Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-10

Devonshire warmly supported the wings.
not with oratory and political general
ship. for he had neither. but with money.
of which he had a plenty. and with par
ltamentary seats. of which, a great
landlord he had several at his disposal.
Devonshire House was the chief rallying
place for the wings. The briilancc OF
the gatherings there vastly eclipsed the
court itself. Fox and Sheridan. then in
their prime and not yet degraded by
drink and cards. were there. and the
ise OF brilliancy which his reign as
George " belied. Deyonshire himself
was intellectually unfit to lead these as
semblies. but the talent and energy he
lacked was furnished by his wife. who
threw her indomitable energy. spirit and
enthusiasm into the whig scale.
Active in Cabals.
In her memoirs Lady Granville wrote:
The duke was the head OF the whig
party: the duchess the active mover In
all cabals of that day. I remember the
sensation created i'm town by her per-
sonal canvass for the buff and blue in
terest at the famous election of Charles
Fox for Westminster, when she drove
about in a splendid carriage to solicit
the votes of the different tradesmen. One
butcher was refractory and stipulat ted
for a salute as the only price at which
he would sell his suffrage, and the beau
tiful duchess yielded her cheek to the
greasy sutton" A natural result was a
horde Of street verses about the political
kiss. or the duchess bride. but less
pleasing sequel was the scandal instantly
circulated about her relations with Fox.
For this there seems to have been no
foundation whatsoever.
The Duchess of Devonshire had three
children. the youngest a son about whose
birth there was a strange suspicion. new
err allayed until his death. Resident at
Devonshire House was a Lady Eliza
beth Foster. who came there originally
a friend of the duchess. and whom the
duke later married. The duke. cold And
reserved as he was. became infatuated
with her. and Lady Elizabeth gave birth
duchess became mother for the third
time. 1t was rumored that the legitimate
child Was girl the illegitimate a boy.
and that they were secretly changed. The
boy grew to manhood and became. i'm his
turn, Duke of Devonshre. In his child
hood he never lived under his mothers
care. but always had separate estab-
lishment near his fathe:. His Legitimacy
was generally questioned. That he was
always kept from his mothers charge
added 10 the rumors. Ii was asserted
that the duke had agreed with his uncle.
Lord Cavendish that the youth should
never marry. SO that the Cavendish heirs
should ultimately come into the dukedonl.
and the young duke did i'm fact remain q
bachelor until his death.
An Unhappy Woman.
1t is clear that. however gay her de-
meanor, the Duchess of Devonshire could
not have been in fact a happy woman.
She seems to have been fa- more sinned
against than SHINING. Yet when her last
illness came. in he forty-ninth year she
reproached herself with extravaganza
and a wasted life SO pitiful was her
repentance that even the natural apathy
of the duke gave way. and. bathed In
tears he assured her that If she recoN-
cred all would be forgotten and forgiy-
en-" But if we have read her life Alright.
repentance should have been his lot and
forgiveness her privilege. Thackeray says
that when the prince regent heard of her
death he said: There we have lost the
best bred woman in England And the
best-hearted ONE added Charles James
Fox