The Virginia enterprise., 1899-02-17
American Wives in ENGLAND.

The Americans who have gone to Eng
land by invitation are the ones who have
done unvarying good to the cause of
Anglo-American differentiation. l refer
to the American wives of Enslishmen,
especially of aristocrats and Of English
men in power. Practically all of these
marriages have resulted very happHy-it
IS the fashion to say that they all have
done sO-and few women, even in Eng
land, where the wives of public men are
often active and influential in politics,
are more so than some of these English
women by adoption. If good under
standing between the two countries is a
consummation to be wished for, and it
comes about, the greatest credit to any
individuals will be due to the American
helpmeets of Englishmen-especially
perhaps, to one who is welded to a mem
Der OF the government, and causes her.
self to be constantly referred to as the
keenest champion, in high social circles,
of the alliance project. There are Amer
lcan men in England who try to forget
their nationality, and others who speak
contemptuously of the land of their birth
and source Of their wealth, but this is
not the case with ally American women
in England whom l have met or heard
of. They are of the same stock as the
earnest women of the Confederacy, who
are often credited with having long de-
iayed the close of the Civil war after
Soutnefn success was seen to he out of
the question.
1t has not been difficult matter for
these ladies to promote desire for cor
dial relations with us. Two wears ago |
learned from high source that the gov
ernment at that time had long cherished
this desire, and that during all that time
the heir elr-apparent-refectin this wish
had set an example to the aristocracy by
the persistence with which he cultivated
the acquaintance of influential Ameri~
cans, and the unusual warmth of his
manner towards them. For many years
it has been noticed that to no persons has
an entree to the highest society been be-
set with so few difficulties as to Ameri-
cans, and that in this circle few new
comers have been more courted and hon
ored than those from our country. Mr.
Bayard was justly criticised for employ
ing his office to give him public oppor-
tunities to express his individual exu-
berance of admiration for the English at
time when many Americans had lost
patience over half century of British
Indifference to our appeals on behalf Of
Venezuela, but it must be said for Mr..
Bayard that the heat of his passion for
all things English was only that which
was generated by the arder of English
advances to him as our ambassador, and
that in repaying the English in their own
coin he seems now to have ended the eX
change only a year ahead of this time
when the very speeches his countrymen
resented would be but as a brokers' COM
mission on the sentiments expressed to
us Americans by our leaders at home.
l do not know how Mr.. Stanley calcu-
lated the 100000 which he declared
to be the number of persons in America
who are related to or connected with
England. l think he is quite as likely to
be correct. however. as those Celtic
members Of Parliament who are fond of
declaring that there are 100000 of
Irishmen in the states-all pledged, of
course, to prevent good understanding
between the two nations until we free
Ireland from English rule. Robert Barr,
the novelist, now living in England, once
approached the subject of the blood ties
between the two people by offering to
lay me a wager that if would step off a
train anywhere in England, and at any
three doors whose bells / chose to ring,
would ask the question, "Have you any
relative in America ?" two replies out of
three would be, Eyes. From "Anglo~
Saxon Aftinities,' by Julian Ralph in
eHarpers Magazine.