The sun., 1919-06-22

"S1S hSiu NitHil us Walls. A rOy2l
mint was established there and It was
the seat of the government until the
end OF the reign of Alexander III.
subsequently In the possession Of the
kers. 1t sometimes became the head
quarters of the foes Of the Crown, and
a gnarled holly tree marks the spot
where King James H. OF Scotland was
killed while besieging the castle.
Within forty feet distance of the holly
hourishes the splendid oak planted by
Queen Victoria more than eietay
years ago on the occasion OF her visit
to Floors Castle shortly after her mar
riage. The then Duchess of Rox-
ourghe was at the time the Mistress
or the Robes and as such chief Of the
feminine portion of the household Of
the young Queen.
incidentally, it may be mentioned
that the mother of the present Duke
OF Roxburghe, a sister Of the late
Lord Randolph Churchill and OF the
late Duke of Marlborough, likewise
served several terms as Mistress Of
the Robes to Queen Victoria, and
there is little doubt but that Queen
Mary would have bestowed the same
Office upon May. Duchess of Rox-
ourghe, had 1t not been the east
iron rule dating from the DAYS OF
Dutch" King William III. and from
the times of George l. and George H..
who crowded their court with IN.
popular Dutch and Hanoverian favor
ites) which preCIudes any woman Of
foreign birth from holding the Office
or Mistress OF the Robes or of Lady-
in-Waitng to the Queen. This ban.
which virtually extends to the house,
holds or all OF the Princesses of the
reigning house of Great Britain, is ac-
countable for the fact that no Ameri-
can woman, nor, for the matter of
that, any other woman of foreign
birth, ever has been appointed to any
of1ce or dignity at the Court of 81
Jamess during the past 200 years.
How the Family Began.
The founder of the family of which
the Duke of Roxburghe is the chief
was John Ker of the Forest of Sell
Kirk, who obtained charter OF all
the lands and tenements of John de
Copeland, in Roxburgheshire, In 1857.
a hundred years later his great
grandson, Andrew Ker. obtained from
the Crown the Barony OF Aud Rox.
burghe, the patent bearing the date OF
l452. His descendant. Robert Ker. was
promoted to the Earldom of Rox-
burghe by King James !. OF Great
Britain in recognition of the services
rendered by his father and grand
father to that monarch's mother.
70 ~ mt
OF Roxburghe was raised to the Duke
dom Of Roxburghe by George /. for his
services as Secretary OF State.
With regard to Lord Lascelles, the
new owner OF Chesterfield House, he
will be remembered in New York as a
frequent visitor here when serving as
II. d. e. on the staff OF Lord Grey and
OF the late Lord Mimic during their re-
spective terms OF Office AS Governor
General OF Canada. Lord SIasceiIes,
who is Major OF the Grenadier Guards
and who was wounded IN France a
couple of years ago while serving with
his regiment, is the eldest son and
heir Of the Earl of Hardwood. He in
herited not long ago an independent
fortune amounting to several millions
of pounds sterling from his grand
uncle. the late Marquis OF Clanricarde
of unholy memory, who was so widely
known for his eccentricities and for
his cruel and relentless warfare
against his Irish tenantry: a warfare
in which 1t is only fair TO state the
British Government was usually ar
rayed not with him but against him.
that Is TO say. on the side of his un.
fortunate tenants.