The San Francisco call., 1904-08-21
Present Duke Of
w ellington a
Nonentity.
Nelson and Byron
Lack Genius of
Ancestors.

present Duke Of wellington who is the
possessor also Of some dozen other
more or less distinguished titles, called
on the King the other day 10 pay his
rent. When a grateful nation bestowed
the Strathfeldsaye estates in Berkshire
on his great ancestor. the Iron Duke
IL was decreed that thereafter the
holder OF the title should make good his
tenure Of the property by presenting
70 his sovereign. on the anniversary Of
Waterloo. q miniature reproduction OF
lie British and French flags displayed
on THAI -lsGlsreble field The repro
cuctions cost ce-g little TO make UP,
eIz, though through them the Duke
gets his land at considerably less than
a dirt-cheap rate. the ceremony of pre-
sentng these bits Of bunting is one
that he would be very glad TO forego.
This because the attendant ceremony
compels him 10 emerge from the COM
parative seclusion in which he loves TO
dwell and 10 fit for brief hour or two
across the stage Of public life. an act
which inevitably leads to comparisons
between himself and the famous soldier
TO whom he owes his fortune, honors
and titles.
The Duke is painfully conscious OF
the fact that he is q living example OF
the Limitations Of heredity. There is
nothing great about him and he knows
IL and makes no pretensions of living
up TO his name and ancestral fame. He
was 81 years old when in 1900 his
brother Henry. the third Duke, died
without issue, and he succeeded 10 the
many dignities and a seat in that
chamber OF titled mediocrities, the
House Of Lords. By the terms Of the
generous money grant which the nation
had bestowed on the first and thus
far only great Duke Of Wellington.
paynent Of II ceased on the death of
The third Duke. Thus IL came about
when the present Duke took possession
IF the family property Of about 1900
acres he was deprived Of this source
n income. With considerably less
means than had been enjoyed by his
predecessors he was further embar-
rassed By the obligation 10 pay allow
ances out Of the estate TO the surviving
widows OF the second and third Dukes.
HARD To MAKE ENDS MEET.
II is no secret that with a large fam
lily the Duke has had a hard time Of IT
70 make both ends meet. Although as
q disciple OF Mars in his younger days
he displayed few Of those talents which
distinguished the conqueror Of Ma
poleon. rumor has il that among the
sWells in the Guards he contracted an
expensive taste for card playing, from
the consequences Of which his purse
still suffers. However that may be.
the necessity for retrenchment COM
~
tenant for the Strathfieldsaye estate,
around which nnger so many memo
ries Of the national hero, but he has not
yet succeeded in letting It. And though
IL has never been openly placed on
the market il has more than once been
reported that his Grace OF Wellington
was trying 70 let or sell Apeley House,
the famous town residence Of the vic
tor OF Waterloo. Indeed it has been
stated that on one occasion he had
nearly concluded arrangements for it's
sale 70 a South African millionaire
with social ambitions, when some rich
friends, thinking that the place should
be preserved as a sort Of national heir
loom, contributed enough between
them to tide the Duke over his pecuni-
ary difficulties. When in town the
Duke and Duchess reside at Apsley
House IN very quiet style and do little
entertaining, for IL is well understood
among their aristocratic friends that
they cannot afford swell balls and din
ncr parties. In fact Arthur Charles
Wellesley finds that being a Duke
isn't what Il is cracked up TO be by a
long shot-especially when there is no
big bank account TO back II up. His
natural tastes are those Of a country
squire and he finds his chief delight
in hunting and shooting. He has a
great aversion to public functions and
avoids them as much as possible. Also
ne has a great dislike to being photo
graphed, probably because he does not
care 70 advertise the striking dissimi-
larity between his own physiognomy
and that Of his great ancestor with
which the world is familiar
NOT POPULAR IN GUARDS.
The eldest son and heir, the Marquis
Of Douro, is now Is years old and still
unmarried. II would surprise no one
II he should some day emulate the ex-
ample OF the Duke of Marlborough and
renlenish the family exchequer by we'd
ding an American heiress. Among his
aristocratic associates in the Guards he
is not popular. for no better reason
rrobsb than that he takes the profes-
sion Of a soldier seriously. They have
nicknamed him "Do-go" and not long
since treated him TO a severe rag
ging." which is English for "hazing."
II would be difficult to hnd a man in
appearance, tastes and temperaments
more unlike Engiands greatest Ad-
miraI than the present Earl Nelson He
is the son Of Nelson's brother, the cler-
Cyman. who. after the death Of the ma
tional hero at Trafalgar. succeeded to
the title Nelson himself, as is of
--..--a ,.-au LnouLr urns the aor "a .