The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-01-09
M0RGAEATI0 MARRIAGES.
Limited Rights of the Wife, but Her
Position Ksespectabie

Left-handed or morganatic marriages
between American girls and nlustrious
foreigners are exceedingly rare,the daugh-
tiers of Uncle Sam being, as a rule says
the Atlanta Constitution" far too high
spirited to consent to a matrimonial
union which does not place them upon
social equality with their husbands.
The first instance was that of Miss
Mary Esther Lee, of New York, who, on
marrying morganaticaily Prince Freder-
ick of 5chleswig- -TIolstein- 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
when she has been known by his name
The second case is that of Miss Elise
Hensler, Of Boston, who, on contracting
mopganatic marriage with the late
King Ferdinand of Portugal grandfather
Of the present King. was created Count
ess OF Edla. The third case must neces-
sarily be that of the New Orleans heir
ess, Bertha Lewis, who was led to the
altar in London on August "a of last year
by Prince Charles Isenburg- -Birstein, un-
less he himself had at the time of his
marriage surrendered all his rights, pre-
negatives and status as a Prince of his
house, just in the same manner as Count
Pappenheiml was compelled to do when
he married Miss Wheeler, of Philadel-
phia.
This union of Prince Tsenburg has until
now attracted relatively little attention,
but seems destined to come to the fore
in connection with the somewhat sensa-
tionnl suit Tor unpaid commission which
is being brought against the Prince by
q broker who placed him in communica
ton with his American bride. This is
the first occasion on which an action of
this kind has ever been brought in re-
gard to any of these so-called internatlon-
al marriaEes-that is to say, union be-
tween imDeeunious 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 the
part of the bride and bridegroom to pay
the stipulated commission to the nego-
tlator Of what is In nine cases of every
ten a purely commercial transaction
Morganatic marriages are but little un-
oerstood in this country. where they APP
thing immoral. The position of morga-
matte wife Is perfectly respectable. Her
union receives the sanction and the bless
ing of the Church, and the only way in
which it differs from an ordinary mar
riage is that the troth is plighted with
the left hand instead of the right, and
that the rights Of the inferior of the two
f6n ord are FROM
Scandinavian verb .smorgyan'' Ito limit,
implies as n1uch. Thus, a. morganatic
wife has no right to her husbands title
or fortune.
He is not permitted to charge the en-
tailed family estates with a 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 union are sub
ject to the same disadvantages as the
mother, and should the father die with
out especially providing for them out Of
his savings of private and unentailed es-
tate they would be left pennlless. More
over, the party of superior rank in
morganatic union Is perfectly at liberty
during the lifetime Of the other, and
without obtaining either legal separation
or divorce, to contract second natri-
mollial alliance with person of his or
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 was known
to possess morganatic wife and a niz-
merous family of children residing near
Frank ort-on-E Ehe-M Main, at the time of his
marriage witt Princess Helena Of Great
Britain. Newark Evening News.