New-York tribune., 1903-07-24
A QUEENS LAUGHTER.
Prince del Drago Loses HIS Mother
His Uncle Man Be POpe.


Princess del Drago mother of that Don Giovanni
del Drago who spends a greater portion of each
year in this country. and who is familiar figure
in NewYork society. has just died at Rome,
fact which will probably interfere with the princes
return to America usual in the fall. The prin-
cess had royal blood in her veins, being a half
sister of Queen Isabella of Spain and daughter
OF the latters mother. the Queen Christina. by
her second and morganatic husband Munoz, Duke
or Rianzares. Munoz. II may be remembered was
mere private IN the Spanish army, doing duty
sentinel at the entrance of the Royal Palace at
Madrid when he first attracted the attention of old
Queen Christina. soon after the death of her first
husband, King Ferdinand VII of Spain. She took
him into her service. and rapidly promoted him to
the rank of captain general of the army, besides
creating him Duke of Rianzares. When, however.
she announced her intention of intrusting him with
the portfolio of Cabinet Minister the people re-
volted and drove into exile with her mOrganatc
conSort.
Queen Christina died in France. where she spent
all the closing years of her life and her demise was
followed by such number of lawsuits in connec-
ton with the disposal of her extensive property and
splendid jewels, the proceedings dragging along
for twenty years more. that the greater portion
of the estate swallowed up by lawyers fees.
In fact. the late Princess del Drago got but little
of her mothers belongings save the jewelry.
Her husband. Prince del Drago, is an Italian
nobleman. belonging to that old Roman aristocracy
known the "Conscript Roman Patriciate which
in the fifteenth century inscribed in the Gold
en- BOOK or the EternaI city, only tHOSS
being included in the volume which already at that
time could show two hundred years of noble descent
entirely free from plebeian strain The family
has furnished a couple of Popes to the Roman
Catholic Church. and inasmuch as the Sacred
College at the present time includes Cardinal
CasaH del Drago. it is by no means impossible
that may yet provide another Pontiff to the Holy
Seat. and that the successor of Leo XIII may be
the Cardinal Casan del Drago.
Cardinal del Dragos mother a member of
the illustrious Barberini family, to which Urban
VIII and other Roman pontffs have belonged. He
formed part OF the household of Plus TX. but
relegated to the background by Leo XIII soon
as he ascended the throne Nor is it likely that
he would have been promoted to the rank of car
dinal had 1T been for the influence exercised
| in his behalf by the patrician houses Of Rome,
which until his elevation to the purple were with
out representation in the Sacred College. He is
very rich. and alone among the preates of his
rank dispenses with the salary of $4,000 payable
| by the Vatican treasury to the cardinals of the
| Curia resident at Rome.
| The Earl of Morley, chairman OF the Committee
of the House of Lords. is extremely anxious that
1t should be known on both sides of the Atlantic
| that he has nothing in common with the London
| nnancier who. under the name of Lord De Nor
| ley" has to the fore the manager of
| new Anglo-American banking company the
! banks Of the Thames. The Earl of Morley's
| patronymic is Parker and he of the
| lords in waiting to the late Queen Victoria, his
| family being an old Devonshire house which was
raised to the peerage at the end of the eighteenth
| century
The patronymic of Lord de Morley Is Roe his
| Christian being James Thorne Some six or
seven years ago he laid claim the barony De
| Morley. which has been in allegiance since 1888
| His claim referred in the usual to the
Attorney General, Sir Richard Webster Lord
| Chief Justice, who reported strongly against it
that it carried to the Committee of Priv
! ileges of the House of Lords. In spite of this Mr.
Roe appeared before the Court of Claims organized
! by the King, asserting that Lord De Morley
! he was entitled to figure hereditary standard
bearer to the King at the coronation But of course
| his pretension rejected.
| 1t is TO be hoped that the new banking venture
| with which the so-dsant Lord De Morley has
| become connected will prove a success. For. while
it may safely be assumed that the law authorities
| ir England will ignore for the present Mr.. James
| Roes unwarranted assumption of the dignity and
title of a peer of the realm, the soi-disant noble
man will get into very serious trouble should the
| financial enterprise with which he is identified
grief. For in that case the investors
would be in a position to proceed against him for
obtaining money under false pretences, sipce they
could argue. with Justice. that they had been in
| duced to embark in the venture through the pres
ence at the head Of the affair of a name and title
! which they had been given to understand were
| those of peer Of the realm, but which had been
assumed without any legal authority.
| While any in Great Britain assume the
title of baronet with perfect immunity from inter-
ference by the authorities long as no attempt is
| made to obtain credit of a financial or commercial
character it is within the power of the Committee
| of Privileges of the House of Lords to proceed
| against any who adopts without warrant the
title and dignity of peer I cannot, however, re-
call in modern times the committee having
taken action in such cases as these and the House
| of Lords seems content to ignore assumptions OF
this kind, leaving the criminal courts to deal with
them in the event of unauthorized titles being used
for purposes of fraud.
| Let me add that the Earl Of Morley is not the
| n1Irr nnIIa vrh0 hos
James Roes of the title of Lord De Nor
! ley" account Of the similarity of the names and
the confusion arising therefrom. Lord De Mauley
| a peer belonging to the historic house of Ponsonby
and who is well known this side of the Atlantic
| has likewise cause for complaint, since while the
names spelled differently it is almost impossible
in the course of conversation 10 distinguish between
Lord De Morley" and Lord De Mauley,' both
being pronounced alike. Lord De Mauley was for
several years aide-de-camp to the Governor Cen
| eral At Ottawa.
King Edwards son-in-law. the Duke of Fife. dur
| ing the course of speech the Other day. at the
opening of a charitable institution in the neigh
| borhood of London, incidentally remarked that he
| had been a total abstaner for the last five years
| He did not expatate the principles of the tenn
| perance movement but merely remarked that he
had given up the Of stimulants OF every kind
because he thought that 1t best for me to do
/ so"
This announcement was made known simultane-
ousy with the intimation by the King that ne feIe
! quite much honored have his health drunk
| with water with wine in the army and navy,
| an intimat ton which has given great satisfaction
| to all those who have the Of temperance at
| heart in Great Britain. AT all the officer messes
! in the army and in the navy, save in the High
| land regiment known as the Black Watch it is
tradition etiquette that the sovereign's health
! should be drunk every day at dinner. 1t has like