earl Of Warwick was at the time.
The prince who oficiated in this capacity
was the youngest brother Of the Prince of
Wales, tho late Duke of Albany, who was
mentioned at one moment pr 20 her mar
riage as likely to become t. ady Frances
Evelyn's husband.
The Prince of Wales likewise attended
the marriage and was the first of all present
to sign the register. 1t was very notable
function, for the bride was at the time the
SledttSG uelroSS Ill lOuuOl, udFluH luueT-
tied the whole of the fortune of her enor-
mously wealthy father, the Hon. Colonel
Maynard, whose widow subsequently mar
ried the late Earl of Rosslyn.
Almost Immediately after her marriage
the countess-or Lady Brooke, as she was
then-began to assume a very prominent
place among the leaders of society, and es-
pecially Of that particular circle of the Lon
don great world which is known as the
Ma. thorough House set, the one object OF
whose members Is to amuse the prince, that
constituting theiG particular form of 10y
atty.
The new countess is far more beautiful
than even the best Of her photographs make
her appear. Her friends say that they have
never yet seen a portrait that did her JUS
tice. With her wealth of chestnut brown
hair, her violet blue eyes and her exquisite
complexion. she has always seemed the per-
fection of fresh, delicate and lilylike Eng
lish lovelincss. In one thing, however, she
is entirely un-Englsh, and that is in her
taste for dress. There are few women in
London whose toilets are more perfect in
every way and more in harmony with their
wearer than those of the Countess of War
wick. She is one Of the best whips in Eng
land and drives four-in- hand, handling
the ribbons in delightful manner.