The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-12
The LAIRD OF SKIBO
ANDREW CARNEGIE ENTERTAINS
1900 COUNTRY FOLKS AT HIs
SCOTLAND HOMIE
MADE AN ADMIRABLE HOST
Amused Himself by Starting the
Races, Superintending the Fes-
tivities and Giving Cash
Presents to His Guests


When one man, quite unsolicited gives
to the metropolis of America sixty-five
public libraries, involving something
more than $5,0O0,000, and to the country
of his birth $10,0000O0 more, that liberal
education may be had by any Scotchman
for the asking, it is natural that people
should desire to learn something about
his personality. For that reason interest
will be felt in the following account of a
recent entertainment given by Andrew
Carnegie at Skibo castle, says the New
York Sun. The story is told by one of
the guests present on the occasion re-
ferred to.
Skibo castle is situated on an estate
extending twenty miles in one direction
and from six to eight miles in another,
with a total Of something more than S5,-
600 acres. Centuries ago it was an abbey,
and there are yew trees still standing
which are more than 700 years old. There
are half a dozen trout brooks, a salmon
stream, two or three mountains, beech
hedges ten feet high, with full foliage
even to the ground, and about everything
else that nature offers to man who can
and will pay the price. And yet the own
er said one day TO his guest, as they
were strolling about the place:
do you know, my good friend, I can
not realize that this is really mine. [
know I have in my possession legal pa
pers which say I have bought it, yet it
does not seem quite possible after all
that 1 actually own it, And there was
no affectation about the manner in which
the statement was made.
When Mr.. Carnegie bought the estate
he tore down the rear part of the castle
and built an addition much larger than
the original still keeping to the old
Scotch haronia1 StV1a Of architecture
Now his guests, even when a whole
family with it's servants visits him, are
assigned to entire suites quite by them
selves. Some idea of the extent of the
establishment can be obtained from the
thirty house servants, five coachmen and
twice as many foOtmen and grooms to
look after the twenty-three horses. This
last item will be reduced somewhat as
soon as an electric pl9ut can be finished
and motor carriages purchased.
And with this enormous holding and
all that it means, the only pride shown
by it's owner is exhibited in some goose
berry bushes in enc corner of the
garden, which really grow the best fruit
of the kind in Great Britain. Mr.. Car
negie is a hard worker for it is a days
work in itself to attend to his enormous
mail of several hundred letters a day.
Some of them are never opened, but the
majority are carefully looked over and
answered by the secretary. Only a Sc
lected few are handed to Mr. Carnegie,
who never fails to give each it's due con-
sideration
After this duty is performed, his guests
are summoned and off the whole party
goes to golf links, for the Laird of Skibo
is an ardent devotee of the game. Or
perhaps he renews his youth by following
one of his many trout brooks with ROD
i.
good afternoons sport, he stops the
carriage to tell the gamekeeper to pick
up a wee little girl with basket bigger
than herself.
On Saturday, July 10, Mr. Carnegie
gave an outdoor fete to all his tenants,
and from all the country around men,
women and children came. Some walk