New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-13
SELECTIONS FROM THE MAIL

THE EARLS OF DENBIGH.
SIR PERCY FIELDING COMPLAINS OF Ex-AT-
TAcHE's GENEALoay.
To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: With regard to the article headed Modern
Antiques" which appeared In your issue OF De-
cember TO- signed "Ex-Attache." / would caution
your readers against that not uncommon error INTO
which he has fallen. viz. that Of accepting as
Gospel truth anything that appears In print oh
the authority OF an anonymous writer Ex-Attacne
has repeated great deal that is utterly raise
1t Is therefore not surprising that he mas 10 auop
a prefix which shows that he no longer peiohsS
to a service in which truth and caution are Gun
sidered to be essentials. Having applied 10 Inc
author OF 1.-THE Quarterly Review article ior 'ne
authority upon which he had based his statements
respecting my family. he has admitted that 'he
sole grounds upon which he based his assertion
that the Earls of Denbigh are descehueo iIo'" Z"
certain John Feldnge and not from the counts
of Hapsburg is what he calls a visitation peui-
gree Of 16l9 which he presumes was eh'ereu o'
the family" That such thing is quite Impossible
you will allow when tell you that the compiler
OF the pedigree unable to give the NAMES i ~
either the father or mother of the hrst Ear OF
Denbigh who then alive ana IN ms and for
For the father is put qa ede SIR Henry Arden
being the Earls brother-n-law ms psus Se Se
contains some ten other mistakes: anu oc,nowledSed
haps needless TO say that 1t Is not acNnO"'e'e''
A full history OF the Fielding iam Is Iblished
in Nichols's History of Ieicestershire ana .ne
S Ss W iIg pugdaie. who was Garter King OF
Arms about the middle Of the seventeenth CEN and
the vouchers which satisfied such an eminent
geneaogis nearly go years r ago Of be Quarterly
article might e %s have sSse Tan 1asn h@
ready access to the munlment.room at Newman
Gin Warwckshire) which has been the G here are
annie proofs not only that the Earl OF Deh h
is directly descended from the House Sra on Of this
family in the male line now existing TINS t iact
fully @ b in A Empencr as himself fe such
OF readers as may Tfn Tf Of
7 viii NOT allule to the mistakes ana raise STATE
ments respecting other families than my OVID which
Article as / fear that have already trespassed
too much on you, valuable F FPdIGp9I General
Ex-ArTACHE REPLIES.
To the Editor of The Tribune
Sir: With reference to the letter OF General Feiid
Ing ~ which YOU have drawn my attention, beg
70 state in reply that dligent research reveals no
mention in the official roster OF German counts
OF any such titles those OF Rheinieioeh' Oh maps
burg or Of Laufenberg. to whlch po'h ne anu MS
nephew Lord Denbigh lay claim Nor Is there any
official work now in existence in Germany ,na' men
.,ons the English house Of Folding of which lord
Denbigh is the chief in connection Win INC IN
nerial family of Hapsburg. Were Genera feiuns
assertion correct that his nephew. the Earl Oh Den-
high represents the only branch OF the mousse oi
uansbure In the male line direct now III existence,
his place would manifestly be on the throne VI
A,s,ria instead of on the benches Of the BRUSH
House of Lords since the Old German ana prese"'
Austrian Constitution provides for the SUCCESSION
NJ the heirs in the female line only In delauil Vi
v ranrasentatives Of the male side Of the house
To use the words of Sir Bernard BURKE II -
almost a cruelty to thus ruthlessly pluck OF such
a verv green Leaf as this unjustifed and relatively
modern claim of the Fielding family from the an an
cestral tree of the Earl of Den9igh d a AZ the
College of Heralds, in London, q pedgree " Inbn
traced their origin to SIMPLE later that the
Lords of Denbigh put forward tner calm - IA nen
IRON iron W ss plain and untitled English country
gentleman, William Fielding by name f tS NM nmka Of
the gUoS iu9A and thereupon rose with the latter
receiving in turn the titles OF baron anu 'is|ou'
Feldns aga dht to General Fielding statement that
his claims to cousinship have been ossibiv in
terest him to Know that there large number q1pt5
OF Claim Of relationship which smilingy
and good-naturedy tolerated by mat h.S a4nroDe
Sb Emissions ON the part of the Emperor are
VIGOROUSLY due to courtesy ana Klnr r III. -,
ahng n from his grandeur while they fater the
innocent and harmless vanity OF ms h would do
inteiy better to content himself on his perfectly
auhsnc to ede by the great
GuDhoD as mat exquisite picture of human man,
ners which will ouye the pa pal9f e es e OF Austria
In conclusion / would state that not only 90 the
German official peerages contain no menH ion ol me
est reference to their house. but that even thee
courtly Sir Bernard Burke who has iathered anu
famlies in England merely refers 70 the alleged
ancestry and foreign titles Of the Felidg lsi I'M
Review. which derides these claims and to which s
cenarai Fielding takes so much exception. IS wrft-
Ten nv one OF the most eminent genealogists IN
Great Britain. and more than eonirea b by yai
the identity of the greatest living authority OF mat
fers appertaning to ancestry and heraldpy o,r,r,
New-York Feb. l. 1894 EA-Ai i>Nih1'