Evening star., 1923-08-13

of the dynasty. by way of warning
the individual in question that his or
her last hour is at hand The BAN
shee goes among the people of Neck
lenburg by the name of "Petermann."
! and a much battered statue repre-
senting him as a dwarf with an alb
normally long body and ridiculously
abbreviated legs in the dress of the
fifteenth century has, from time i'm
memorial. occupied a niche in the
wall of one of the courtyards of the
palace None of the many fires to
which the palace has been subjected
has ever touched him, and he bids
fair to continue for many years to
over the destinies OF the former
grand duke. OF his British Brunswick
consort and of his three children, the
eldest now boy of thirteen.
x
The former grand duke. who still
retains his ancient title of Prince Of
| the Vandals, is still a comparatively
young man. being only forty-one
years age. Yet already he is COM
| pletely bald. He was born at Pa
| lermo of a Russian mother the late
such familiar figure to all trans
| atlantic residents and visitors to
Cannes and the French Riviera. where
| she may be said to have made her
permanent home. more especially
after the tragic death of her husband.
the late grand duke. who was one OF
| the hitterest adversaries of Emperor
William. He was found dead of a
broken neck under a viaduct which
| passed over a public roadway running
through the park of his property at
Cannes. According to some, he fell
over the parapet during an attack of
vertigo. According to others, he COM
mitted suicide, while there were
! plenty of people who did not hesitate
| to impute his violent death to Ber-
| lin Vaccinations, since he was a
sworn opponent of Berlin policies.
and during the long minority of his
son and successor the regency was
administered by one of his uncles.
devoted to the cause Of the Hohen-
Zollerns.
Incidentally, it may be mentioned
that the "Almanach de Gotha" for
the present year places. for the first
time. on official record, the brief
matrimonial alliance of the scape-
grace and much married former Duke
Henry Borwin of Mecklenburg with
the former Natalie Oelrichs of New
York. daughter of Mr.. and Mrs.
Charles Oelrichs of that city and
! widow of Peter Martin of San Fran
cisco, Calf. 1t may be remembered
| been ousted by former Emperor VIII
| liam from the German army for gross
| financial irregularities involving his
| expatriation, contracted at Dover in
| England, In defiance of the laws then
in existence in Germany and Meek
! lenburg, a morganatic marriage with
the former Elizabeth Tibbitts of AL
! bany, y. Y, widow OF Amede Gas
| quet-James of New Orleans and New
York. The union was promptly an
nulled by the imperial courts of Ger
many and by the grand ducal tri-
| bunals of Mecklenburg as invalid.
and when Mrs. Gasquet-James ap-
pealed to the English courts for its
recognition on the ground that the
union had been contracted at Dover,
cided against her. Finally it was an
nulled by the Church of Rome. both
/, parties being Roman Catholics.
The young duke. who was earning
| mis- living in America as salesman for
/ a French automobile concern at the
time of the outbreak of the war.
made his way back to Germany under
| rather adventurous circumstances as
stoker on board Swedish freighter,
narrowly escaping recognition and
into Kirkwall for examination and
investigation by the British authori-
| ties.
1t was frequently reported, but
1
duke had thereupon contracted
another matrimonial alliance with
young Mrs. Peter Martin. 1t was i'm
possible to obtain anything definite
on the subject. Eut the Almanach
de Gotha for 1928, the pages OF which
relating to the formerly sovereign
house Of Mecklenburg have been per-
sonally revised and approved by the
[ grand duke, admits, for the first
time. that the marriage existed be-
| nd
Martin, and that it was sundered by
a divorce at Berlin dated June 1.
1921, the Gotha making a point OF
adding that it was not annulled by
| the Church of Rome. Three months
after the PRONUNCIATION of the decree
of divorce at Berlin, the duke con-
tracted a third marriage, according
| TO Lutheran rites. with certain
Garcia Won Alers of Wiesbaden,
whose previous marriage to man
of the name of Schmidtz had been
| sundered by divorce.