Evening star., 1924-02-08
BY THE MARaU1sE DE F'oNTENoY.


When official mourning is pro-
claimed by foreign rulers the ENJOYS
accredited to his government are re-
quired by International comfy and
diplomatic etiquette to conform to his
wishes and to adopt outward SEM
different the defunct may have been
to the minister's government. The
observance Of Official mourning is
particularly incumbent upon the am
bassadors, who, in a far more special
degree than q mere minister's, are
supposed to represent the personality
of their ruler and. as such, occupy a
high official position as his court or
in his encourage and are regarded as
part and parcel of his official family.
Queen Victoria had a perfect army OF
German relatives, some of them quite
obscure. But whenever any of them
died she would order a more or less
extended term of court mourning, in
which the foreign diplomatic corps
in London was compelled to take part.
And when Napoleon III and Empress
Eugene died In exile in England at
an interval Of more than forty, years
and the court of st. James was or
dered into official mourning by the
British sovereign even the ambaSSa-
dor Of the republic Of France was,
court and official family, obliged to
don habiliments of woe, to put all his
servants into mourning liyerieS and
to cancel all festivities which he
might have planned For violating
this caSt-iron rule and for declining
to withdraw his invitations for big
dinner two days after the receipt in
England of the news OF the tragic
death in South Africa OF the exiled
Prince Imperial Of France, the Mar
quls Of Montebello, then charge daft
faires Of France in London. was
stance by his government to another
post.
Under the circumstances some one
in Congress should ask whether in
declining to comply with President
official mourning for Woodrow Will
son. and in refusing to put his ma
tional flag at half mast, save under
compulsion during the active funeral.
or to take any other notice of the
day on the pretext that he was only
q private citizen, the German am
bassador At Washington, who is a
business man, was acting through ig-
norance of diplomatic custom or
whether In view of the insulting
fclcEcuCCS III tue IoIIldA press, ~
was meant as q deliberate slur upon
the memory of Woodrow Wilson and
a gross effront to President Coolidge
and the American people.
Young Lord Foley and his rather
pretty wife have through their law
yers appealed to the London police
authorities at Scotland Yard for pro-
lection against a persecution to which
they have been subjected for some
two or three months past in the
form Of a series Of anonymous let
ters conveying all kinds Of threats
and menaces against Lady Foley and
against their little boy, who was
christened at st. Mary's Church,
Bryanston square, in London in Sep
tember last, Gen. the Hon:
Sir Arthur Stanley, brother OF the
Earl Of Derby. secretary Of state for
being present in the role of god
father. simultaneously other equally
anonymous missives couched in q
different form Of typewriting have
been received by Lady Foley demand
verse threats, the lawyers and the
police having reason to believe that
they emanate from tho same source.
Tho person under suspicion, though
no success has attended as yet the
| her, is . woman Of title and of some
notoriety. Sooner or later the au-
thorities will succeed in securing the
necessary evidence against her and
then her arrest and her trial are
certain to create a sensation and to
result In q cause celebre." Lady
Foley's health has been to such an
extent affected by the persecution
that she has had to retire to a nursing
homo and all sorts: of precautions
have been taken with regard to the
safety Of her baby boy.
A curious feature Of the affair was
| the secrecy observed in connection
with Lord and Lady Foley's marriage