The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-01-13

l l they enjoy above all things. 1 havt
 seen men with their arms and legs anC | heads bandaged until one wondered how
 they could bear to move at all, danclns l with immense zest at some of the very
 lew private parties that are occasionally i given In or around. London, and l have ! seen those same men sitting disconso- 1 lately in hotel, listening to band and
 cursIng their fate bitterly because or ders forbid them to fox-trot or one step with the fair friends or relations
 who happened to be with them.
 When l looked at the khaki boys on New Years Eve in that gay New York
 throng l reflected on their good luck
 and wondered if the ban against dancing
 had been lifted for just few hours il,
 that dear old London town which har- bors more pain and suffering bravely
 born than perhaps any other city in the world
 ENGLISH FASHION
 am not qiute sure that I am alto
 gether in love with the fashion of
 gowns yorn by women in the United
 states: 1 would not have believed that
 such differences in style could be be-
 tween two nations as exists between England and America. In London, the
 women have returned to an extreme
 sllmness of outline and economy in skirt
 width that is occasioned, so we are
 told, by the shortage of woolen ma terials and the difficulty experienced in obtaining large quantities of materials.
 The simplest and most rigid tailor-made suits are therefore general among all women who have not adopted khaki or dark blue uniforms. The skirts are cut ankle deep and show no expanse of stocking such as is to be observed. for Instance, on Fifth avenue. In England, also, the hustle has only assumed the proportions of a rumor Its aetuality has not yet intruded itselr upon the general view.
 Also 1t must be confessed that English women, during wartime at least, are not so prodigal in their display of natures gifts as are their pretty New York sis ters Here couple of bead chains aver the shoulders attached to a three cor nered piece of brocade cunningly ad- Justed, seem to be the chief requirements Of an evening costume that otherwise is plentifully endowed with a large and pouffante "bustle," and a long, narrow section of material that serves no rea- sonable purpose except to trip up the footsteps of the unobservant passerby. l must say that New York ladies wear those strange and fantastic garments (such as they are) with considerable grace, but to the eye of the uneducated voyager they seem inadequate except aa d picturesque excuse.
 l have seen nowhere in my recent re- stricted travels in England, however, such exquisite brocades and velvets as are worn by the women of this rich and wonderful land. Nothing over there" can compare to them in beauty of color, In splendor of textures And the prices, They stagger my poor British mind, at tuned to the yigors of wartime econom- ics.
 CONDITIONS IN LONDON
 And this last word reminds me of do- nestle matters which, 1 learn from my London letters, are fraught with many difficulties. Turkey was on the Christ mas day menu of very few even rich people It was simply matter of luck and adroit bribery if a bird of the neces- Sary breed could be secured Butter in London is practically nonexistent. It is not served at all at many hotels except at breakfast. while ordinary households nave to put up with margarine that costs much more than the best fresh" butter used to do in ante-war days. Meat is also exceedingly difficult to se- cure. and I know of well-to-do fam. fly With son home on Christmas leave from France who sent the returned war rior out each day to do the household marketing. Herbert goes out to the grocer's and butcher's," explains the housewife, and by means of his ingra- tlating manner and battle-stained uni form succeeds in securing us quite a decent and varied amount of food.
 The women butchers and grocers are not allowed to refuse to sell their goods to officers or soldiers and so we profit by the power of arms" So you see, London is not lying in the lay of luxury these winter days. But the spirit and courage of the men and women in the great city is as strong as ever it was and always comes in my letters the bat tie cry: Don't think we are dispirited pr discouraged. We are just as hopeful and resolved as ever''