The Washington herald., 1914-06-07
POLITICS SWAPS
London SOCIETY
Friends and Foes No Longer
Appear Together at
Functions.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK
n - m
EVENTS OF THE WEEK
State Ball Will Be Held Tuesday.
Followed by Centenary Of
Peace Celebration.
By COUNTESS OF WARWICK

season Is destined to be brief. rather
than brilliant. There is another force
fighting against its success; that Is, the
extraordinary atmosphere of political
| hos tility in which social life is being car
| rIcd on.
In the days Of the first home rule bill,
| when Liberalism was cleft to its founda-
| tion. the relations between the parties on
| either side of the House of Commons
| were normal. l can remember enter
| tanning men who lad not a political
feeling in common, but a good dinner.
! a well-attended reception, or a late con-
cert always provided neutral territory.
Another Spirit Abroad.
Today there is quite another spirit
abroad and Ulster is not altogether re-
| sponsible for 1t. Democratic finance that
| hits the rich In their most sensitive part
the pocket-must be held accountable
in part. and the muzzling Of the House
Of Lords is another grievance. The peers
are conscious of many services rendered
| to the country without fee or reward and
feel that their present democratic posi-
| tiOn is dps to Liberalism in general and
Lloyd George in particular.
We are already at the beginning Of a
fascinating fight that is spreading to the
reception rooms of Mayfair and will be
great and gifted Unionist hostess. per-
haps l may name the Marchioness of
Londonderry without indiscretion. has
stated that she will not meet members
Of the Liberal cabinet and on all sides
the old guard/of Toryism is looking
upon Liberals much as the Ulster
Protestants look upon Roman Catholics
Hostesses are in dismay. Unionists
can only invite Unionists and Liberals
Ifaf AKa,.tN n
fusion has disappeared and the ties Of
private friendship. in and out of Parlia-
ment, are loosening visibly and giving
rise to endless discussion.
1t used to be the custom In giving
receptions for hostesses to invite heads
OF the opposing party and this was a
little natural tribute to the fact that
each side was supposed to seek different
means to one end-the progress and pros
pe-ity Of the country. This year the
mixed assembly has been conspicuously
missing. For those whose political SYM
pathies and sntipathies are very pro-
nounced this is well enough. but there
are many hostesses in London. whose
friends are in both camps and to avoid
offending either they must give up famil-
lar forms entirely. Consequently the
town is not as active as II ought to be
in June and those who cater for So
ciety are loud in their complaints.
Fortunes Not So Frcqsent.
Fortunes are not made as quickly as
they used to be by caterers in the West
End. OF old. when society's rent rolls
were large and its anxieties small these
good people had carte blanche. but to-
day the steward of a big house is told
to arrange dinner or supper of given
dimensions at a fixed sum per head; con-
sequently, he must give close atten-
ton TO prices in order TO get good value
for his money. Under these circum-
stances caterers rely upon extension of
hospitality to make up for lost oppor-
tunities and with political tempers at
fever heat they are having a rather hard
time. No wonder they are all Unionists.
As TO the weeks doings, to tell the
truth. it has been dreadfully dull. partly
owing to the Whitsun holiday, which
took nearly every one to the country. and
partly to the general slowness Of things
already referred to.
Toward the end of the week the pace
began to quicken. when society came
rushing back to town for the opening of
the horse show at Olympia and for the
fourth and fifth courts of the season.
which were held in Buckingham Palace
on Thursday and Friday.
At both courts there were an exceed
ingly large number of presentations and.
of course, some wonderful dresses and
magnificent jewels were seen. These
courts are usually held in May. but
were postponed owing to the visit of
the King and Queen to Paris.
State Bail Tuesday.
Next Tuesday is the state ball. which
was to have been given during the visit
of the King and Queen of Denmark but
was postponed on account OF the court
mourning for the Duke of Argyll.
This will be the last court function
sor for Ascot week. They spent Whit
sun in town. glad of a few days rest
at Buckingham Palace. Queen Alexan-
dra also remained at Marlborough
House with her sister. Empress Mary
of Russia. who is visiting her.
King George spends much of his spare
time at the palace playing tennis and
usually has Princess Mary for a partner.
Both play quite a good game. particular
ly the princess. .r
Mention Of Queen Alexandra and her
sister calls to mind the fact that there
are no fewer than five mothers of reign
ing monarchs in England at the present
time. In addition to Queen Alexandra
and Empress Marie, there are Princess
Henry, Of Battenberg, mother Of the
Queen of Spain; Duchess of Albany.
mother Of the reigning Duke Of saxe-Co-
burg, and the Dowager queen of Hoi-
land.
The Russian opera season at Ot dry
Lane is quite the social hit OF tue sea-
son. besides being tremendously artistic.
Almost the entire credit for this is due
to the wonderful art Of Chaliapin. the
famous Russian singer and actor. Every
performance In which he appea.s 9nds
the house lacked from ceiling TO 1nor,
with the show parts of the house
thronged with ultra-fashionables. D. /
Earl and Countess Grey, who have
been away from England for Several
months, returned this week from New
York. They are staying at Dorchester
House, which was the late Ambassador
Reid's fine town house in Park lane.
Peace Ball Wednesday.
The finishing touches are being put on
peace ball next Wednesday in |
Albert Hall. l hear this will be the big
gest thing of its kind ever attempted. |
1t is simply wonderful the way American |
women here have helped organize 1t and |
the amount of energy and time they have |
expended. |
The American arrangements are in the |
hands of committee. consisting, / un- !
flerstand. of the Duchess of Marlborough, !
Cora, Countess OF STAFFORD. and Mrs. |
John Astor. The latter is to represent |
Columbia, which at one time II was /
hoped the Duchess Of Marlborough