The Washington herald., 1914-06-14
PEACE BALL
A Dull AFFAIR
Hundreds Bored at the Unre-
hearsed Professions at
Albert Hall.
MRS. ASTOR COLUMBIA"
Big Event Shows that Society People
Make Poor Showing in ANA
teur Theatricals.
MRS. ASTOR COLUMBIA"
Special c.bl. to The Washington Herald.

Special Cable to The Washington Herald.
London. June 13.-Doubtiess American
women will feel gratified to think that in
what has been SO far the most remark
able week In a rather tepid season. the
Anglo-American peace" ball. at Albert
Hall Wednesday night. should stand out
as the dominant feature. That 1t has
done so is undeniable. and IL / were to
follow the order of the day / should sit
down and write In glowing terms about II.
But ! follow no orders, whether of day
or season, and il seems to me that at the
moment when most of those who write
about the function show signs OF having
lost their heads and developed feverish
enthusiasm. little dive into the well OF
truth will be COOL refreshing, and, above
all, timely. So say boldly and without
fear of contradiction from those whose
Judgment Is worth hearing that the Al
bert Hall function was anything but stim-
ulating.
H1ndreds Are Plainly Bored.
It was crowded, it was expensive. 1t
brought many costly costumes into the
vast arena, and hundreds of people en-
joyed themselves. while as many more
were bored. ALI this is as it should be,
but you cannot make q successful ball
out of a series of. in many cases. unre-
hearsed professions.
Society. whether in England or Amer
lea. Is very greatly concerned with the
theatrical side of life. and likes nothing
better than to invade the stage. 1t re-
joices in amateur theatricals. but very
few of the men and women who take
part in them will go so far as to give
their work the amount of study it calls
for. They think all too often that to
wear striking costume is enough, and II
the wearer has a rather pretty face and
correct figure she asks for nothing more.
But this does not suffice. Acting is a
serious art. and stage department is
born of years of study and practice The
actress could better assume the role of
grand dame in a Mayfair or Fifth avenue
drawing-room than the Mayfair or Fifth
avenue hostess can assume the role OF
Hibernia, Germania- Austria, or His
pania-
I purposely refrain from mentioning
Columbia for of the few real successes
in Wednesday nights display. Mrs. John
Astor stood out. an eminently dignified
living replica of the Statue of Liberty.
\ leave it at that. for / do not wish to
hurt anybody's feelings. and vet I must
say that those professions at Albert Hall
were anything you please but impressive.
They merely availed to show society TAX
| ing one of the parts for which II is not
suited. and some of the photographs in
the papers leave the people photographed
| with series of mixed emotions and
ought to convince everyone am right.
Did Nothing for Peace.
am not going to deal here with the
rather subtle questions relating to the
methods by which these balls are ar
ranged: suffice its to say that they are
| not altogether Of the kind that supplies
trr1a r n
insist that a gathering of this kind docs
not do society much good, and leaves
Anglo American peace very much where
II was before Albert Hall opened its
doors.
Our aristocracy in England has lost
much OF its prestige, and the way to pre-
serve what is left is TO do in public only
those things for which it is specially
adapted. and to leave severely alone all
public exhibitions of kind that show it
TO disadvantage.
Professions borrowed from the stage
and made up with reference to the claims
of personal friends rather than those OF
spectacular effectiveness. cannot properly
recommend themselves to those who will
look beyond the moment. There are some
things which English women can do. and
! will give an example.
week or two ago l made reference to
of Marlborough. both in her charity and
social work. Here IS q typical evenings
work by her. for real hard work it Is.
On Wednesday evening she dined out
with friends. after which she attended a
concert given in Princes Galleries in aid
of an Austro-Hungarian charity. After
spending an hour there, the duchess
bounded on to Drury Lane for the per-
formance of Boris Godounov," by the
Russian Opera Company. and finally got
TO Albert Hall for the Anglo-American
peace ball. in which She took part in the
American procession. representing the
State of Oregon. Surely a wonderful
evenings work, even for the indefatig-
able duchess
1 hear the Horse Show at Olympia has
not been anything like the great success
of other years. especially from the point
Of attendance.
As a social function il Is not to be COM
pared with the New York Horse Show.
owing to there being no promenade. At
Olympia, once you have taken your seat
YOU are a fixture for the session. and this
does not give any opportunity for the
general public to admire at close range
the fashionable women and celebrities. |
which. after all, IS what many of those
of both classes 60 to this kind of an af-
fair for; namely. to admire or to be ad-
mired
Dudley House Park Lane. for many
years the town house Of the Earl Of Dud |
ley and now occupied by Hon. John |
Ward. who married Miss Jean Reid, Of
New York, was opened to the public two
DAYS this week. Mrs. Ward having lent
II for the purpose of a charitable bazaar. |
Princess Christian presided both days. |
That the affair WAS an emphatic success |
was due not a little to the energies OF
American women. notably Mrs. Ward
herself
Mrs. Bentty a Charming Woman. |
One of the very few women invited to
the state ball in Buckingham Palace on
Tuesday was Mrs David Beatty, nee
Field, wife Of Admiral Beatty. She look
ed really charming in handsome gown
of cream embroidered net lace over tulle,
with a foundation of very soft Liberty |
satin. The bodice. which gives trans
parent effect, is composed Of lace over
tulle, beneath which is a band Of pale
pink ribbon draped around the corsage.
The lace. caught up daintily in points.
|was fastened over the shoulders with
beautiful diamond bows. The sleeves \
also were made OF transparent lace.
Mrs Jack Leslie, nee Jerome, Of New
York, and sister OF Lady Randolph
Churchill. is one of those who are missing
the London season this year. preferring
to remain in her Irish home, where. with
bier husband. Col. Leslie. she Is entertain
fng a large house party, including Henry
1de. formerly American Ambassador to
Spain.