The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-03
ROMANCE OF THE PEERAGE.
Earl an ex-Fireman, and His Count
ess an ex-Barmaid.
From the London Daily Mail.

From the London Daily Mail.
Mr. Augustus Arthur Perceval, who has
come into the Earldom of Egmont by the
death of his uncle, the late earl at his
residence, Cowdray Park, Midhurst, has
had a career very different to that of any
other British peer.
The new earl was some years ago in
the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, and from
his former colleagues of the brigade a
Daily Mail reporter obtained particulars
of his rowing career
"Gussy Perceval we used to call him, -
said one officer "He Joined our drill
class on March 25, 1881, when he was %
years old, and had just married a very
young woman, who will now, if living,
be the new countess. Perceval was live
ly character, and had led a rowing life
from the first, as we could tell by his
yarns He was born in Papanui, near
Canterbury, in New Zealand, on June A,
1856, and was educated as a naval cadet
on board the Worcester training ship at
Greenhithe, in the Thames. The disci-
pine there was too strict, perhaps, to suit
his rowing nature, and he shipped before
the mast and when he came to us he had
a second mates papers, and was accepted
by Capt Sir Eyre Massey Shaw as a drill
class candidate. ~,
tile duly passed into the brigade on
May 10, 1881, and took duty under the late
Superintendent Hutchings at Southwark
headquarters.
1.-THE new earl" said another officer
was a rafting good fellow, but he never
had any chance OF doing good work in
saving lives. That, of course, is always
a matter of luck in our work, to a great
extent. He was stationed at Southwark
for about a year, and then was shifted,
in the ordinary routine. to Remington.
He went back to Southwark early in 1883,
shifted to Lower Norwood in the latter
end of that year; went to Chaplain In
January, 1884, where he was stationed for
two years and a half, and then went to
Waterloo Road Fire station on July 10,
1885, That is about the average OF the
general moves in the service"
when did he leave the brigade?" said
one of the men, HE resigned and left
the force early in February, 1887, having
applied for and obtained the position Of
hall keeper at the new town hall, Chel-
sea- and his record of service, signed by
Sir Eyre Massey Shaw, says: During the
period of PercevaFs service his conduct
has been on the whole satisfactory. We
lost the run of him after that, but we
heard that there was a bit of a riot at a
political meeting at the hall and that Gus
sys fire brigade experience coming to his
hand, he got hydrant to work and
swamped the rioters, both sides alike.
Then he invested in some cement works,
and that was the last we heard of him."
while the new earl was in the bril-
gade," said another fireman who had been
''cronies" with him, "his uncle, the late
earl, took good deal of interest in him,
and at Christmas time used to inquire of
the old chief how he was going on. The
answer was generally satisfactory, and
then the earl used to come down hand
somely, and Gussy was in funds for a
while. But as a rule 1t was a pretty
hard pull up the hill for MIR. and Mrs.
Perceval, for they only got married in
the year Gus Joined us, and that was a
love match, the lady who will now become
the countess having been a young lady
employed by Spiers & Pond They had
no children, and it is generally UNDER
stood that they mutually agreed to sep
arate when Perceyal left the brigade