Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-22
Carries More Rank and Titles
Than Any Man in ireland.
GLOOMY CARTON HOUSE
Occupies Center Of an Eleven.Thou'
sand.Acre Park.
HISTORY OF HIS FAMILY
Present Holder Of tho Title Man Of
Frail Physique-Possessor Of
Great Wealth.

Frail Physique-Possessor Of
Great Wealth.
By WILLIAM z. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald
MAYNOOTH, Ireland. July II. 1908.
Maurice Fitzgerald, Duke OF Leinster.
a young man who came OF age last
March. carries more rank and titles than
any other person in Ireland. and has
more money than any Irishman except
the brewers. He spends much Of his
time in a gloomy old castle, called Car
ton House, that looks like a Florentine
palace, but Is completely modernized and
fitted up with electric light, telephones
and elevators and stands upon an emil
nence in the center OF a park OF 1000
acres inciosed within eight miles of stone
wall ten feet high.
1t is a drive Of three miles from his
front gate to the threshold OF his front
door. and there are more than thirty
miles of macadamized roadway within
twelve lakes and four waterfalls. one of
garden Of sixty acres laid out in the
French style. with fourteen or fifteen
fountains and many arbors. kiosks and
pergolas. There are meadows. pastures.
vegetable gardens and fields Of oats and
other grain, but three fourths of the park
is primeval forest that has never heard
the sound Of an ak, and most OF the
trees are as old as history. l am told
that no private park In the world sur
49, ovf
Among other curiosities is a cottage
built entirely of shells to commemorate
a visit Of Queen Victoria. who describes
her experience in Leaves From Our
Life" and tells Of jaunting cars Irish
jigs and bagpipes. The shell cottage
is now used as a museum to contain the
family relics
The young duke has several other resi-
dences. One OF them is kilkea Castle,
County Kildare, which came into the
$1,000 acres of farm land. which has just
been sold to his tenants under the Wynd-
ham land act for more than 100000.
The Duke of Leinster has also disposed OF
his farming lands in the neighborhood OF
Maynooth for more than $4,000. The
estates commission. which has the re-
sponsibility Of carrying out the provisions
of the land act has purchased more land
from him than from any two other land
lords. and he has received from them In
amount Of money that has been paid un-
der the act by the government.
The duke has a plain but spacious
town house on Dominick street. Dublin.
and Mrs. John W. Mackay now occupies
his London residence, No. 8 Carlton
wealth is estimated at 100000: he Is
unmarried and has no attachments SO far
as known His accumulation OF titles
is even greater than his wealth. He is
the sixth Duke Of teinster, which title
dates from 1851, and was bestowed by
Queen Anne. He is the twenty-ffth
Earl Of Kildare, which title dates from
1915, and the thirty-first Baron OF Onaly
Q title that has been in the family since
1853. He 10 the premier duke: the pre-
premier baron. the head Of the Irish no.
bility. and all this rank and responsibility
is borne by a frail boy OF twenty-one.
Visit to America.
He has recently returned from visit,
incognite to the United States. where
under the name of Maurice Fitzgerald. he
and his tutor spent the winter quietly
travelling about They went to Florida
and California. They were some time
at Palm Beach and spent a couple of
geles and Monterey. They visited Que
bee, Montreal and Ottawa and all the
principal cities In the United States. They
Inspected Harvard. Yale. the University
Of Chicago and Stanford University. Tor
the young duke has recently taken a de-
gree at Oxford and was naturally curious
to sec some American institutions. He
spent some time in New York and was in
Washington for couple OF days without
disclosing his rank. He enjoyed himself
immensely during the entire Journey and
escaped all the matchmakers. the lion
hunters and the society cormorants. He
was not in search of q wife, but was
seeking health and completing his edu-
cation.
sible young fellow, modest, intelligent.
thoughtful and studious. He does not
need to marry for wealth, as you have
seen, nor for position. He can pick his
own wife and has plenty of time to con-
He Is distantly connected with the Ora
hams Of New York. the Loves OF Savan-
nah and the Pitcairns Of Pennsylvania.
One of his maternal relations. Anne
Pamela" widow of Lord Edward Fitz-
gerald, brother of his great-great-grand-
father, one Of the leaders Of the Irish
revolution of 1796, married for her second
husband a man by the name OF Pitcairn.
states consul at Hamburg. Germany
The duke has been very carefully
brought up and educated. His mother
died when he was nine years old. She
was Lady HeY1nione Duncombe. daughter
of the Earl Of Faversham. His father
died at the age Of forty-two. when he was
fourteen The present duke inherits his
delicate. frail constitution, and has symp-
toms OF tuberculosis. which has been the
death Of many Geraldines. To preserve
himself from its dreaded grasp he has
lived an outdoor life under the care Of q
physician. and every preventive that medk
cal science can. devise has been used for
his protection.
Since the death of his mother he has
been under the care Of three aunts. Lady
Cynthia Graham. Lady Ulrica Dun
combe and Lady Helen Vincent: his tutor
the Rev. the Harquis Of Normandy and
his trustee, the Earl of Faversham. He
has had governesses and tutors, spent two
years at Eton and three years at Oxford.
although his studies have been frequently
interrupted by sea voyages and camping
tours in the mountains for his health.
He has a brother, Desmond. two years
his junior. and another, Edward, who Is
fourteen years Old
Going Into Public Life.
The Duke Of Leinster is prepared to
take his proper place in public life. and
has recently been appointed master OF the
horse to the Earl of Aberdeen, lord lieu
tenant Of Ireland. so that he will appear
at the castle in Dublin next winter and
have his first social experience during the
season there. His acceptance Of this post
indicates that he IL a liberal in politics
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