home, under governesses, and her individual tastes and talents thus
developed. Travel, and a more or less prolonged residence abroad at
various times under most happy circumstances, cultivated her powers of
observation and developed in her that breadth of mental vision that at
an unusually early period not only removed the crudities of youth, but
gave her that poise and finish that made her so charming to men and
women of mature and brilliant intellect.
Comparatively little was heard of her family socially till after her
_début_, which occurred in the winter of 1888, and their present social
prominence in the United States is due to the remarkable impression
she everywhere created. As a new-comer she was viewed critically, for
she aimed always at the highest and best in the social castes of her
country. She was weighed in the balance with the daughters of better
known and longer established families of the East, and was found their
equal in beauty and breeding and frequently their peer in charm of
manner and intellect.
In Washington her father leased the home, on Dupont Circle, of the late
James G. Blaine, and there Miss Leiter spent the first years of her
young womanhood, during which such homage was paid her that she never
entered a drawing-room nor crossed a ball-room without attracting the
attention and gaze of every one. She planned and directed the numerous
social functions given there by her parents on a scale of magnificence
that was not easily approached, and she brought to the house a fame
such as it never derived from the occupancy of its distinguished owner
nor any of his family.
When her father built his own home, which is considered by many people
the most beautiful in Washington, her taste found a new field for
its display, both in the plan of its construction and in its final
decorations. It was minutely described in the press of the country,
particular emphasis being given to the apartments appropriated to Miss
Leiter's use, so undoubtedly was she the social genius of her family
and the figure who held the interest of the public.
A few years ago the favorable verdict of a man whom a recent historian
of New York society has designated its self-appointed dictator went far
towards establishing a woman's reputation for beauty or distinction on
a national footing. Mr. Ward McAllister undoubtedly wielded a singular
power and influence, and his unqualified admiration of Miss Leiter,
while it reflects to-day much credit upon his judgment, played at the
time a considerable part in the wide spread of her fame.
Her development was rapid and continuous, and she rose in the course
of a few years to a national prominence. It has been said of her that
she was not true to early friendships. "The law of nature is alteration
forevermore," and every mind that expands must outgrow the objects that
satisfied it at one period of its existence unless they are capable in
a degree of keeping pace with its progress. As a matter of fact, while
there was a graciousness in her manner towards all with whom she came
in contact, she formed but few close friendships, the natural reserve
of her temperament rendering it impossible for her to respond easily to
those intimacies which enter into the lives of so many girls.
During the second administration of President Cleveland there existed
between his young wife and Miss Leiter a degree of friendship that was
as flattering to one as it was to the other, for the Clevelands enjoyed
the reputation of choosing their friends for their personal charm.
During both of his terms of office Mr. Cleveland had a home in the
suburbs of Washington, where he and his family passed much time between
seasons, and where they frequently entertained the friends whom they
admitted more or less to their intimacy. There, during the spring of
the year in which she was married, Miss Leiter passed every Sunday
prior to that event, carrying away with her to another land a vivid
impression of one of the most admirable women who ever adorned public
life in America.
England was by no means an unknown country to Miss Leiter. She had been
accustomed from her early childhood to spending much time in Europe,
and a London season, which is the climax of many an American girl's
social ambition, was not a new experience to her. The season of 1894,
however, marked a turning-point in her life. Hon. Thomas F. Bayard,
who was our Ambassador at the Court of St. James at the time, had been
married not long before to Miss May Clymer, of Washington, a daughter
of Dr. Clymer, of the navy, and a granddaughter of Admiral Shubrick.
The Bayards had known Miss Leiter at home, and they undoubtedly
contributed much to the reception she everywhere met during that
season in England, for they themselves were much sought after, and the
distinction of their position gave prominence to her. They brought her
into contact with a class of men and women among whom her own highly
endowed mind found an inspiration on whose wings she rose in a short
time to a new fame.
Among those who paid her the tribute of a profound admiration was a
rising young secretary of the kingdom, a man of scholarly tastes and an
author of established reputation.
"I found," recently wrote Julian Ralph from India, "a sure key to the
viceroy's character in between the lines of a dozen speeches that
he made in January and February, 1899. Some of his qualities, more
especially his quick sympathy, humor, and the sentimental and romantic
inclination, are rather more American than English.... It is consoling
to us Americans to find that the man who has attracted so much beauty
and talent away from our country is himself the next thing to an
American."
When he met Miss Leiter, though he was but thirty-five years of age,
Mr. Curzon had been a member of Parliament, representing the district
of Southport, for eight years. He had already wealth and distinction,
and was the heir to the title of his father, who is the fourth Baron
Scarsdale. His ambition, moreover, was of that high order which found
in Miss Leiter a responsive attitude and a quickening sympathy. His
literary and political career--in a word, the position he had made for
himself through his own talents--was to her a matter of far deeper
interest than the eventual inheritance of his father's estate and
title. The reputation which his writings on the political questions in
the East had given him particularly attracted her admiration.
Replying four years later to the address of welcome delivered to him by
the city of Bombay, Lord Curzon expressed gratification at its kindly
tone both for himself and his wife, who, he said, came to India with
sympathies as warm as his own, and who looked forward with earnest
delight to a life of happy labor in the midst of its people.
[Illustration: Mattie Mitchell
(Duchesse de Rochefoucauld)
From photograph by C. M. Bell]
The interest which Miss Leiter's remarkable career had inspired
intensified with the announcement of her approaching marriage. Her home
was besieged by newspaper correspondents representing all sections of
the country, showing how widely she was known.
The 22d of April--the date selected for her wedding--was an ideal
spring day. At an early hour in the morning people began to gather
around St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, where the ceremony
was to be performed at half-past eleven o'clock, with a hope of
catching a glimpse of the fair and famous bride. By eleven o'clock the
streets and sidewalks and Lafayette Square were solidly banked with
spectators, and it was with difficulty that a passage-way was kept
open for the carriages of those who had been invited to witness the
ceremony. Women cried out that they were being crushed, and others
fainted, yet the crowd continued to increase till the moment of the
bride's arrival.
St. John's Church, one of the oldest in Washington, is constructed
without a central aisle, so that bridal parties enter by one side aisle
and return by the other. Thither have wended their way many couples
that have passed into fame and history. At its altar, a little more
than six years before Miss Leiter pronounced her marriage vows, another
American girl, Miss Mary Endicott, of Massachusetts, whose father was
at the time Secretary of War, gave her hand to a distinguished son of
Great Britain, Hon. Joseph Chamberlain.
The ceremonies at both of these marriages were exquisitely simple.
Bishop Talbott, of Wyoming, officiated at that of Miss Leiter and
Mr. Curzon, assisted by Rev. Dr. Mackay Smith, the pastor of the
church. Lord Lamington acted as best man for Mr. Curzon, and Miss
Leiter was attended by her two sisters. She was singularly pale, and,
enveloped in the whiteness of her bridal veil and gown, the Easter
lilies that adorned the altar and chancel seemed not more fair than
she. Her slender figure looked its full height, which is the same as
her father's,--five feet seven inches. Her face, whose every feature
is indicative of character and perhaps too serious when in repose,
but wholly charming when lighted by a smile which expresses so much
intelligence and sympathy, bore evidence of the recollection of her
thoughts. It was, as it is to-day, a face of unusual beauty, oval in
shape, with dark-gray eyes, straight black brows, a sweet, sensitive
mouth, a prettily shaped nose, and a low forehead with fine black hair
brushed simply away from it and emphasizing its whiteness.
On her wedding-day she solved with her usual good sense a problem that
has confronted many brides since gloves first came to be considered a
requisite of their costume, as to how under such circumstances a ring
may be gracefully assumed. She entered and left the church with hands
uncovered and unadorned save by her engagement-ring with its superb
setting, a ruby and two diamonds, and the gold band which supplemented
it.
The ceremony was witnessed by Mrs. Cleveland, the Cabinet Ministers and
their families, the diplomatic corps, and a number of people of purely
social prominence from several cities in the United States and England.
For the reception which followed, the bride's beautiful home was
decorated entirely with peach-, cherry-, and apple-blossoms. She stood
beneath her own portrait, whose frame was suggestively outlined with
forget-me-nots, to receive the many who gathered about her with good
wishes and good-byes.
The first days of her honeymoon were spent at "Beauvoir," the suburban
Washington home of Mr. and Mrs. John R. McLean, who placed it at her
disposal for that period. There she entertained several times at
dinner, that Mr. Curzon might meet some of the people who give charm to
the society of the American capital.
The year of his marriage proved also an eventful one in the public life
of Mr. Curzon. He was made Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
and Privy Councillor, and re-elected to his seat in Parliament, all
within that brief period.
Shortly after Mr. Curzon's return to England the fall of the Rosebery
cabinet necessitated a new Parliamentary election. His American
bride entered into the English political campaign of the summer of
1895 with an enthusiasm that was the delight of his constituents and
the admiration of his opponents. It was a first test of her power
in a field that called forth her best efforts, and as she became
conscious of her strength and of the possibility of being a force
in the political life of a great country, the highest attributes of
her nature unfolded themselves. Among a people who "make a romance
of marriage," an electioneering tour before the honeymoon had waned
roused an interest upon whose results no politician, however astute,
could reckon. Not only did Mrs. Curzon accompany her husband on the
occasions when he addressed the people of his borough, but, quite
independent of him, she drove through the Southport district of
Lancashire, seeing the wives of his constituents and even the electors
themselves, and manifesting an intelligent interest in the political
affairs of their country that, from a foreigner and a beautiful young
woman, conveyed a most delicate flattery and subtle gratification.
A Liberal paper, commenting on the election after the vote had been
cast, gallantly insisted that Curzon owed his success far more to the
winning smiles and irresistible charm of his American wife than he did
to his own speeches.
The following four years of Lady Curzon's life were spent in England
between a town house in London and her husband's country-seat,
Kedleston Hall, in Derbyshire. Two daughters were born to her within
that period, the first in 1896 and the younger in August, 1898, shortly
after Mr. Curzon's appointment to the Governor-Generalship of India.
Mrs. Curzon's parents visited her every summer, and her father bought
for her the London residence, Number One Carlton House Terrace, the
first in a row of twenty-two handsome houses with a colonnade of
marble pillars, overlooking St. James Park, one of the most exclusive
localities in London.
[Illustration: Mary Victoria Leiter
(Baroness Curzon of Kedleston)
From photograph by Miss Alice Hughes]
In close companionship and absolute sympathy with a statesman whose
life promised greatness, in the full enjoyment of a social existence
in which the grace and strength of her personality had already made
themselves felt, happily placed in all her relations to life, it
would have seemed, in consideration of the youth of both herself
and her husband, that for the time being at least their measure of
good fortune was well filled. In the summer of 1898, however, Mr.
Curzon was offered the greatest gift of the British government, the
Governor-Generalship of India. Until Mr. Balfour's authoritative
announcement of the fact in the House of Commons many people had
discredited the rumor on the ground that such an office had never been
offered to a Commoner.
In India, which Mr. Curzon had visited frequently and where he had
already become thoroughly known through his writings, the news of his
nomination was received with entire satisfaction. In London it excited
unusual interest.
In addition to more or less lengthy editorial comment, every journal
reviewed his strikingly brilliant career, and in enumerating his
unusual advantages through which he might hope for success in the
discharge of the duties of the high office he had accepted, his
American wife was ranked among the first. It was regarded as a happy
circumstance that such a woman should partake of the glories and
responsibilities of his position.
According to an old English statute, a man who is duly elected to the
House of Commons may not resign his seat. It may be vacated only by
death, expulsion, legal disqualifications, or by accepting an office
from the crown. As soon as Mr. Curzon was nominated to succeed Lord
Elgin, whose term as Governor-General of India still had several
months to run, in order to enable him to sever his connection with the
Parliament, he received from the queen the appointment of High Steward
and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.
The office, however, is merely honorary, and was retained only until
he was officially proclaimed governor-general. His seat in Parliament
at the election following his withdrawal was carried by the Liberal
candidate, the late Sir Herbert Naylor-Leyland, whose wife, another
beautiful American, Miss Jennie Chamberlain, of Cleveland, had played
much the same part in his campaign as Mrs. Curzon, under similar
circumstances, had taken in that of her husband.
During the month following Mr. Curzon's appointment to the
governor-generalship he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Curzon of
Kedleston. As the name in which he had made his reputation, he desired
to retain Curzon in his title.
The eldest son of Earl Howe being Viscount Curzon, however, he was
obliged to agree to two conditions imposed by Lord Howe,--first, to be
known now as Curzon of Kedleston, and, second, on succeeding to his
father's title, to drop Curzon Kedleston, which was never to be resumed
either by himself or his heirs.
A new life, quite unlike anything she had known, now opened before
Lady Curzon,--a life of real power over millions of subjects, a life
of significant ceremonial and regal pomp, in which this daughter of
a republic assumed with her husband the leading _rôle_. She entered
completely into its spirit, planning all the details of a sumptuous
existence which is so highly gratifying to an Eastern people and in
such perfect accord with its conceptions of power. India likes to see
the outward form of empire, and measures thereby its internal strength.
Lady Curzon was already familiar with the political and historical side
of the country whither fortune was leading her. For her acquaintance
with its social side, which more especially concerned her, she equipped
herself with that same faultless taste that had marked her career in
the society of her own country and England.
With the lavish hospitality she had in contemplation, she ordered,
several weeks before her departure from England, thousands of cards
of invitation for dinners, evening receptions, and garden-parties,
including menu cards and ball programmes. For all of these occasions
she provided herself with the appropriate habiliments whose exquisite
details, the art with which they were chosen, and the genius with which
they were worn, becoming identified with her personal beauty, acquired
shortly after her appearance in Calcutta a fame as wide as the empire.
Her last days in England foreshadowed the glories of her life in India.
At a ball given at Welbeck Abbey by the Duke and Duchess of Portland
in honor of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, shortly before her
departure, Lady Curzon of Kedleston, whose grace had once given charm
to many an American ball-room, was among the few honored with a place
in the royal quadrille. While the Portlands do not entertain often,
they enjoy the reputation of having the most sumptuous social functions
that are witnessed anywhere in England. Their supper-tables glitter
with a gold service of great artistic and intrinsic value, and their
spacious picture-gallery makes a ball-room whose attractiveness is
seldom rivalled.
For several days Lord and Lady Curzon were guests at Welbeck, going
from there to Southport to make a farewell visit to Lord Curzon's
old Parliamentary district, in which Lady Curzon had won votes
and admiration in the first days of her residence in England. The
locomotive of the train in which they made the journey was decorated
with the royal standard and the stars-and-stripes, Lady Curzon's
nationality being, as it always is, thus gracefully remembered. The
streets of the town were similarly decorated, including, besides the
insignia of the two great Anglo-Saxon countries, the star of India.
It was a memorable day in Southport, whose population turned out _en
masse_ to welcome them, the city and county functionaries in their
official robes greeting them at the railroad station. As they drove
through the streets of the town, their coach drawn by four horses,
the bells of Christ Church peeled forth a joyous welcome, and pride
and admiration shone in every face that lined the route to the
art-gallery. There they held a public reception, Sir William Forwood
presiding and making a speech, in which he dwelt with gratification
upon the unqualified approval expressed by the nation at Lord Curzon's
appointment as Governor-General of India, and referred gallantly to the
charm which the young American vicereine would impart to the court.
On the 30th of December Lord and Lady Curzon landed at Bombay amid the
firing of a royal salute from the war-ships in port. The city welcomed
them with a display of much magnificence in its decorations and a
manifestation of genuine cordiality, presenting its address to that
effect in an elaborately wrought silver casket.
At the governor's house they were received by Lord and Lady Sandhurst,
Lord Sandhurst being Governor of Bombay, and ranking second in
authority to the governor-general.
It was here that Lord and Lady Curzon made their first social
appearance in India at a ball and reception given in their honor.
Beyond the fact that Lord Curzon's wife was an American, prior to that
night India knew but little of her. Happy and beautiful, with the added
brilliancy which appreciation and success impart to every woman, she
made instantly an impression of loveliness which in a few days had
spread over India and still prevails,--resting now, however, on a more
enduring basis.
The impression, in fact, created by both Lord and Lady Curzon at Bombay
paved the way to the enthusiasm with which they were received at
Calcutta a few days later.
The city was richly decorated, the American flag being everywhere
conspicuously displayed amid evidences of Oriental splendor. It has
been estimated that not less than one hundred thousand people witnessed
the magnificent spectacle of their reception at the palace.
The imposing width of the double terrace of steps that lead to the
main entrance was covered with a rich red carpet terminating in the
green sward of the lawn, where, in the magnificent uniform of the army
forming part of the military service of India, one hundred men of the
Calcutta Rifles and one hundred men of the First Gloucester Regiment,
in scarlet, with their band, stood attention.
At the foot of the steps the Life-Guard, in gorgeous red array,
consisting of one hundred and twenty Indians selected for their fine
size and physique, grouped itself. At the top, two colossal palms
lifted their noble branches, while the vine-clad balustrades added
another touch of color to the picturesque setting of the scene,
which was further enhanced by the presence of many native chiefs and
dignitaries in the splendor of their rich attire.
In the distance the cannon of Fort Williams boomed a mighty welcome
to the new powers as they drove under the great arch of the outer
gate surmounted by its massive lions. Beneath the limitless blue of
a tropical sky, with everywhere the luxuriant verdure of a tropical
landscape, this was the scene, reflecting both the power of England
and the magnificence and antiquity of the Orient, that greeted Lady
Curzon, who had opened her eyes on life thirty years before in a new
city of a new world thousands of miles away.
To the vast concourse of Europeans and Orientals who beheld Lord and
Lady Curzon as they mounted the steps and entered the palace they
conveyed a sense of entire satisfaction, so absolutely do they realize
in stature, bearing, and poise the conception of a noble sovereignty.
Lord Curzon is more than six feet in height and of proportionate
breadth, while his whole manner denotes the vigor of youth, mentally as
well as physically.
It is a strange coincidence, first, that the Government House at
Calcutta should have been built by the Marquis of Wellesley, who at
a later period, during his Governor-Generalship of Ireland, married,
as already stated, the beautiful Baltimorean, Mary Caton Patterson,
and, in the second place, that it should have been copied, with slight
modification, from Lord Curzon's ancestral home, Kedleston Hall. After
a visit to the latter place, Wellesley declared that if he ever had a
house to build he should take it for his model.
In 1799, during his term as Governor-General of India, it fell to his
lot to erect at Calcutta the viceregal palace known as Government
House, and he built it on a plan well in keeping with the dignity of
the great European power which rules over two-thirds of India.