WOMAN'S WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 189, 19 November 1910, Page 6

WOMAN'S WORLD

(Conducted by "Eileen"). SOCIAL NEWS. NEW PLYMOUTH. On Wednesday afternoon Mrs. Ilanna gave a most enjoyable musical "at home,'' with a guessing competition intervening. Among those pre-ent were: Mrs. Ilanna, black skirt, white tucked silk blouse; Mrs. Heard, pretty pale heliotrope costume, hat wreathed with shaded violet roses; Mrs. W. Haworth, dark blue costume, cream silk vest, large black feathered hat; Mrs. A. .Tones; Mrs. (Col.) Messenger, black silk; Mrs. SomersetSmith; Miss Wood, white embroidered coat and skirt; Mrs. Johns. Mrs. Gapper; Miss Gapper, white muslin, black hat; Mrs. Hirst; Miss Roy, white; Miss G. Kay, cornflower blue coat and skirt, black j hat, pink roses; Mrs. Nicholson, black silk; Mrs. Wiggs, pale blue costume, black hat.

Mrs. M. Frascr gave a most enjoyable! bridge party last Thursday evening, and ] the prizes were won by Miss A. Hempton (first) and Miss J. Mackay (second). Amongst those present were: Mrs. Fraser, black silk, relieved with cream lace; Mrs. Paul, black satin, handsome Oriental shoulder scarf; Mrs. Percy AVebster, black 'taffeta skirt, pale blue silk blouse; Mrs. Griffiths (Wanganui), black; Miss A. Hempton, black silk skirt, white silk blouse; Miss Wood, pale heliotrope floral muslin; Miss Grant, black | taffeta, relieved with cream lace.

Mrs. Paul entertained a few friends last Monday evening as a farewell to Dr. Bennett, who left for Blenheim the following morning. Those present included Mrs. Percy Webster, Misses Mackay (2). Miss Cunningham, Miss M. Clarke, l)r. Bennett, and Messrs Paul,- Easther and H. Davies.

Mrs. Heard gave a musical "at home" last Tuesday evening in honor of Mrs. and Miss Gapper. During the evening songs were sung by Misses Gapper, Standish, Warren, Mr. and Mrs. -Johns, and Mr. Rudd. Mrs. Heard received her guests

in a pale blue and white striped voile,

daintily finished with cream lace; Mrs. Capper, saxe-blue eolienne, relieved with cream lace; Miss Gapper, cream silk; Mrs. McCleland, black silk, lovely real lace berthe; Mrs. Bewley, pale blue and white striped voile; Miss Gvven. Bewley, white muslin; Miss Leatham, pale blue striped silk voile, cream lace yoke, slashed with black velvet; Miss Maginnity, cream voile skirt, braided with silk, lace yoke finished with same; Misses Roy (2), white muslin; Miss Fenton, black silk; Miss Read, cream Indian-worked silk; Miss Standish, rose pink voile, cream lace yoke; Miss Stephenson, rich black silk; Mrs. W. Newman, saxe blue silk; Mrg. Hanna, cream silk; Mrs. Chaney, crearti voile, folded silk belt; Mrs. Burgess, cream silk silver-sequinned trimming; Mrs. Johns, golden brown taffeta, cream lace yoke; Mrs. Southall, ruby velvet, cream net sleeves and chemisette; Mrs. McEwan, black silk; Miss Hallett, black satin, silk passementerie trimming; Mrs. Jones, bottle-green velvet, finished with beetle trimming; Mrs. Paul, cream silk; "Mrs. Rudd, cream silk. Amongst the gentlemen were: Messrs Heard, Southall, Rudd, Jones, Burgess, McEwan, Jones,, Ryder, Chaney.

PERSONAL ITEMS. Mrs. Griffiths, who has been visiting New Plymouth, has returned to Wanganui.

Miss K. Hamerton lias been on a short trip to Auckland, but has now returned. Miss Madoline Evans, who has been spending her holidays with her parents in New Plymouth, returned to Wellington yesterday (Friday) morning, she being on the nursing staff in the public hospital. Mrs. W. Webster is visiting her daughter, Mrs. R. Lusk, of ParnelL Auckland. Mrs. P. Wright, Dunedin, is the guest of her sister-in-law, Mrs. H. Stocker, Mew Plymouth. Mrs. Collins, who has been visiting Auckland for some months, is expected home oil Monday morning by the s.s. Rarawa. Miss L. Webster, who lias been the guest of her sister, Mrs. R. Lusk, Parnell, is also'expected home on Monday morning. Miss H. Rawson leaves next Tuesday on a trip to Wellington. Mrs. W. Bewley gave a most enjoyable musical evening last night (Friday) in honor of Mrs. and Miss Capper.

ROYALTY'S PRIVILEGED BIGAMIES.

TWO CASES OF THE MOMENT, AND OTHERS THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE.

World-wide interest in the subject ot morganatic marriages has been revived by the wedding of Prince Victor Napoleon, the Bonapartist pretender to the throne of France, and Princess Clementina of Belgium, and by the recrudescence ol the rumors of an approaching marriage between the Duke of the Abruzzi and Miss Elkins.

Victor Napoleon already has a morganatic wife. The Duke of the Abruzzi cannot make Miss Elkins his wife in any other way without, the consent of his cousin, the King of Italy. As a matter of fact, this is what has stood in the way of the marriage for so long. If Miss Elkins' parents would have consented to a morganatic marriage the ceremony would have been performed long

Morganatic marriage has been defined by Sir Edward Clarke as "privileged bigamy." and, like a good many other privileges, it is confined to royalty. It had its origin in Germany, but it soon became popular in other countries, and there is hardly a royal family in Europe that has not experienced it in the person of one at least of its members.

The institution is based on the theory held hv the lawyers of most European centres that "royalty can only mate with royalty." An alliance, therefore, contracted between a royal person and one of lower birth would not have the binding force of an alliance between equals. In order to overcome the scruples of royal lovers who wished to make the objects of their adoration their wives, the morganatic marriage was invented. This is a marriage which is

perfectly regular as far as the religious side is concerned, and for that matter," as far as the legal side is concerned, too, but its offspring cannot inherit the father's royal honors, and in the event of it becoming necessary for the royal husband at some future time to contract, for dynastic reasons, a marriage with a regular royal bride, the morganatic marriage must not be allowed to stand in the way. A royalty who is already married to a royalty, however, cannot contract a morganatic marriage while his roval wife is alive.

As a matter of fact, morganatic marriages usually turn out uncommonly well. A royal lover who is willing to go to all the trouble and put up with all the gossip and scandal that usually accompany such a marriage is usually willing to stick to the woman of his choice. Indeed, he often relinquishes all claim to his royal inheritances before contracting the marriage. Such was the case of the Grand Duke Michael of Russia and the Countess Torby, who are among the most popular and respected couples in English society. Such was also the case of Prince Oscar of Sweden, who reI nounced his rank to marry Miss Ebba j Monck. one of his mother's ladies-in-"\vaiting. He took the rank of Count, of Wisborg, and the pair are working as Salvation Army officers in Lapland. Another famous case of this kind was that of the Grand Duke of Russia, who took the name of Johann Orth, and dis- ] appeared, after marrying Millie Strubel, an actress. Another famous case of fidelity between a couple morganatically married is that of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary, and the Countess Sophie Chotek. He has been urged by his relatives time and again to contract a royal marriage, but he refuses, and declares that his wife shall reign with him as Empress of Austria, She will reign as Queen of Hungary in any case, for Hungary knows only one kind of marriage, and it is safe to say that, the Austrian law on the subject will be changed before the old Emperor Franz Joseph is cold in his grave. English rovalties have had their share of morganatic marriages in the past. William 111., of England, married the Countess von Borroch morganatically after his wife's death. George I. went through a marriage ceremonv with the Duchess of Kendall; George IV. married Mrs,_ Fitzherbert, an actress; and William IV. t married Mrs. Jordan, their children being known by the name of Fitzclarence. One of the best-known cases of morganatic marriage in England during comparatively recent years was that of the late Duke of Cambridge, Queen Victoria's cousin, to Miss Farebrother, a beautiful and talented actress. They lived happily together for a lifetime, and their children, who are known by the name of Fitz-George, have won high rank and honors in the Army and Xavy. but the Duke's wife was never received at the Victorian Court. Sometimes the descendants of a morganatic marriage regain their Royal status. The father of our present Queen, the Duke of Teck, was the son of one of the Dukes of Wurtemburg by a morganatic wife; and Prince Henry of Battenberg, who married Princess Beatrice, and whose daughter is the .Queen of Spain, was also the descendant of a morganatic marriage by one of the Princes of Hesse.

It has even been said that the wife of that greatest of all sticklers for easte and regularity, the Ivaiser, is only his morganatic wife after all, and the German law courts will be called upon before long to rule on the question, which arose recently when the ICaiserin's brother claimed exemption from certain taxation on account of his royalty. The lower court to which the matter was referred ruled that he wasn't royal at all, but only an ordinary German nobleman. Il the higher courts sustain this view then the Kaiserin is only the Emperor's morganatic wife.

Morganatic marriage seems to run in the blood of the Royal Family of Belgium. Of course, everyone knows about the late King Leopold's marriage to Baroness Vaughan shortly before his death, but it is not so generally known that his father, when a Prince of Saxe-C-oburg and Gotha, married an actress morganatically, and lived with her for a number of years. This marriage took place after the death of his first wife, who was the daughter of our George IV. When he was chosen to fill the throne of Belgium, however, he divorced his low-born consort. Then there is the notorious case of Leopold's daughter, the Princess Stephanie, who, after the death of her husband, the Archduke Rudolph of Austria, married a petty nobleman called Lonyay. A story is current in Russia that the Czar, when a young man, contracted a marriage with a beautiful Jewish dancer, whom he put away when lie married the Czarina. This story lias never been denied officially, and' certain it is that there are two young men undergoing their education in Paris who are generally believed to be the sons of that marriage. They are well supplied with money, which, it is said, comes from their august father; but, of course, they don't talk about the matter, and the people who act as go-betweens are not likely to say anything. When the Czar succeeded to the throne his Jewish subjects built great hopes for better treatmen on this connection; but if the story be true, his Jewish sweetheart was able to exercise little influence with her royal lover in favour of lier co-religionists, for they have been worse treated, if that were possible, under the present ruler than they were before. ■ There are signs that with the advance of democratic sentiment this mediaeval

privilege of kings will disappear, and i,f it does the kings themselves will take the initiative in abolishing it. One can imagine the rage of the Kaiser, who is above all a good family man, if lie finds out that under the present German law his wife is only a left-handed wife, and his children not entitled to succeed him on the throne. That law won't last long, once the courts declare this state of things to exist. In Austria, as already pointed out, the law's life is already limited to that of the aged Emperor who now sit.s on the throne. In England it may be said that it has disappeared already, for public sentiment would not tolerate "privileged bigamy" in these days, even in the case ot royalty. In fact, the King now hardly ever makes any objection to members of his family marrying persons of inferior rank. King Edward's sister married the Duke of Argyll, and his daughter was won by another Scotsman, this Earl of Fife, who was made a duke on

his marriage. The children of both these unions would be eligible to succeed to the crown in the case of the failure of more direct heirs. There are rumours also about a certain charming young Princess of the Royal Family who is said to have been iu love with a young and wealthy nobleman for years, and; there would be nothing morganatic about marriage. With the three leading royal houses of Europe thus setting their faces against the continuance of this ancient privilege, we may soon hope to see it confined to the rulers of petty states; and it is more than likely that these, too, will soon fall in line with the fashion set by their more important royal colleagues.