The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-07-14
MERSEY AS COUNSEL
FOR ISMAY FAMILY

She claimed that had the earth been
round. the curvature would have hidden
inc sheet alike from the eye and the
Tho Blounts are very ancient sus-
sen family whose name figures MS l.
hlount ia the Ron % Bntti. Abbey.
anu who held the Hsrony OF fNworth
unul ne death OF the sixth per OF
mat Tx, who was standard bearer OF
simon Dc Monifori. ana fcn At thu
battle Of I."wos. ln 1862 when ms bar
nhy Was attalrt"d. Tho Bar0netcy or
the Bloruts dates from the reign OF
Charles J.. to whose cause Sir Matter
Biount was devoted and when King
Edward offered TO tie late Edward
Hlount barouetcy for his great SCI,
wees ia France TO his native land. the
ola gentleman declined. ana a. KIDD for
a kuishthood OF the Bath instead. ex-
prcssing The wish that there shoUtd
be no other baronetry in tho family
than that held by his cousin Sir Walter
mead OF tho house
hi, This OLD Sir Edward Bloun,. who
lived to the age Of nearly ono hun
dred years. WAS a wonderful character.
and familiar figure in the hest PART
sian society FOR more than half "a cen
tury. Iuring The siege hy the Ger
mans. in lS1V-7l. ana the eusufu.. com
mune. he helpcd much TO relieye dis
tTess ana starvation among the Anlorf-
o'H cvIony As boy OF ten, he wit
MESSED the tr!unphai return OF the nrst
marquis OF Anglcscy to hiH country
seat OF Besudesert. after the battle OF
aterioo. lie was private secretary
10 Canning. the English statesman. ana
was clerk at the Foreign Office when
lne disratches announcing tho battle
OF NnVarino arrived there ana ,yh-
obliged TO copy them ont for George
~ He went 10 Paris In 1881 as Secre-
taFN 70 the british Embassy, but soon
abandoned diplomacy for finance es-
tahlished an Anglo-Fronch banking
mouse IN Paris. and succeeded so we'll
tlat when the railroad fevcr struck
France, he was enabled TO finance the
construction OF tho West OF France
Railroad. He was one OF tho founder rs
OF the French Jockey club a frequent
guest OF the great TallcyranG dlned at
acted as British Consul withuu, pay
during the Siege and Commune saw
ing tie lives of AZ least twcnty English
and Amcrscans. whom iho Insurgents
md condemned TO he shot. H.. mar
ried Gertrude birmingham. OF the fam
ilv Of which Lord Stafford is the chief.
and was president OF the West OF
FRANCE Railroad from the time or its
building. until lSes-throughout the
reign OF Louis Philippe, the Second
Republic. the Second Empire. ana
twenty eight years OF the third Repub-
1t was only when tho trouble about
fashoda brought England and France
10 the brink of war. that Sir Edward.
then cighty-nvc. was quietly asked 10
resign the presidency of tho railway
that connects Paris with the seaports
and naval stronsholds on the northwest
and western coasts The railroad not
long afterwards passed into the pos
session OF the French Government be.
ing regarded as too important TO be-
long TO any private corporation.
Sir Edward Blount's town house was
in Paris. but his summer home was inc
ancient Manor Of Inverhornc. In Sus-
sex. where he died in 1905, at the age
OF ninety six
Let me add in conclusion that some
years ago member OF the Blount fam
Ky; the late Archibald Henry Blount. OF
Orlion Manor, Heroffordshire. an &C.
centric man Of the most misery char
acte:. died leaving over 100000 to
Yale University. No reason has cycr
been discovered for his making this
Request since he had no American rei-
atives; friends or Affiliations. had never
visited this country, and vas NOT
known to have taken any interest In
Copyright, 1912. by the Brentwood
Company