The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-09-14
VALUE OF FAMILY HEIRLooMs.
Famous Families and Their Strange
Belief in Ancient Idols.

Whether the fortunes of family are
In any way influenced by the safety Of
lts heirloom or not 1t Is difficult to de-
clde but 1t is worthy of note that many
OF the most famous houses have de-
clined vast fortunes for trifiing articles
which have been bequeathed from gen.
Grafton to generation for centuries past.
Cne OF the most remarkable heirlooms
Is the "Coalstoun Pear" which. as a
taiisman, formed part of the dowry Of
the daughter of Baron Coalstoun three
centuries back and Is still preserved in
silver casket. 1t was said that as long
as the fruit remained intact the fortunes
OF the family would be upheld but at
the close of the eighteenth century the
wife of the contemporary owner bit it
with her teeth, whereupon much of the
Soalss0un property came into the mar
Vet Ine pear then passed into the
ana has long since reached state of
petrification.
The fortunes of at least four families
OF renown are vested with vases or cups
Inc Luck of Edenhalp' is glass COB
let owned by the Musgrave family and
according to the legend. was left by the
fairies at st. Cuthbert's we'll in the
grounds OF the hall many centuries ago
been vigorously guarded. Vast sums
have been offered for 1t by many of the
celebrities who have come from all
parts OF the world to examine 1t, though
they have been unhesitatingly declined.
Another famous heirloom Is the cup of
the Muncaster family. which was used
by Henry vi. when he was sheltered
by Sir John Pennington from his pur-
suers In 1851. During the civil war it
was hidden In a box, which was one day
dropped by careless servant, and SO
great was the family superstition that
for upward of fifty years no one dared
open the box to see IL the cup were
broken, but when this was done at
the end of the VT "a
chip.
A gold goblet incrusted with precious
stones is also the taliesman of Lord OF
ways family and is kept fastened to the
din1ng-room table with a chain of gold.
The Portland vase, although now In the
gold ornament room of the British mu-
scum. belongs to the Duke of Portland,
of glass, resembling onyx. and of Gre
clan workmanship, standing 3-4 inches
in height by q 3-4 inches in circumfer-
ence. 1T was purchased by the Duke of
Portland In l7S6, for ,o2s guineas and for
the sake of safety deposited twenty-four
years later in the museum. In 1915 a
fanatic named Lloyd deliberately smash
ed 1T with a stone, but as the Duke de-
clined to prosecute the culprit he could
Only be fined SIS for breaking the glass
of the case in which 1t reposed. The
vase Is valued at $4,000.
A womans hand is the curious heir
loom or the DE Fleydeau family, one
of the most famous houses in the French
aristoeracy and now headed by Comte
De Fleydeau. -
On legendary evidence It is said that
in 1893 the family castle SURRENDERED to
the king after a siege of three years
and in order that the inmates should
have their lives spared the countess-the
most beautiful woman in France-sub-
mitted to having her right hand cut Off
The greWSome relic in mu1nmified con-
dltion Is still preserved in a gold casket
at the family mansion of the Glronde
and, needless to add. is kept proof
against thieves. since the fortunes OF
the owners are fully believed to depend
upon it. Perhaps the most celebrated
family heirloom is the Lee penny which
has been in possession of the Lockharts
of Lee in Lanarkshire since the crusades
1t is a silver coin and formed part of
the ransom paid for a Saracen chief, but
its value mainly depends upon the fact
that 1t is supposed to be capable of
curine any ailment and FOR this purpose
was hired in 1865 by a plague-stricken
town in exchange for securities of SIPS
900. Today the penny is just as jealousy
guarded by the present head of the fam
fly. Sir Simon Lockhart, as It has been
by his ancestors before him.