The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-03-02

Saints and churchmen. painters. mer-
chants. writer's. capitalists. statesmen
adventures. and other men of note have
| brought fame TO the name Cornelius.
Yet in all the long years that have pa sseo
since the name was first used in Rome.
no one has born il more famously than
| Cornelia. farfamed mother of the Grac-
| chi. who lived about 200 B. C
She was the wife OF Tiberius Gracious,
| prominent in Roman politics. a man OF
| great honor and worth But he was
much older than Cornelia and died. leav-
ing his young wife with twelve children.
All but three of them died-Cornelia.
Ttberius Gracious. and Caius Gracious.
Cornclia. the mother. decided to vote
her life to their education and to foreso
all other pleasures for the sake OF rear
| ing them properly. For their sake she
refused to marry a second time. and re-
| fused even King Ptolemy Of Egypt, him
| self II was in those years Of devotion
| 10 her children that she made the WELL
known answer to friend who boosted
Of her Jewels.
These" said Cornelia, simply. pointing
10 her children. are my Jewels"
Its said that Cornelia. after the mar
riage of her namesake and daugh-
ter. to the celebrated general. Pub.
Illus Cornelius Scipio the Younger used
: to urge her cons on to fame, saying.
Il am still the mother-in-law of Scipio.
not yet the mother of the Gracchi."
When her sons finally had made their
name in public life. and had won such
fame that a monument was erected to
the Roman matron bearing simply the
inscription. ''Corneia, mother Of the
Gracchi.'' she was still their confidant and
adviser. and all their lives they acknowl-
edged the debt they owed to her train
ing and care.
When finally both the Gracchi had
died, killed by the mobiles. and consd-
cred martyrs by the people. Cornelia
lived proudly on, never refusing. because
of her bereavement. to receive guests.
and making her house the headquarters
of many of the greatest men OF let
tiers and affairs Of the time.
1t Is said that she could speak OF the
death Of her sons without sorrow. for
she was proud of the life they had lived.
and once, when some sympathetic friend
condoled with her upon her loss. she
said:
Il do not need sympathy. It is enough
to have been the mother of the GracChi.
There were other women of fame name
ed Corneia in ancient Rome. Cornelia
was the name Of the first wife of Julius
Caesar, mother of Julia. who was POM
pegs first wife. And Cornelia was the
name of Pompey's second wife, woman
of great virtue and strength of character,
who attributed all her husbands misfor-
tune to herself
In modern times. too a Cornelia can
take equal rank. as far as the interest
attached to her life Is concerned. with
any famous Cornelius.
This is Miss Cornelia Knight. who,
from 1905 to 1913. was in attendance upon
Queen Charlotte. wife of George III. Of
England, and who was later in attend
ance on the Princess Charlotte, grand
daughter OF the queen.
Miss Knight came of a family Of men
who had been In the kings service. in
the army and in the navy. for genera
tons Her own father was Rear Admiral
Sir Joseph knight and CorneIia's early
life was spent IN travelling about. fol-
lowing him. When she was five years
old, she was sent to school three days
week to learn to dance and speak
French. and on the Intervening days
she studied with masters at home and
learned Latin, Greek, mathematics. geos-
raphy, and history.
She knew many Of the famous men and
women OF the time-the great writers
and statesmen and artists of the latter
part of the eighteenth century In Lon
don. Sir Joshua Reynolds sister was
one of her mothers friends. and little
COrnella USED spcnu tfine with
Miss REYNOLDS. who taught the child to
draw in the rooms where the great paint
er worked on the portraits of men of af-
fairs
Her father died when Cornelia was still
a child and she and her mother went to
Italy to live.
There Miss knight was very friendly
with Admiral Nelson and Lady Hamil-
ton. and after her mothers death they
through Mr. Pitt. Miss Knight was sum-
.noned by Queen Charlotte to be one Of
her attendants without any special title.
She was to receive an allowance Of about
81 500 a year. and was to be given a
house at Windsor, with one of the
queens maids to do the work. In return,
she must be present at evening parties
at the castle when she was summoned,
must always attend the queen upon Sun
days and holidays and must be ready
every morning to do the queens bid
ding.
This generally meant that the queen
would summon Miss Knight to walk with
her in the beautiful gardens Of Windsor
or to sit at needlework while the queen
herself read aloud. or sometimes to drive
and go on shopping tours
Miss knights life as one Of the queens
ladies was not at all agreeable, for the
court at Windsor. like most courts. was
full Of little jealousies and misunderstood
ings And when, after some seven years
service, Miss knight, at her own request
left the queen to attend her grand
daughter, the unfortunate Princess Char
lotte. she had to accept many snubs from
and much unhappiness.
Mise Knight finally withdrew altogether
from court life, and went to the continent, |
where she passed the rest of her life |
writing. She wrote some Temances,