The San Francisco call., 1905-03-31
To Wed Marquis of
Butte, Whose In
come ISEnormous
CATCH OF SEASON
NewSo of the Engage
mentSpoiIsHopeS
of British Matrons
Special Cable to III. Call.

- --e AL
LONDON. March so.-what chiefly
consoles many aristocratic British
matrons for the grievous disappoint-
ment caused them by the an
nouncement Of the engagement of the
young Marquis Of Butte to Miss Au-
gusta Bellingham. an Irish damsel
whom most Of them had not even
heard Of before. is the fact that it is
, not an American girl who has cut
out their daughters. Possessed of an
income Of s1.25O,OOO a year, eleven
utles Of nobility. 10000 acres. half
a dozen fine castles and palatal coun-
try seats, q magnificent town resi-
oence, a sound constitution and good
morals. the Marquis is pre-eminently
the catch OF the season. Many years
are likely 10 elapse before such an
other prize is found in the matrimo-
NAL market Compared with him, all
the peers thus far captured by Uncle
Sans ambitious heiresses are finan-
cially small potatoes. It is practically
an outsider who has won the richest
q hymeneaI stakes in the United King
dom.
Miss Bellingham-pronounceo Bel
lin-jam-is the daughter Of an Irish
BaTcnet Sir Henry Bellingham of
the County Louth, and about the same
age as the Marquis, whose years num-
Der twenty-fOur. She is a petite bru-
-netre Of a Vivacious temperament.
with charming manners and a face
that might perhaps be termed pretty
but only by q wild stretch of imagina-
ton could be described as beautiful.
She has no great accomplishments no
fads, and does not go in for anything
in particular. In short, she is just
nice healthy, wholesome, well-bred
everyday kind Of girl-the sort best
calculated 10 make a decent young
fellow happy who already possesses
al the money he can possibly find any
use for. Like her future lord. she is
devOUt Roman Catholic. Her only
sister, Miss Ida Bellingham. is a nun
of the Order Of the Holy Child.
RICH IN ANCESTRY.
Compared with the Butes the Bel
Hnghams are poor-though 5000
acres and castle, even in Ireland, are
mot 10 be sneezed at-but they are rich
IN ancestry. The family goes back in
an unbroken male line to Allan de
BeelnSham, a Norman knight who
crossed the channel with William the
ConQ0eror. One Of the Bellinghams
acted as guide TO another william
o9 Orange - in his memorable Irish
campaign. and had Castle Bellingham
burned down for his pains. That was
before the family had reverted to the
ola faith. Miss Bellingham can also
boast some strains of royal blood.
Through her mother, a daughter of
The Earl of GainsborOugh-sne is de-
scenced from George " and Mrs
Jordan. She is also connected with the
ill-starred House of Stuart, her great
aunt Lady Alice Hay, having mar
ried the mysterious nobleman who
bore the title Of the Count d'Albani
and was generally believed to be the
last descendant of Bonnie Prince
Charlie. AS far as pedigree goes the
bride-elect is more than a match for
the many-tited Marquis. But the
family hasn't had anything like the
same luck Similarity of faith has
counted for much in the engagement.
Sir Henry's fervid piety in the cause
Of Catholicism admits Of no doubt. He
was private chamberlain to the late
Pope, Leo XIII, and fills the same
Office for the present Pope, Plus X.
IT was the mother of the MARQUIS
the present Marchioness-who picked
out her successor to the title and ar
ranged the match. She is a devout,
serious minded woman. who looks
with disfaVOr on the up-to-date girl
Of the smart set, and cherishes old
fashioned notions of the qualities that
make for domestic happiness. She has
high appreciation of coronets and
Norman blood, and all that. but be-
heNes that by a process Of judicious Sc
lection they may be blended with true
hearts and simple faith. Having fixed
on Miss BeIlingham, who has lived a
quiet country life, as the sort of girl
she wanted for a daughter-in-law, she
saw TO II that she was frequent
guest at her Scottish homes-and
Cupid did the rest. 1t was at the con-
clusion OF one of these visits, late last