Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-30
Fairy Tale Dinner Is
London's Novelty
ondence Of The Star.

LONDON, November 10, 1907.
T ANS ANDERSEN and the Brothers
Fl Grimm were among the guests at a
fairy tale dinner this week.
which proved one of the most novel; and
enjoyable feasts given in the metropolis
for many long day. Anyhow, these
three renowned tellers of fairy tales were
said to be present-though none of the
other guests actually saw them-and pri-
vate dining room, next the main one, was
set apart for them and occasionally
courier came in and announced what deli
cacy was demanded by the distinguished
trio as their next course" Meanwhile
the door Of this private dining room was
left ajar, SO that the author of 1.-THE EN-
peror's New Clothes and the Grimms
could hear the tales of fairies that were
being told in the big room by Laurence
Housman, Dion Clayton Calthrop, Marie
Shedlock, the American story-teller, and
others.
The scene of this fairy tale dinner was
the Lyceum Women's Club, and it was all
the idea Of Constance Smedley, the girl
who founded the club and its sister in
situations in Berlin and Paris, and who Is
known in America that account and
as the author of several clever novels
notably Conflict" and Heart O. Cold"
itself fairy tale. Miss Smedley is pay
ing her first visit to the United States
soon-but that Is another story. Certain
ly none of the many novel entertainments
arranged by her at the Lyceum has been
more successful than this weeks fairy
dinner-even though the intended guest of
honor played truant at the last minute.
This. was Kenneth Grahame, author of
The Golden Age" who, after ]. M. Bar
re. is the leading authority on fairies and
their ways, and who was down for the
first toast or rather for the first Of the
fairy tales that took the place of the
ordinary after dinner speech. Apparently,
however, the shyness which is VIGOROUSLY
fairy trait has communicated itself to
their chroniclers, for Mr. Grahame's cour-
age forsook him at the eleventh hour and
an apologize telegram from him had to
be read.
To say that he was not missed would be
neither complimentary nor true. but our
disappointment was soon forgotten in
feast that really might have been ar
ranged by the fairies themselves. Along
the tables little brown pathways were laid
out with tiny sign-posts bearing the
words. Turtle Pepper ITO the Mistress
of the Ceremonies" and so on, and along
these paths were ranged little tin soldiers
and white rabbits, and white and black
mice, and old women with broomsticks
and all the other curious creatures that
from time to time immemorial have dwelt
in fairyland.
The health of the king was drunk in
rowan wine after which maids Of honor
went around and decked all the women
with rowan berries, and decorated" all
the men with green and blue scarves with
quaint gold rabbit attached. And then.
after we had been RECALLED on gold fish
and roast goose with ices from an illumi-
mated ice palace, such as the Snow Queen
must have lived in, the telling of the fairy
tales began.
When Miss Smedley gets to America
perhaps she will introduce the innova-
ton of stories about sprites instead OF
toasts; anyhow, it proved most happy
one as tried at the Lyceum.
And though comparisons are odious, 1t
must be said that the most successful OF
the story-tellers was Miss Shedlock. whose
rendering of THE Wolf and the Seven
Little Kids must have delighted the Bro
theirs Grimm If they really were in the
next room. They and Hans Andersen
were said to have driven away In motor
car just before the dinner party broke
UP, and the footing OF their horn in PIC
cadilly brought to an end feast which
would have delighted the heart of Peter
Pans creator and that the author of
1.-THE Golden Age" must now be very sor-
ry to have missed.
X
X 4
Some interesting letters of Leigh Hunt
have just come to light in a country news
paper to whose founder they were written.
Some of them tell how he made fairy
land out of Newgate Prison, where he had
been sent for two years because he had
called King William w a coxcomb. He
obtained two vacant wards Of the prison
fn6rnarv 1.-THE larger Ward.b he saws