The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-01
LONDON IS NOT BY
 ANY MEANS DULL Filled With Celebrities From Foreign Countries WANT FRENCH TUTORS Members of Cabinet, Their Daily Les sons-Sir Ernest Cassel Comes Out
 of His Shell-Dessert Set
 Worth $500 Apiece
WANT FRENCH TUTORS
ny LADY MARY

London. March 1A-(Special) )--Ionden is the most interesting spot in the world just now, for it really Is not bit dull being full of celebrities. many of whom are foreigners. In less than half an hour. the other afternoon. met NJ Bark the Russian minister of finance. NJ Declasse, the French minister of foreign affairs, Baroness von Hutten. Mrs Mitchell Henry. Mrs. Burns whom I can best describe as the mother of Mrs. Lulu" Harcourt. There Is a great deal of quiet entertaining going on in the shape of little lunucheons and dinners and no end of afternoon auction bridge teas
 Everyone who does not speak English fluently is studying it for all he or she is worth. and much midnight oil is being burned by those in the very front rank of society who are ashamed of their lives to own they are ignorant of the delight ful tongue. It Is an absolute fact that several of our cabinet ministers had only the most elementary knowledge of French when the war broke out. It is hard to credit Sir Edward Grey, minis ter of foreign affairs. never knew any foreign language until he started study ing French last August. He went at it hammer and tongs and now he not only speaks it fluently. but writes it in acade-
 .s'''" 'ovd-George, too, had but slight knowledge of French until war was declared. He has no taste for Ian guages, but he realized that 1t was es- sential he should be au fait with French so he shut himself mp for several hours a day in his study with grammars and text books. Finding he was not making headwav as quickly as he wished. he pur his pride in his pocket and went to a certain school of languages and engaged a tutor to come daily and look after his instruction. In a few weeks he pro eressed like a house on fire and as in the case of Sir Edward Grey he is now able to speak and write it with accuracy. if not fluency. Our chancellor of the exchequer has learned such a lesson in this regard that he has insisted that his daughter, Megan, who Is now at board ing school is to make special study of languages. If you are out early, you may see some of the smart women snealSing into the schools of languages sometimes thiclSly yelled. I might mention many names, but 1t would not be kind to give them away.
 Where Singing Birds Abound
 One of the reasons which attracted Otto Kahn to St Dunstan's lodge, his mag nificent London residence in Regent g park, which he has now placed at the dsposai of the war office for those sol diers who have injured their eyes,ght
 in the fighting line, was the wonderful number of singing birds In the grounds Which was the very reason why Lord Londerborouch parted with it, as his wife always a bad sleeper, could not get winl there after 1 o'clock in the spring and summer mornings. Blackbirds, thrushes nightingnles abound in the gardens and the Kahns use every ruse to induce then to nest there, cocoanuts and pieces of fat being fastened to the trees for their plas- ure. I am told that Mir. Kahn has one