THE marriage of Enrico Caruso to an American girl, Dorothy Park Benjamin of New York, adds two more names to the long list of notable international marriages—although the illustrious tenor asserts that he is already “seven-twelfths American.”

The wedding, which took place at the Marble Collegiate Church, New York, on Tuesday, Aug. 20, as recorded in MUSICAL AMERICA last week, was a very quiet one, the only members of the wedding party being Mrs. John S. Keith, matron of honor, and Mr. Caruso’s secretary, Bruno Zirato, who acted as best man. The ceremony was read by the Rev. Oliver Paul Barnhill.

Mr. and Mrs. Caruso have temporarily foregone the pleasure of a wedding trip, as the former’s contract with the motion picture people will keep him in New York for several weeks. Already work has commenced on the second film in which he is appearing. Immediately after the wedding they returned to the apartments of Mr. Caruso at the Hotel Knickerbocker, where they will be at home this summer.

As soon as the event—which came as a surprise to even the closest friends of Mr. Caruso and his bride—became known the happy couple were deluged with congratulatory telegrams. More than 150 messages of good wishes were receive!! on the day following the announcement of the marriage, among them being congratulations from General Guglilmotti of the Italian Military Commission General Manager Gatti-Casazza of the Metropolitan Opera, Pasquale Amato and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt.

A telegram that deeply touched Mr. Caruso came from Ephraim Benguiat who said he was ill at St. Luke’s Hospital, and dictated his felicitations. A basket of roses came from the Verdi Club and other gifts of roses were from Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jesse Lasky.

Mrs. Caruso was born at Hastings-on Hudson and was educated at the Sacred Heart Convent in New York. She made her New York society debut four year ago. She is a member of the Junior League and an ardent sportswoman. Her father, Park Benjamin, is a patent lawyer and was once editor of The Scientific American. He is the author of “The Early History of Electricity” and “History of the Naval Academy.”

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin are spending the summer at Spring Lake, N.J. A brother of· the bride, Romeyn Park Benjamin, serving ‘with the American forces, was wounded for the second time at Chateau-Thierry on June 7 and is still in the hospital.

Mr. Caruso and the former Miss Benjamin met at an afternoon reception at the home of a mutual friend about two years ago, it is understood. Although it was known that. Mr. Caruso was a frequent caller at the Benjamin home there had been no engagement announcement, and comparatively none of their friends knew of the contemplated nuptials. In securing the marriage license Mr. Caruso gave his age as forty-five years, while Miss Benjamin’s age was given at twenty-five.

The famous tenor has sung in this country every season since 1903 and is very warmly attached to the United States. This is the first summer that he has passed in America and the first vacation spent in New York, as he had previously been heard in Europe or in South America during the· summer season. He is an ardent supporter of the cause of the Allies and is said to have given more than $100,000 to Italian war charities, in addition to being a generous subscriber to all Allied war relief organizations.

By concerts last year in South America Caruso raised more than $1,000,000 for Allied war relief.