Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/432

 WORLD OF WOMEN 4^0 LADY MACLAREN Tt is scarcely surprising that Lady Maclaren women's suffrage when it is remembered that her mother Mrs. Pochin. wife of the late Henry Pochin M.P.. of Denbighshire, w^as one of the most courageous pioneers of " women's rights." As a matter of fact, Lady Mac- laren is part-author of no fewer than eight Bills affecting her sex, which her husband. Sir Charles Maclaren, M.P., has introduced into the House of Com- mons. As a young married woman in the seventies. Lady Mac- laren made her home in Belgrave Square the scene of many important political receptions, and if women should come to their own in the manner anticipated by some, they will be very much indebted to the wife of the member for the Bosworth Division of Leicestershire, whom he married in 1877. Although Lady Maclaren was born in Lancashire, she passed her girlhood chiefly at Barnes, and when it is mentioned that her father belonged to the circle of advanced Liberals which included Cobden, Bright, John Stuart Mill, and Professor Fawcett, her zest for political w^ork and organisation will be readily understood. As a matter of fact, she started her political work at the early age of eleven, and in her teens began to write letters to the newspapers on topics of the hour. She has travelled in most parts of the world, and fought elections for her husband as well as in the cause of " women's rights." THE MARCHIONESS OF GRAHAM T"he Marchioness of Graham, who before her Hamilton, was the only child of the twelfth Duke of Hamilton, who died in 1895. From him she inherited the huge fortune of ;^3 5,000 a year, in a-ldition to which she has a personal fortune of about ;^45o,ooo and also an annuity of ;^7,ooo. hhe was only twenty-two years of age when she inherited her father's wealth. Both the marchioness and her husband can boast of the proudest and most ancient lineage, and had the former been a boy she would have held ten British and two Scottish titles. The Isle of Arran forms part of the marchioness's estates, and there, in ^^""^^M Brodick Castle, where, by the way, she once entertained King Edward and Queen Alexandra, sh«=- resides for the greater part of the year. For, in spite of her wealth, she prefers the simple life to the pleasures of M c n X. — ^ society. She is a true Marcnioness of Graham i t .u . La/ayetu ov&x of the country and country customs. She rides an Iceland pony, uses a shawl country fashion as a habit, can shoot a stag with the best, and is numbered among the select com- pany of women masters of foxhounds. She is the proud mother of two bonnie children. MRS. FRENCH SHELDON EXPLORER, author, dramatist, sculptor, lecturer, publisher, and doctor. Thus may be summed up the versatility of Mrs. French Sheldon, the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.- Born in 1847, in New York, this enterprising lady made a voyage round the world when she was sixteen. Pos- sessed of great wealth, she was able to choose her own life, and, after two more voyages round the world, she decided to specialise in African exploration. She studied medicine and geology, became a licensed doctor, and '^'"s. French Sheldon otherwise qualified ^•-'-' ^- -^^^'^^ _ ^"^-J-^^" herself for the task of traversing the interior of Africa. Her book, " A White Woman Alone in Savage Africa," describes her thrilling experi- ences among Congo cannibals. She undertook two expeditions — one in 1892, and the other in 1904, going beyond the Stanley Falls un- accompanied by any other white person. For many years she owned and conducted a pub- lishing house with success, and found time to write many books and translate others', amongst the latter being " Salammb6." It was an edition de luxe of her translation of his work which the French Government placed in Flaubert's tomb at Rouen. She has lectured all over the United States and Europe. LADY MINTO LJer father, General the Hon. Charles Grey, and Queen Victoria for many years. Thus Lady Minto, as a girl, lived in St. James's Palace, spending her time in the Court entourage of the late Queen. She married the Earl of Minto in 1883, and seems to have inherited her father's love of adventure, judging by the number of exciting episodes in which she has figured. Once she journeyed with her husband from Ottawa to Montreal, a distance of over 100 miles, in Canadian canoes, and camped out at night. On another occasion she caused a sensation by riding on the cow-catcher of a locomotive in far-away Klondyke, and, sealed on this dangerous perch, she took a numl.sr of snap- shots of the quickly flying scenery. These ex- periences took place between 1 898 and 1904, when her hus- band was Governor- General of Canada. A year later the earl became Viceroy of India, and Lady Minto completely won the hearts of the women of India by the keen interest she dis- played in every phase of the women's move- ment in the country, of child marriages and perpetual widowhood. The countess is the mother of three charming daughters and two sons, the eldest of whom bears the title of Viscount Melgund. Lady Minto talks well, is a clever wood- carver, and skates to perfection.
 * should become prominent as a champion of
 * marriage in 1906 was Lady Mary Douglas-
 * ^ was private secretary to the Prince Consort