The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-12-31
QUEER SPRIGS OF r

Prlnce Del Drago, who snenr
1eal or time in this country and A.
departed after disposing of the da,.
OF ms grandmother, old Queen CbrySj
or spain. to George Gould for preN1 !,
ton to tie latter's sister on the occJ
or her marriage to little Count al
zane, is in dire disgrace, not only in Roai
but throughout Italy, and, in fact a
every court in Europe. 1t is he WYNN
regarded rs responsible for the scan y
mat eliminated in the elopemenfVs
Princess Elvira, since the Don JuasGl
the case was his intimate friend and II
introduced by him as such to the ,V
/ GUIDED and unfortunate infanta.
Inc prince, being n sort of left-hary
connection of the house of Bourbon
admitted to the intimacy of the fan |
OF the Duke of Palma, of Don CA
ana OF the ex-king and ex-queen Of
pies. he took advantage of this i 4
macy 70 introduce his chum, Count
chi, who seems to have been a cold
calculating sort of fellow, since hi
fused an offer of $4,000, made to
by the Duke of Palma on behalf ofsI
Bourbon family, if he would Leave
country and break off his relations M
DOna Elvira. Folchi was perfer
well aware that the jewels Of the N |
cess amounted to that sum, and NH
moreover, being no longer minor. Ill
was entitled to fortune of several MIN
lion dollars. corning to her from her da \
mother. Of this fortune he may be III
lied upon to secure control before bis III!
faire de occur with the princess com
to an end.
Prince Del Drago, as every one knov L
is son of one of the only surviving har 4
sisters Of Queen Christiana of Spain Al
the guardsman Munoz, whom, in cons
quence of his good looks, she raised frot
the ranks to the position Of general, cal
met minister and duke Of Rianzeres. tn
Del Dragos are not particularly well Oh
as the lawsuit which was instituted b \
Queen Isabella and the duchess of Mont I
tensier to prevent the execution of theh\
mothers will, which left the whole Of he \
fortune to her children by Munoz, ha I
only lately come to close after almost
the entire amount has been eaten up L
legal expenses.
At the time of the marriage of !
Prince of Naples it was stated that -
Humbert, in view of the deplorable
dition of the Italian eX6heaNey, had Z,
solved not to ask for any AaxGNst foYxl''
son. The cabinet and the leading stay|
men of Italy, however, pointed out to n
king that inasmuch as the treasury b
bound by the terms of the constitution To-
provide for the maintenance of the heir
to the throne, it would be unwise and int
polite to refuse to accept any allowance
for the prince. The king therefore ba,
permitted the chamber of deputies to vote
a civil list for the prince, but caused the
prime minister to announce to the legsla
ture that as long as he lived he would
make q point of refunding each year II
the treasury, out of his own pocket, The
full amount paid to his son by the nation
Old Lady Jane Swinburne, who hal
just died at the age of 50, was the motheI
of England's foremost and most gift@
poet of the present day, Algernon Charle
Swinburne, who, had it not been for the
radical, and even revolutionary opinion
which he processes in all political mat
tiers, would have been appointed to sue
coed Lord Tennyson as laureate. Thes
radical opinions are all the more aston
ishing when the fact is taken into consit
Grafton that his family is one of the mos
ancient in England, having been in pos
session of Swinburne castle, in North
cumberland, at the time of the Norman
conquest, 800 years ago, while he is Close
ly related to the ducal house of Norm
cumberland, as we'll as to the earls of Az
burnham and number of other men
bers Of the old aristocracy.
His mother, Lady Jane, was celebrate
in her younger days for her remarkab'
beauty, which was such that when pr
scented for the first time at court she va
complimented on her looks by King WI
liam w., rs he drew her to him and in
printed hearty kiss on her cheek. 81
was blessed with wonderful memor
and having known almost everybot
worth knowing since. her debut, thr
years prior to the succession of Quet
Victoria, was perfect mine Of inform
ton. may add that the ode of Alge
non Swinburne that appeared in q
Nineteenth Century Review the 9th
day was destined as his birthday prese
to her.
The present head of the house of SW'i
burne is Sir John, whose baronetcy dat
back to the reign of King James /, OIL
who has been in this country a lar
number of times as the representative
the English holders of the Virginia sta
bonds. He has been twice married, b
present wife having borne prior to b
marriage one of the best known nam
in Maryland. One of Sir Johns childrt
by his first wife is a girl bearing T.
peculiar name of Ranch, and is marrit
to Richard Chamberlain, brother Of Il
secretary of state for the colonies.
He also has son named Robert, WI
has acquired an altogether unenviab
notoriety in connection with his finance
difficulties. During the first year aft
he came of age he not only ran throue
100000, but likewise raised lot
money on the representation that he WI
the eldest instead of the youngest son
Sir John, and consequently the heir ;!
the entailed property of the latter. ]
make matters worse he declined to Pr
any attention to the summons Of Il
court of bankruptcy. and accordingly WI
subjected to the indignity of an arref
and brought before the judge with han
cuffs upon his wrists.
The count of Andigne, whose impen
ing marriage to Mrs. Frederick MaNp
Coleman) of California, has Just VI
announced, belongs to one of the %
ancient and illustrious houses of [ hi
bility of Anjou, which figured 1 N
crusades among the followers ofA
1 king of France known as st. Louis
, the beginning of this century the Nv
ignes were at the head of the row
! lnsurrection in the Vendec, and n
| father of the count whose engagem,
mas Just been announced was the Il
general marquis of Andigne, who achi
ed so much distinction on the battlef;e
! of Solferino and Sedan. having ho
killed beneath him in the heroic cha,
of Reichshofen. ~