New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-29
Three DucLe ;ses
CAROLINE DUCHESS OF MoNTRosE AND TWO oUcHEssEs OF
MARLBOROUGH
downright, 1912. by G ". smalley1
London, August 30

lgOIlOOlls ANbH'N
:, IL not so very long since you might
have met a lady commonly known IL
London as Caroline Duchess; whose
proper title was Caroline Duchess OF
uonrrosq. now dead. | think hrst
me-, her at dinner given by Lord ana
,odr Rardolpn Churchill TO his oro'he,
~ oigb,b Duke of Marlborough ana
bio new American wife who had oee"
Ms Hamcrsley. The dinner was re-
,rl,abl, for more reasons thah one
ord Randolph sat at one end OF ule
IT, l.ctveen the two duchesses. IL
was his habit. as it is still the haoi'
~ his son. 10 define his social oDi's"-
.,o,e according 10 the mood OF me
cement Yielding to that mood OF 70
caprice. often with him rn1hs nii'u-
once in great matters and In less, no
c,,se 70 tank during nearly the who're
of dinner 10 Caroline Duchess On ''i'
thar side Of the Duchess OF MARI
borough sat Alfred Montgomery Oiie
II the most agreeable men in Lohuo"'
,,.;tb great social authority ana
great gift Of speech. often DriliiahI
almost always cynical, sometimes
.tirging To his neighbor he was I'M
known, as all London was al lUa'
moment unknown. save for the expert
once Of two or three days. More IMAM
that he was deaf and 10 make MN
hear was not easy. nor would he JON
readily in conversation with 2 new
conner. He was therefore for the most
,ort silent and the Duchess Of MARI
borough, after one or two attempts
which had no success, was also silent.
And i'm truth almost everybody IN
that vicinity was silent except the most
and his other partner, We were silent
because their talk flowed and spanked
IN an unfailing and full stream amid
the ripple of which you cared for none
other. Than Lord Randolph there was,
when ne chose. no other more delight
mi or more stimulating. Than Caro-
line Duchess there was nobody better
cited 10 draw him out or TO induce
him TO show himself at his best. She
was then past seventy. Behind her was
6 life filled with piQuant experiences
and vivacities In her was natural
uit and force that expressed itself in
sentences which. whether always con-
yentlonal or not, we're always pungent
and often q challenge There could
De no better matched pair than these
two. nor any contrast more complete;
and perhaps for the purposes of con-
yersation contrast is more than sym
pathy
Lord Randolph's voice under the i'm
pulse of excitement. agreeable or 9TH
erwise. was apt to be strident II tore
its way through the air and was Just
as distinct at one end of the table as
the other: insistent, irresistible, COM
pelling. and would not be denied. Her
voice, on the other hand, was OF velvet:
all srnoothness in its firm texture, but
of a volume which filed the room with
beautiful sound. Her laugh was pure
music Not a harsh tone ever came
from her lips or from her ample chest
There was no effort: It was all spon-
tareous and all convincing, and every
clear-cut syllable audible everywhere.
Ii was delightful TO listen TO merely as
q piece Of elocution. When you con-
idered the matter It was more de-
ightful still. Commonplace from her
ips would have seemed so many cpl
rsms, but Of commonplace there
Fere none.
der talk, II is true, was not mainly
IF books or literature or art, though
IN them also she could discourse If she
,hose. II was of the world, the English
world, the world in which she had al
ways lived: the idle" world, If you
care 20 recall Mr.. Lloyd Georges word
which has become as tiresome as Mr..
Rovsevelts strenuous" which even
his panegyrist, Mr.. Whitridge, warned
him had been overused and had earned
a long repose. She discourse1 Of cur
rent topics She did not disdain scan
dal in d decOrous form. She shrank
from no personality, nor was reverence
for dignitaries the staple Of her mind.
She lampooned such great ones Of the
earth as she happened TO dislike; but
ever as became q great lady; which
she was and remained In all her out
bursts. Her greatness. all the same, was
Of kind which demanded 10 be
did Elizabeth's, or Joanna Of Naples,
or the Empress Eugenie's. You don't
measure heroes or heroines in milli-
metres. She stormed in the grand man
her, and In truth seldom during this
particular talk
For the most part she was good nat
nred and tolerant The sun shone as
she talked Her smile lighted up the
table. She and Lord Randolph ex-
changed repartees; the steel flashed.
fou thought at any moment the but
Tons might come of the foils, but they
never did. They differed. but did not
Argue; both of them much too accom-
phshed 10 have need Of that weapon.
Which should be kept for the forum or
me platform. They talked racing, on
which each was an authority; SUBJ
lect full OF thorns, yet handled by both