Amador ledger., 1906-01-05

Fen country, in a spacious, Wildwood
ed park, close to the town of Hunting
don. Four centuries ago it was the
dover palace of Queen Katherine, of
Arragon, after her divorce from
Henry VIII. 1t would still appear to
be the residence of her spirit, since
her ghost, in long, queenly robe and
royal crown, is said to roam its cor
ridors even yet. The Castle, however,
has another ghost, less dignified, per-
haps, but distinctly interesting in its
habits. The portrait of Sir John Pop
ham, erstwhile Lord Chief Justice of
England, and one of the earliest pro-
moters of American colonization,
hangs in the great hall, and its origi-
nal is said to keep nightly vigil for
rogues and poachers, accommodating
himself, according to inclination and
moonlight, by either sitting astride
the park wall or secreting himself IN
der the shadow of the mighty elm
trees. Probably the ghost of Sir John
is an immense saving of gamekeepers'
salaries to the ducal purse.
Lord Denhigh, who is we'll remem-
bered in this country from his visit in
Boston few years ago, at the head Of
the Ancient and Honorable Artillery
Company of London, is the chief of the
family to which the famous novelist,
Henry Fielding, belonged. He likewise
claims relationship with the imperial
Austrian House of Hapsburg; this
claim, however, being ridiculed by
many eminent English genealogists.
He is lord-in7waiting to the King,
and one of the forty Roman Catholic
members of the Upper House of the
English national assembly.
The Bradley Martins, it is learned,
have made several efforts to purchase
Balmacaan outright, the magnificent
place they occupy in Scotland. But,
though they have frequently raised
their figures to a fancy price, they
cannot induce the owner to part with
it. The fact that they merely lease the
place does not prevent them from
spending a mint of money on it. 1t
! is now far more luxuriously fitted up
than Balmoral, the Scotch royal resi-
dence, and Mar Lodge, the Duchess,
or rather, Princess re Fife's place,
pales into insigniicance compared
with it.
The Bradley Martins have been so
gets their rise to influence in the So
cial world. Theirs is a success due to
riches-at least, so it would appear,
and, in fact, such success makes small
impression on the thoughtful. Yet,
when you look into it, you find many
things that arouse your admiration.
1t is no mean thing to make an en-
trance in the London world Of fashion.
1t requires a deal of tact and knOwl-
edge of men and women. The Earl of
Craven, the son-in-law of the Bradley
Martins, passes most of his time look
ing after his forty thousand acres, and
in attending to his duties as county
magistrate near his Warwickshire
home. Lady Craven is keenly inter-
ested in poultry farming, and at
Coombe Abbey has bred birds that
have stirred up the keenest sort of
competition amongst English fancers.
Moreover, it is agreed on all hands
that the boy-and-girl marriage of 1898
has turned out more pleasantly than
the wiseacres of that date predicted.
And the Countess of Craven grows
prettier as she grows older.
Prince Nanzeta Pehassnez Monte
yuma, who claims to be the ineal de-
scendant of the famous Aztec King of
that name, is a small, olive-skinned
youth, with large, heavily-fringed
gray eyes, full, red mouth and long
hair. He wears civilian clothes, a
broad-rimmed sombrero, and usually
carries an interesting, carved cane.
van Calava.