The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-17
NEW AMERICAN COUNTESS.
KITTY HOWELL. OF SOUTH CARO-
LIMA, COUNTESS OF EGMONT.

Earl baS a Poor Hei0t1VeN or HIS
Uncle and Lived n yarfegated Ex-
istence-Sudden Trip to the Peer
age.
New York, Oct. 16.-Augustus Arthur
Percival, who has knocked about the world
as a laborer, fireman, janitor and sailor
since he was big enough to take care of
himself awoke the other morning to find
himself Earl of Egmont, Viscount Per
cival of Kanturk, Baron Percival of Bur-
ton, Baron Arden of Lohort Castle, Lord
den of Arden and a baronet. That was
because his father, his uncle and his faith
er's cousin had all died within a short
time of each other, leaving the honors and
estates of the ancient family of Percival
to devolve upon this wandering Willie"
of the peerage.
A short time ago he had apparently no
more chance of becoming Earl of Egmont
than he did of becoming Khan of Tartary.
But it is a great thing to be related to the
British nobility, even if one does have to
carry the bod, for no one can ever tell
when an epidemic In the family will enable
one to exchange the Jumper" for the
peers robes.
With the elevation of "Gussy" Perez
val. as his companions call him, to the
peerage, America gets another peeress, for
while "Gussy' was a fireman in the Me
tropolitan Fire brigade of London he mar
ried Kate Howell an American girl who
was employed in a city restaurant. 1t
will be interesting to see what this new
earl, who had the advantages of only
rudimehtary education, who since he was
a boy has associated entirely with people
of the laboring classes, will do, now that
he comes into a great estate and many an
cient titles.
A Mr.. Wyckoff, a college graduate, has
lately been going about the country max
ing his living as a workman, and is now
writing his experiences. But he did it
with a purpose-to see how the other
half lived-and need not have done it if
he had not wanted to- while Augustus
Arthur, Earl of Egmont, has been knock
ing about the world all his life, making
his living my manual labor, because he
had to. He was not an observer OF the
laboring classes, but of them. 1t is doubt
full if the earl could or would write
book about his experiences, but in his
life there is the material for a book, and
with what a dramatic and satisfactory
endingl
The branch of the Percivals to which
"Gussy's" father belonged were anything
except rich, and were living out in New
Zealand. where Augustus Arthur was
born in 1886. His father did not see any
.,cI ~, 70
as a scion of an ancient house should be
educated, so he called in the family in
huence. Now, poor relations are no more
acceptable in England than they are in
the United States, and half the family
said the youngster might go hang for all
they cared
Finally il was decided that something
must be done, and as soon as he was old
enough the family council decided that
they would give the boy show, irksome
as it was to be bothered with Charley 5
family" So they sent Augustus to the
training ship Worcester at Greenhite-on-
the-Thames, and told him that if he
studied hard he might one day get COM
mission in the navy. But "Gussy'' some
how was unable to get along with the
studies and the discipline of the training
ship, and after a time left her and ship
ped before the mast as a sailor in the
merchant service. Nt
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