New-York tribune., 1907-04-15
lulu" HARC0URT.
tpgEands Ncsc Cabinet Minister
and His Ancestral Home.

r,xvvsr Secretary ". c. Endicott's daughter Mary
,sv be said TO have represented the United States
:, the T-nonist administration in London, through
hsr marriage 10 Joseph Chamberlain Secretary OF
state for tie Colonies. and now. through the ad-
,-.,cernent Of the Right Hon Lewis Harcourt 10
cabinet rank America is represented in the LIB
s-af Cabinet circle. For Mrs. Harcourt IS a niece
az J Perpont Morgan and daughter OF the late
walter II. Burns. Of New York Lewis Harcourt
,.s been since The formation Of the present ad-
,,nistration First Commissioner o9 Works. that is
~ saw at the head of the department which is
,,,-7lsted with the OF all palaces public build
snrs parks etc The office carries with it a sal
a., Of $1,000 but not a seat in the Cabinet, and
chat fts present incumbent should have been pro-
NOTED 10 the latter constitutes tribute to his
cess as an administrator, a debater and as
political manager
n Is doubtful whether there Is any more popular
r,eraber Of either Of the two houses Of Parliament
chan Lewis Harcourt. and his absolute refusal 10
ouovv himself 10 be elected to the Commons as long
oa his father was IN public life and he could serve
rim as private secretary and as devoted amanu-
snsis merely served 10 increase the universal re-
esrd in which he is held Although he did not
deliver his maiden speech until after his fathers
assfh and after his appointment TO Office. he was,
fbrough his attendance on The late Sir William. one
~ the best known figures in the House. Since
then ne has won a reputation brilliant speaker.
his utterances being characterized by originality
.ns sparkling Hit. and he is only forty-four
as haysne before him great political career. Let
me add that he is equally liked on both sides Of
the House. that even the Irish members have a
Vood word 10 say him and that he is especially
high in the good graces of the King
Lewis HarCourt's town house is I'm Berkeley
souare but his home is Euneham Park, in oxford
sbre II is one Of the grandest old places in the
United kingdom, most picturesquely situated on
the Thames and has been in the possession Of tie
Harcourts for seven centuries. A Harcourt com
nsDded the Norman archers at the battle II Hast
srrs and his name. well as that of several
tFer members Of his family. figures the roll of
T7sttle Abbey on the BayeuN tapestry, in ''Brun-
sons Chronicle" and in Leland's "Colectanea as
ba,4ng fought under William the Conqueror at
hastings j. was during the reign Of Richard
S-qs,- de Leon that one of the Harcourts became
,osessses Of N1lneharn 4 Harcourt fought ~ Ive-
sham on the side of the Earl of Leicester another
n lo espo.lsed tho cause Of the house of York, was
Lnled in the Wars Of the Roses. and Yet another
carried Henry WIS standard at the battle of Bos-
-rortb Another was prominently identified with
Sir Walter Raleigh's colonization schemes in Amer
ica and settled in Virginia, where. II not hheal
descendants in the male line, any rate descend
ants through the female line, with Harcourt blood
A. their veins are TO be found TO this day among
-, old Colonial families. In Queen Annes reign
s,vnon Fsarcourt became Lord High Chancellor
n England. his grandson and successor being SUD
.snyenrlv created Earl Harcourt, a title which
1snsed at his death in 1882. when the male line
tscan,e extinct. The French branch Of the Har-
caurt family sim exists in the male line and has
furnished no fewer than four field marshals 10 the
French army Its present chief bears the title or
7,nc Dc FFarcourt 81 de Beuvron. The two dukedoms
dating from the beginning OF the eighteenth CEN
,prv The duke is about forty-fwo years or age
Is married to one Of the de Ia Rochefoucaulds and
Is noted for his diminutive stature.