The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-30
[Fron, pen sketch by Fish err.

during the London season, especially in
music lines. It is credit to British dis
cernment to record that English hearts
have been taken by storm by one Ameri-
can young woman, who came here at the
beginning of the season without any royal
or aristocratic patronage. Miss Fay Davis,
, a Massachusetts, girl who possesses re-
markable histrionic talent, has become the
brightest star of the West End drawing
room and semi public entertainments.
Society has not failed to indulge in a few
new fads, without which the season would
have been dull, in spite of its thronged
| functions. The bicycle craze has been one
feature. In the last few days, however,
the burial and mourning reform has been
the absorbing drawing room topic. Dis
cussions upon "earth to earth" interment,
the material of which coffins should be
made and the amount of crepe which
widows should wear serve to kill time
pleasantly. Even the Prince of Wales
succumbed to the fascination of this fad,
and letter from him was read at
meeting held the other day at the
Duke of Sutherland's house in which his
Royal Highness sent cordial expression
of his approval of the burial reform So
cieties, the main principle of which as
formulated by Lord Grimthorpe sets forth
that the earth is the proper and providen.
tial purifier of corruption. It seems that
other members of the royal family, includ-
ing the Duchess of Albany, Princess Chris
tian and the Duke of Teck, favor s'earth to
earth" burial, although all of them are des.
tined, unless their wills order otherwise, to
be put into massive triple cased caskets.
] Polite society had, of course, no option
but to follow the lead set by royalty and
just now there is great demand for the
lugubrious literature circulated by this so.
ciety in order that dukes and duchesses
and earls and countesses and the like NAV
be enabled to read up on the subject and
talk with authority thereon.
Sir Walter Besant, the so-called literary
knight, was entertained at public Dime,
on Wednesday night in celebration of the
honor conferred upon him by the Queen
and there was much large talk by the
small men assembled around the festive
board. Sir Walter Besant made himself
ridiculous, as he has been doing almost
daily since his equilibrium was upset by
receiving the privilege of putting handle
to his name. He modestly claimed to per
sonify the dignity of English literature, ane
praised the Queen and Lord Roseber,
for their perspicacity in being the frs
people in history to recognize that ther,
is any dignity in literature. forgetting thai
Sir Walter Scott and Lord Tennyson evel
existed. The Queen read Sir Walter
speeches in the newspapers She is no,
likely to receive him very effusively wher
ho o,nac fo Windcor Caef1o - l..
by the sword of honor, for it was she, O
course, who ennobled plain Mister Tenny
son and sought, in the face of actual rud,
rebuffs, upon more than one occasion t,
confer titular distinction upon CARLYLE.
The English oarsmen no longer sneer a
the Cornell crew at Henley, but openly de
clare their performances to be great puz
zle and mystery. They do not hesitat
to say that if Cornell wins rowing must b.
yeyolutionized. The river Is now yer,