The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-16
THE NEWS FROM LONDON How Lady Mount Edgcumbe Returned to Life After Being sE Buried-Hsoric Stonehenge and Thrifty Baronet S
BY HENRY oEvEREAUx.

London, August s-The visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales at Mount Edgcumbe and the brilliant house party entertained by Lord and Lady Edgcumbe revives interest Tn one of the most beau tiful domains in Europe. The castellated house, which dates from the sixteenth century, has been altered and improved The hall and the principal rooms are very fine. There are charming terraces and gardens in the Italian, French and old English styles, with a large orangery and conservatory, several fountains and 8 cypress grove. The beautiful park of 600 acres, which is richly wooded, occu pies a hilly promontory which juts out Into the sea on the west side of Ply mouth Sound. The views from the Goth ic tower and the White seat are mag nificent. Lady Ossory wrote that Mount Edgcumbe has the beauties of all other places added to peculiar beauties of its own.' The house contains most inter- esting gallery of portraits, and fine col lection of Dutch and Italian pictures, in- eluding some Vanderveldes, which are said to have been painted by the artist at Mount Edgcumbe for Sir Richard Edg- cumbe.
 There is also a romantic story at tached to the domain. Towards the end of the eighteenth century the then Lady Mount Edgcumbe died Gas 1t was thought after d short illness, and she was buried in the family vault under heath the neighboring church of Maker It was known that she had been buried with ring of great value on one of her fingers. On the night of the funeral the sexton entered the church. descended into the vault, and opened the coffin. He found the ring firmly fixed, and while he was endeavoring to force 1t oit the finger Lady Mount Edgcumbe sat up in her coffin. She had been Tn trance. The man rushed off in panic, leaving vault and church both open. Lady Mount Edgcumbe walked to the house in her shorud. and was met on the terrace by her husband She fslnted, and on reviving she found herself In bed in her ordinary sleeping attire The truth was never revealed to her. and to the end of her life she believed that she had merely suffered from an unusually horrible nightmare
 It will hardly be questioned by any body that a unique historical monument like Stonehenge ought to be national or public property, and probably England IS the only country in the world where any conflict between public and private rights in such a monument could arise. Sir Edward Antrobus is now asking d reduced price for the property. Original ly, Sir Edward asked 1000 for Stone henge, with about eight acres or land adjoining 1t. In regard to Stonehenge It. self, although he has recently surrounded 1t with wire fence and made small charge for admission, it is very douptIui whether he has any rights other than the bare ownership, and whether the public have not an absolute right Of ac- cess to the place at all times. The Com mons and the Footpaths Preservation Society are raising fund to test the question of public rights. Therefore BIT Edward Antrobus offers to sell the place and about four acres of land for s25O'0OO. This is a very considerable reduction on the previous figure Even if he has the right to exclude the public from Stone henge it Is quite certain that this right Is not worth $250,0O0 as marketable commodity Neither Sir Edward nor any one purchasing from him can hope to earn the interest on this money by fees for admission to the place. As mater of fact Sir Edward Antrobus to do him Justice, has not hitherto attempted to make money out of Stonehenge The fee he Is charging for admission is only enough to pay the wages of custodian; and Sir Edward professes that in fenc- Ing the place and making charge for admission, he has been actuated by no other motive than to preserve 1t from wanton mutilation.
 
 In reference to the restoration of Boer Bibles footed during the war, have had q letter from an officer, who points out that what Is sauce for the Briton In re- gard to loot is also sauce for the Boer, and that great deal of personal proper ty, in the shape of signet rings, watches, and similar articles-often of far more value to the owner and his family than to the looter- must now be distributed among the farmhouses of the 'illmitable veld." 1 need not give any more of the letter, for several others to the same eff feet have appeared in the press. No doubt 1t would be good thing if there could be a general restitution of loot on both sides. but to suggest such a thing seems visionary and impracticable. Vast quantities of property have been footed from Boer farmhouses besides Bibles, and these things must be set of against the spells taken from the persons of British officers and soldiers The reason why the family Bibles have been spe- cially mentioned is that they possess q sentimental interest for the original own CTS; that they seem an incongruous kind of article to include among the spells Of war between Christian peoples. and. fur ther, that they are in many cases of great practical importance as furnishing the means of establishing title to land. and from this point of view possess a value to the families they belong to far in excess of anything that they can have for those into whose hands they have fallen. In saying this I am not in any way suggesting that if any we'll to do