The Washington herald., 1912-11-29

slstant private secretary to the Earl of
Granville and confidential man. TO the
Earl of Rosebery.
His first mission abroad was as secre-
tary OF the British delegation to the In
ternational Maritime Conference, when
he had his first connection with official
Washington On his return home he was
appointed secretary at Brussels, then
again at Washington. at Tokyo, Berlin,
and Constantinople.
By this time the Hon. Cecil had begun
tC make a name for himself in the Brit
ish diplomatic world and Downing Street
accredited him at Teheran I'm 1900 as
charge d'affairs. The following year he
was given the responsible post In Cairo
OF commissioner OF the Egyptian public
debt. From 1903 TO 1905 he officiated as
first secretary of the British Embassy At
St. Petersburg; from 1906 TO 1908 he was
British minister and consul general to
Persia. In that year he was made a
knight commander OF the Order OF ST.
Micnael and st. George which entitled
him to the prefix Sir" and sent to
Stockholm as envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary.
Sir Cecil. having served from the low
est rung Of the diplomatic ladder. is a fine
routine man. Neither at Teheran. where
he was less than year in a responsible
position, nor at the Stockholm court.
where the Queen is a British princess. did
Sir Cecil have mucn Of all opportunity TO
show his mettle in critical times, nor his
tact as a diplomat. His berths thus far
have been almost sineCures. All this will
be changed now, coming here, as he does,
at a time when there are likely to be
clouds on the political horizon at any
movement between the United States and
Britain, as a result OF the Panama Canal
foliage. an issue which his predecessor
very wisely sidestepped by resigning at
the psychological moment.
The Baron II MOnteagle. the Spring
Rice peerage. is Of comparatively modern
creation. The founder OF the family was
Stephen Edward Rice. OF Mount Trench
ard. County Limerick, son of Thomas
Rice and his wife. Mary. sister Of Robert
F'itZ-Gerald, the famous knight Of
Kerry" This Stephen Edward Rice mar
ried Catherine. the heiress Of Thomas
Spring. of Castlemain. Kerry. in 17S5. The
only son of this union. Thomas Spring
Rice, was raised to the Irish peerage in
September, 1893 as Lord MOnteagle Of
Brandon. He adopted as his motto. "Fides
non Timet' Cthe faithful need not fear.
His first wife. the Lady TheOdosia Perry.
among whom was Sir CeCiTs father. and
one daughter. His lordship married again.
He held a number of positions under the
government. He was an assistant Home
Secretary; Secretary OF the Treasury. Co.
lOnal Secretary. Chancellor Of the EX-
chequer. and Comptroller General of the
Exchequer.
Mention already has been made OF the
distinguished noble family from which
Sir Cecils wife descends. The head
o: her house is the NTH Earl Of Hare
wood CSir Henry Ulrick Lascelles,
knight commando of the Victorian
order: Viscount Lasccllcs and Baron
Hardwood, of County York; lord lieu
tenant and custos rotulorum. aid-de-
camp to the King of England, whose
wife is the Lady Florence Katherine
Bridgeman. daughter OF the third Earl
of Bradford Roger de Lascelles, men
toned above. as the first lord of that
name, died without male issue In 1891.
in consequence of which the newly
created baron Of Lascelles at once
fell into allegiance. II is dormant to
this day. But through the first lords
four daughters the Lascelles family
was continued In 1890. Edwin Lascelles
was created u peer, with the title Of
Lord Hardwood. But again the barony
expired. because he died without any
issue. His heir-at-law, Edward
Lascelles. of a cadet line. then was Gle
waited to the peerage. and a nephew of
the present-the third-incumbent of
the barony. is the father OF our new
British Ambassadors wife.
FLANE,'R.
CCoIgrght. 1872. by Court Gossip syndicatcJ