Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-11

before the end of the year is guided
| by her manager into the safe harbor
! of a social sanction by having introduce
| ed to the king. That, or variation of
| 1T. is a sort of popular legend, appro-
| priated as a plot for comic opera and
| the melodrama, and accepted as true
because divers returned travellers men
| tion in an unconvincing way that it is.
! 1t has none of the sound of reality,
however, and what l wished to do was
to establish or disprove it.
Arriving for the first time in the land
which produced Shakespeare and Glad
stone and Elizabeth and Bernard Shaw,
I took one flying leap from Liverpool
to London to get an advertisement
| into the leading papers. The Times
and the Post printed few lines on
the first page among their personal
announcements, stating that an Amer1-
can would like to be introduced into
titled circles for a consideration. 1t
brought sixteen replies and a page of
editorial comment in a British periodi-
cal
Two of the replies looked much bet
ter than the others. This is the way
my favorite ran:
Il am a peeress of the realm. 1 can
introduce you to society if we can
make satisfactory arrangements. give
give one June 16. of which you will
doubtless read in the papers. Last sea-
son / chaperoned the Honorable Eunlce
Solesworthy. 1 should be glad to have
a personal interview with you.
ELIZABETH BALMoRAL,
Countess of Balmoral."
The stationery was marked with
spent hours finessing my approach to
the peerless of the realm. My idea was
to say ] was inquiring about her terms
for friend. and that 1 wished state
ment of what she could do and how she
could do it. Her reply would constitute
demonstration enough for me. l expect
led then to let the matter drop. one thing
that seemed certain was that she would
be particular about references and sus-
picious of fraud. The best plan, I felt,
was to tell my name. but not my address,
and to use the stationery of the bank
with which / did business. 1t took half
day to go after the paper. and when
1 made the request. the bank. which is
English, and. therefore, has not departed
from custom during its four hundred years
Of existence. seemed little startled.
vice president looked me over thought
fully, and said they did.not usually give
out their private, engraved paper, al
though there was plenty of the other kind
in the ladies' waiting room. Then he
handed me some of their own. / wrote
the countess, and in a few hours received
a note asking me to telephone.
When called her up the next morning
felt pulled into the social maelstrom at
once THE countess is not up. 1 am
her mother She goes all the time. There's
a wedding at o'clock and breakfast at
1870 o'clock at the Ritz, and a garden
party at o'clock and dance this even
ing. It's that way every day. Are you
some one who wishes to be introduced?
II go my daughters the person to do it."
gave up the idea Of negotiating for
friends, and said that I myself should
like to take a dip into English society.
| She sandwiched in an appointment for
me between the breakfast and the we'd
ding.
The taxi drew in at big box of a
| brownstone house on fashionable
square. The entrance was through the
basement. A fat young butler in livery
let me in. Two other Hveried servants
stood near the door and took few I'M
motivated steps when | entered. The hall
way darkened as the door closed, with
+, the result that | bumped into a marble
| top table laid with visiting cards, edge
over edge. as in game OF solitaire. They
| recorded the countess callers of the after
noon before. The floor was covered with
| linoleGm. As We walked 10 the staircase
We passed through "a fanlike spread of
| light that came from an open door The
room beyond il contained long table
laid with a white cloth. The place was
like a well kept boarding house
| The hall a the top of the stairs led
| into two of the largest rooms / ever
| saw, and these were laid with a thick.
pale colored carpet "a little faded, of
! which the nap all took the direction of
| the recent carpet sweeper. Some pieces
| of gold furniture were scattered about
sparsely, and. though arranged with
| the English absence of grace, were SO
| displayed as to secure their full eco
| nomic value as space filters | could
see signs that the countess was effi-
| cient. The whole equipment-the plant
SO to speak-for the illumination and
| the display of the ancient high title
was barely adequate. But without her
| | was sure the relic would be buried
| in darkness.
| A small table, which looked like two
| tables because so arranged as to reflect
| in the long gold mirror, bore vellum
| copies OF the last coronation services
Another table. backed by an embroid-
cred screen, stood in the middle of the
room and carried a display Of daguer-
reotypes OF the counts family. A black
piano mingled without apology with
the gold couch and chairs. In lieu Of
the paintings so dear to the English
man. photographs OF young women
hung on the walls. They were dressed
In the general type of costume men,
| toned above. One stood In profile so
close to the edge Of the cardboard that
If she took step she would be off on
| the mounting. Her train meantime Zig
bed Of a railway going through the
mountains. A girl faced the camera
and pretended not to think Of the fact
! that she was wrapped in several miles
of train. the little leftover end Of