Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-11-26
Things Are a Bit Livelier Owing to
Gen. Kitchener's Return.
CLAIMS an AMERICAN EARL'S TITLE
How the Queen is Made Comfort
able in Her Old Age.
PATHS COMING MARRIAGE
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Tor winter and the season of togS is upon
us. The increased use of gas for fires has
made some difference in late years with the
prevalence of the smoke fiend. but still
London's particular" is on tap in Novem-
Der, and if one oversleeps of a morning he
can safely lay it to the sort of semi twi-
light aspect of his bed room on his first
awakening, which has a seep-inducing
quality, The summer Americans are near
ly all gone home. and the town is settling
itself down for its minor season, patronlzed
by residents only Theaters are all open
again with new and original" plays and
new plays with old faces, and if we are
treated to three versions of Dumas Mus
keteers" at as many different theaters, 1t
is only because London, like New York,
can, on occasions, get up excitement over a
good thing
1t is pleasant to see this large city wake
up to life again after the dormant months
of September and October, when all the
streets are being repaved anu everybody
that is, Everybody" in fashionable par
lance, is out of town. Lord Kitchener
presence here makes some difference, and
the off season Is HVelier than usual on
his account. Balls and parties are an
nounced and houses are being made ready
for Saiety.
DevOnshire House.
Workmen have been active about Devon
shire House, the barrack-like place behind
high stone walls in Piccadlly, opposite the
Green Park, and the duke and duchess will
shortly return from Chatsworth to make
merry there. Recently 1t was reported that
the high walls which give the house a GER
tain amount of seclusion from one of the
busiest thorOughfares in London We're to be
removed. but these anticipations were real
ized only In part, a large giIded iron open
work gate taking the place of a portion of
the opaque wall. The house and its i'm
mense gardens occupy Historic site in
Guiding the block from Berkeley street to
Stratton street, on Piccadilly, and extend
ing at the back down to Lansdowne
House, the property of the MARQUIS of
Lansdowne. from which it is separated by
Bolton row. The famous old Berkeley
House once stood here, but was DESTROYED
by fire In 1893. The present mansion, which
was built for the third Duke of Devonshire
except for occasional garden party or re-
ceptlon, had long been sort Of blank num-
Der on Piccadily, until the duke brought
home his new wife, the dowager duchess of
Manchester. who brought back to the
house something of the splendor that pre-
vailed there when Georgiana, the beautiful
Duchess of DeVOnShire of GaInSbOrOugh'S
portrait, held her court within its walls,
Nothing of remarkable interest attaches to
DevOnshire House. 1t has an immense ball
room. which has often been the scene of
amateur dramatics, Bulwer Lytton's Not
So Bad AS We Seem being first produced
here. The DevOnshire gems and very fine
collection of old English plays are among
the sights of the house.
Claims the Title.
A new claimant" case which has an
American interest has arisen These cases
are rather numerous in this country, where
entailed property and large families some
times make issues obscure
Rev. John Sinclair, vicar of a little
country parish. lays formal claim to the
title held by the Earl of Caithness, who
though he is not an American citizen, lives
In America and undertakes all the duties
Of a citizen but that of voting. The pres
ent earl succeeded his father, the sixteenth
earl, In 1891. In the British Peerage his
residence is given as 'Berriedale Farm
North Dakota, L. s. A" He also has a
London residence near Hyde Park which
he rarely sees. Caithness, who is said to
be good fellow, is known to his neighbOrs
in Dakota-if you can call people neighbors
who ave dozen miles SO from your own
dOor-as Lord Berredale and Is highly re-
Spected as an expert in agricultural and
stock~raisng matters. Having no estate in
this country, 1t IS but natural that he de-
sires to personally look after his vest in
terests in the western continent. but to
most Americans a peer of the realm whose
family dates back nearly to the Norman
conquest who possesses no ancestral es-
tates is almost an anomaly, But as the
property, nearly 10000 acres, surrounding
Thurso Castle, the ancient seat of the
famous Earls Caithness, was not entaiIed
1t passed long ago into the hands of an
ot4.er branch of the family. AS for the
remaining property, the fifteenth earl will
ed 1t away to college chum since he had no
direct successor. However, Earl Caithness'
American friends do not esteem him as an
earl, but as q good neighbor and fellow
farmer. A rather romantic feature at
taches to the Sinclairs 0he earl's family
name). In the reign of David | of Scot
land. in 112s, the Sinclairs built Holyrood,
and for this act of courtly devotion that
monarch made royal grant, giving the
head of the family the perpetual right of
being buried In HolyroOd Abbey Archdea-
con Sinclair of st. PauIs CATHEDRAL is the
earfs cousin and the reverend gentleman
claiming the empty title belongs to another
branch of the family.
Dusky Claimant
1t is not easy to upset long-established
possession in Great Britain, and the claim
ant, while he may give the present holder
OF the title great deal of trouble and ex-
pense, will doubtless be able to accomplish
nothing. His will probably be as snccessfrI
as was the famous claim made by a Hot
tentot some years ago to the earldom OF
STANFORD, which was, after due delibera-
ton by the house of lords, set aside The
case presented many curious features and
caused great stir in London where the
dusky claimant and his brother made a
seasons sensation. The eighth Earl of
Stamford, the Rev. Harry Grey, led an
erratic, not to say fast, life, and In the
course of his wanderings found himself in
Cape Town, where he had two sons born
to him by negress named Martha Solo
mon. After the birth of his second nlegttt-
mate son he astonished the entire colony
by marrying Martha. This was his third
marriage. A daughter was born in we'd
lock, who by right became Lady Mary
Grey. The laws of the colony made the
sons legitimate after their fathers mar
riage, but the law of England did not. It
was good enough to try on, however, and
the young men came to London after the
earfs death in 1890, where the elder John
pressed his claim to the title which had
fallen TO nephew of the peer.
Both young men lived in grand stvle
here and were familiar figures in theater
boxes and In the fashionable dives. They
ran up enormous bills with tradesmen on
the strength of their prospects and kent
up an imposing establishment without
spending much cash. Their landlord tail
ors and servants, after the crash, whistled
for their money. The black Countess Mar
tina and her daughter Mary still live at the
Cape. The latter is very handsome girl.
Although John and Francis are excluded
from the earldom, Mary, being legitimate
ranks as an earl's daughter OF course
the title itself, not being a female ftef
could not go to her. Nevertheless, she ia
the Lady Mary, and despite her olive com
lot