Evening star., 1923-11-10
BY THE MAaaUIsE DE FoNTENoY.

BY THE MARQUISE DE FONTENOY.
Premier Stanley Baldwin's sale last
week OF his beautiful town house.
SO Eaton square. upon which he, and
especially Mrs Baldwin, have spent
so much money and care, must be
taken as an indication that they look
forward to quite a prolonged tenure
Of 10 Downing street, once the home
of the Harvard graduate, Sir George
Downing, and which, for some two
centuries or more, has been the Off
cial residence of the prime ministers
of the British empire. Stanley Bald
win is there to stay. despite the an
ticipations of Lloyd George of an
early return to tho historic premises.
The names of Devereux and de
Bohun figure so largely in the his
tory OF England, notably in connec-
tion with the reign OF Queen Eliza
beth and the regime OF Oliver Crom-
well, that the announcement that St
Margarets. Westminster. the parish
church Of the two houses OF parlia-
ment, is TO be the scene December
next of the marriage between Rob-
ers Godfrey de Bohun Deyereux. lieu
Audrey Meakin, daughter of the
Countess of Sondes and niece Of Lady
Cayzer. is calculated to arouse at
tention. for the young guardsman,
the grandson and heir presumptfve
Of the octogenarian Lord Hereford,
sixteenth peer Of his line and. like
wise. premier viscount of England.
x r X
Although the old gentleman sue
ceeded to the family honors close
upon seventy years ago, he has, by
reason of mental affiiction, been under
upon half century and has only
once, during all that period, been
seen for a few moments in the house
Of lords, when he was brought b
town by his medical attendants and
keepers from his country place, Ash
wood Hall, near Ludlow-where he
has been confined-in order to cast
his vote as an hereditary legislator
against the Gladstone Irish home
rule bill on the occasion of it's de-
feat by the house of lords. For.
whereas mental affiiction invalidates
there is nothing to prevent a peer
who Is bereft Of his reason from
the exercise OF his constitutional
right, even though the fortune and
empire with its 100000, 900 people
of every race and hue and creed may
depend On that one particular vote.
Old Lord Hereford Is the son of a.
clergyman, and his eldest son and
heir-that is to say, the father of the
ried to Lady Sondes' daughter at St
Margaret's, Westminster next month
is a chairman of quarter sessions
and county magnate in Brecknock-
known as Tregoyd.
The Devereuxs, who hail from Nor
mandy: have held lands in England
ever since the reign of William the
Conqueror Sir Walter Devereux
supported the house OF York in the
wars Of the roses. Walter Dever-
eux was created first viscount Here
ford by King Henry VIII in 1850 for
he was succeeded by his grandson as as
second viscount and by the latter's
son, the third viscount The latter,
as Earl of Essex, was the Inflated
after Raising aaen im to the 1aGaa hishest no Son
ers-namely, to the dignities of earl
| marshal of the realm and of viceroy
of Ireland-turned against him and
ha hoa to to the be sas Sshsaesd os to as the
nation, but to her. senile love, in
1901. His son, by the widow of Sir
Philip Sidney. who succeeded as
fourth viscount Hereford. fought,
first of all, under the nag of Charles
IL, but afterward deserted his cause
and became a general In the army
of Oliver Cromwell. From that time
forth the viscounty of Hereford. which
must not be confounded with the Sey-
mour marquisate of Hereford, has con-
tinued to the present day.
X X
| As for the future Viscount Here
lfords bride, she made her debut