The Washington herald., 1913-07-30


cent death. the new Marquis OF North
ampton. has managed to get himself Into
ths nmelight and the courts with re-
markable speed. and also with . ven
geancs." Besides, he holds the record
for the largest settlement and awarding
Of heart balm in Q breach OF promise
suit. And all Of It happened with q
rapidity unheard Of In the rather vol
luminous "chronique scaudaleuse" Of the
British peerage.
"Bing'' Compton, as his intimates call
him. fell in love with Annie Moss. an
actress. known professionally As Daisy
Markham. He told his friends that he
considered her the most perfect type Of
womanhood. He told her that he would
marry her, though his father. the mar
ouis, and all Of his aristocratic kin, were
opposed to the union: wrote her the most
endsarinG Of love letters; and promptly,
as q dutifui son should. confessed his
AFFAIR to his father Just before the lat
ter died.
his son and heir in unmistakable terms
what he thought OF the lady, and Of
actresses In general, and "Bing." again
al a dutiful son should. dropped the "af-
faire du Occur" Perhaps he wishes now
that he hadn't done 30. for his going
bsck upon his bargain has cost him the
tribe OF a quarter million dollars. This
IL the story:
Mis-. "paisy Markham" took his last
latter, together with q number OF others
telling quite . different tale, to her at
torney. In the meantime the OLD mar,
ouis OF Northampton passed away ana
.Rinrr succeeded to the titles ana ricn
.st.tes Score one more for the lady!
Tbe suit had been filed. but Lord Comp,
TON in the meantime had transformer
himself into the head Of one OF the OLD
est and very wealthy houses In the brit-
ish peeraee. Moreover his counsel. after
beinr told of the letters written 10 the
lady by his aristocratic client, told MIN
that 'he had not . leg to stand upon;
It was then that the noble marquis pc
thought himself not so much OF his siren
uous protestations Of love for the actrcss-
nIaintifY. but that "noblOse oblige- AZ
his letters had been :ead publicly In
court their contents leaving no possible
Ioop-hole for escape. he did the only thins
that could be done under the circum-
stances He settled. And being great
aristocrat. who had come into his own,
the feure was made correspondingiy con-
spicuous. -.
Daisy Markham. actress. was GOOD
enough for "Bing." Compton, but not as
A Marchioness. Otherwise, his father De-
ing no more and he his own master. why
ala he not marry her after all his pro-
te.tations. Serves him right The Count
might have awarded her more for his
roll can ~stand it
Mis, Daisy Markham Is in her twenty
seventh year, and was born in India. For
nearly nine years she has been before
the public. having appeared for the nrst
time at Manchester. in the part OF Ceia'
in "As You Like II" as long ago As
1904. In the same year she accompanied
Sir Charles Wyndham's company to New
York, where she played in THE Case OF
Rebelious Susan." a. Eliane Shrimpton.
Since then she has gradually become
quite q favorite in various roles. having
made her first appearance on the London
staEe as Clair Berton. in Leah Kles-
CHINA" in 1865 In 1871 she played Suzanne
Polisnac, in THE Glad Eye" but still has
great affection for the character of
Elaine, in "Rebelious Susan"
The defendant. who has recently sue
ceeded to the title and estates Of the
Marquis Of Northampton, is year older
than Miss Markham. having been born
in 1855. As the Earl of Compton. he
was known to his intimate as Bling.
which Is an abbreviation Of Bingham,
one Of his baptismal names. He was edu-
Gated at Elton. and at Balliol College, Ok
ford. and Joined the Second Life Guards
in 1905 becoming lieutenant in the same
year. As Marquis of Northampton. he
owns 2L0U0 acres. and draws a huge rent
from Clerkenwell section of London.
large portion Of which he owns.
As I stated above, this sum (f5o,0oO
a record in breach Of promise
-at awards Among the most
important cases in which plaintiffs in
similar actions have been awarded heavy
damages may be mentioned the follow
ing: Miss n. Forescue tor Finney),
against Lord Garmoyle. Elo00o; Miss
Gladys Knowles, against Mr.. Leslie
Duncan. E10.0oo; Miss Birdie Suther-
land. against Hon. Dudley Marjoribanks.
$500; Miss Catherine McEwan Tor
Brodie). against David MacGregor.
Portia Knight, against the Duke of
f2ooO: Miss E. E. Gardner,
against Mr.. W. J. Chate, $4,000.
Telling Of this breach Of promise
case, British high life recalls the fact
that moving in the top circles Of So
ciety In England are men and women.
who, unknown to their friends, make
their living by earning enormous COM
missions as result OF arranging mar
riages In some cases, it must be ad
United. a match y perfected in this way
as an ordinary business arrangement.
each party to the compact" the pros
pective bride and bridegroom, being quite
aware Of how their meeting has been
brought about. and both being ready to
pay a fat commission for the introduc-
ton. But such cases are few and far
between.
What causes the business Of the So
ciety marriage broker to be looked down
upon is the fact that usually society
agents work in secret. They
are received at the best houses, and their
hostesses, all unsuspectingly, are made