MARCUS WHEELER,
Sir, - I refer to Sir Josslyn Gore-Booth's letter (July 25th) about the status of his great-aunt Constance following her marriage in 1900 to the Polish painter and playwright Kazimierz Markiewicz. He rightly casts doubt on Markiewicz's claim to have been a Count.
Authoritative Polish sources state that the Markiewicz family belonged to the szlachta or gentry and that - perhaps by virtue of this - Kazimierz certainly used the title of "Count", but without right.
In fact, it appears, this title was not native to Poland; and Poles could have acquired it legitimately only as citizens of the Russian or Austro-Hungarian Empires or as recipients of an honour conferred by the Holy See. - Yours, etc.,
MARCUS WHEELER, Cranmore Avenue, Belfast.