The Washington herald., 1912-06-19

terwcvsn with the British peerage is
recalled by the death Of Mary Caroline,
Duchess Of Sutherland, at the age Of
sixty-four. The history OF the duchess
dowager. SO full OF tragic incident, may
be said to have begun in 1853 At the
time she was but sixteen years Of age.
It was the year in which the late King
Edward, then OF course, Prince OF Wales,
took the honorary degree Of D. c. L.
at Oxford. In order TO be present at
the function. Disrael. himself D. c. L
Of some years standing, journeyed to
Oxford and stayed at st. Giles, at the
house OF the rhetorician. Rev. Richard
Michel, later principal Of Hertford Col
lege. A beau sabreur," not only In
the field political. but also IN attach
ments os the heart. Disraeli was greatly
attracted by the daughter Of his host
and paid her marked attention
In course OF time the hand OF Miss
Michel was sought IN marriage by Capt
Arthur Blair, her cousin, whom she ac-
cepted as her husband. The union was
about as happy as that OF most mar
riages until George Granville William,
third Duke Of Sutherland. appeared on
the scene. The duke himself was welded
10 a very charming wife, who was a
Countess Of Cromartie in her own right,
also the father Of a grown-up family.
Just the same the pair met and promptly
fell in love with each other.
As a result Of certain rumors which
came TO the ears Of Capt Blair, that
officer shot himself in a it Of despon-
dency. No sooner was the man buried
when his widow accompanied her ducal
friend on a lengthy yachting trip to the
far East. The duchess refused to begin
divorce proceedings and thereby won the
gratitude OF the late Queen Victoria, one
of her best friends and who abhorred the
airing OF domestic scandals among the
British nobility in public courts.
Soon after the return Of the duke 10
England with Mrs. Blair he fell III and
as result the duchess sought a recon-
ciltation. But his grace did not die,
as all seemed to fear he would, but
recovered and once again he went of
on a globe trotting journey with his
companion. In 1888 the duchess died
and the duke took Mrs. Blair to Florida,
where they were married within three
months after the death OF. his first wife
On the temperance Of the pair in
England some of the old retainers
stanch in their loyalty to the dead
duchess, left the ducal service. The
farmers near Dunrobin Castle also be-
came alienated from the duke. their
landlord. their wives actually declining
to see or recognize the new duchess.
II was in September. 1892 that the
duke died. leaving his wife a legacy of
El50,00O in addition to annuities aEEre-
eating 5000 from his English and Scot
tiSh estates. He Sso bequeathed to her
life interest in the Sutherland family
cOllleries. the use Of the Sutherland fam
ilv diamonds for life and as an absolute
gift some country residences, Her daugh-
ter from her first husband received El0,-
on outright
At the funeral Of the duke his sue
cessor declined to recognize the duchess,
and intimated right to her face that he
would contest the will. Litigation fol-
lowed and It dragged. as litiGations gen.
orally will drag. for months. Eventually
the judges made an order to hand over
certain boxes and documents 10 the sd
mintstratOr OF the estate. in whose pres
ence they were to be examined by the
solicitors Of the parties interested.
The duchess was at Stafford House
when the papers were about 10 be re-
moved. She picked up one Of the bundles.
extracted a document and after reading
It walked across the room 70 the fire.
place and threw the paper into the
flames. This act led to proceedings
against the duchess for contempt of
court. In her defense her attorney al
legged that the document which had been
destroyed was merely a letter from the
late duke to her before her marriage
and related 10 an unpleasant occurrence
between a steward and a maid. This,
so the duchess Contended. could not be
intended for inclusion among the papers
impounded by order Of the court as IL
contained nothing in relation TO herself.
The judge, however, took a stern view
OF the duchess conduct. He imposed a
hne n eco besides committing her to
prison for six weeks. She served the
term in Holloway iail in a cell which
had been furnished luXuriously by a
leading London upholsterinE firm. In
fact that cell bore about as much re-
sembIance to an ordinary prison cell as
a tenement sitting room does TO q draw
ing room in a palace. But the dignity
OF the court. at any rate, was vindi-
Gated
On her release the amount Of the fine
was presented to the duchess by SYM
pathizing friends Ultimately the will
was settled through the interven-
tion of the late King Edward. who took
from respectable stock, and had been
the legitimate wife Of a British duke.
The dowaEer duchess married a third
time in 1895. when she became the wife
Of Sir Albert RolIit. Her grace's last bid
for notoriety was in the singular loss
Of $4,000 worth Of Jewels in Paris, and
their yet more singular recovery in Lon
don.
Among the many artistic and social
events in high life that are being pre-
pared for the height Of the London sea
son there are none more peculiarly mem |
orable and appropriate than the Keats |