The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-01-26
81 "a "a M, MAnaUIsE DE FoNTENor.

u.
II NGLlSfl people are curiousiy ig-
~ norant about their own fellow
A4 couniryneil, and the Chancellor
OF the EXchcauer Lloyd George.
~ one OF his recent public diatribes
against the upper chamber proceeded
to ask his audience bv way Of prov.
ing INC utter insignihcancc Of tho
Heers. Who. for instance. is Lord st
I ION OF Bletsoe? do not know. nor
probably do any OF you"
NOW. the. founder or the family Of
Lord st John of Betsoe. namely. WI
lam lam dc s.: John, who took his name
Konen. came TO England with William
inc Conqucrcr, rs qnarterniu stcr- gen
Srai, and subsequently, was appointed
ny nam TO an office equivalent to that
or the Chancellor of the Exchcuucr
III these modern days. and as such
PLAYED Very important role in direct.
work. the Doornsday Book from when
,.loyd- George himself acknowledges
having received much assistance in his
schemes for the despoiling or the land
Cd proprietor. Another st. John was
with, Richard Coeur-de Lion in the HOLY.
i;a' and present with him at The
pertain OF the household OF Edward
II. and commander Of Calais. Sill
Liver y John acquired in the reign
the sister and sole heiress of John
Lord aeanchamp Of Bletsoe. the Manor
or Rietsoe; and another oliver ST. John
queen Elizabeth, as Lord st. John Of
Bietsoe. His son, and second holder or
ne nGeraEe was one of the judges Of
'n Gh niI nrnssnt Many, ~, queen Of scots
Is the sixteenth holder of this Eliza
Ierhah peerage, and while he has served
notably In the Seventyfourth High
landers. has made a special study o,
ne scotch crofter question. is Lore
n 4, l,,in,, OF the county or Bedford
f',,lit, .It-..
OF the county Board OF Magistrates
and devotes himself Entirely to local
the the principal representative of the
King, yet he goes so little 10 London
mat he is very unfamiliar hgiire
IN l. me metropolis. and almos, totally
unknown at Westminster. Indeed so
much Is he OF a stranger to the national
legislature. that en- one memora BILE oc-
ensio on WAS the first time that he
Put IN an appearance there as an ilcred-
itary legislator---hc wandered by mis-
take into the House OF Commons, in
a anif or into the House Of Lords, and
coolly took his scat on the treasury
bench, oblivious to the wild gesticu-
lations of the doorkeepcr The sit
asked h Was eTplaine 70 him when he
eral Cabinet Minister. whether the per-
son seated opposite was not Lord Sal
,sburN Not until then did lie realize
his error and by withdrawing, put an
end to the perturbation which always
arises when there is any viola ton even
through ignorance, OF the rules Of the
The fIonse Of 81 John will In course
of time have another representative IN
ne House OF Lords, IN the person Of,
inghrokc: The lattcr's birth was en-
Teloped for a time in mystery, and his
s 81 n., to the 1v title II the nature
Boiingbroke died. at the age OF eighty.
The was generally supposed by every one |
eyer by his relatives. 10 have been q
woman Of the name OF Ellen Medex, |
at Brussels, contracted some forty years
ago, was proved TO be null and void,
previously married. and had a husband
still living. Consequently the chill !
dren that she bore him, including Hen :
~ and q, Charles Reginald. were rem
i, Thenceforti it was, believed thai
e ent am next heir ,il. 70 his hon9rs and
cester Cathedral. His name was print |
cd as such in All the "Peeragcs" and
;,iine o,ls works Of reference; and
1922. the Canon was Immediately de-
scribed in all the newspapers as the !
new Viscount Bolingbroke.
the dead peer sprang bornbshel +
that the old viscount had married again
a widow and a three year-old son. Yer
non Henry st. John. who succeeded to !
the ViscountS of Boingbrokc and 10 |
the Barony OF ST. John, OF Lydiard |
Tregoze. All doubts on the subject
We're set at rest by the production of |
tho certificate of the old viscount's |
secret marriage, on the 5th OF Jan |
nary, 1898, at the Bath Registry Of
flee. and also the birth certificate Of |
their son, who was born on March Is. |
1896
Lord Bolingbrokc was at the time !
OF this second marriage twenty-thrce |
years OF age and signed tho registry
with an exceedingly shaky and tremb-
ling hand. His bride had been a |
domestic servant a Lydiard Park. his |
name Of Mary Howard. For time
The newly married couple remained
living at Bath, under tho name Of |
any title. none OF their neighbors sus-
.pecting their identity. At other places
lheS m sSc6 under tho mama ofisHNTr. !