A DUSKY ROMANCE.

NZ Truth, Issue 217, 21 August 1909, Page 11

A DUSKY ROMANCE.

An Eccentric Earl and a Kaffir Countess.

Strange scandals and remarkable romances are interwoven with the history of many members ot the noble order of Peers, but nonß oi so absolutely unique a character as that embracing the career of the eccentric eighth Karl of Stamford m the peerage of the United Kingdom, whose mortal remains have lain peacefully at rest m the picturesque little cemetery at Wynberg, Cape Colony, for the past 10 y§ars. As far back as the fifteenth century, the Grey family had come into prominence, when one Henry de Grey obtained from King Richard 111. the Manor of Turroc m the County of Essex for some personal service rendered to his sovereign Uege. Aloro than a hundred- years later, m ICO3, a direct descendant was created Baron Grey of Grpby by King James I* m the person of Sir Henry Urey, a son of- Lord John Grey, and only nephew of the attainted Marquis of Dorset and Buko of Suffolk, 'father of the accomplished but unhappy Lady Jane Grey, who, while only m her seventeenth year, was, along with her husband, Lord Guilford Dudley, cruelly executed by Queen Mary on February 12, 1554, after a phantom royalty of only nine days. A grandson of the first Baron was created Earl of Stamford m 1628 by King Charles 1., but that fact did not militate against his being one of the Judges who signed the warrant for the execution of that ill-fated monarch who suffered death at the hands of the public executioner on January 20, 1618. Coming of a family "with such a halo of historic romance, it remained for. a\ future heir to immortalise himself by weaving a romance of a more dusky character m a manner unparalleled m the history of the peerage. Horn on February 25, 1812, .Harry Grey, gave early promise of exceptional ability, and became m due course a matriculated student ci the University of Oxford, where he eventually graduated as a Bachelor of Arts, ultimately becoming an ordained clergyman of 'the Established . Church. Hi« studious and solitary habits precluded him from enter ins; society as . conventionally known, and, as he . passed his. thirtieth, year vrithout showing signs of entering 'the* married. state, it was thoueht that he was destined for a life of celibacy. For once, however, appearances belied the future. On September 30, 1844, he betook himself a wife, and lor a quarter o! a century he enjoyed the bliss of wedded life, and 'at the a.c« of 67 he found himself a lonely widower with no children to comfort him. m .Ms later yqars. For three years he submit-. „ved.Ji.o. his . loneliness, and then, for .the second time, although now turned three I %fys£s!i<iipiis,'< he again essayed 1 the" matrimonial 1 state,' but his second wife Mt nim a widower again without any children after nearly two years, hying m 1874, after which he took his departure from England and went to sojourn m South' Africa. At this stage of his career, although now well advanced m years,- the' ; eccentricities which characterised his later" life began make their presence felt. ' • Settling m the delightfully picturesque and romantic village of Wynberg on the slopes, of Table Mountain m the Uapft Peninsula, the Rev, .Harry Grey set himself assiduously to the task •of teaching' the unruly Hbtcntot • the way that is- sn id to lead to salvation. In the late seventies his venerable figure was a familiar one wending its solitary way aloflg the Ottery-road m the direction of the Cape Flats", while his tall, gaunt and slightly stooping aspect and his long, flowing white beard gave him the air of a weirri visitor of super-mundane origin, which i was intensified by his habit of carc-Eully avoiding all his fellow-creatures of ths same colored skin as himself. To the natives he zealously.devoted himself, and m time he became a willing outcast from the society of white folk. It was not suriprising, therefore, that he took up his abode with a colored woman named Martha Solomon, lor whom he soon develop-, ed an infatuation really surprising at his' time of life. She became, m short, his mistress, and at the age of 67 he found himself the- father of a son almost as black as the ace of spades, who, born m [1870, was duly christened John. This illicit cohabitation continued to exist, and m 1880, Martha Solomon again found herself onceinte to the elderly Don Juan. Presumably dissatisfied with this unconventional manner of living, or else with the idea of legitimising his mistress* expectant child, he went through the ceremony of marriage with her on December 6, 18&0. In due . course, on July 25, 1881, a dusky little girl baby came into the .world, and was forthwith christened Mary. Had Mr Grey tben died, or had nothing else transpired, probably the world "would never have learned of the reverend gentleman's idiosyncrasies, but a surprise was distinctly looming above the horizon. Almost on the completion of his 71st year, on January 2, 1883, the seventh Earl of Stamford died without any direct descendant to succeed him, and his kinsman, the Rev. Harry Grey, succeeded to the title and all of its possessions. For the first time m the history of the British Empire a black woman became a Countess, and the dusky little mniden of barely '18 months formally blossomed forth as Lady Mary Grey. One other daughter, Lady Frances, was born of this incongruous marriage, but she died m infancy, and now sleeps beside the body of her extraordinary father. Finally, on June 10, 1800, this eccentric peer himself died, being then at the age of a Httle more than 73 years and three months, and, after interment m the cemetery at Wynberg, a handsome monument was erected to the memory ofThe Rev. Harry Grey, B.A. (Oxon.) Eighth Earl of Stamford. Ac this time John Grey was 11 years of age, while Lady Mary Grey was approaching the tenth year of her age. The colored Countess was an astute woman and forthwith made arrangements to send her son to England to establish his claim to the peerage. The late Earl's will enabled her to do this as he left considerable property to her besides vesting sufficient m trustees to maintain his daughter m case and comfort for tho rest of her life. The claim, however, was disallowed by a Select Committee of the j House of Lords, which announced its de- . clsion against the half-caste youth on account of his illegitimacy m the year • 1802. On his return to Cape Colony, John Grey devoted himself to the study of electricity, and is at the present time an electrical engineer carrying on business as such at Wynbcrg, 'where he has acquired a certain local reputation as v skilled man at his profession. The Countess promptly dropped the title to which she had" an undoubted right, and the same year married one Pieter Fietcrsc, with whom she is now living at Wynberj;, while Lody MaryGrey, now a buxom young woman ot eight-and-twenty, lives with her mother, and takes periodical trips to England,

where she is duly received as an Earl's daughter. Tho writer has frequently seen i her, and can testify io hsr unexceptionable character and demeanor, end, alI though she can hardly lay claim to good looks, she always dresses neatly and un- | ostentatiously, conducting herself with a [ certain dignified reserve which distinguishes her from the ordinary Cape colored woman. The present hoidcr of the title, William I Grey, is a nephew of the late peer ; he is a Master of Arts and was formerly Professor of Classics and Philosophy at Codrington College m the Barbadoes University; now m his sixtieth year. Himself tiie son of a clergyman, he married I the daughter of a clergyman some three i years after he was adjudged the ri^htj ful heir, and he has one son, Rogerknown by. the courtesy title of Lord Grey 'of Groby— now m the thirtieth year of his age, and one daughter— Lady Jane Grey (after her historic namesake)— now m her tenth year. There are no other blood relatives now living. The motto oi the family is— -"A ma puissance."