The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-08-12
~Theb best that money can buy n.v-.--
"Pure" and "Sure."
ANOTHER rICHBoRNE CAsES
The Dukedoua OF Somerset Claimed by =
Mysterious S~trnsger-A Remiriscence OF
Our war, or Gen. Dick " Taylor. and
Of the Veal Lnra EdNsnrd St. Manr.

The Dukedou OF Somerset Claimed by =
Mysterious Stra.ger-A Reminiseenee OF
Our War, or Gen. Dick " Taylor, and
OF the Resi Lore Edward St. Maur.
BELLAGto, July 27.-Glancing idly over the
recent English papers, under the shade Of lime
trees on this enchanting shore. l came upon q
strange story, which seems to show that the ex-
perience OF the Tichborne claimant must have
some fascination for the popular mind in Eng
land. not to be dissipated even by the stern reali-
ties Of penal servitude, in which the drama of
Arthur OrtOn found its denouement. A London
journal OF July 81 cites from the Wiltshtre
Times a picturesque narrative Of the excitement
into which the good people Of Maiden Bradley, .
quiet village, chiefly notable for its connection
with the great English family OF the Seymours,
Dukes Of Somerset, have been thrown by the APP
penrance there Of q middle aged man claiming TO
be no less a person than Lord Edward Seymour
Tor st. Maur), a son OF the twelfth Duke Of Somer-
set, and therefore the lawful heir Of the
dukcdom now held by Algernon, . younger
brother of the twelfth duke. who came to the
title about three years ago on the death Of still
another brother of the twelfth duke, Archibald.
II does not so far appear how this claimant
proposes to establish his identity, or TO make
good his pretensions to one of the highest and
oldest titles in Great Britain. But, curiously
enough, any serious attempt to prove this
mysterious person the Lord Edward st. Maur
ne Claims 10 De must pretty certainly Dc
thrashed out with the help of American wit
nesses, who met and may remember Lord Ed
ward during q brief but uneventful visit which
he paid to the United States during the second
year Of our great civil war. or this visit no
mention is made on the memorial tablet which
perpetuates the lame Of Lord Edward st. Maur
in the church at Maiden Bradley, but q record
OF It will pretty certainly be found in the
archives OF the Departments Of State and Of
War at Washir 2 III.
1t comes back 20 me now with a vivid and very
characteristic picture OF the part taken In Lord
Edwards adventures by that clever. cynical,
and accomplished Confederate officer whom the
clubs of New York and Of London. as well as
the people of Louisiana and Virginia, cannot
wholly have forgotten as Gen. "Dick " Taylor.
Gen. Taylor, as the son OF old Zach" once
President OF the United States. and as brother
in-law Of Jefferson Davis, President Of the Con-
federate States, came naturally to the front
with the outbreak Of the civil war; but his
abilities very soon gave him q positive hold Of
his own upon public attention in the South. and
at the time Of the desperate struggle between
Mcclellan and Lee before Richmond, known as
the Seven Days Battles" he commanded as
General an important division Of the
Confederate army. Lord Edward st. Maur. like
many other intelligent young Englishmen. came
to America in 1862, eager either to take q hand
IN the CONNECT. as some OF them ulu, or merely
to witness with his own eyes the development
OF q drama which had startled and perturbed
the whole civilized world. He was not a soldier.
but in training as q d~iplomatist. He had served
IA an attach6 at Vienna and In Madrid, and
when at the age Of 81 he appeared In Washing
ton he was received by Lord Lyons, Mr.. Monsoon
NOW British Ambassador at vienna). and the
rest OF the legation with cordlality. not only on
account OF the great family to which he be-
longed, but for the promise and the charm OF
his personal qualities. His father. the twelfth
Duke OF Somerset, was something more than r.
great noble, He served with distinction as u
Cabinet Minister, and few Englishmen of his
time could have held their own with him In the
higher fields Of political debate, had he chosen,
ss he very seldom chose. TO do public battle for
the opinions which he matured by careful study,
and TO which he gave expression in private life.
and sometimes In print, with an ease and u
trenchant power almost unrivalled in our time.
Lord Edwards neither, known In her youth as
the Queen Of Beauty at the Eglinton tourna-
ment, was the handsomest, and not the least
gifted. of the three famous granddaughter of
Richard Brinsley Sheridan. and an aunt, there
fore, of the Marquis OF Dufferin, who has Just
published In London a charming memoir of his
mother, whose song OF The Irish Emigrant's
Lament" long ago made her name, as Mrs.
Blackwood. known and cherished throughout
inc WOrlu. LOru EuWdTu 81. MAur reached
Washington in 1852, Just before the advance Of
McClellan's army upon the Confederate capital
finally began in earnest. He was exceedingly
anxious 10 obtain permission to go 20 the front
or to pass the lines of the Federal army and
make a short tour In the South. For various
reasons, however, neither the State Department
nor the War Department was at that moment
inclined to grant such permissions, and Lord
Edward soon found himself compelled TO choose
between giving up his projected visit to Vir-
Rinia or incur ring the rather serious risks in
volved in an attempt TO run the blockade
His English friend advised him TO give the mat
ter up and go To Canada, but this prudent sug-
gestion did not jump with his adventurous tenn
per. and after consulting one or two energetic
and determined Baltimore men he quietly left
Washington and found his way. no matter how.
by what was then known as the underground
railroad " across the Potomac and tho Kappa
hammock into There he called at
once, with letters, upon President Davis and
Mr.. Robert ould, then a very active member Of
the working Government Of the Copfederacy.
The hostile armies wero at that moment
waging day after day their protracted and ter
rible conflict in the almost impracticable region
through which the Confederates were deter
mined TO drive the Federal forces into the James
River. Both President Davis and Mr.. Ould
earnestly dissusded Lord Edward from putting
himself into peril. But he was bent on his pur-
pose, and finally left Richmond for the front
with a guide and with a special letter Of recon-
mendation from President Davis TO Lieut.-Gen.
TAYLOR. II was no easy matter. even with a
guide and with the good will OF the authorities,
foT a young foreigner on horseback to yet at and
find "a general officer in the midst of all the
marching and countermarching, fighting, re-
treating, and advancing of two armies over the
impossible roads OF that wilderness OF creeks
81 .aW.. 49, "a. HI 49, 81
trouble, and two or three narrow escapes from
being shot, Lord Edward finally reached a point
at which he had been told that no would find
the headquarters OF Gen. Taylor. late in the
afternoon OF a long IN day made mem
orabls in American annals by the sanguinaTy
contest Of Malvern Hill. II was not an auspic-
iOus moment for paying a visit Of ansteur in
terest 70 a military leader, above all not an
auspicious moment for paying such a visit Ia