THE DUCIE EARLDOM.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 125, 29 May 1922, Page 11

THE DUCIE EARLDOM.

AFTER G7 YEARS" ABSENCE. ' W;.U TIKI'I, SKTTINi , '«•■ TV'DOR UO.MK. LONDON. Mnrdi 24. Koiiiniii-o i- not dead. Thoso stories nl sv.n.'l! we an- » -nt i>. s.-off may he j founded in i.irt. [ 11 11 ix l"»t uncles n , - ] trii-M-d fn.in tli.- ni'.Uof AiiMralin and New /.M!.hhl iln come home to roiist "ii fourth Karl of Diu-it , . iti'ti'r nearly ii 7 , year-' iiliM'ii.'c in Au-tralia, is ii romance | without |i.ir.illi-l in ilh , annals of tin- | Uriti-li |.r.r,i.-.- Ho wen; farm- ' ii,K ;it tin , \niijmiU'< lit 21. lie siu , - I .ceileil iiif linilhi-r, the lhir.l curl, lust | ypnr. ami now, nrnrly SS. h,. returns (» | lake , ii"--, ■—ion cif the family seat at j Tort worth I unit, ■ Hi- i-miii' lij llic Rlue Funnel liner Asoaniux. iiii'l ll! - ilaiiphtrr. l.aly Ilcatrice Mor.'ton. t with i'.'-r father, niid his <on and licir, l.oril Moroton, is cxpcuvl tv follow in i iiHV months. LorJ DiK'ip ppent a Ipiv days in London before he went on to his ancestral home. j When lip left Knsliind -,n 1555 Tort- ! Tfortli Court, a beautiful Tudor model, gel amid sump c.f the richest hills and v.'odlan.l -i-enery in this country, had hpeii built only about two years, burtnsr tlie intcrveiiir.j; Ii" years Uic late enrl, a groat lover of trees ami gurdens, matureil Irs terraces atxl parterres v.nd wonJci-ful fantasies of arboriculture. It i> claimed that there is n greater variety nf trops at Tortworth than in any oilier private park in Europe. Lonl Diu'ie lias never seen thia splendour ul tree- or the tall clipped 'hedges and arches aiul domes an.l pinnac-les of yew • tlint irive t lie immediate vicinity of the Court the quaintness of an old Dutch jilcßsauncc. But he iu;i!.t have seen the groat aboreal jrlory of Tortworth, the 700----y*ar-olil ftpunisii olipsxnut tr.-e —one ot the famous trees of F.nainiul —with a girth <>f ."52ft. That is a chestnut. Yesterday lie was welcomed bad: with a very modern salvo of maroon 4, and duelling motor-cjvlists formed a vanguard nnd escort on his arrival, where 'his path was strewn by the. little village nymphs with fresh primroses and daffodils. At the end of this floral 'path, -where the word "Welcome -, is carved in stone in perpetuity at the gatehouse, his t-.vo njred sisters, La<!y Eicanor Bro-ilie nnd Lady Alice Hnvelocl; Allan, were waiting for the 'brother neither of them had Been fur nearly TO years. Lady Eleanor, a little white-haired womnn in black, last Raw him in London -when ho said gooil-by at the nl-I school. Lord Pm-ie Mopped and trembled a little as the villagers called upon him to vpply to the illuminated address of welcmnr. while his sat back in the motor ear with a dimness in her large brown eyes. The cur passed beneath the triumphal ercli .it tli» main pates, which were adorned with the family bannerettes and the motto, "Perseverando." - and the late Lady Ihicie's motto, "Xon uo'.iis solum." Lord Ducie, squatter and shee.pfarme.T, Fnowy-whiskerpil. and denial, removed liis hat while this address was being read, 'but when lie came to reply "words , failed him at tirst. He fumbled over the leaves of the illuminated address with nervous ringers. But he soon regained his good spirits and humour; *I am , he said, "to meet 50 many people here, especially the }-oung members of the rising generation. I am glad to see they are looking co health}-. I am Expressing the thoughts and desires that have arisen within mc during the years I have been a war from England. "It is many years Bince I took a sailing ship to Australia. I only hope that some of the voting people will go there an.l help to build up another Great Britain in the Southern Ocean. "Tt is a healthy country, else probably T should not 'be standing here to-day. T know that the female sex will find plenty of husbands there at the present Moment.'' At the end of the speecii. Miss Dore. of Falfield, some years younger than Lord Ducie, an.l riaid to be the only surviving person at Tort worth who wae alive wlien the present lord, as the. Hon. Berkeley Dasil Moreton, vent 1o Australia, handed a hounuet of pink carnations and white lilies to Lady Beatrice Moreton.