New-York tribune., 1912-02-12
St. NICHAEL'S MOUNT
usyf Lord St. Levan viii Forfeit
inheritance if Bankrupted.

y. 1912 by the Brentwood Company
Cop,s. rbe Hon. Edward ST Aubyn, who
With the Kings Rifles in Egypt and
ES Africa, and who has just made his
SOU" '.,,rce in the Bankruptcy Court with
appr,,,ns Of $4,000 and assets Of about
na Il audcavorug 10 arrange with his
.,5ltors on the basis Of small payment
ess'5 or5 the balance when he succeeds to
~ Estates Of his brother Lord st. Levan,
.sorn he IS the next heir.
~. crsditors are in somewhat Of a guam
to- there is a clause in the entail Of
u.s. Iavan estates according to which
~ beir forfeits his life interest therein In
-. I scant OF Bankruptcy or partial aliena-
~ nj, life interest TO creditors, so that
uVH .s.y 40 not accept his offer as it stands,
,'hout any legal surrender 10 thom OF
.,gS Of his life interest to satisfy their
'",rss or If they refuse his offer and leave
-, n be gazetted bankrupt, they lose
,yery ,,, prospect Of deriving any eventual
s.rsst from the 81. Levan estates. At the
So., the major can only hope for the en-
lid property, for his elder brother, Lord
:, Teyan. has two young daughters, TO
,r,or, he is devoted, and he may be relied
,,ann 70 leave them everything that he can
.V.nate from the title.
rhe sntailed estates include St. Michaels
,,ount on the coast of Cornwall, one of
,be most beautiful and picturesque places
=, England. II is a castle standing on
nrr has been described by the poet as
",bat beauteous sem set in the silver sea"
.,5 Ike Mont ST. Michel in Normandy,
1n,ch II closely resembles. is cut off from
,bs mainland by the sea, excepting az quite
Inv tide. Il dates from King Edward the
ropfessor, who in the early part Of the
slsyenth century granted the place TO some
penedlctine monks. These, after the Nor
wan conquest. affiliated themselves with
the grea, Bcuedictine monastery Of the
Mont ST. Michel in Normandy.
But 81. Nlchaels Mount soon became
more Of fortress than priory. King
John was besiegcd there. The Earl of Ok
ford demanded 1t for Henry VI against
Edward " In the Wars Of the Roses, In
las ten thousand Roman Catholics mus
tsred there, under Humphrey OF Arundel.
10 take up arms for the old religion. In
the civil war it was held for King Charles
against Oliver Cromwell and his troops
Fifteen years after the siege il passed into
the Possession Of the ST. Aubyn family, OF
wh!cn Lord ST. Levan, who was the late
Lord perby's military secretary when Gov
ernor General of Canada, is now the chief.
The old monastic buildings have been re-
modelled and rendered III for the require"
msnts Of twentieth century life. But the
chanel IS much as II used to be, with It's
secret dungeons beneath the stone floor and
It's winding stairway leading to the roof OF
the great tower. Many time has the
kidding beacon Of that tower flung It's
fare Of warning over sea and land and the
old stone cresset for holding the beacon hre
g there yet, and is known by the people OF
that part Of England as st, MiChael's Chair,
there Being a tradition 10 the effect that
whoever sits therein before marriage VIII
rule the husband or wife, as the case may
be. Nerves OF the strongest character and
q head insensible 10 vertigo are required 10
occupy with safety so giddy a perch.
Il will be noticed that in the peerages no
attempt is made 10 trace the family OF 81
kubyn beyond Sir Edward st, Aubyn, who
was created baronet in 1856 and who was
the grandfather Of the present peer. This
does not means that the 81. Aubyns are
modern family. On the contrary, they are
one Of the oldest houses Of Deyonshire,
having owned most Of the land on which
the important seaport Of Devonport now
stands, and, as I have mentioned above,
haze been in possession Of st. Michaels
Mosrt since the reign Of King Charles.
Thsg owned moreover, a baronetcy which
likewise dated from the Stuart kings.
Unfortunately, the Sir John 81. Aubyn
who died in 1889 and who was the last
owner Of the original baronetcy, had IN his
Younger days become involved IN one OF
,hose Scotch marriages which have fur
nished 50 much drama and romance 70 the
houses Of the British aristocracy. This
Scotch marriage had the effect Of invalidat-
ing his subsequent English union, and the
result was that none Of the children OF this
latter marriage were qualified by law to
succeed 10 his honors
Sir John took advantage Of this to be-
qNesth his large estates not 10 his eldest
eut5tc his third and favorite son, who re-
csiNSd authority by roval license TO use his
tstters name and armorial bearings and
who vas in return for political services
created A baronet in 1856. SON. who
died few years ago, was raised 10 the
pesrase twenty years later, as Lord 81.
Ievsn. the title being derived from
Cornish village Of that name which Is part
Of the St Aubyn property. The present
Lore 81. Levan married daughter Of
lord Mount Edgecumbe, thus allying two
Of the greatest West Of England houses,