Australasian Sketcher with Pen and Pencil (Melbourne, Vic. : 1873 - 1889), Wednesday 12 March 1884, page 42


A FASHIONABLE MARRIAGE.

A marriage, in which more than ordinary interest has been manifested, took place on February 9, at Rupertswood, Sunbury, the residence of Sir William J. Clarke. The happy pair were the Hon. Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, second son of Earl of Darnley, of Cobham Hall, Gravesend, Kent, England, and the popular cap-tain of the last team of English cricketers which visited Aus-tralia, and Miss Florence Rose Morphy, youngest daughter of the late John Stephen Morphy, police magistrate, formerly of Beech-

worth. The Ceremony was performed at St. Mary's Church, Sunbury, by the Rev. W. C. Ford, the incumbent of the church, assisted by the Rev. H. N. Wollaston, of Trinity Church, East Melbourne. The church was tastefully festooned with flowers and heart-shaped wreaths intertwined. The choir was led by Mrs. Ryan, and Lady Clarke, an intimate friend of the bride, was among the choristers. A special train arrived from Melbourne, conveying about 200 guests, who, on behalf of Mrs. Morphy, had received invitations to be present. At half-past 1 the bridal party entered the church, Miss Morphy leaning on the arm of Sir William Clarke, who gave her away. She was attired in a Prin-cess brocaded white silk dress, trimmed with Honiton lace. The veil, of plain tulle, was fastened with a diamond arrow, the gift of the bridegroom. The bridesmaids, who wore Cambridge blue, were Miss Lily Snodgrass, Miss Lily Fisken, Miss Blanche Clarke, Miss Marion Jeffry, Miss Mary Clarke, Miss Baby Parkyns, Miss Jessie Osborne, and Miss Amy Parkyns. Their baskets of flowers were of cerise and yellow, in compliment to the colours of the Bligh cricketing team. The groomsmen were Lord William Neville, Mr. G. F. Vernon, Mr. F. De Verdon, Mr. A. F. Robinson, Mr. Walter Clarke Warrington (private secretary to Sir William Des Voeux, Governor of Fiji), and Masters Clyde Clarke and Russell Clarke. The wedding breakfast took place in the new ballroom at Rupertswood, which was prettily decorated and inscribed ; the dejeûner was rendered more enjoyable by the music of Plock's band. The bridegroom, in responding to the toast of the day, alluded in happy terms to the fact that he had, while captaining his team of cricketers, always found it easy to reply on their behalf after they had played a winning match, which he might be said to have done that morning. The toast list included the healths of Mrs. Morphy, the parents of the

bridegroom, Sir William and Lady Clarke, the clergy, and the Hon. Ivo Bligh's late comrades in the cricketing field, on whose behalf Mr. Vernon responded. The newly-wedded pair left early in the afternoon for the residence of Sir George Verdon, Macedon. Many of the guests, remained to dance till 10 o'clock in the evening. The special train left Sir William Clarke's private platform at half-past 10 p.m., and reached Melbourne three quarters of an hour later.