The Duchesss Tattoo (3 page)

If one should give full credit to the bitter cry of the British-Matron-With-A-Lot-of-Marriageable-Daughters, he would imagine that there were no more any eligible bachelors to be found between Land's End and John O'Groat's; that Belgravia was an Adamless Eden, and Mayfair suffering from a modern version of the Rape of the Sabines, with that part of the Sabines assumed by the British Young Man and that of the Romans by the American Girl. For the sake of international comity, however, we are glad to be able to assure our readers that this is not so. Diligent search by a corps of experienced explorers reveals a goodly number of Britannia's sons who have not yet bowed the knee to Miss Columbia. The following catalogue of them is printed, not, of course, to hold up offers of coronets before American eyes, but to vindicate our country-women against the charges of wholesale spoliation. The list comprises all sorts and conditions of “eligible parties,” from Dukes of prophyrogenous degree and fortunes that would make old Crcesus seem a pauper, down to the poor little heirs to Baronies of yesterday's creation whose income would make the merry iceman smile with pitying scorn. This publication will perhaps arouse the ambition of the American Girl with the prospect of other worlds to conquer; doubtless it will, as Pope prophetically wrote, “Cause hope to rise within Britannia's breast. At thought her unwed daughters may e'en yet be blest.”

The Right Hon. John Abercrombie.

Eldest son and heir of Lord Abercrombie; forty-eight years old; educated at Harrow; formerly captain of the Rifle Brigade; divorced from Baroness von Heidenstam of Sweden; has no children.

The entailed estates amount to 16,000 acres, yielding an income of $75,000.

Family seats: Three Castles in Scotland.

The Hon. Frederic Amherst.

Eldest son and heir of the Earl of Amherst.

The entailed estates amount to 25,600 acres, yielding an income of $200,000.

The family is very wealthy, the two previous possessors of the title having received lands, pensions, and gifts from the Crown, to the amount of over $3,000,000.

The Hon. Frederic is over fifty years old; he served with great distinction in the navy, and subsequently as captain of the 14th Hussars.

Lord Ampthill

Is second Baron, twenty years of age, and was educated at Eton. He has an income of $20,000; no landed estates. His father was the celebrated diplomatist, and belonged to the historical house of Russell. Lord Ampthill is closely related to the Duke of Bedford, Earl Russell, the Earl of Clarendon, etc.

Lord Apsley.

Eldest son and heir of the Earl of Bathurst.

The entailed estates amount to 13,600 acres, yielding an income of $105,000.

Lord Apsley is twenty-five years old, and was educated at Eton.

Family seat: Cirencester.

The Earl of Ancrum.

Eldest son and heir of the Marquis of Lothian, K. T.

The entailed estates amount to 23,000 acres, yielding an income of $260,000.

Lord Ancrum is twenty-four years of age, and a lieutenant in the army.

Family seat: Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian.

Lord Ardee.

Eldest son and heir to the twelfth Earl of Meath.

The entailed estates amount to 15,400 acres, yielding an income of $50,000.

The Earl of Meath married an heiress, and is worth about $700,000.

Lord Ardee is in his twenty-first year.

Family seat: Kilruddery, County Wicklow, Ireland.

Earl of Ashburnham.

Is the fifth Earl, forty-nine years old; possesses entailed estates amounting to 24,500 acres, yielding an income of $125,000.

He is a Knight of Malta, and a Catholic; he has never been married.

Family seats: In Sussex and Suffolk.

The Hon. John Ashburnham.

Is forty-two years old, heir to the Earldom of Ashburnham; was formerly in the diplomatic service, and has a private income of about $20,000 and a country seat in Sussex.

The entailed estates amount to 24,500 acres, yielding an income of $125,000.

Family seats: Two splendid Castles in Sussex and Suffolk.

Lord Ashtown.

Is third Baron.

The entailed estates are at Woodlawn, County Galway, and at Kilfinane, County Limerick, Ireland. They yield but a small income, in consequence of the agricultural distress in Ireland.

Lord Ashtown is twenty-two years old, and was educated at Eton.

Family seat: Lotherton Hall, Milford Junction, Ireland.

Lord Athlumney.

Is second Baron, twenty-four years of age; was educated at Harrow, and is a lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards.

The entailed estates amount to 10,500 acres, yielding an income of $60,000.

Family seat: Somerville Castle, County Meath, Ireland.

The Earl of Ava.

Eldest son and heir of the first Marquis of Dufferin.

The entailed estates amount to 18,200 acres, but owing to mortgages do not yield their nominal value of $100,000 income.

Lord Ava, who is twenty-six years of age, is a lieutenant in the 17th Lancers.

Family seat: Clandeboye, County Down, Ireland.

Viscount Avonmore.

Is sixth Viscount. The entailed estates are at Roscrea, Tipperary, and at Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, and yield but a small income, owing to the agricultural distress in Ireland.