The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-17
MoRoANATio MARRIAGES.
A Peculiar Institution flor the Benefit of
Princes.
(From the Atlanta Constitution.

(From the Albania Constitution
Left-handsd or morganatie marriages
between American girls and illustri Gus
foreigners are exceedingly rare, the
daughters of Unole Sam being, as a rule,
far too high spirited to consent to mat
rimonial union which does not place
them on q social equality with their hus-
bands.
The first instance was that Of Miss
Mary Esther Lee of New York, who, on
marrying morganatioally Prince Freder-
lex of Sohleswig- Holstein- Sonderburg-
Augustenburg, was created by his friend,
the emperor of Austria, a princess of
Noer In her own right This title she
bore until, several years after the death
of Prince Frederick, she married the
German general, Count Waldersee, since
which she hes been known by his name.
The second case is that of Miss Elsie
HensleT of Boston, who, on contracting
q morganatic marriage with the late
King Ferdinand of Portugal (grand-
father Of the present kingA was created
countess of Edla. The third case must
necessarily be that of the New Orleans
heiress, Bertha Lewis, who was led to
the altar in London on Aug ust "a Of last
year By Prince Charles Isenburg Birstein
unless he himself has at the time of his
marriage surrendered oil his rights,
prerogatives and status as prince Of his
house, just in the same manner as Count
Pappenheim was compelled to do when
he married Miss Wheeler of Philadelphia.
This union of Prince Isenburg has un-
til now attracted relatively little atten-
tien, but seems destined to come to sshe
fore in connection with the somewhat
sensational suit for unpaid commission
which is being brought against the
prince by the broker who placed him in
communication with his American bride.
This5is the first occasion on which an
action of this kind has ever been brought
in regard to any of these socalled inter.
national maFFiages-that is to say, union
between impeounious mobiles Of the old
world and wealthy daughters of the new
world. But it by no means follows that
this is the first case Of a failure on tho
part of the bride and bridegroom to pay
the stipulated commission to the nego-
uiatoF of what is in nine Gases out of
C6Csy ~ q RuEOAy CelAnOkCA0l bAhAo6Ct4oits
Morganagio marriages are but little
understood in this country, where they
appear to be regarded In the light of
something immoral. The position of a
morganatio wife Is perfectly respeota BILE.
Her union receives the sanction and
blessing of the church and the only way
in which it differs from an ordinary
with the left hand instead of the right,
and that the rights of the inferior of the
two contracting parties are limited. In
deed, the word inorganic, " derived from
the Scandinavian averb :morgyan" (td
limit implies as much. Thus a NOR
ganatio wife has no right to her hus-
b and g title or fortune.
He ia not permitted to charge the en-
tailed family estates with life interest
in her behalf. She is deprived of the
appanage ordinarily reserved for the
wives OF her husbands family. The
children of the morganatic unionsare sub
jecJ to the same disadvantages as the
mother. and should the father die with
out specially providing for them out of
his savings of private md unentailed 60.
tate. they would be left penniless. More
over, the party OF superior rank in a
morganatic union is perfectly atsliberty
during the lifetime of the other, and
without obtaining either legal separa-
ton or divorce, to contract second
matrimonial alliance with person Of his
OF her own station of life.
= Numerous instances of this can be cited
in illustration. Thus Prince Christian
of Schleswig- Holstein, the son-in-law of
Queen Victoria, and the guardian of the
present empress Of Germany until her
marriage, was known to possess a NOR
ganatic wife and a numerous family OF
children residing near Frankfort-on-the.
Main at the time of his marriage with
Princess Helena of Great Britain.