THE CLIFFORD-BRUCE ROAMNCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13355, 8 December 1906, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE CLIFFORD-BRUCE ROAMNCE.

— ■♦ "' : - i MARRIAGE OF GIBSON GIRL AND PEER'S SOX. I '}:-&*%-■:: 'V-:f:\- ■':■;■■■: ■;.■•■■ •-.: " '■■"'■■. - '3JRUCE— Clifford.—Octoberll, at the | .Registrar's Office, Mount-street, the Hon. i Henry Lyndhurst Bruce, eldest son of | £ .Lord* Aberdare, was married to Miss ' Camille Clifford, Gibson Girl. - - There, in a:" nutshell, is 'the climax of the romance, the whole; story of which is .'.familiar to the public. The actual date of , the nuptials was kept a strict secret from ' - everybody. The secret is a secret ;• no longer Lord Aberdare has for daughter- -" vin-law the very charming lady who -first formed London as the New York Girl in. •.'The Prince of Piken." - The ceremony at the registrars office in Mount-street was V.': ;"i brief one. The bridegroom arrived first. "Me was certainly hot nervous, and looked '■■■ very handsome and happy. Mr. Bruce .'eras" accompanied by a friend, Mr. Gordon ■* Conran. • He had contrived Jo look as little :V<'like a bridegroom as possible. In place of ,-he customary frock coat and silk hat he -wore a brown lounge suit, and his com- :■•'* panion was attired in an equally unceremonious style. It was shortly after noon : ; v hat Miss Clifford drove from her residence - s :n Torringtoa Square, Bloomsbury, in the '"'company of Miss Evelyn Mary Conran, ,to - the registry office in Mount-street. She. ' ,-tivore a.simple costume of gossamer cling- '-' ing material, -with some exquisite old lace on ;tlw Moulders. At Mount-street she ' was received by her lover, and a delight- , fully tool and unperturbed pair of lovers thev •were when they made their,bow. to ■the" registrar. The official looked a trifle more concerned than the hero and heroine ?'.''.•"- «f'tho'. piece. , ,■ "'"*'"* ' WITH HAND CJLASI'ED IX HASH. r ; r y] The registrar then took the direction- of affairs as he-rose from his chair and began Abe very simple -legal-ceremony which " mates two lives one. "Pleaso take the lady's left hand and repeat after me, he ' said to the bridegroom. The ordeal of the " ring followed, and then, with a businesslike bustle, the registrar prepared to make out the certificate,-'- The wedded ■wife gave: a little sigh of relief,and, with a smile at her husband, turned to take her seat until the time came for her to sign ■"her maiden name for the last time. The • '•- certificate was made out and a copy handed to the lady, and the pair drove off to * ■ Torrington Square, the lady .. address, - where thev are now- -esidiug. .- On the ■"'"evening of' her"' wedding day the bride- : • played in "The Belle'of Mayfaif," and every evening since has appeared on the ■ stage.' 5 The full description of the bnde- -. • room's father states that he,is the second :: Baron Aberdare of Duffryn, hi the county .".of- Glamorgan, J.P.. L., President of - •'the University of -Wales, -and late lieu- ■■ - tenant-colonel of.": the 3rd V.B. Welsh •' Regiment, of which he is now honorary colonel. The family seats - are Duffryn, Mountain Ash,, Glamorganshire, and LongWood, Winchester. His son, the Hon.. H. L. Bruce, who has now married Miss Clif-. . -ford, and is the heir to the title, was .born §:%"- in 1881, - and is a lieutenant in the 3rd " - Hampshire "Regiment. But he has resided -in London for some time, and has been, s interested in the manufacture of auto- " mobiles.' Miss Clifford, who has now become the Hon. Mrs: Bruce, came to Eng- .: land from the United States in 1904, when «he was engaged. as t a " Gibson Girl" in • : "The Prince of Pilsen" at the Shaftes-■--bury Theatre. Five years before she "" landed at - Boston, all her previous life hav- ' ing been'" spent at Antwerp, Christians, *'' and' Nova'. Scotia. ... V'i Her .',' early struggles *",were marked by many vicissitudes; her varied occupations including that of house- • ' maid. But by dint of courage and earnestness she mounted'to the position she eventually attained. '

.:;..,- - STORY OF. ENGAGEMENT. , ~ - - -The marriage of Miss ■■ Clifford to the Lyndhurst Bruce makes one >of the host picturesque stories .of'; theatrical ro->..-'ance that has"gladdened the hearts of the aeatre-going 4 public for, the -last' decade. tr. Bruce, the hero of this romantic epi)de,;is a' tall, dark, good-looking, young tan, with a somewhat ingenuous expres- : ion, and a. frank, * easy manner of: conersation. * He was : introduced;: to Miss —. i.'Ufford by » mutual, friend when she was -.-" ppearing ;as a .<■*'.Gibson Girt" -in ." The '<"Jateh of: the /Season" at: the Vaudeville ■ i%eatre. 'Mr: Bruce drove with his friend -■ « a motor-car, sand .there :> took tea. But ! some time elapsed before the feelings of . .riendship ripened into an affection of a '- -nore tender description. *'.-> Mr. Bruce-called jv occasionally, and regarded Miss Clifford, in 'he light of a very charming and amiable : - icquaintance. At .this time she was re- ' ceiving many offers *of marriage; all of .:vhieh she refused. ; Mr. Bract's visits be- '-"■ ame more frequent, and every day bis attentions grew in significance. Finally, the '«. 'psychological moment ■:■ arrived, and Mr.• -' Jruce proposed. i-Still; for the. moment, ; ' Miss Bruce i would give no actual promise .£ her hand. The pendulum ,of Mr. Brace's : -• ;appiness swung to and fro with irritating regularity. However,, about five months -r,- igo his" expectations were sealed by a . gracious ;' acceptance of his suit... Lord Aberdare ' would not, however,, give... his ■; =onsen;b to,.the\ wedding, and Mr. Brace's Mends: were not all sympathetic. For. ; a ■',' ong time the date of: the marriage re- -.' -uainecl unfixed. February 14, 1907. was u -uggested by Mr. Bruce, but Miss Clifford^ ■, with a. suspicion of .feminine contrariness, r .-persisted:: in regarding this date as too • -:&riy;i But it was in reality too late, as • ,low the lovers are man and wife. : ,

~~ ■ "•' • . SKETCH OF THE BRIDE. ' A -Writer 'm the Tribune gives the fol- ' lowing '-.. description, of Miss Clifford's first \i appearance in ; London in " The Frince of \ - Pifsen," in 1904:—"Midway through the ,Ci>econy;'act a. "Dance of Cities" was introduced, -where a number, of attractive young v- ladies, 'dressed: in appropriate costumes, personified , Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, . and i other ; great American ■ cities. ' Each .■- lady performed an individual dance, , sup- ,, posed >to. be typical of the city she repreJ : sented. But * New York' did not dance- - she oialy walked. She was a tall, fair- *" haired, girl, with a quaint smile, a'small, ' tip-tilted nose, cud a wonderfully-modu-lated jfigure,, set off,;by a closely-fitting v gown, moulded in long curves which suddenly terminated in '.-'a foamy.mass of lace : and' flounced along the ' spreading train.,. This Avas Miss Camille Clift'o'rd, "and 'her ./.part' i:a the play was :to saunter at stately : ease across the stage.'..She walked with " the back bending in ' semi-circular fashion, !,, from the waist to the shoulders; the head '. waa erect, the chin slightly raised, and . the lice calmly irradiated by a "smile, a • trifle;' scornful, not without disdain, but wholly sweet. .: The audience . roared its applause, and the walk Was repeated. The walk was, indeed, encored every '-.'.night',. . and became : the outstanding; attraction of -■ /'/The Prince of Pilsen.' "