Evening star., 1923-11-09
BY THE MARaUIsE DE FoNTENoY.

By THE MARQUIsE DE FONTENOY.
Since London is the seat of govern
ment of Great Britain, and of the SOW
ereignty that extends over all of the
autonomous and other dominions en-
braced in the empire, the military
command of the vast metropolis, with
it's huge population of more than T.
600, 900, exclusive of the several mil
lions more comprised in what Is
known as the London district COM
mand. imposes a heavy burden of re-
sponsibility upon the shoulders of the
general to whom il Is intrusted. For
the empire looks to him, more than to
any one man. for the safety of the
reigning house, of the government
and of that colossal amount of treas
ure and business which contributes to
render London not only the admins
trative but also the business and eco
nomic hub of that great wheel en-
bracing the empire.
Under the circumstances, the ap-
pointment of Gen. Lord Ruthven to
the military command of the metro
politan district calls for more than
passing attention, especially here in
America. for Lady Ruthven has a
strong strain of American blood in
her veins. She is granddaughter of
old Sir Curtis Lampson of New York.
who. commencing as a Vermont farm
hand, eventually managed to secure
the good will of the original John
Jacob Astor. became his resident
agent in London. was thereupon as
sociated with Cyrus w. Field in lay
ing the first transatlantic cable, and.
after abandoning his American citi-
zenship and securing a British natu-
ralization. was created haronet for
the part which he played in the cable
enterprise.
Lord Ruthven (whose name must be
pronounced as If written "Riven') is
q soldier by profession, won the dis
tinguished service order in the Boer
campaign of 1899, as well as no less
than ten clasps to his two medals,
and then received the orders of the
Bath and of ST. Michael and ST.
George, as well as the Legion of Honor
and many other distinctions In the
great war; in which he served as coll
onel OF the Scots Guards, as brigadier
and as major general. His two broth
ers also are soldiers, namely, Alex
ander, who is in command of the
Welsh Guards and who has both the
Victoria cross and the distinguished
service order, and Christian, who is in
command Of the Black Watch - all
three. therefore, true to the traditions
of their wonderfully picturesque old
father. the tenth Lord Ruthven. who
tpassed away three years ago at the
@F OF
eran Of the Crimean war of 1855, of
the Indian mutiny of 1857 and of the
Abyssinian campaign of 1868, and
when refused permission, by reason
of his advanced age, to rejoin his old
regiment, the Rife Brigade, at the
outbreak of the great war in 1914, Sc
cured an appointment as a volunteer
kings messenger, and spent all his
time in carrying dispatches from the
War Department in Whitehall to the
by airpIane. Indeed, he may claim
to have been, as an octogenarian, the
oldest flying officer In the war; his
one pleasure being in visiting the
most advanced lines during the inter-
walls of his aerial trips. when he was
repeatedly under fire.
Lord Ruthven has no sons and, con-
seQuently, his old Scotch barony.
Ruthven of Freeland, will go to his
| eldest daughter Bridget, now wife OF
| the Earl Of Carlisle, while his Eng
| lish barony, by virtue of which he
sits in the house of lords, will go to
| his brother, the Hon. Aiexander
Ruthven, v. c., commanding the
Welsh Guards.
The name and title of Lord Ruth.
| ven are familiar to all students OF
Scottish history. For the third Lord
Ruthven was the principal actor, in
| the murder OF Rizzio, the trouba-
| dour favorite Of Mary Queen OF
Edinburgh. His successor, the fourth
lord. was the hero of the historic
! raid of Ruthven which aimed at the
1 kidnapping of her son. James VI OF
| Scotland, and James I Of England
while this. lords son. in turn was
killed in tne so-called Gowrie con-
/ spiracy, which had for its object the
assassination Of this self-same mon