The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-10-07
GAVE ALL FOR LOVE DUKEDON SACRIFICED
 TO KEEP A PROMISE

L. Sdon, Oct Lord George Vel lesley. one of the great G7randsons of the Duke of Wellington, has decided to make his home in the United States because of his determination to be rue to the woman he loves, and to keep the promise made to his dead brother, Lord Richard, who was killed in the first j.ttle of YDres.
 The lady ill the case is Lady Pane 1 Ia Wellesley, the dau- hter of the Knight of Kerry, and herself named after the beautiful Pamela Fitzgerald, the ill-fated wife of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who lest his life in the Irish Rebellion of 179S.
 In the days before the war the brothers Richard and George Welles- ley met and loved this daughter of the Kerry Knight, and Richard married her. When the call came he went to the front, leaving his wife and chiI- dren and Ireland. In France he made his brother promise that if any thing happened, the widow and chiI- dren would be made his special charge. There was no secret about the love borne by the younger Dro.-.- CT for the wife of Lord E. 1ard, and it was because he knew of the sheer ity of the feeling that the elder broth CT was convinced that if he were call ed on to make the great sacrifice, his wife and two children would be well cared for by his brother.
 Gave Up Everything The promise asked for was g7ven and in the course of time Lord Rich ard fell gauantIy fighting with his men at Npres. Lord George was then in the air service, and was seeing ser vice in all parts of the worlu He fought in France, and Egypt, having the distinction of being the first Brit isl airman to fly across the desert.
 h Italy, also, he saw service, but in the end doctors stepped in, and he was invalided out so far as fighting actively was concerned. He was then sent on a special mission to Washing ton, where he remained until he was l "demobbed" a few weeks ago. Then he came home on a brief visit to his friends, and startled them by an nouncing his determination to seek a home in America, giving up career, prospects his rights of succession to the DukedOnl, and even suffering pc cuniary loss for the sake of the wom- an he loves and the promise made to the dead brothers.
 The law in this country does not recognize marriage to the widow of a teCeaSGu DTOLIeE, lhOuSu IL IS 46Stl lO marry a deceased wife's sister. The only course open to Lord George therefore, was to marry his sister-in- law in the United States and settle with her there. This he has done, and his visit to this country was for the purpose of winding up his affair here.
 Too Sacred
 Asked why he had taken this. course, Lord George said, What oth- CT course could l take? It was not only that I love the lady who is now my wife; that the two children of my brother were very dear to me; but there was the promise I made to him a promise too sacred to be ignored. I think the law in this country on this subject is unfair, and requires to be altered. I intend to use what influence I possess to have it altered, but in the meantime, l cannot leave the woman love and the children to go through life without the protection and care can give them.
 "Our law allows a man to marry the sister of his deceased wife, so why should it not be possible for him to marry his deceased brothers wife. There is much to be said for it, and there is no real affinity of birth to. serve as . bar to. the marriage. q do not think that even the Church has anything to say about the matter. It is just that the law here has never expressly specified that i such marriage could be solemnized. ! Therefore. I must go to the United | States, where they take more sen i sible view of the position. If I live over here it means that we live un 1 der conditions that lay us open to ;,T l T am not insensible of all I lose by 1 leaving the home I love. It means i tearing myself up by the roots, seek i ing a domicile in the States, and be- 1 coming @ plain American Citizen in 1 stead of being Lord George Welles- i ley. I am content to make the sacri- flee, for I make it for love- i Our Duty to Love 1 On the same subject, Lady Pamela said: ''I too, have to abandon home 1 anl the social life I could enjoy in l this country, but We must obey the ! dictates of our own hearts, and carry out the wishes of my dead husband. l We are denied recognition in this l country and the only way to obtain | our rights is to become citizens of the United States.
 l Naturally regret all that is i'm i piled by our voluntary exile from the land of our birth, but we cannot wait
 until the law is altered. We have our duty to our love for each other, to the dead, and to the children. The | duty We must fulfil at whatever cost 1 to ourselves"
 The death of Lord Richard Welles- ley was not certain for some time, but
 when it was clear beyond doubt that he had been killed, the widow and l brother decided to take the step which has now driven them into vol untary exile for the rest of their lives,
 or at any rate until the law in this 1 country is altered.
 Harshness anG the Tlaw
 The decision of the two has excit-
 ed widespread interest and they have received many congratulations on
 their moral courage in taking 3, step
 what places them technically outside
 the law of this country. They have 1 also received many assurances of
 sympathy and good wishes from | friends in this country, who recognize l the I,arSbneSS of the law which drives