Evening star., 1923-07-08
Historic Sackville Art Collection
''s Being Sold i'm London at Auction

seventeenth and eighteenth cen
turtles, a series Of old French bronze
vases. modelled by Claude Balm.
number of Louis XIV clocks. dozens of
Buhl cabinets. etc. In fact, it is long
since 30 marvellous collection OF
foreign and English art has come
into the London market.
1t is only fair to add that the
Queen Catherine Parr diamond neck
lace. composed of the finest Golconda
stones, are not in their original
Tudor setting. The necklace, in some
way or other. came into the posses
sion Of George Selwyn in the latter
part Of the eighteenth century and
he had 1t entirely reset for Maria
Fagniani, who, according to some,
was his natural daughter-accordin
TO others. merely his ward, and who
became the Marchioness Of Hertford
and in that way the mother Of Sir
Richard Wallace. She was renown-
ed for the number of her fathers"
for she inherited a fortune from her
mothers husband, the Italian Mar
Quis Fagniani,. who owned great es-
tates in Italy and Sicily: she inherit
ed another fortune from George Sell
wyn, who in his will referred to her
as MS ,daughter. while the so-called
wicked" old Duke of Queensberry,
who figures only in history by rea :
son Of his shocking and shameless
depravities and great wealth, left
her $S.000.000. as we'll as a number Of
houses. country places and property
nd -,
designating her in his will as his
Perhaps it was on account of this
peculiar parentage that the Fagniani
make a good wife. A few years after
marrying the fourth marquis. in 1900.
she virtually separated from him and
took up her abode in Paris. She
was there during the first decade of
the nineteenth century, when Ma
England. went to the length of de-
tanning in France in quasi-captivity
all the English who happened TO be
In the country at the time. During
the three years that this captivity
lasted and during which Lady Hert-
tercourse with England, where her
husband had remained. she gave
birth to q son of whom Marshal
Junot. Duo d'Abrantes, was the
1atner, ana VINO was known In after
life as Lord Henry Seymour.
X X TX II
The third Lord Hertford never took
any steps to repudiate the paternity
of Lord Henry Seymour, who died
unmarried. But there is no doubt
that if he had survived the father
and his elder brother, his succession
to the marquisite and to the entailed
Hertford estates would have been
Fagniani Marchioness of Hertford,
still separated from her husband and
still resident In Paris, gave birth
there to a third son, Of whom she
never definitely admitted herself to
be the mother. She realised that
1t would be preposterous to attempt
to father the boy on her husband. or
and, accordingly, gave him the name
her until .her death as a sort OF
adopted. child, the offspring of some
dear departed friend or relative, and
he was. devoted In his attentions to
her.
Richard Wallace earned popular
sympathy and good will In England
and in France by his well nigh
boundiess philanthropy during the
German siege Of Paris and Commune
insurrection, throughout the whole
OF which he fed crowds, and cared
for at his own expense the entire
Englisfr destitute population OF The
yrsnoh metropolis, besides 'organis-
N