The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-06-20
and Triple Births Among
Royalty and the Aristocracy
Give Rise to Controversy

throne are concerned. Thus no CUES.
ton has eve been raised about the
succession Of the present Lord Dur.
han Of Jockey Club fame to the family
honors. For by arriving in this word
a minute or so prior to his twin brother.
Fred, he secured to himself the In.
heritance of tine earldom, OF the minor
peerages, as we'll as Of the entailed
estates. yielding an income OF half a
million dollars per annum. whereas
Fred has had to remain content with
q beggarly allowance of $40, 900 a year
Lord Dudley's youngest sons, tn.
Hons. Edward and George Ward, are
twins. and his brother. the Hon Cyril
Ward, has wv young twin daughters.
now about Q years old. Then there IL
the Marquis Of Linlithgow, whose
eldest son bears the title Of Earl OF
Hopetoun. while his twin brother has
to be content with the style Of Lord
John Hope.
Lord Linlithgow In the head Of the
extremely numerous and infiuentia,
clan Of Hope, and 1t may be recalled
that on the occasion OF the coming o,
age Of his father. who was Governor.
General Of Australia, the. clergyman
entrusted with the duty of preaching
the sermon in connection with the
religious portion of the festivities. well
nigh convulsed the congregation by
exclaiming, in the midst OF an I'm.
passioned address, The world 10 tul
Of blasted hopes"
The Dowager Countess OF Lytton
lady In waiting to Queen Alexandra
and in her day a famous beauty, IL a
twin sister OF the widowed Lady Loci.
They bore prior to their marriage the
| names OF Elizabeth and Edith Vlli~rs
and were nieces Of the fourth Lord
Clarendon. Engaged at the came
time to be married, the one TO tho late
Lord Loeb and the other to that Ear
Of Lytton who is remembered In III.
ernture az owen Meredith" they
presented such an extraordinary Re-.
scmblance TO each other that Il was
almost impossible for their RESPECTIVE
fances to distinguish them apart, and
the most amusing contretemps wcr.
constantly taking place.
To the best OF my knowledge there
Is but n instance of triplets among
the a%ristocracy of Great Britain.
namely. in that ancient Devonsh!re
house OF Acland which Lord 81. Au-
dries represents in the upper chamber
Of Parliament, although its actua
head Is Sir Thomas Dyke Acls nd.
Twelfth Baronet OF his line and a very
popular and veteran member OF tho
House of Commons.
Triplets are far moro common
among the masses. and throughout
the sixty odd years Of the reign o.
Queen Victoria she vas wont: al
ways to reward mothers who had
given birth to three or more children
with q letter OF congratulat!on and n
gift Of money in which the numher o.
gu!neas equalled thai OF the numcer
OF children born at the SANE time
She did this not only ~ reason o.
her maternal instincts but also for ths
purpose Of encouraging large fam.
lilies.
Triple and quadruple births became
20 numerous. however. that three
years after his accession King FL
ward abolished this form OF gra,u,ty
as a too heavy tax upon his resources
and c%uriously enough the frepuency
Of these multiple births imnod!a'o'y
began "a decline. There has. how.
ever, been such an appalling was'are
Of human hfe during the present wa
that King George may find f. of IA.
ttonal advantage. on the restoration n
peace. to revert as a matter Of 70,
litical economy 20 h practice ~ NJ
venerable grandmother, the late Queer
Victoria.