The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-06-07
BURDETT

Charles Brooke, the nephew and sue
cessor Of Sir James Brooke, is the
monarch of an independent, thriving
Oriental state, which is exercising a
civilizing influence in those remote
ATTITUDES, it is almost wholly owing to
the late Baroness Burdett-C outts.
Although the baroness was a pillar
of the church of England, as shown
by her endowment of bishaprics in
Australia, Canada and Africa, her
philanthropy was in no way restrict
ed to any particular creed. Her name
is to this day held in as kindly men,
ory in the Moslem districts of Turkey
as it is in the British Isles. For, in
the Crimean War, and more especial
ly at the time of the Russian invas-
ion of Turkey in 1876 and 1877, she
organized a most elaborate system of
ambulances and other services for the
relief of the Ottoman wounded and
sick. and many is the now grizzled
follower of the Prophet, veteran of
that cruel war, who owes the preserv-
alton of his life to the baroness, upon
whom the Sultan lavished, with the
approval OF his people, every distinc-
ton at his disposal on the restoration
of peace. 1t was in connection with
the administration of her fund for the
relief of the Turkish sick and wounded
in the war Of thirty years ago that
she first became acquainted with the
young American whom she married
four years afterward. Although born
in Brooklyn, of father who was a
native of Plymouth, New England, and
of a mother who hailed from Philadel-
phia, yet both his parents and grand
parents had always retained their
English citizenship, and consequently
there was no necessity for him to Sc
cure letters of naturalization when he
entered Parliament as the Conserva-
tive member for Westminster. His
name was William Lehman Ashmead-
Bartlett, and after his marriage he.
with the permission of the crown, as
sumed his wife's name of Burdett-
Coutts in addition to his own. In spite
OF the disparity of years-the baro-
ness was about forty years the senior
OF her husband-the union proved in
every respect happy one Mr.. Bur-
dett-Coutts devoted himself to the ad-
ministration of his wife's charities.
and on one occasion when peerage
was offered to him he declined it, lest
he should impair thereby in any way
the prestige of his wife's baronetcy.
Lady Burdett-Coutts had been fire.
quently sought in marriage before she
gave her hand to the young Brooklyn
lite, upon whom she settled an annuity
of $25O,00O on the day of the wedding,
in his own right. Napoleon III. when
he was living in London; the Due
d'Aumale, Lord Beaconsfield, and
many other conspicuous figures of the
nineteenth century are on record as
having been among her suitors, and
it is doubtful whether any woman ever
received so large a number of matri-
monial offers as the baroness. In fact,
they became positive nuisance, and
In 1S41 she was complied to bring
legal proceedings against a lawyer of
the name of Richard Dunn, who, ac-
cording to the terms of the indict-
ment, had for eight years prosecuted
her with most unwelcome attentions,
with view to matrimony. Dunn was
sent to prison for eighteen months,
although there is no doubt that he
was, while sane in other matters,
perfectly crazed on the subject of Miss
Burdett-Coutts, as she was then, and
particularly on the subject of her
fortune. Nowadays he would be sent
to a lunatic asylum, where in reality
he belonged. 1t was on that occasion
that her case was presented in court
by Hawkins, now the almost nono-
genarian Lord Brampton, and it prov
ed the beginning of warm friendship
between them which has lasted until
her death, that is to say for sixty
years.