THE DUKE OF NORFOLK.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXI, Issue VIII, 20 August 1898, Page 249

THE DUKE OF NORFOLK.

EARL MARSHAL OF ENGLAND. SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS CHARACTER AND OFFICE. One of the most weird scenes in connection with the obsequies of Mr Gladstone was that which took place on the arrival of the body in Loudon from Hawarden, when the body of the illustrious statesman was officially surrendered by his two sons, Herbert and Henry, on behalf of the Gladstone family, to the Earl Marshal as representative of the British nation. The transfer took place at two o'clock in the morning in the dimly lighted underground railroad station adjoining the Palace of Westminster, with which it is connected by a subterranean passage. As the ordinary passenger traffic had ceased for the night, there were no strangers present. As soon as the coffin had been removed from the railroad car it was placed on the platform of the station and the lid was unscrewed, it being the duty of the Earl Marshal to assure himself that the body which was about to lie in state in Westminster Hall, to receive the rare honour of a national funeral and then to be entombed in the Abbey of Westminster was really that of the Grand Old Man. The Earl Marshal, who was attended by the various kings-at-arms, heralds, and pursuivants, arrayed not in their gold embroidered tabards, but merely in black frock coats and ordinary high silk hats, thereupon satisfied himself of the identity of ' the body, and being the last person in the world to gaze upon the noble features of the most eminent of all the Premiers of Queen Victoria's reign, caused the lid of the eoffin to be. screwed down again and sealed with the national arms of the kingdom.

Inasmuch as a good deal of curiosity has been expressed as to the title of Earl Marshal, p dignitary who is seldom heard of save in connection with some great State function, such as the one which has just taken place in Westminister Abbey, it may be as well to explain that the office of Earl Marshal is one of the most ancient and grandest that have survived the disappearance of feudalism. In the days of the Norman and Plantagenet Kings the three principal digni-

taries of the realm were the Lord High Chancellor, the. Lord High Constable, and the Earl Marshal. The office of Lord High Constable was abolished in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, since which time no Constable has been appointed, save for one day only to attend at coronations. It was the great Duke of Wellington who officiated as Lord High Constable at the coronation of Queen Victoria, and who, as such, bore her the great sword of state.

In olden times the Earl Marshal enjoyed the superintendence of tournaments, jousts, and trials by combat. Moreover, as President of the Court of Chivalry, a title which he still retains, he was regarded as chief arbiter and Judge in all questions of honour. Of his former duties and prerogatives he to-day retains that of making public proclamations of war and peace, as well as of the accession and death of the sovereign. Besides this, he is, in conjunction with his stalf of kings-at-arms, heralds, and pursuivants, responsible for the granting of armorial bearings, as well as for the arrangement and conduct of all great state functions, such as, for instance, coronations, national funerals, and in fact, of all grand ceremonies that partake more of a national than of a. mere court character. BRITAIN’S PREMIER PEER. The first English noble to bear the title of Earl Marshal was Thomas, Earl of Norfolk, eldest son of King Edward I. by his second marriage. King Richard 111. created his descendant, Sir John Howard, both Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal about- the time of the discovery of America by Columbus. King Henry VIII., as Duke, of York, filled the office of Earl Marshal until his accession to the throne, being the twenty-ninth holder of the office. But it was not until the reign of King Charles 11. that the dignity was made hereditary in the family of Henry Howard, the sixth Earl of Norfolk.

The present Duke of Norfolk is the fifty-ninth Earl Marshal of England, besides being the Premier Duke., the Premier Earl, and the Premier Peer of the realm, and as such ranking immediately after the Princes of the blood royal. In spite of all these dignities, the present Duke of Norfolk is the most modest, quiet and unassuming of men. Slight in stature, and below rather than above middle height, with a rather unkempt beard, bushy black hair, and weighing probably about 140 pounds at the most, he is just about the last person in the world whom a stranger would set down as being the recognised head of all that is most illustrious in the aristocracy, not alone of Great Britain but likewise of Europe. For there is no name in the English nobility that is more widely known or more respected at foreign courts than that of Howard, which may be found figuring in almost every page of English history since the days of the Norman conquest, and to bear which is usually regarded as an indication that, the finest of blue blood courses in its owner’s veins.

It is thoroughly in keeping with the present Duke, who is probably the wealthiest man in England, with the exception of the Duke of Westminster, that he should have contented himself with the Postmaster Generalship in the present Salisbury Cabinet. He was reluctant to accept office. But when Lord Salisbury, aware that the presence of the Duke in the administration would be a source of strength to the latter, owing- to his influence, not only as one of the greatest land owners in the kingdom, but also as chief of the important. Roman Catholic element, appealed to his patriotism and to his sense of the duty of his order to the nation, lie yielded, stipulating merely that he should have an office where ignorance of the duties of a Cabinet Minister would be calculated to do the least harm. He was accordingly appointed Postmaster General, and by applying ordinary sound business principles to the conduct of his department, has proved so great a success as an administrator that he is declared by political friend and foe alike to be the most satisfactory Postmaster General who has ever ruled at St. Martin's-le-Grand. HOWARD CURSE. The Duke is a most devout Catholic, and one of the pillars of the Church of Rome, being held in particularly high regard and esteem at the Vatican. This is all the more strange since the

basis of his immense wealth was the spoliation and plundering of the Roman Church at the time of the Reformation by the first Duke of Norfolk. The latter was one of the most greedy of the cormorants surrounding King Henry VIII., and obtained as his share of the ecclesiastical plunder almost the entire riches of the Bishopric of Norwich, in those days enormously wealthy. The priests and monks were driven out homeless over the land, and the poor were deprived of their houses of refuge and of their means of relief. Indeed, the foundation of the fortune of this great dukedom may be said to have been laid amid the anathemas of the priests and the exe-

erat ions and groans of the poor — curses which superstitious people, and possibly the Duke himself. believe to be in some way aeeo 11 ntable for the pitifully sad ehildhood of his only son and heir, the Earl of Arundel. Blind, deaf, dumb and weak of intellect, this heir to the grandest dignities of the United Kingdom, was universally pronounced as altogether beyond the reaeh of medical science.

During the last two years, however, to the astonishment of everyone, the lad has been recovering sight, speech, hearing, in-telligenee, and physical strength, and his progress in this respeet has been so rapid and so phenomenal that the

yoiuiK Karl, now about IS years old, is actually able to take long- tricycle rides along* the public roads in the neighbourhood of Wimbledon Common, where he lives in a beautiful house, bought for him by his devoted father. The Duke ascribes the miracle worked in his only son exclusively to divine intervention and as a res|x>nse by providence to the numerous pilgrimages to Lourdes which he has undertaken with the poor boy every year since the latter's early infancy, as well as to the prayers of Pope Leo and of good Catholics in all parts of the world, whose church has benefited so largely by the splendid munificence of his gifts. Indeed, there is no man living in the Old World who has built so many churches and endowed so many ecclesiastical and philanthropic institutions as the present Duke of Norfolk. The Duke is an exceedingly busy man, as he is extremely conscientious in the performance of his duties, no matter whether they relate to the administration of the general postoffice. to his various municipal and county offices, to the direction of the numerous charitable and religious institutions in which he is interested, or to the control of his vast estates. Yet since the death, eleven years ago, of his deeply mourned Duchess, he has never permitted a single day to pass without riding or driving out to the suburban home of his son in order to spend an hour or two with the lad. In fact, it is difficult to conceive a greater paternal devotion than that which the Duke has shown toward his afflicted son. DUKE'S QUEER HOBBIES. Like nearly all of his two fellow Dukes, His Grace of Norfolk has his queer hobbies and fads. One of these is the accumulation of blotting pads. He accumulates them almost as if he was studying the matter scientifically. He is always interested in the subject, and will converse on it by the hour with enjoyment. Another of his peculiarities is that it is only with the utmost difficulty that he can ever be got to open a letter or a parcel. There are several large rooms in his London home. Norfolk House, James’ Square, that are crammed to the ceiling with things which he has ordered or purchased, which have been sent to him, and which have remained unpacked and untouched. Some day when these rooms are cleared out valuable pic-

tures and costly bric-a-brac will be found lying cheek by jowl with curiosities in the way of blotting- pads.

Arundel Castle, which is the favourite residence of the Duke, has had more money spent upon it than any other palace or mansion in the United Kingdom, and that, too, without any expense to the Duke. For one of his ancestors took the precaution to tie up in a trust a tract of land extending from the Strand to the Thames in such a manner that its revenues can be used for no other purpose than the repair and the improvement of the castle. The land is now exceedingly valuable, comprising the thoroughfare known as Arundel-street, ami it yields an enormous income. £400,000 sterling of this income was recently spent by the Duke on the construction of an exquisitely beautiful staircase at Arundel Castle. NORFOLK’S ANCESTORS. Sensible, hardworking, generous, and as near blameless as it is possible for a man to be without laying himself open to a charge of priggishness, the Duke presents a striking contrast to most of his predecessors. His greatgrandfather, for instance, the twelfth Duke, was celebrated for his drunken freaks, and as one of the boon companions of King George IV., was frequently, when intoxicated, the butt of the practical jokes of his sovereign. It is related of him that he rarely drove home at night after dinner without his legs hanging out of the windows of his carriage. The thirteenth Duke distinguished himself during the corn law agitation by making a speech in which he recommended the poor who had no bread to sustain existence upon hot water, with a pinch of curry powder by way of giving it a flavour. Then there was another Duke of Norfolk who boasted of never washing. But, as he sometimes got hopelessly drunk, his servants took advantage, thereof to subject their master to an occasional bath, which, however, so enraged His Grace when he became sober again that he was wont to flog them. It is on record, however, that they preferred the beating to being compelled to remain in his company when unwashed. Indeed, the present Duke is far and away the best of his long line, and certainly the one who is most entitled to the regard and respect of his felloweountrymen. They would assuredly experience difficulty in finding anywhere a man whose character is so happy a combination of the oldtime principles of chivalry and honour on the one hand and of nineteenth century common sense and business experience on the other, a combination which qualifies the Duke in a marked degree for the modern administration of his ancient offices of President of the Court of Chivalry and of Earl Marshal of England.