While His Sprightly Ex-Wife
Became the Bride of
Another Architect with
a Military Career
to His Credit
PIOUS OR PIRATE?
Howard Pyle’* Well-known Painting of Cae
tain Kidd. Who Married the Widow of John
Cox, Forebear of Leonard Cox. In Hi* Day,
Kidd Wai Regarded a* a Brigand on the High
Sea*. Seme Modern Inreitigator* Claim He
Wat Much Maligned. (At Right) Leonard Cox
in the Cottume of the Pirate Chieftain Which
He Wore at the Annual Beaux Art* Ball, in
N. Y. City, Two Year* Age.
WITH a heart longing: for liberty
and a suitcase fall of World
War medals, the tall, hand
■ome military man and architect went
to Reno. There be calmly divorced his
sprightly, beautiful wife. And while
the ink on the decree was still damp,
the sprightly, beautiful wife married—
another tall, handsome architect and
man!
These are basic facts in the defunct
romance of the aristocratic Leonard
Coxes, of New York City, They are
facts that their friends heard with a
sense of shock. For since their mar
riage in the bristling, martial year of
1917, Leonard Cox had been benig
nantly regarded as society’s “happiest
husband.’’
It was a childless marriage, yet with
out a palpable ripple of discord. Then,
n month ago, Mr. Cox suddenly filed
- his suit in Nevada’s rest cure for mis
mates. He requested his freedom from
Frances Montagu Ward Cox, known to
her intimates as “Bonnie.’’
He taxed Mrs. Cox with having a
stubborn disposition. Further, he as
serted, she always disagreed with him;
quarrels were constant; they were tem
peramentally unsuited to one another,
and his wife became jealous whenever
he absented himself from their charm
ing home in the exclusive Beekman
Place section of the city.
Apparently, Mr. Cox’s array of rea
sons was regarded as sound. On the
ground of mental cruelty, he was
awarded his divorce. Five days elapsed.
Then the ex-Mrs. Cox quietly married
Arnall P. (“Jerry”) Hodges, an archi
teet of English-American stock who
served witH the British army in Mace
donia during the war.
There was a strong hint that
Leonard Cox’s Renovation proceedings
were no surprise to beautiful “Bonnie.”
People pointed to the fact that even
before her extremely brief honeymoon
with “Jerry” was oyer, an apartment
had been fully prepared for the newly
weds in the Notable Nineties, near
Park Avenue^ Very close friends of
the bride vouchsafed the information,
furthermore, that Cox’s seeming disre
gard of social usage was not really due
to lack of gallantry, but to awkward
ness of circumstances.
xne ume me 'jUAen uiryiircit iw
part, “Bonnie’s” mother, Mrs, Charles
Montagu Ward, fell ill and on physi
cian’s orders went to her country place
at Notth Hampton, New Hampshire. It
was imperative that her devoted daugh
ter accompany her. So Keno for Mrs.
Cox was distinctly “out.” It is pre
sumed, therefore, that for the peace
of those concerned Mr. Cox volun
teered his sendees, with signal suc
cess. ,i,
Various theories, some plausible,
others grotesque, were put forward by
bewildered acquaintances to account
for the smash-up of the Coxes’ mar
riage.'One version attempted to trace
the root of the trouble back to the war
itself, which is today blamed for every
thing from a fallen arch to a broken
heart. One New York newspaper in
timated that the dashing veteran had
become deeply absorbed in military mat
ters.
LADY OF THE FAN
Mr». Arn»ll I*. Hodge*, Formerly Mr*. ‘'Bennie" Cox, Wife of Leonard Cox.
Ju»t Before Her Second Wedding, He Divorced Her, Charging Mental Cruelty.
Both Hu*band» Are Di*tingui»hed a* Architect* and for Their Military Career*.
He was “rarely seen out of khaki,
it was declared, and he went in heavily
for parades, A. E. F. reunions, and
Legion activities, Certainly there is
pictorial evidence that the former Lieu
tenant Cox was “medal-minded,’’ Con
temporary photographs of him show
him wearing veritable clusters of
decorations, such as the Croix de
Guerre with palm, 1'Ordre de la
Couronno de Beige, and the ribbon of
a chevalier in the French Legion of
Honor.
But—“That’s all nonsense," con
fided a friend of the new Mrs. “Jerry”
Hodges, “The real cause of their diffi
culties was sheer incompatibility. ‘Bon
nie’ was very fond of dancing, and she
had a flair for social gayety that her
husband didn’t share, Mr. Cox, on the
other hand, was grave and dignified,
and easily bored by festivities.”
Whatever the facts, Mr. Cox needs
no display of medals to prove his per
sonal distinction. The son of Kenyon
Cox, the gifted artist; Leonard
Cox, is descended from the famous
John Cox, who in 1684 built his home
near Hell Cate on Manhattan Island,
After he died, his widow married no
less a person than Captain John Kidd,
regarded by patient Twentieth Century
investigators as a much maligned citi
zen, but coarsely described by (he cal
lous authorities of his time as a pirate.
Doubts have been frequently ex
pressed that lvidd was quite the des
perate, blood-dyed villain that legend
has painted him. But it was not until
1928 that really fresh data became
available through the efforts of Wil
bertine T. Worden, of New York City.
Causes of Floating
Kidney and How
It Is Treated
•i fly
HERBERT L. HERSCHEiNSOHN, M. D.
(Phytieian end Surgeon.)
BOTH kidneys are located in the
upper rear part of the abdomen.
They are kept in that position
by a number of factors. Each kidney
is surrounded by a thick layer of fat
rather firmly attached to the surround
ing structures. The structures, which
neighbor behind the kidneys, are prac
tically the same on both sides, namely,
the musclps of the back and part of
the diaphragm. The structures in
front, however, differ on the right and
left. In front of the right kidney are
the liver and intestine. In front of
the left are the spleen, and parts of
the stomach, pancreas and intestines.
The fatty attachment to all of these
prevents the kidneys from shifting
about.
The organs in the abdomen exert
‘pressure upon each other, and, con
i' sequently, upon the kidneys. This is
I aided by the powerful muscles of
the abdomen. A pressure of this
kind is sufficient to keep the organs
in their normal positions. The
large blood vessels, which are se
cured to the kidneys, play their part
as anchors. Both kidneys rest in de
pressions, the left one deeper than the
right.
It now becomes easier to understand
1 how and why a kidney loses its po
aition when we consider that any one
e>( the above-mentioned factors can
become weakened. In the first place,
L
This Drawing Illustrates the Position of
the Kidneys in the Bods.
(A) Normal Positions of Kidneys.
(B) Normal Extent of Movements of
Bight Kidney.
(C) “Movable” Kidney.
absence or loss of fat throughout the
body means less fat around the kid
neys. Inasmuch as the fat acts as a
cement between each kidney and the
tissues all about it, the loss of this
fixation is important. This is espe
cially likely to occur in individuals Who
at one time were more or less obese
and then later lost considerable weight,
if the abdominal muscles become
weak (ho pressure against the organs,
including the kidneys, is reduced.
Pregnancy is one of the most impor
tant causes of relaxation of these
muscles. It is for that reason that
floating kidney is a condition found
almost ten times as often in women
as in men.. There is some degree of
movement of the kidneys in nearly all
women who have borne children. The
recesses in which the kidneys lie are
not as deep in women as in men, an
other factor which explains the greater
frequency of movable kidneys in
women.
Why is it usually the right kidney
which "floats”? One reason is that
the recess in which the right kidney
lies is not as deep as the one on the
left. Being more shallow, it is not of
such great value in supporting the
organ. Secondly, the left kidney has
an attachment to the diaphragm which
is greater than on the right. The
third, and possibly the most important
reason, is the fact that the liver, in
its up and down movements during
respiration, cannot help but affect the
position of the right kidney, which lies
right next to'it.
The degree of movability of a kid
ney varies considerably. It is a laet
that every kidney is capable of some
motion. When it moves several inches
it is called a “movable kidney.” When
its attachments are so loose that it
can descend a considerable distance it
is termed a "floating kidney." Such a
kidney may be found down in the
pelvis or on the opposite side of the
abdomen.
Co**}rifciii. 19 jQ. . ’•- *
Delving into scores of documents
and records two hundred years old, she
found evidence that the “wretch" con’
domned by thousands of persons had
been in reality a citizen of culture who
had fallen into public disesteem by an
unfortunate chain of circumstances.
Kidd, she claimed, was a prosperous
and law-abiding land and ship owner,
who fell violently in love with Sarah
Cox, beautiful widow, whose husband,
William Cox, Leonard’s ancestor, had
been drowned. After his death she
married a wealthy merchant named
Oorts. He also died, and the widow
became Kidd’s bride.
An influential New Yorker, Robert
Livingston, was backed by Kidd in his
(Livingston’s) efforts to become Sec
retary of Indian Affairs. In the event
of his election, he would rid the high
seas of the throat-cutting buccaneers
that were then infesting them. Pres
sure was brought to bear upon Kidd
to undertake the captaincy of an ex
pedition for this purpose.
The upshot of it was- that his crew
threatened to mutiny and murder Kidd
unless he attacked a Dutch ship and
looted it. Despite his avowal, on his
return, that he had acted under the
death threat, he was hanged in 1701.
His wife was prostrated with grief.
Mr. Cox’s architectural stauding is
high. After attending Princeton Uni
versity, he worked in the offices of
McKim, Meade and White. He is a
member of the Princeton Architectural
Association, and was a consulting ex
pert on the commission appointed by
Governor Al Smith to examine ahd re
vise the New York State tenement
House Law.
His marriage to “Bonnie” was a
notable event. On August 22, 191T, at
the height of the general military
fever, she became his wife at Darien,
Connecticut. She had made her debut
in 1912, when her uncle, Henry M.
Ward, presented her
at his Park Avenue
residence.
Both "Bonnie” and
Leonard could boast,
if they wished to,-of
eminent Colonial an
restry, She is one of
the handtul of women
in America entitled to
membership in the
closely guarded Daugh
ters of the Cincinnati.
Her family stems from
old patrician Connecti
cut stock, and her
father, Charles Mon
tagu Ward, was a
cousin of Julia Ward
Howe, the silver-haired
poetess, whose "Battle
Hymn of the Repub
lic" is still a classic of
the schoolrooms and
patriotic rallies.
T h e .1 e w Mr s.
Hodges is also in di
rect line of descent
from Governor Sam
uel Ward, of Rhode
Island. the chair
man of the Continental Congress in
1774, whose son, LieutenanCColonel
Samuel Ward, was one of the original
members of the Society of the Cincin-.
uati. She is a graduate from the Drear-'
tey School and has been an active fig
ure in social life since debutante days.
The bridegroom, Mr. Hodges, is also
a divorcee. His first wife was Ruth
Trumbull Hayden, daughter of Mrs.
dames Raynor Hayden. He is of fine
lineage, being the son of Arthur
Hodges, of “Turweston House," North
amptonshire, England, and a brother
of Major A. Phelps Hodges, M. C\.
Royal Artillery. He was a pupil at the
King’s School, Ely, Cambridgeshire,
and studied at the Architectural Assb
ciation of London.
The prestige of the principals in the
“MEDAL-M1NDED”
Leonard Cox, Aristocrat, Architect and
Gallant Warrior—Shown Abova in tba
Uniform Ha Wore During the World
War, With a Few of Hi* Many
Decoration*.
Cox divorce action was such that re
gret was felt bv many members of the
Four Hundred. One social commentator
confided in type that he was “all
broken up" over the collapsed romance,
and the charm of the young couple was
reiterated on all sides.
But romance and incompatibility
are bad running mates. So it may be
afely inferred that when the “happi
est husband" packed his medals and
took a Reno-bound express, he was not
acting on a regrettable impulse. g.
Blindfolded Swordsman Does a William Tell
,,^*VNE! Two! Three.” And as
1 the blindfolded man’s sabre
descended, the “spud" repos
ing on the young woman’s neck fell
neatly in half, leaving not a nick of
the blade visible on her delicate skin.
This rather remarkable accomplish
ment has earned for its performer,
Sergeant-Major Eggleton, of the Brit
ish Army, the complimentary epithet
of “The William Tell of the Swopd.”
Always a good one with the foils
and similar weapons, the Sergeant
Major was visibly annoyed one day
when a friend ventured to doubt his
prowess. “You may be a jolly plucked
'un on the field of battle.” commented
this amiable skeptic, “but in peace
time I’ll bet you’re not so ruddy fine.”
His swordmanship is a point of per
sonal honor with Eggleton, so he de
termined to prove to the doubting that
his knowledge was neither a matter of
pedantry nor cjiance. To help him win
the wager, a girl of his acquaintance
offered to enact the role of Tell’s son.
The photograph above was snapped
the moment after the Sergeant-Major
had achieved his surprisingly accurate
feat.
But one can imagine that the young
woman was greatly relieved to find
her neck still in place. ,
Inc, Great Britain Klfht& Hfbfue#
— , J
Sergeant-Major Eggleton, of the British Army, While Blindfolded, Bisecting a I
Potato on a Girl’s Neck Without Inflicting a Scratch.