The Savannah morning news., 1903-09-05
MISS GOELET'S DUKE.
Said to BE a Quite Clever Fellow
and Not a Pauper.

the dispatches a day or two ago, is
a matter of interest in social circles
throughout the country.
Miss Goelet's fiance is the head of
one of the most ancient and most dis
tlnguished Scottish lowland clans and
the family has held a most prominent
position in that part of North Britain
for upward of five centuries. What the
Sutherlands and Argylls are to the
Highlands of Scotland the Rox-
burghes are to the lowlands, and con-
sequently the step taken by the moth
err of the bridegroom elect in announc-
ing her sons engagement to the chief
of the district, the Provost of Dunbar,
is a step that somewhat resembles re-
gal procedure. However. it is in Or
der in country where feudal tradi-
tons and clannish instincts still have
so strong hold on the people.
A friend who was at Elton with the
Duke of RoXburghe and whose father
owns an estate in Scotland not far
from Floors Castle, the seat of the
Roxburghe family, near Kelso, in the
county from which they derive their
Duke, said:
"Roxburghe is a very nice chap and
the Floors Castle estate is one of the
finest in South Scotland. 1t is a very
valuable estate.
Name Pronounced "ROxbOuGh."
"Roxburghe, whose name, by che
way, is pronounced 'RoXbough,' and
not as spelt, is by no means a pauper,
but everybody who knows him will be
glad to hear of his good luck In WIN
ming the hand of an American heiress.
He is we'll liked in London. and his
gallantry during the South African
War was conspicuous. He fought SIN
ge-handed against several Beers in an
affair of outposts. and generally won
golden opinions.
"He accompanied the Prince and
Princess of Wales when, as the Duke
and Duchess of York, they made tour
of the British Empire. and the fact OF
his being chosen as a member of the
royal suite on that occasion speaks
volumes for the estimation in which he
is held i'll the highest quarters.
The Duke is good sportsman and
fine, clean sort all around"
The rent roll of the Duke of RoX-
burghe is estimated at about S250,000
a year, but the expense of keeping up
the dignity of the dukedom has fallen
heavily upon the family. During the
years of her sons minority the Duchess
of RoXburghe did something to build
up the fortunes of the house and since
the death of the old Duke the family
has lived in retirement. The Duke
stlI1 holds a commission in the ROYAL
Horse Guards. On leaving Elton he did
not go to the university, but to the
Sandhurst Military Academy. After
In n INF trxt
regiment the Argylls and Switzerland
shire Highlanders he Joined the Royal
Horse Guards, with whom he saw a
great deal of service In South Africa.
His Gallant Rescue of Trooper.
His gallantry in rescuing wounded
and dismounted trooper by riding back
in the face of the enemy and getting
the. man on his own horse was highly
spoken of at the time. Subsequently
he was stricken down with enteric
fever and lay in the hospital in a crit
ical state for several weeks. He was
ultimately invaded home.
The Dukes gallantry in the South
African war did not earn him men
| ton in official dispatches, but his war
record in the official army list is as
! follows:
| South African war, 1S99-1900; relief
of Kimberley; operations in the Orange
| Free State; operations in Cape Colony
| south of the Orange river. Queens
| medal with three clasps"
The Duke carried Queen Alexandra s
crown at the coronation of King Ed
ward and his consort. His mother,
who was Lady of the Beauchamp and
Mistress of the Robes to the late Queen
Victoria, is a daughter Of the seventh
Duke of Marlborough and a sister Of
Lord Randolph Churchill.
The Duke of Roxburghe sits in the
House of Lords as the Earl of Innes.
The present Duke is the eighth holder
of the title. He succeeded his father
when only is years of age. He is
somewhat reserved and dignified in
manner, is tall, good-looking and SOL
dier-like in bearing, and is well liked
by those who know him best.
Family in Old Border Warfare.
The family has undergone many vi
cissitudes, especially in the time of
the border warfare with England. The
earlier records of the ancestors of the
Duke appear as border lairds, holding
the lands of Altonburn, an estate
which nestles among the Cheviot Hills
and which is still in possession bf the
family. They gradually attained to
the peerage, Robert Ked of Cessford,
being Lord Roxburghe in 1899 and sub
sequently being raised to the dignity
of an earldom.
The third duke-John-was well
known in the literary word, his name
being commemorated in the Roxburghe
Club. After the third Dukes death the
title and estates was the subject of a
famous lawsuit, which occupied the
Scottish Supreme Court and the House
of Lords for several years, but the ul-
innate decision of which was in favor
of the present Dukes great-great-
grandfather.
Miss May Goelet has been reported
engaged to more young men abroad
and in the United States than al
most any other of the great heiresses
of New York. AS far back as 1897
it was first said that she would mar
ry the Duke of Roxburghe, who was
then a typical figure of the youthful
nobility in London. He had succeeded
to his title in 1892.
But the engagement was not an
nounced officially and Miss Goelet and
her mother Travelled far and wide
through Europe, becoming known in
all the gay capitals. At almost every
place they visited some impecunious
nobleman found time to fall in love
with the sweet-faced New York girl
and make an attempt to win her.
Occasionally the young Duke of Rox-
burghe would loom up in the running
only to drop out again. A little over
two years ago it was reported that he
was engaged to Pauline Aston, eldest
daughter of William Waldorf Aston
May Goelet is the granddaughter of
r. r. Wilson and the niece of Mrs.
Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. Mrs. r. r.
Wilson is removed as the champion
matchmaker of New York. She went
there from the South unknown, just
r. 10. nV,1 1.1 Ia,