The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-28
COMPARATIVELY UNKNOWN

To most people Of the present genera ton, the real Woman in the Case IS practically unknown; for Mrs. Cornwallis-l | West, the wife of the respectable and white-haired old gentlman who owns Ru- thin castle in Denbighshre, is one Of the great ladies of English society who has for good many years past been al | most unknown in London. Therefore, 1t | is that the two other ladies who also | have the right to this surname, have | been each connected with the war office | inquiry, although quite innocent of any | complicity in the matter. One of these l is Lady Randolph Churchill, who mar ried about Il years ago, MT. George Corn | wallis West, and who subsequently di- | vorced him about four years ago, after which he married the well-known actress, Mrs. Patrick Campbell. The first Mrs l George Cornwallis-West, after she dl- vorced the of Mrs. Cornwallis-Wes | who is the leading figure of the present scandal, chose to resunfe the name and | title of her first husband, who was the uncle of the present Duke of Marlbor- | ough Mrs Patrick Campbell, although | she is, of course, entitled to be called 1 Mrs. George Cornwallis-West, has rarely, | if ever, been known by the name so- cially. and, of course, professionally she | is still Mrs. Pat" as she has been [ called for the last 20 years and more | in the dramatic world.
 IS OVER SIXTY
 The ldCL tHdL NlIS. SOl1AN oAAi'- W Ss'N | who has been so severely hauled over | the coals by the court of inquiry IS 1 lady who has exceeded the limit Of three score years, does not detract from the joy of the experienced gossip, who IS chortling over the magnificent dish of scandal that is now being brewed. It is, | of course, absurd to say, as so many correspondents have said in various pa i. pers, that Mrs. Cornwallis-West still pos sesses youth and beauty to an unusual
 Nf ro0t chn f1rnC n1fC a rather pathetic picture of a woman who in srHte of her appearance refuses to accept the decree of time and to srecog- nize that art cannot provide what nature refuses to give her. She is still 'skittish,' but it is a quality that certainly does not harmonize with white hair a com plexion that is too good to be true and figure that still insists upon displaying the curves and unnatural lines Of the period bridged over by the sos. At any | rate do not believe all the stories you read about the present-day loveliness of Mrs Cornwal1s-West Lady de Bathe l or Mrs. Langtry, as she is still called | upon the stage, although older in actual l years than the lady who was her rival 1 in beauty about 30 years ago, is far bet | ter preserved
 RUSSIAN CONNECTION
 It is a curious fact that several of the members of the family of Mrs. Corn wallis-West are concerned, to a certain extent, with the London life of the Rus sian nobleman, Prince Youssoupoff, whose name has been so prominently mentioned recently in connection with the supposed murder of that mysterious monk, Gre gori Rasputin about which the world has been talking for sometime past. It Is not generally known that Prince Youssoupon l was not given his title of prince until he married his present wife, the Grand Duchess Irene who Is a first cousin of | the Czar This title was given to him | in order that he might be placed on an l equal footing with his bride
 The marriage took place shortly before l the war; and previous to this time Prince | Youssoupoff had made his home in Eng | land, and had, in fact, visited Petro- | grad only once after he had left Christ | Church, Oxford, where he was educated. l He was then known, both at the uni l versity and in London, as Count Eleten | This name Is an English one, which he l inherited together with some English es- | tates, which came to him through his | maternal grandmother. who was an Eng | lishwoman.
 After having finished his course at OK ford Count Elsten went back to Pe- 1 trograd for a few months but he did not create a particularly happy impress | sion there, for, if gossip speaks truly, 1 he was requested to leave his native land l by the Czar. and he returned to London where he set up a beautiful flat at Knightsbridge. This flat was exquisitely | furnished and decorated in a style which | five or six years ago was somewhat un- | usual His drawing room was all in white, l the furniture being white, with black chequered design edging the white enamel on chairs, tables and door and, window | fittings It was upholstered in tangerine- l colored brocades, and there was black carpet on the floor, the first. I believe. | that had ever been seen in London. His l dining room was entirely fitted in red ana hlacl1 lacuuer work and there was a marylous bedroom done in grey and | silver. with a white wood floor strewn | with white bearskin rugs.
 SPLENDID ENTERTAINMENTS
 About five years ago Mrs. George Corn | wallis West (now Lady Randolph Church. | ill) produced in the grounds of Earls Court exhibition a show called Shake | speare's England which ran during the whole of the summer with no profit to it's | af affo.di1aac 2 sidera Ill e 1