THE SUNDAY OREGONTA7T, PORTLAND, JULY 19, 1914.
, r 1
. - 1 ,
Tracing Back
Old England's
First Families
The Fasllr Tree Tell Same Strange
Stories at Medieval Intrleme, Yet
Aristocrat Are Prund of Them.
THE pride of England, her strength
and her boast the English peer
age and all It stands for. Is prac
tically founded on the bar sinister. So
Interwoven, so entangled are the rami
fications of the natural descendant of
the King of England that there !
scarcely a dukedom, scarcely an earl
dom or baronetcy which cannot claim
In some direct or remote way descent
from the royal line. And far from
hiding this testimony to the licen
tiousness and debauchery of the 16th
and 17th centuries, these descendants
proudly display the fact on coats of
arms and In family documents.
The witty epigrammlst who said that
the House of Lords was made up of
two classes, those whose great-grandfathers
the King had delighted to
honor and those who great-grandmothers
the King had delighted to dis
honor, was pretty nearly correct after
all.
Of all the Kings who have helped to
complete that honorable list of titles
none was so varied or so notable as
Charles II. Charles II is responsible
for the blot on the 'scutcheon of the
great majority of the English nobles.
Married early to Catherine of Bra
ganza, for whom he cared not at all,
and who gave him no heir to the
throne, nor any daughter who might
make a successful alliance with a
powerful ruling house, he turned to a
series of brilliant and beautiful
women, and his court and his reign
have become noted as the most profli
gate of history.
History gives us the names and
dates of It of his illegitimate children,
to all of whom he gave titles and
honors and delighted to bring up in
splendor and glory. And there are,
without question, countless others who
were born Into noble and respected
families; girl who should later marry
Cukes and Marquise, and boy who
should inherit their supposed fathers"
titles and lands. For Charles was a
noted favorite with all the women of
his court, and even many of those
against whom no other breath of scan
dal has ever been raised were power
less to withstand his charm and fas
cination. His first son. James, the Duke of
Monmouth, was the child of Lucy
Walters, a lovely but half-witted
Welsh girl, daughter of a clergyman.
James Crofts, as he was called before
the patents for later titles were given
him. was brought up as a spoiled
youngster, both at the court of Charles
and of Louts XIV. In 1663 he married
Anne. Countess and afterward Duchess
of Buccleuch, a Dukedom which
Charles bestowed on both on the day
of the marriage.
James later rebelled and conspired
against his father, and was executed
In 1685, but although his title of Duke
of Monmouth was forfeited, the other
Dukedom went down to his son Fran
cis, the second Duke, and has remained
In direct inheritance to the present
Duke of Buccleuch today.
From this marriage of Anne and
James Croft were born six children,
and to mention even the more impor
tant of their descendants would take
more time and space than newspaper
xlgencles permit.
There are, of course, the direct heirs
of the ducal house, the Earl of Dal
heith and his son. Lord Whitchester.
Then there are the earldoms of Home.
Of Courtown and of Romney. and the
title which takes higher precedence in
the roll call of the peerage, the Mar
quess of Lothian and the beautiful
Marchioness of Strafford, and conse
quently the heirs of the title.
Then come the Viscountesses Coke
and Katherine Hampden. Baron Clinton.
Lady Constance Cairns. Lady Montague,
Lady Ardee, Lady Stafford and scores
mora
Lucy Walters, the ancestress of the
Duke of Buccleuch, never played more
than a momentary part In the life and
amours of Charles scarcely as much as
Peg Hughes or Mary Davis, two noted
actresses of the period, whose children
were afterward made Countesses and
Duchesses and married to some of the
finest catches in England.
But the one woman who played the
most Important role In Charles' life
was the beautiful Nell Gwynne, whose
laughing Impudence, whole - hearted
kindness and naive eternal chlldltke
ress won her the affection of the whole
English people, even when they were
groaning under the burden of Louise
de Querouallles' Intrigues and ex
travagance. .
Neil Gwynne was from the beginning
of her life to the end a "child of the
people." She never affected the graces
and styles of the courtesans or the so
' dety women, and, though her language
often smacked of the gutter rather
than of the drawing-room, there was
not a wit in London nor a writer of
that brilliant court who did not relish
a talk with her. She loved Charles for
himself. She never concerned herself
with political matters, nor tried to
bring about her own advancement. She
spent money yes. but only as it was
showered upon her, and it was only the
ridiculous ambition and pretensions of
the Duchess of Cleveland that made
Nell desire a title for her son.
She never asked one for herself,
though a little while before the King's
death be was drawing up a patent to
make her a countess, much against the
wishes of the nobility, who, though
they liked her, thought it an Insult to
admit her to the rank of the other
mistresses who were of noble blood.
When three of Charles' other children
had been given titles and Nell had
asked for on in vain, she affectionate
ly called to her little son when the
King was playing with him one day.
"Come here, you little ." and with
look of feigned apology she said sad
ly to the King: "I know not by what
other title to call him. since be has no
name."
.The King was angry, but, could not
how It. and the next day the patent
waa made out for Charles Beauclerc.
Duke of St. Albans, and Nell was happy.
On hi death bod Nell was the only
one that Charles thought of. and his
last words were a prayer to James,
"Don't let poor Nelly starve."
Charles' death meant almost total
ruin to Nell, aside from the sorrow at
the loss of the man to whom she was
devotedly attached. Unlike Louise,
he had never amassed huge holdings,
or been given grants during her reign.
She sold practically verythlng. and
The American Girl Abroad
By Harrison Fisher
- "i fciA rant X ... i- '.. 5
It was in Venice that He joined hei. j; .
Back home, in letters bearing foreign postmarks that reached his reading able all too
infrequently, he had heard of the monocled Lord who had paid court to her while she was
in London although the letter did not put it that way exactly. But he did. in his desperate
love for the only girl in the world for him. ... , t
He had also come to learn of the jolly Irish squire with the clear tenor voice who for
a whole day. had sung for her the songs his fathers used to sing. Nor was he without
knowledge of a certain French Count of very aristocratic lineage and very exquisite man
ners who had pointed out to her the delights of Bois. And confound him along with the
rest that Dutch officer of the Queen's guard, with his gold lace and big blue eyes and
flaxen hair, and cheeks as red as a schoolboy's from constant contact with the North
Ad.'so, one morning, in his jealousy of all mankind, and especially of the gentlemen
above enumerated, he had left business to go to hang if it would and taken a steamer tor
Europe and her. And it was in Venice, favored among cities these many centuries by
poets and lovers, that he joined her. .
Grimly determined that no descendant of a doge of the old republic should point out
to her the glorious sights of his beloved city, or otherwise show favor to her. he turned her
ardent courier and guide. Together, while a swarthy son of the ancient mistress of the
European trade routes stood on the poppa of their gondola and hummed the languorous love
songs of the Adriatic they wound in and out of the Grand Canal and its lesser rivals, view
ing the noble Gothic palaces along their banks that the patricians of the republic began to
build when Venice had attained the commercial queenship of the Western world.
Guide book in hand to aid him. he revealed to her the palace of the doges and its won
ders, the great internal court surrounded with arcading. the giants staircase, the state apart-
.1 -f :l -1 1 ..1... h tei-nhle I nunc rr en was
ments ot the doge. Uie magninceni council iiidiuucis ii"- -
V. TN VENICE.
wont to sit in secret and mete out life and death, and the Bridge of Sighs leading over the
separating canal to the state prisons, and across which many a noted citizen ot the ancient
republic walked to his doom. . , ,
He showed her the remarkable guild halls; the arsenal. Venice s most famous insti
tution, famous even in Dante's day. with its history and activities unbroken from the re
public's earliest days; and the works of Tintoretto. Paolo Veronese Titian and all the
others whose brushes brought immortal artistic glory to Venice he sought out that she might
behold them. And St. Mark's, with its Campanile, unique among the buildings ot he
world in respect of its unparalleled richness of material and decoration, adorned with the
spoils of countless other buildings, both in the East and on the Italian mainland, because
of his tireless offices was as an open book to her wondering gaze.
Thus her stay in Venice was made happy. And now was come the night when he
must cease gliding about in a gondola with her at his side and take tram back to the New
World; and she must prepare to travel still further on towards the magic East: hey were
standing in the shadow of the wonderful church, and the great square stretched before them,
the moon silvering all the works of man and the waters of the lagoon encircling them. Tomor
row she would be speeding away from him. and he from her. The thought steeled him to
action, and on the very spot where for hundreds of years world history 'had been made he
asked the momentous question of his life and heard her hps whisper the one word he had
hardly dared to hope she would speak. Vanished instantly all jealous thought of English
Lord, and jolly Irish squire, and gallant Frenchman, and Dutch officer of the guards
Vanished, too. the historic scenes about them and they two were alone m the world, each
in all to the other, under the soft Venetian moon.
(Copyright, 1914, by the Wheeler Syndicate. Inc.)
Next week another episode in the life of "The American Girl Abroad" will be depicted.
i
when there was Imminent danger of
her being thrown into prison for her
unpaid bills she wrote James, who had
not forgotten his brother's last request.
He paid off her debts, gave her $7000 a
year for life, and later gave her Betts
wood Park in Nottinghamshire, an
estate which remains part of the
hereditary property of the present
Duke of St Albans.
Thar ax over 80 of the most prom
inent peers in Great Britain who have
In their veinB the blood of Charles II
and Nell Gwynne, the darling of the
people. Among these honorable names
are such as the Duke of St. Albans, the
Dowager Duchess of Sutherland and
the present Duke, the Earls of West
moreland, Normanton, Nelson, Claren
don, Essex, Suffolk and Fitzwllllam.
The Earl of Essex is the wealthy land
owner who married Mrs. Beach Grant,
of New York, as his second wife.
And then there are such well-known
names as Viscountess Helmsley, the
Earl of Rosslyn. and Lord Hyde, and a
score of others.
Only a few years ago the present
Duke of Richmond, one of the de
scendants of another mistress of
Charles II. lived in comfortable en
joyment of a hereditary annuity of
$100,000 a year. But a book was pub
lished in Paris giving the details of
the original grants to Louise, and in
the next edition of the Financial Re
form Almanac it was noted that the
Duke's pension had been commuted by
a sum of nearly half a million sterling.
Naturally, there is no longer any per
sonal feeling against the Duke of Rich
mond, but it seemed eminently wrong
that the crown should pay out such a
hug sum of money as the result of
Louise de Queroualles, who betrayed
both her lover and her King.
Counted with the strain are 12 Earls,
two Marqueses, three Viscounts and
numberless Barons and Lords. Among
the prominent Earldoms Involved are
those of March, Percy, DartmDUth, Al
bemarle, Craven (he married the Ameri
can, Miss Martin). Leicester and Berke
ley. The beautiful Marchioness of Ham
ilton, who will one day be Duchess of
Abercorn, was also a Gordon-Lennox,
How Spartans
Put Eugenics
Into Practice
However. Ancient Father Woolrf lie
Arrested These Day for hurt
Abandonment and Cither Crimea.
ffrtlHE thing which hsth been.'
I remarked King Solomon ones
in a moment of ennui, "It l
tht which 1 done Is that which shall
be done: and thtre is no new thing
under the sun."
Now, this Is not going to be a story
about King Solomon, edifying as that
might be. but a talo of Sparta, where
they practiced eugenics and the simple
life long before Sir Fruncls Galton and
Dr. Charles Wagner broached their
theories for bettering this vale of
tears.
Sparta was the original home of the
simple life. It was in the southern
part of Greece, and for some time was
one of Athens' principal rival. Th
Athenians affected corn and contempt
for the Spartans, calling them low
brows and asserting that they had no
appreciation of art and culture and the
higher things of life, but any profound
student of history can tell you that art
connoisseurs have not won the ten de
cisive battles of the world. Consider
Napoleon, for Instance. Napoleon's
tastes ran to the hoarts and flowers
style of decoration and gilded wreaths
with statues of hlmaelf under thorn,
but when It cam to stretching a
boundary line he was on of th
world's best little go-getter.
Thus It was with the. Spartans. They
lived at first in a town that slmpl It
didn't even have a wall around It. and
there wasn't much trouble with Intru
ders, either. Th Spartan shields and
the men behind them formed a suffi
ciently discouraging barrier. They
paid small attention to decoration, but
they were there with th homely
virtues.
Even the gods the Spartan worshiped
wero the kind that discouraged fri
volity. Tholr principal deities wer
Minerva and Diana Athena and Arte
mis, if you want the Greek names
and if w may trust the society page
of the Olympian Chronicle, neither of
those ladles went In very heavily for
tango teas. They were spinsters, and
very serious minded ones at that. Di
ana caused a young man to be t'irn up
by his own dogs because he Interrupted
her at her bath, though Venus and som
of the rest of the Olympus crowd
would have regarded that as quite a
coy thing to do.
Fighting was the principal business
In Sparta, and orphan asylum nd hos
pitals were not regarded with much
favor by the City Council.
Sparta evolved the theory of the sur
vival of the fittest soveral thousand
years ahead of Darwin, and put it Into
practice. When a child was born in
a Spartan household, the family doctor
was consulted eagerly.
"What about him. doc?" the fond
father would Inquire. "Do you think
he'll ever have a six-Inch chest ex
pansion or be able to qualify as a shot,
putter?"
If the doctor didn't think so. and ex
pressed the opinion that the child pron.
ably would develop Into a ribbon rlrrk
or a professor of ancient languages, th
Spartan parent would grab It som
stormy night and carry It out to Mount
Taygetus outside the town. There the
unfortunate infant was left for a day
or two. If It survived, that was one on
the doctor, and little Laertes or 14
ander or whatever his nme happened
to be was restored to the parental roof,
where he was allowed to remain until
he was 7 years old.
Then they took him over to the men's
camp, where hi real training began.
The Spartan system was designed to
make every masculine citizen a player
of the game, not a rooter. He was
taught how to run and light and hurl
the discus, whereas In Athens all a
good many of them ever threw was the
bull.
Also, the Spartan boys were taught
never to yelp when they were hurt.
Doubtless yc.u remember the Impres
sive story of the Spartan boy who stole
the fox. Why he should have picked
out such a thing to steal Is not clear:
probably the same reason which Im
pels freshmen In colleges to steal beer
signs and barber poles.
The young Spartans were allowed to
marry at the age of 10. However, they
saw their wives only occasionally, be
ing compelled to live at the bachelors'
hall maintained by the state for 10
years longer. Then they were allowed
to start homes, but were obliged to he
ready to Join the village nre brigade
whenever they were called and kept In
active training in the militia
Sparta was ruled by two Kings, who
had little power, except as commanders
of the army, and a Council of It Elders,
chosen for life. There were also a oou
ple of officials called Ephors. who were
really the right and left bowers of the
state and had the privilege of Impeach
ing anybody In town.
It Is not the Intention of this depart
ment to trace the history of Sparta,
but after the Peloponneslan War. which
kept the Spartan army away from home
for a long time, the state gradually
went to pieces. The soldiers had learned
all sorts of luxurious habits, like sleep
ing In real beds, and wearing silk pa
Jamas, and they also brought back with
them gold and silver, which nobody In
Sparta had been allowed to have In
early day. The other Greeks swarmed
In on them, and before long the Spar
tan greatness and virtues had become
only a tradition, which small boys
learned about at school and older ones
by reading newspapers of an uplifting
nature.
The Very Ideal
A gentleman in a provincial town
owns a row of houses and In one of
them live a married son of his who
1 noted for his miserly habits.
This had got to such a pitch that
for several years Us father had been
unable to get a single penny of tho
rent due to him.
As he did not want to take harh
measures, he at last went round to
his son one morning and said:
"Look here, Tom. It's plainly no use
my trying to get any rent out of you
for that house of mine, so I've decided
to give it to you."
"No fear." interposed tho son. "I
shan't have it"
"Why not. pray?" exclaimed the ns
tonlshed parent.
"Because then." replied the un
abashed son. "I'd have to pay the rates
and taxes, and goodness knows they
are heavy enough In this town." From
the Boston Post