The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-11-12
Society Folk Are "Fed Up"
AS War Work Falls on Them
Amateurs Weary of Drudgery and Are Dropping
Out-Duchess of Marlborough Not One of
These-She Has "Chauffeuse" Now, Who
Wears Neat COstume-Has Only Two Men
Servants Chef Is Person of Importance
BY LADY MARY

London, October al have heard on a
good many sides that the fever of war
work Is abating somewhat among that
eevy of bright beauties of society who
have for the last two years and more
worked with much zeal if not too much
discretion, at various canteens. hospitals
and railway stations They are getting
rather tired of the whole business now,
no 1t is said. and having had no idea
that 1t was going to be such a long war, "
are turning their attention to matters
of a more frivolous description. AS soon
as they found out that they were be-
coming rather "a matter of course and
that they were no longer held up TO
public interest in various society papers,
the amateur nurses. cooks. munitioneers
and canteeners, all began to feel fed
up:'' so that now matters are settling
down to dead level of real hard bust
ness-nke adjustment with result that
Is infinitely better and more practical
at every point
SOME ARE FAITHFUL
Among the women of high social stand
ing who remain faithful to a multiplicity
has meted out for herself Is, however,
the Duchess of Marlborough, who Is a
genuine hard worker if there ever was
one. l saw her grace driving along
Piccadilly one morning this week in her
little low, long-b odied, two-seated motor;
it Is painted a very dark elephant grey,
and the Marlborough duchess was wearing
a gown to match of cloth with white
lawn collars and cuffs and small round
hat of velvet in exactly the same shade
pushed well down over her piquant little
face. Her big gray foxskin was slipping
off her shoulders, and her gray gauntleted
hands were thrust into muff of the
same fur.
Seated beside her was a smart looking
"chauffeuse' in a neat kit of grey of a
very much deeper shade than either the
car or the duchess dress The collar and
cuffs of the well-cut coat were edged
with black leather; and when she got
out during a block in the traffic at Pic
cadilly Circus to look inside the bonnet
Of her car, 1 noticed that she had long
boots that laced nearly to the knees, and
that her dogs skin gauntlet gloves fitted
most accurately and neatly. She wore a
chin strap to her cap with its leather
peak and looked altogether a very work
woman-like and practical type Of up-to-
date servitor. 1 am told that the
Duchess of Marlborough has now only
two men IN her employ at Sun0erlan1
House-one is her butler (who is an old
man long past the time for serving his
King and country in the field, and the
other is her chef. a cordon-bleu of fame,
who is a Frenchman nearer 50 than he
is 49,
CHEF is PARSONAGE
The Duchess of Marlborough's chef, by
the way, is great parsonage in his own
particular stratum of society, which does
not by any means intimate that he is as
ISOLATED out of business hours with the
ordinary cooks of commerce or domestic
life. The duchess cook Is quite a grand
gentleman, and has a magnificent suite
OF rooms on the first floor at the back of
the big Curzon street mansion. When
her grace is out of town. M. le Chef
gives charming little dinner parties, to
which he invites many famous gour-
mands, among whom are journalists, lit
erary men, musicians, and actors. Peo-
pie are quite flattered to receive an in
vitation to supper or dinner at Sunder-
land House from this "commander-in-
chief of the kitchen forces and 1 have
seen many an elaborate menu that has
been especially composed for an 'oc-
casion' that has made notable an an
niversary or festival of some descrip-
ton.
But to return to the Sunderland House
star. No footman or lackeys of any de-
scription are now employed by her grace
and the other day when I passed along
Curzon street. L noticed that smart
looking young woman in a dark brown
Holland overall and long brown Hol-
land trousers strapped around the ankle