London, Sunday April 26th --Mr. William K. Vanderbilt and Mrs. Lewis M. Rutherfurd

were married at nine o'clock yesterday morning at St. Mark's, North

Audley Street. To paragraph only eight persons, including the

contracting parties, were in the edifice at the time. To the very last

the element of secrecy was successfully maintained, and in order to

effectively prevent the presence of undesirable spectators, the wedding

was celebrated at the very earliest hour in the day possible under the

laws of Great Britain.

 

The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Arthur H. Hadden, Vicar of St.

Mark's and Honorary Chaplain to the King.

 

The witnesses were the Duke and Dutchess of Marlborough. Mr. Winfield

Scott Hoyt, Mr. Vanderbilt's close friend, was best man, and Mr. Henry

White, first secretary of the American Embassy, gave the bride away.

These four signed the register. The only other person present was Mr.

James Smith, verger of the Church.

 

The service was the regular Church of England service, and did not

occupy more then 15 minutes time.

 

Mr. Vanderbilt, who has been living in Tallant' Private Hotel, but a

few steps from the Church, was the first to arrive, accompanied by Mr.

Hoyt. The Duke and Dutchess of Marlborough came next, then Mrs.

Rutherfurd, accompanied by Mr. H. White drove up in Mr. Whites carriage.

 

The doors closed.

 

In order to insure immunity from inquisitive persons the doors of the

church were not opened, the bridal party entering the sacred edifice

through the vicarage -which adjoins the Church. The bride, who is tall

and graceful, looked charming and wore a very becoming gray traveling

costume, almost severe in its plainess. A toque of the same color

completed a very effective toilette

 

Mrs. Rutherford did not wear a jewel of any description, but carried a

small prerogative cook.

 

Mr. Vanderbilt wore the regulation frock coat. There was no flower in

his buttonhole to mark him as the happy bride groom..

 

When the ceremony was completed the Dutchess of Marlborough was be first

to offer her congratulations, kissing first her newly made step mother,

then her father.

 

the other members of the bridal party hindered their best wishes, and

all present then went to the vastly where the register was signed. Mr.

and Mrs. Vanderbilt then left the church by way of the vicarage, and

entering Mr. whites carriage were driven to his residence, #X White all

gardens. Followed by the other members of the bridal 40. Here the

wedding breakfast was port taken of and shortly before 11 o'clock Mr.

and Mrs. Vanderbilt drove away to start on their honey moon.

 

Crossed to Paris

 

It was announced they were to pass a few days in England, but instead

they took the 11 o'clock train for Paris. This is confirmed by the fact

that the upper deck cabin on the mail steamer Dover, which left Dover in

connection with this train, was engaged in the name of Vanderbilt. It

was occupied by a Lady and Gentlemen whose description answers that of

Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt. It is not improbable they will make a yachting

cruise in the Mediterranean on Mr. Vanderbilt's big steam yacht, the

Valiant, later on.

 

Although Mr. Vanderbilt and his advisers succeeded in baffling public

curiosity until the past most admirably, it was not any easy task to

attain their end. It was necessary to resort to numerous expedients,

some of which seem strange when the great wealth and social position of

the bride and groom and witnesses are concerned. The rumors and denial

of this week have been numerous, all owing to the fact that Mr.

Vanderbilt was determined to keep the time and place of his wedding

secret. To insure this he took up his residence in a little old

fashioned private hotel, such as abound in the side streets of Mayfair ,

and only a few steps away from the Church in which he was married.

 

An Old Fashioned Hotel

 

It is the last place one would think of looking for an American

millionaire, and is old fashioned and has but few modern conveniences.

Here he established his legal residence on Wednesday April 8. This

step was made necessary by the information conveyed to Mr. Vanderbilt's

advisers that it would be unwise for him to have application made to the

Archbishop of Canterbury for a special license owing to the primate's

strong opposition to remarriage by the Church of divorced persons.

 

It was then decided that the best method of securing a license for a

church wedding would be to apply for what is known as a Bishop of

London's license. Mr. Vanderbilt therefore went to Tallant's hotel to

secure the requisite legal residence.

 

In the meantime he made several trips to Paris, and on Tuesday night of

last week he returned from Paris. The following morning with his legal

adviser, Mr. R. Newton Crane, he appeared before Dr. Tristram,

Chancellor of the diocese of London, whose duty it is to hear all

applications for marriage licenses of this character and to decide

whether they shall be granted or not.

 

The license granted.

 

Dr. Tristram heard Mr. Cranes application, studied the documents

presented, which included the papers in the divorce suit brought by the

first Mrs. Vanderbilt, questioned Mr. Vanderbilt very closely and then

announced he was convinced there was no legal or moral ground upon which

he could refuse to grant the license applied for.

 

Mr. Crane cited a hypothetical case and stated that should Dr. Tristram

refuse the license it was in the applicants power to apply for a writ of

mandamus and compel its issuance.

 

Dr. Tristram acknowledged this and upon being assured that a copy of

the writ of the New York court removing the prohibition against Mr.

Vanderbilt remarrying would be filed with him when it arrived from

America, granted the license, all the conditions of residence and

character having been satisfied.

 

With the granting of the license nothing stood in the way of the wedding

taking place. Yesterday was selected, but I understand that had the

secret leaked out, Mr. Vanderbilt and Mrs. Rutherford were quite

prepared to change both the day and place.

 

Mrs. Rutherfurd's Arrival

 

It was necessary, to maintain secrecy, that Mrs. Rutherford should reach

London without her arrival being known, if possible. She was constantly

in company in Paris with Mrs. Henry White and Miss White, and in order

that her departure might escape notice Mrs. Rutherford, when she left

Paris on Friday morning, was accompanied, Mrs. White and her daughter

remaining in Paris with Mrs. Rutherford two little daughters. So far was

this scheme adhered to that Mrs. Rutherford did not travel with the Duke

and Dutchess of Marlborough, who crossed from Paris the same day. She

took another train, which arrived earlier and did not alite at either of

the west and stations, where she might have been expected, but left the

train before it reached the terminus. So determined was she to escape

observation that Mr. Henry White, who went to meet her, missed her. Once

at Mr. Whites house she remained indoors until she left for the church

about half past eight o'clock yesterday morning.

 

Desirous of escaping observation

 

I was told yesterday that Mr. Vanderbilt was so desirous of escaping

recognition that when he drove from his solicitor's office to Dr.

Tristram's office in Dean's yard he ordered the coach man not to go

through Fleet Street saying "They know me there" and the carriage made a

big detour in order to reach Ludgate Hill without passing through the

Park row of London.

 

There is a very interesting fact in connection with the issuance of the

marriage license, which demonstrates that circumstances favored Mr.

Vanderbilt keeping secret the fact that a license had been applied for

in his name.

 

When it was first announced he was to be married in London, all the

offices where a license could be issued were visited and the books which

are open to public inspection were searched but no evidence was found of

his having applied for a license.

 

It now appears that the licenses granted to divorced persons at the

office of the Bishop of London's registry are not entered in the book

which is open to public inspection, and for a very peculiar reason.

 

There are in the Church of England some fanatically inclined

religionists of whom Father Black is chief, who are only too anxious to

have an opportunity to demonstrate against the church marrying divorced

persons. Upon several occasions they secured information of licenses

been granted to divorced persons from the records at Dr. Tristram's

Office and made a demonstration at the Church.