McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, December 24, 1936, Image 6
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McCORMICK MESSENGER, McCORMICK, S. C., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1936
WHO IS THIS MRS. SIMPSON?
She Stole King's Heart
and Rocked an Empire
Pictures tell the romantic story of Mrs. Ernest Simpson’s life.
1—“Wally" as a student at Arundel. 2—In her first bridal gown, as
she became Mrs. Spencer. 3—During a cocktail party in Mayfair.
4—King Edward VIII of England. 5—Earle Winfield Spencer,
Wally’s first husband. 6—Ernest Simpson, her second husband.
By WILLIAM C. UTLEY
{("YT’S colossal, it’s the best news story anyone will ever see in our
time. It’s the biggest Cinderella story you could imagine. I^s
^ a double Cinderella story.’’
That’s what H. L. Mencken, the sharp-tongued Baltimore wise
man, said of the romance of his Baltimore neighbor, Mrs. Wallis War-
field Simpson, and King Edward VIII of England.
She used to be Mrs. Ernest Simp-^ -
son when her name appeared in the
list of guests at some social func
tion, but now that she has crowded
the war in Spain and the commu
nist scare off the front pages, that
amiable if slightly informal institu
tion, the American press, embraces
her as simply “Wally.” Almost any
day now you can expect it to be
come “Pally-Wally.’’
The “Wally," of course, comes
from her middle name, Wallis, al
though her first name is actually
Bessie. Wallis was the middle name
of her father, Mr. Warfield, who
died when she was three years old.
It was the name he liked and the
one by which he was known. And
no wonder. His first name was
Teackle.
Wally Packs a Wallop.
Wally, for a poor American lass
whose Ma once ran a boarding
house (although the family has
never known want, this is actually
true as a technicality and makes
“swell copy"), is something of a
double-barreled wow.
She is only five-feet-four, a slight
and soft-spoken little person, but to
the readers of the tabloids she is
packed with dynamite.
She has won the heart of the
most popular royal figure, perhaps,
in history.
She and her royal sweetheart
have held in their hands the destiny
of nearly 500,000,000 people. For
the crown is the symbol that unifies
the far-flung British empire upon
which the sun never sets.
Her romance has put to work
goodness knows how many persons
hi the manufacture of hot water
bottles to soothe the nerves of un
strung British cabinet members.
Effects Far-Reaching.
It has made front-page news in
even the New York Journal of Com
merce and its Chicago namesake.
It brings fat and venerable print
ers wearing green eyeshades and
two coats of ink, up out of the bow
els of the plant to the editorial
rooms to get a peek at the latest
bulletins. “That Wally!" they say,
chuckling. “What’s the latest dope
about her and the king?" It even
brings our pert little red-headed
switchboard operator, whose hair is
usually marcelled a la Nell Brink-
ley, down to the office with a new,
straight-back coiffure, gathered be
hind, after the manner of the lady
of the hour. “This Wally!" she
says. “What’s she got I ain’t got,
I’d like ♦’ know?" (Editor’s Note:
I’d like to know, too.)
The Simpson case undoubtedly
reached its provocative peak when
at the crisis of the deadlock be
tween the king and parliament, it
kept Mr. Sinclair Lewis, the hus
band of a newspaper columnist
named Dorothy Thompson, pacing
back and forth all night in his room
without a wink of sleep. After
many cups of black coffee, count
less cigarettes and the insistence of
aching arches, Mr. Lewis wrote Ed
ward VIII a vibrant and forceful
letter which started “Sir:" and the
message of which was neatly sum-
<§>
marized in one of its generous sen
tences: “David, come over here.”
Mr. Lewis, it will be recalled, wrote
a book called “It Can’t Happen
Here," although this is generally
regarded as merely a coincidence
in the present case.
Father Bequeathed Little.
Who is Mrs. Simpson? She isn’t
listed in “Who’s Who in Great Brit
ain." But then neither is Gov. Alf
M. Landon of Kansas.
The newest pearl in Baltimore’s
social oyster was bom there June
19, 1896. Although, as a little, blue
eyed girl with dark hair, she could
not remember her father, she was
always to have his name. “I want
her'to, even though she is a girl,"
her mother had said. So the child
was called Bessie Wallis Warfield.
Death prevented Wallis Warfield
from seeing his daughter grow up.
His marriage with her mother, the
former Alice Montague of Virginia,
had been a true love match. He.
was of fine family, but compara
tively poor. He left little for the
widow and her child.
To make ends meet, Mrs. War-
field ran a boarding house in Balti
more until 1908. Then she mar
ried again, her second husband dy
ing two years later. Little Wally,
however, had an uncle who was
wealthy. He looked out for her,
and sent her to the Arundel school,
which she attended for four years.
Inherits Mother’s Wit.
In appearance, Wally was all
Warfield. She had the high cheek
bones admired by artists. Her
broad forehead was well - pro
portioned. Her rich, medium brown
hair (now raven black, incidenlal-
ly) was parted in the center and
drawn back in soft waves (it still
is). She has blue eyes and creamy,
pale tan skin, but perhaps the most
attractive feature she has are her
handsome teeth, of perfect white
ness.
Her native wit and gracious
manner, Wallis Simpson is said to
have inherited from her mother.
Wally’s first love came to her in
Pensacola, Fla., in 1916, in the form
of one Lieut. Comdr. Earle Winfield
Spencer. He was a dashing aviator
and a graduate of the United States
Naval academy. He conducted a
whirlwind courtship, with the re
sult that they were married in Bal
timore on Nov. 18 of the same year.
Eight years later Wally secured an
uncontested divorce from Mr.
Spencer, charging him with deser
tion.
Recalls Wally’s Personality.
The three years following, our
heroine spent traveling between
Virginia and Europe. It was in Lon
don that she became acquainted
with Ernest Aldrich Simpson, a
British citizen of American birth.
He was a graduate of Harvard uni
versity, a prosperous shipping
broker and a former officer in the
Coldstream guards, crack English
regin\ent.
This courtship was likewise swift.
They married July 21, 1928, and
went to live in a fashionable apart
ment in Mayfair. They were lead
ers in the smart society .set. Mrs.
Simpson, especially, was popular.
Mrs. George Mosety of Geneva,
111., a sister of Wally’s first hus
band, recently threw light on her
personality, which gives indication
of how favored Wally must have
been in Mayfair society.
“She was very intelligent, smart
and attractive,* with a very sweet
Side to her nature," Mrs. Mosely
said. “She was very attractive t6
men. She could no more keep from
flirting than from breathing. She
could come into a room full of
women and you wouldn’t pay any
attention to her, but the minute a
man came in, she would sparkTe
and turn on the charm."
It did not take long for Wally
and Edward to become fast friends.
It is said that she early supplanted
Thelma, Lady Furness, one of the
Morgan twins, as his favorite.
Name Linked With King.
It was not until August 1, 1934,
however, that Mrs. Simpson was
first mentioned in American news
papers as a friend of the prince,
and then only her last name was
given. It was not until a year
later that her full name, then un
known to American newspaper
men, appeared in news stories here.
On Jan. 22 of this year Mrs. Simp
son was mentioned as a close friend
of the new Kihg Edward in stories
about princesses the bachelor mon
arch might marry. Three months
later the names of Mr. and Mrs.
Simpson appeared on the court list
of a banquet for Col. and Mrs.
Charles A. Lindbergh.
Steadily, Mrs. Simpson began to
be more frequently linked with the
king in the news columns.
On Sept. 9, last, she was named
as a member of the royal yachting
party in the Adriatic, then as ac
companying the king in a visit to
an ear specialist in Vienna. The
first real indications of the love af
fair that eventually blossomed ap
peared on Sept. 28, when the king
entertained Wally at Balmoral cas
tle. While the British press kept
strict silence, American newspapers
began to carry series of articles
on the significance of the friend
ship, whether or not the Simpsons
were likely to be divorced, and
whether she and the king would
marry.
Divorce Not Yet Final.
Mr. Simpson packed up his bags
and moved to the Guards club Oct.
14; Mrs. Simpson moved into a resi
dence in Cumberland Terrace,
standing on land which by mere co
incidence belonged to the Crown.
(As a matter of fact, much of her
childhood was spent on property
granted to her ancestors by the
Crown.) Mrs. Simpson secretly filed
suit for divorce at Ipswich.
Three days later the press re
ported the king to have entertained
Wally at one of his estates, Fort
Belvedere. In another three days
the royal bodyguard was assigned
to her. A week later her divorce
was granted, but it does not be
come absolute until late in April.
It was not until Nov. 20 that the
wary British press first allowed
Mrs. Simpson’s full name to ap
pear—and then it was as one of
the guests at a charity ball!
The rest is current history so
familiar to everyone who reads that
there is no need to go into it her&
© Western Newspaper Union.
Heirloom Handkerchiefs and Others
It's Easy to Crochet
This Set of Lace Filet
'T'HE handkerchief which we take
so much for granted was once
a luxury permitted only to those of
noble birth. A Hungarian queen of
the Fourteenth century owned one
silk handkerchief profusely embroid
ered and by decree of a German
king in the Sixteenth century the
handkerchief was permitted . to
those of noble birth only.
The first record of a handker
chief appears on an old Assyrian
bas-relief, but even so Persia does
not seem to have adopted it. Ac
cording to Zenophon, Cyrus the
Great in Persia forbade his sub
jects to blow their noses. In Egypt,
at this time, royal subjects dried
their tears on the bottom of their
mantles.
Square handkerchiefs originated
in France. Louis XIV made a law
that all handkerchiefs, regardless
of size and texture, must be made
as broad as they were long.
Concerning the handkerchief as
we of this day and age know it, as
sands of the sea does it number,
while fashion plays it up in every
conceivable mood as a smart ac
cent to the costume.
Not only is the modern handker
chief a “friend indeed in the time
of need" but it is created a “thing
of beauty"—a “joy forever" too,
for the wedding kohlkerchief
sketched at the top in the illustra
tion proves just that, since it is a
perfectly exquisite type such as the
modern bride carries, to be handed
down from generation to genera
tion. Made of sheerest of hand-
woven linen it is embroidered in
fine seed, appenzel type needlework,
the entire center spoked in squares.
The flower centers in each corner
are embellished with real pearls
(48 in number), an accessory which
becomes an heirloom even as the
fine veil and lace may be handed
down to posterity. However, deli
cate though it is in appearance it
may be laundered.
Other kohlkerchiefs (new name
in modern fashion parlance for cer
tain high-type handkerchiefs) have
literally traveled half way round thq
world before they reached the
United States. Here’s how—the flax
was raised in Belgium, then sent to
Ireland where it was made into
sheerest linen, much of it hand-
woven. The linen was sent to China
where it was cut into the required
sizes, stamped with designs created
by American artists and embroid
ered by skilled Chinese needle
women whose art dates back 2,000
years. When the handkerchiefs are
finished to the last degree of perfec
tion and artistry they are sent to
America.
© Western Newspaper Union.
WOOL LACE HATS
By CUERIE NICHOLAS
<
Wool lace, so fashionable this win
ter for daytime suits and dresses,
is proving a perfect medium for
smart sports headgear. When the
outdoor event is to be followed by
cocktails and an evening of danc
ing, what could be more apropos
for the occasion than the trim little
skull-cap chapeau shown here at
the top? Of black wool lace it is just
the thing for a windy afternoon
and perky enough for any young
blade to adore. Its trim of shiny
black ostrich immediately makes it
quite correct for the more formal
aftermath. The other hat is also of
black wool lace, showing to advan
tage its use for a chic sports model.
The crown is quite high with the
narrow-shaped brim broadening to
ward the front to make a flattering
shield over the eyes. The large
bow is of the same wool lace.
NEGLIGEES ASSUME
HISTORICAL TREND
The sirens of the centuries have
inspired the new negligees.
The high - waisted line of the
glamorous Empress Josephine, the
full - skirted silhouette of the Di-
rectoire belles and the trouser cos
tumes of almond - eyed Oriental
beauties have all left their mark
on outfits designed for the loung
ing hours of modern fashionables.
The outstanding news is the en
semble effect generally combining
two fabrics and two parts, as a
gown and house coat or pajamas
and jacket. Supple silk satin gowns
designed as night dresses, but al
most as formal in cut as evening
frocks—are topped by hip-length or
floor-length coats, often of a con
trasting fabric.
Military Capes Are All
the Rage Now in New York
Square-shouldered capes are tak
ing New York by storm.
You cee them in tweeds and furs,
velvets and lames, worn by day and
I by night.
And they appear again in the ad
vance showings of southern resort
fashions, engaging the attention of
resort-flitters just now.
The cape suit is a new success, in
rough tweeds, suitable for town or
country wear.
Usually it consists of matching
skirt and fingertip-length cape, with
contrasting fitted jacket.
The capes have the square
shouldered dash of historical mili
tary costumes and are highly flat
tering to practically any type of
figure.
Prints Are Featured in
Dresses for Resort Wear
The resort mode is breaking into
print. Wild, high colored floral
prints on whit6 grounds are the
trend of the times.
Some are in silk crepe and some
are in cotton, some are in linen and
some chiffoh, but all are vivid as
to color and striking as to design.
These same prints are the ones
you will be wearing next spring
and summer, so if you aren’t a
southern bird of»passage, you might
still keep the subject in mind.
Pattern 5520
A bit of humble string—this gor
geous peacock pattern — and
presto—you’re the proud owner of
dainty filet lace chair sets, scarf
ends, or buffet sets! Fascinating
needlework, the K stitch sets off
the design effectively. Even be
ginners will find this pattern an
easy way to add to their prestige
as needlewomen. In pattern 5520
you will find instructions and >
charts for making the set shown;
an illustration of it and of all the
stitches needed; material require
ments.
To obtain this pattern send 15
cents in stamps or - coins (coins
preferred) to The Sewing Circle,
259 W. Fourteenth St., New York, i ,
N. Y. 4
Write plainly your name, ad
dress and pattern number.
SOOTHING TO
TIRED EYES
Modern living puts such a strain on the eyea
that more and more people are finding Murine
as necessary as a dentifrice in their morning
and evening toilet routine. Murine genUy ana
pleasantly relieves irritation, washes away the
invisible dust, gives amazing comfort when
eyes are watery and inflamed by a cold. Murine
is a physician’s formula containing 7 ingredient*
of proven value in proper care of the eyes. In use
lor 40 years.Today—get Murine at your drug store.
^ -
I
Common Sense
The aim of all intellectual train
ing for the mass of the peopln
should be to cultivate common
sense.—J. Stuart Mill.
Laugh, but Be Cautious
Laugh at your troubles if you
will, but don’t get into the sam«
ones over and over.
—that exceeds the rigid require
ments of the United States Phar
macopoeia. At all druggists.
WORLD’S LARGEST SELLER AT 1 Oo
St.Josepti
GENUINE PURE ASPIRIN
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Lack of exercise and injudicious eating
make stomachs acid. You must neu
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soundly all night and wake up feeling
refreshed and really fit.
Milnesia, the original milk of magnesia
in wafer form, neutralizes stomach acid.
Each wafer equals 4 teaspoonfuls of milk
of magnesia. Thin, crunchy, mint-flavor,
tasty. 20c, 35c & 60c at drug stores.
35c & 60c
bottles
20c tins
MILNESi*-
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m IN ESI A
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