The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-08-02

atre in London on recent Thursday aft ernoon, Tn response to the invitation of Mrs. Elinor Glyn. The occasion was the presentation of the most advertised book of the year, Three Weeks" in dra- matized apparel. To say that London's smartest and most exclusive set was rep resented would be to put 1t mildly.
 The premier" was an invitation affair, and Mrs. Glyn, through her dressmaker sister, Lady Duff Gordon, hob-nobs with royalty, and knows only the exclusive set To see Mrs. Glyn as the Unknown Queen,' to admire her wonderful gowns and to be properly shocked at the scenic effects of her naughty book, the oligarchs of fashion and the tyrants of town as- sembled, as though this occasion would be the last before London's West End during August would be deserted, and the fashionable world closed for repairs, and the Drive and the Row forlorn.
 Notable" ogled and bowed avec em- pressnient courty grace-to "notable"- and every "quill-driver'' In the English capital was busy with a phalanx of adjec- tives to do justice to the occasion.
 Discreet mamas and wise papas were responsible for the absence of the jeune file element, which shows that while older heads may risk contamination the parental instinct to protect it's young is highly developed in the classes as well as in the masses.
 The gowns of the women in the audi ence are described as superb. The Grand Duke Michael accompanied the Countess of Torby, who wore pastel shaded chif- fon gown ornamented with old silver embroideries and her chapeau was of black They were the guests of the Countess Mesendorff, who was incompar- able in a splendid black creation.
 Consuelo, Duchess of Manchester, oc- cupied a box also, and with her was Lady Essex.
 Vis-a-vls were the boxes of Prince Fran cis of Teck and the Honorable Mrs. George Keppel who wore magnificent gown of palest blue, with hat ladened with blue and champagne colored os- preys. Lady Helmsley, Lady Paget, In deepest black and surrounded by coterie of admirers Qncluding Lord cur zon) Mrs H. w. F. A. Williams, whom King Edward has pronounced "the best dressed woman in England, and Mrs. Waldorf Astor, and Mrs. John Jacop Astor from this side were there, the former being the only woman present to disobey the mandates and keep her hat on Mrs. Astors only excuse TOT such a proceeding was that her chapeau was very low crowned, and simply trlm- med with a rich wreath of foliage ana white flowers.
 MT. Frederick Townsend Martin of Plaza hotel fame" escorted baoy Craven and Signor Marconi sent wire less messages to many fair women throughout the big playhouse
 Mrs Cornwallis West was greatly ao- mired in a white lace frock with yieux Rose feather hat. The Austrian
 ,Io there and the British peerage had consplcu- ous representatives
 The "professon" was represented py Miss Maxine Elliott and Miss Marie Tempest, while Sir Charles Wyndham and Miss Mary Moore, MT. Joseph Coyne and Miss Alexander Carlisle (the two latter will appear in New York in The Mollosc" the coming season., were noted as "among those present.
 The atelier of her modiste sister, Lady Duff Gordon, was responsible for the beautiful gowns which Mrs. Glyn wore In satorial effects the author of Three Weeks" is an artiste. A special correspondent from London says
 Mrs. Glyns dresses were. as her private toilettes always are, exquisite In the first act she appeared in long trailing black velvet robes of almost severe simplicity. In the dinner scene she again wore black, of a clinging diaphanous material, with some mag nificent sapphire ornaments. In the third act, which may be described as the apoth eosis of Paul, her long flow ing robe was of truly Oriental splendor. The dress itself was a rich violet satin chiffon, over which hung an elaborate gold green panel of eastern embroidery. In the last scene she wore a simple boudoir gown of ivory crepe de chine over pale pink, which was very enec- tive in the death scene"
 But the plays the thing or rather, was it in this instance? It seemed not to be so considered by Mrs. Glyn's guests Her gowns, her histrionic ac- compishments her handsome way of doing things" from the purple pro- grammes,'' to the "dainties" which were served by stately footmen during the entr act-met with more approval than i the play itself. There are four acts and prologue or the "Tiger Skin Lady" and Paul. Those who expected a naughty, DOT trayal of the amorous couple were great i ly disappointed for more proper, con servative 'Alice- Sit t-By-theFire' and All the Comforts Home" version could not possibly be imagined.
 One of the facetious reporters observed that If Mrs. Glyn nOluS lo hei ii.oheioii of giving the play in New York not even Anthony Comstock will find any thing in it to object to-
 So there seems to be some hope after all for the lady who wrote and now at- tempts to impersonate the imperators- koye.
 Perhaps Mrs Glynn Is not altogether to blame for 'Three Weeks; the pupno has had it's modicum of share in it's ex- istence. The legend "20oth Thousand which it's cover boasts, shows that some one read it. Strange commentary on American intellect" says Ebert Hup- bard Mrs. Glyn was not content witn writing the boolk-she must have It mane into play and now she tells us that It will be presented as an opera! She has selected Puccini to write the score; Strauss was mentioned, but Mrs. Glyn considers him "too perverse' ana DeBuss; 'too art nouveau." Mary Garden or Geraldine Fasrar would be her choice l for the heroine.
 Fancy .'Three Weeks" served up, as an -I..t Nw. ~