The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1908-02-14
NOW AGAIN An
AMERICAN GIRL
Alice ThaW Gives Up Her British
Title.
HER MARRIAGE WAS ANNULLED
The Case Is Heard in Strict Privacy
and Only Four Witnesses Are Heard
The Decree viii Be Made Absolute
in Six Months-The Young Lady to
Resume Her Maiden Name.

London (By Cable).-Sir Birrell
Barnes. president of the Divorce
Court. granted the Countess of Var
mouth, who was Miss Alice Thaw.
of Pittsburg, a decree multiplying her
marriage to the Earl of Yarmouth.
The case was heard in private. Al
the time fixed for the commencement
of the proceedings everyone not &C
tually engaged on the case was ex-
cluded from the courtroom. The
case was practically undefended, an6
the hearing lasted for only half an
hour. The Countess, attired in o
fashionable black gown, was present
but the Earl of Yarmouth was not
in court.
Only four witnesses we're examin.
ed. They we're the Countess of Var
mouth herself, her maid. a doctor ap'
pointed by the court, and an Ameri-
can lawyer, who proved the marriage.
The Countess gave evidence in sup
port of her allegation that the mar
riage had never been consummated,
and the maid testified that the Earl
and the Countess had not been living
as man and wife. According to the
evidence of the doctor, the Earl of
Yarmouth was capable of consum-
mating the marriage, but counsel for
the plaintiff contended that this did
not affect the allegation that the mar
riage had not been consummated, and
he pointed out to the judge that 1t
was within the discretion of the
court to annual the marriage IL 1t
was proved that it had not been con-
Summated.
No Money Settlement.
The Earl of Yarmouth did not de-
fend the case, his lawyer satisfying
himself with pointing out that the
evidence of the doctor removed any
stigma placed upon the Earl by the
evidence of the plaintiff, and that
there were no grounds upon which
the Countess could have sued for d.
vorce.
The Judge pronounced his decree
annulling the marriage without COM
ment. In the ordinary course of
events it will be made absolute in
six months.
No mention was made of mar
riage settlement, and it was learned
from an authoritative source that,
contrary to certain published state
ments, the question of revising the
settlement has not been discussed
by the principals or their solicitors,
and that it is not likely to be dis
cussed.
The brevity of the proceedings
came as a surprise to everybody ex-
cept those engaged on the case. That
the hearing should be short was ar
ranged when the application was
made last week and the trial set for
Wednesday, counsel then undertake
ing not to occupy more than one
hour of the judges time. The fact
that at a council of the family of the
Earl Of Yarmouth it was decided not
to defend the action of the Countess
made this possible. This change
from the previous determination to
contest the case is said to have been
influenced by the evidence given re-
Gently in New York at the trial OF
Harry Kendall Thaw, brother of the
Countess, for the murder of Stan
ford White, with regard to insanity
in the Thaw family, as well as the
verdict of the jury that Harry Thaw
was insane when he committed this
crime
The papers in the case are being
kept secret, and all information re-
garding the nature of the charges
has been carefully withheld. The
statement was made, however, that
the character of the medical evidence
made public hearing inadvisable.