The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-04
THAW'S SISTER
 SEEKS DIVORCE Countess of Yarmouth Files Papers for Annulment of Marriage With
 Earl.
PAPERS ARE HELD SECRET
Only Inkling Statement That Med icaI Evidence Makes Pulp lie Hearing Inad-
 yisable.

AolioOAis ooiAs o'- nv ANtANNN another allegiance of the English no bility with an American woman of wealth became public this afternoon when the Countess of Yarmouth, who was Alice Thaw, of Pittsburg, daughter of Mrs. William Thaw and sister of Harry K. Thaw, whose sec ond trial for the murder of Stanford White will begin next Monday in New York City, applied to the divorce court for an annullment of her mar riage to the Earl of Yarmouth.
 The court has ordeed that the pro- ceedings be held in camea, and the papers are being kept secret The only inklng obtainable of the charges preferred is a statement to the effect that the nature of the medical evi- dence to be given makes public hearing inadivsable.
 The Countess of Yarmouth is stay ing at Park Hall, near Evesham, Wor- cestershire, magnificent country seal she has leased, decorated and re-fur- nished with lavish expenditure. She dGlllllCS " Oll 1blO NoSS' I IN Earl of Yarmouth could not be found In his usua, London haunts tonight, and it is supposed he is on the Conti- nent, where he spends much of his time.
 It has been well known for two years that the domestic affairs of the Var mouths were most unhappy The Earl's companions and hs manner of living were such that he could not give his wife the position in society she had a right to expect. She supplied immense sums to defray her husbands S extrava- gances, and her friends say she has conducted herself with dignity through out the troubles resulting from the un- happy marriage and her brothers diffi- culties.
 The Hertford family. the head of which is the Earl of Yarmouth s father and to the head of which the earl is heir, he being the eldest son of the sixth Marquis of Hertford, is one of the oldest and proudest of the British nobility. The notoriety brought upon the family through its indirect connection with the Thaw murder case was galling, and this cli- max to the. eldest sons marriage to sAiice Thaw is a bitter one. The Marchioness of Hertford who has stood by her daughter-in-law through out her troubles and has exerted her self to reconcile the couple, is pros- trated with grief.
 The countess herself has suffered from the strain of the past year Her friends say she has grown thin rapidly and has worried look. They have ad. vised her to remain in England until after the divorce proceedings; but the countess desires to return to the Unit. ed States for her brothers second tria and is undecided which course she will pursue.
 Last summer, on the advice of MT and Mrs. George Lauder Carnegie. hel brother-in- and sister, who were with her two months, the countess de cided to seek the aid of the divorct courts. It was intended to defer thi: action until the second Thaw trial il New York, but the delay in bringins the case to trial led to a change oi plans.
 Before Harry K. Thaw shot Stanford White in New York, thus bringing up- on the family of the Earl of Yarmouth the notoriety which Is so distasteful to the English nobility, there were ru- mors that the couple was leading an unhappy life, but the action of the Ear during this crisis and his efforts to shield his mother Jaw, the mother of Harry Thaw, on her arrival and dur ing her stay in England, led to the be- lief that he had decided to treat his wife differently.
 New York to attend the trial of heI brother. It was said at the time that the earl had agreed that this was the proper course to follow, but 1t was no. ticed that he left for southern Europe before his wife sailed for America, and that while the countess was in deer trouble he was enjoying the gay life of Monte Carlo and other resorts.
 When the countess returned to Eng. land after the trial of her brother sh, received a most cold reception, not only from the earl, but from all the mem. bers of his family, except the marchion ess of Hertford, his mother, and tho couple have seen little of each othei since.
 On what grounds the countess base. her claim for the nullification of hel marriage is not stated in the papers thus far filed with the court, but ther, has been much talk of the earls doing! on the continent, where he spends tn, greater part of his time.