The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-23

old friend and did not and was not in tended to involve Lady katherinee's at tendance at court except on occasions when she came as her majesty's guest
 Lady Katherine is past GO and the du- ties ordinarily performed by the ladies' in- waiting would fall now rather heavily upon her. Before the war she was rare ly in attendance on the Queen for more than a couple of days at time, but dur ing the past six weeks Lady Katherine has been Queen Marys most constant companion.
 Lady Katherine though her friend ship and influence with the Queen are regarded somewhat jealously by oth- CT members of the royal entourage, is not now unpopular at court. Tor all that she is plain spoken to degree and downright. almost rough, in her manners she has, as all who know he" intimately are aware, most generous disposition and kind heart; her pres ence at court recalls court romance of the late reign which had sequel lately in which she played pars. Among Queen Alexandra's maids of honor was a Miss Dawnay. an exceed ingly vivacious and attractive girl. Miss Dawnay, on one occasion, When visiting a poor parish In the East End with Queen Alexandra met and fell in love with a penniless curate-one Row
 land Grant-and he with her. A month afterward the pair became engaged but Queen Alexandra was strongly opposed to the marriage. for Mir. Grant was not only a penniless curate but his family
 were socially not the equal of Miss
 Dawnays and her majesty regarded the
 marriage. therefore. in the light of
 slight upon the dignity of her court
 but Miss Dawnay was not to be de-
 tered from marrying the man she
 loved, even though it meant offending not only her ma ajesty. but all the royal entourage, her own family. and ali her
 friends. But there was one woman at court who admired Miss Dawnay for doing what she did and told her that i ever she could help her in any way she would do so. And she kept her word.
 That woman was Lady Katherine Coke
 and in due course, after the late king's
 aeath the former maid of honor, through Lady Katherines influence. was invited to meet Queen Mary--who
 also had been very strongly opposed
 to Miss Dawnay's marriage-and Mrs.
 Grant received a kind of royal pardon
 for what she had done: but Lady kath-
 crime did more than that, year or so ago when the rectorship at Sandring
 ham became vacant Git is worth $7500
 per annum) Lady Katherine cor,rived
 thei u ShOuiu DC bCSioN Cu o3i MI
 Grant.
 A Prevalent Fable
 Sir William Raysay, the distins uished
 scientist, is the latest narrator of a fabled instance of German pcrfidy which has gained almost as wide a currency in this country as the famous
 myth about the 100000 Russian troops that were supposed to have passed through England on their way to Bel . oillpp ha 1ot nto 1xrhic d. scribed by the prime minister as the
 most amazing lie of recent years was believed in firmly by hundreds of people-everybody knew someone who knew someone else who had actually seen the Russians. or hadAproof pos itive of their presence in the country and this newer tale of a young Ger : man and his English friend. though T fable of less magnitude, affords all most as striking an instance of how cuIclly and how far tale can travel in times like these once som ebodv has started it.
 One has not the slightest doubt Of course. that Sir William Ramsay be- lieved the story when he told it in the course of a lecture on the war to a Scot tish audience the other night. So does every body else who relates this tale, or who publishes it in a newspaper, as some body does now and then, but what stamps it as d palpable fiction is the fact that every such narrator knows somebody who knows the very family in whose household the thing occurred. But now for the story itself, which, though il differs In actual detail in almost every case. is essentially the same as damn ing evidence of Teutonic perfldy."
 The villain of the piece is a young man from the fatherland who had been in England for several years, either for the purpose of learning the language or en- gazing in busineess. or. mayhap, with | secretly constructing concrete foundations
 under tennis courts He was paying guest in an English household, liked I by all and considered member of the l family. the pal of the sons and as like l as not, the sweetheart of one of the girls. And then, all of sudden came 1 first war clouds and then a declaration l of war between Germany and England l Otto or Fritz or Karl, or whatever the l paying guests name may be- accord l ing to whom you hear the tale from announced that he must return to Ger many at once. His English friends are desolate at losing him and sincerely be. wall the cause of his departure. In some versions of the story they even give q little party for him on the eve of his 1 departure; in others the mother or daugh, ters of the household. besides helping hin l with his packing, prepare a tasty lunch | con for him to take with him on thu train.
 1 The Den0uement Comes
 Finally the son of the house accom- | panies him to Charing Cross, or Victoria or London Bridge. again varying accord ing to which version of the story vol hear, to see him off. The two walk III and down the station together and sud denly, thought striking him. tho Eng lshman says, q say. old chap, I don suppose you're going baclSeto fight agains us?" The German, in seeming sorrow mods. He Is q member of the army, h. lis forced to go against his will. But thi