The Washington times., 1920-10-10


she secured IN snnulnent Of the marriage.
Onc Of the Of this Marquis was the famous Lord
Alfred Douglas who the associate and the defender
Of Oscar Wilde All Who remember the interesting Wilde
scandals win remember his friend Lord Alfred Douglaa
Lord Alfred had attained high repute dletants.
dabb,er in sxt end literature and known Of
tho most prominent Of the generations csthetcs he
popular London society and widely known abroad
His association with the poet Wilde was however.
disastrous 10 him. For many years he was the subject Of
rdicule and great contempt
Another son, Lord Sholto Douglas, came early to
America He announced that he would seek In ttis
try to retrieve the good name Of his family erhaps
satisfy the demands made by the relative Of his ancestor
who had taken the castle and estates Of the Queens
berrys He to work for rairoad with the switch
gang in Washington State for 81 day Later he joined
the engineering squads and received practical training
England and with this went into Texas, where he had
considerable saecess amateur rancher and sheep
raiser Soon his fortune mounted and he enabled
to pay of of the debts Of his elder brother the heir
the title and disgraced younger brother Lord Alfred
seemed indeed. IL the castle to be rewon and
the Queensberrys restored to their proud estate.
Just then. however. Lord Sholto saw dancing girl
who struck his fancy She Loretta Mooney and the
stage upon which she danced the smoky platform of
miners music hall in of the mining camps of Texas
She was very progressing young woman pretty ac-
cordng to dance hall standards and pleased to ind
cate to Lord Douglas that she welcomed his interest in
her, There drinking party at which many bottles
Of champagne were consumed The next day there was
hasty marriage and Lord Shoto had made the dancing
girl Of the music halls his wife. . S.. .....
Like many Of the bizarre young persons the Queens
berrys have married Loretta Mooney proved to be an
exceptional young She her newly acquired
"sdyship" with grace and surprising refinement When
she appeared in England she heartily snubbed, of
course but she bore herself with such and
hibted much pose that soon she was taken up by
society and her marriage to Lord Shoto generally
forgiven The Duke Of Bucceuch declared that il the
other Queensberys would marry well and behave them
selves well had Lord Sholto he believed the castle
eventually could be passed back to them.
Then Lady Shoto heard that the Hope Diamond
be sod entail broken by the English the
request Of Lord Francis who had said that having lost
he did not want to keep jewel which he valued
much less than the he had lost Proud of her posi-
ton and eager take advantage of any opportunity
the envy OF those who had nubbed her and whom
at heart she never really had forgiven, Lady Sholto
pleaded with her husband to purchase the great diamond
for her.
At the auction sale Lord Sholto was the highest bidder
1t took virtually all his fortune to pay for the stone
but he could not refuse the peadngs Of his pretty wife
Soon the newspapers announced that Lord Shoto had
become the of the beautiful gem and had presented
it to his wife, the former dancing girl.
For time it appeared that the evil spell of the dia
mond had been broken Lord Sholtos father had died
meantime, and the Marquis, Lord Sholto's elder
brother, had acquired fortune Of his He had trav
ced into almost every corner of the world and while he
had married poor girl, she not actress Lord
Alfred living down the memory Of his association
with Oscar Wilde and many members Of the exclu
ve society Of London had begun think perhaps he had
been wronged.
But not for long, after Lord Shoo became the owner
Of the Hope Diamond, did this serenity rest upon the
affairs of the different members of the family
The then Warehouses Of Queensberry, nlaw Of
Lord Shoto, died suddenly The Marquis came to Amer
lea and specuaed the New York Stock Exchange and
lost all his money He wandered into Ceylon and became
plantation foreman He acquired another fortune as
gold miner but after tour Of the world was unable to
make good without considerable delay $3.50 which a
broker friend had obtained at the Waldorf Hotel in New
York a check Endorsed by the Marquis which
turned marked without funds
He married after time Mary Louise, the daughter
Of Ernest Morgan rich poultry dealer Of Cardiff Wales
She died shortly after their marriage leaving the Mar
uu in charge OF the poultry business she had inherited
from her father He extended this business clear
Europe, showing keen executive ability, but he never
able to obtain large proatS