The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-04
SOCIETY IN LONDON
BY LADY MARY MANwARryc

London. December 3.-(Special.) 1.-The absence of the King and Queen over the Christmas holidays is to make no dit- ference to the army of employees al the royal palace so far as Christmas re- membranes are concerned. Queen Mary attended to that before her departure to India.
 Many hours were spent by the queen during the last fortnight before her de- parture in giving directions as To the Christmas festivities in the royal house. holds. the piles of gifts to be sent to the hospitals in the usual way, the gar ments to be distributed to needy chii- dren the toys and books to be sent 10 pIav centers and schools. No one Will be forgotten and a large batch of gifts and greetings will even be dispatched from Bombay immediately after the ar rival of the royal party, timed to reacH the homeland by New Years day.
 During his stay in India King George will permit himself brief interval Ill which to shoot big game in Nepai, ahd to that of. the rogramrne-meanins, as it does, a few days respite from lnces- sant ceremonial and state-the King isl looking forward with interest Queen Mary will not accompany the King on his sporting holiday but will visit places of interest at Lucknow and Benares
 Mrs. Winston Churchill bids fair to make a most attractive hostess at the admiralty. She is a handsome woman- tall, dark slender and with supefp figure. In fact, she makes an excellent foil to her round face, blue eyed, boy ish looking husband. And she has brains as well as looks, is clever, well read, and good platform speaker. And to her credit, be it said, that she besah quite Carly in her career to take an ac- tive part in public life, as she became the wife of a cabinet minister. Indeed, even during her engagement she joined a debating society, with view to bazaf openings and election campaigns. And her American mother-in-law, Mrs Geore Cornwallis-W West, could no doubt give her some useful hints in the art o' captivating audiences. Mrs. WinstSi Churchill was Miss Clementine Hozier. a daughter of Lady Blanche Hozier, and T cousin of the Earl of Airlie. Her we'd ding made a smart event of September.
 sos, and the presents and trousseau wert even more than usually paragraphed
 It is not often that a princess is found among the inventors of improvements for steamship travel. Interest, thef efore, attaches to the installation carried by the Maloja, sister ship to the Medina. when she started on her voyage to India with large number of passengers who are accompanying the King and Queen to the Dunbar. The invention is in the form of swimming cot, known as the Kahn berth.' which is guaranteed to bring ease and comfort to the passenger lying in 1t, however violently the vessel may pitch and roll. The 'Kalmberth' has been tried successfully in some voyages be- tween London and France when very heavy weather was encountered, and It is thought that it will substantially ban ish the terrors of seasickness. The in- ventor is Princess Lowenstein- Wertheim- CT, maid of honor to the German em- press, and the voyage of the Maloja to India will test the worth of her inven- ton. Among passengers sailing by this vessel were Duke and Duchess of Ham, ilton, the Duke of Argyll, the Marquis and Marchioness of Butte, the Countels of Strafford and Lady Evelyn Wood.
 The late Lady Colin Campbell had the reputation of being one of the finest lady fencers in the country. 'T strongly recom- mend fencing for ladies'" she once said;
 indeed. of all exercises I consider it far and away the finest. It Is the one sport in which women can compete on something like equal terms with men.
 You see, it doesn't demand an enormous amount of strength; besides which, it de- velops the muscles all over the body with out unduly developing any one part.
 Fencing gives carriage and walk that don't think any other kind of exer- else does. It is good for both the eye and the brain, and it quickens the req soning powers. In addition to all this you can fence in all weathers-you can't with other sports. It is great bity that women do not take to it."
 The Duke of Marlborough has just eel
 eorated his 40th birthday. A Knight of the Garter. he has rather a liking for. politics, and has held one or two minor offices under the unionists: but though he proved rather an effective speaker when chancellor of the Primrose league
 some years ago, public life is not his forte, and he is a greater success as landowner, for the ducal property at Rlenheim-an estate of some 10000 acres IS admirably managed under the personal supervision Of his grace himself. who is an excellent landlord. The duke, too. is an able commanding officer of the OK fcrdshre Hussars. in which his cousin, the new First Lord of Admiralty, is a major He had some experience of sol l diering during the Boer war, and both Sir Ian Hamilton and Lord Roberts spoke 1 highly of his services. l The Duke was born at Smla on No- yember 13, 1871. at the residence of Sir l owen and Lady Burne. with whom his mother. Lady Blandford, stayed for sev- eral weeks while her husband was tour
 ing in Cashmere and elsewhere. Lord and
 Lady Blandford had gone to India pri- marily to visit Lord and Lady Mayo, the l former of whom was, to meet few
 months later tragic death in the Anda- man Islands. Lady Burne was, in the i June of the following year one of the future Duke of Marlborough's godmoth- l CTS and stood sponsor at the Chapel
 Royal. St. James, together with the
 Prince of Wales, who. it was remarkec,
 was particuIarly interested in the infant. And the interest then shown was main
 tained by King Edward in his godson un- 1 til the last.
 1 Lord Grenfell, who recently received the
 appointment of a Gold Stick in Waiting
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