The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-12

| And yet he is going about London in the
 same old way. and l saw him recently
 1 being spoken to by quite reputable people at first performance at fashionable i theatre.
 ! suppose every great city has it's quota of these people who batten upon the WeaAnessH of others, but it seems strange that they should be allowed to
 move about spreading their poisonous practices in every direction.
 The holiday season is making quite it's olu-fashloned pre- war stir in town just nov, and 1t forms a Very valid and pleas ! ant excuse for charity bazars that are being arranged by more or less impor- | tant people who manage to secure the patronage and presence of royalties in more or less profusion. Evidently the Duchess Gf Marlborough has managed to pull on the biggest success, for the Queen and Princess Mary, as well as Queen Al. exandra and the Princess Royal have all been to Sunderland house this week to look at the wonderful dolls which have been collected and are being sold in aid of the children's jewel fund which was organized in connection with the Red Cross The most marvellous dolls of every
 size, color, shape and costume have been collected by hundreds of distinguished, amable. energetic and artistic ladies and the big mansion in Curzon street is hard pushed to hold all the beautiful specimens of the doll world which have been contributed. The doll show is di. viGed into sections. and every section has lady of title and social importance who holds herself responsible for the ar rangement of the dolls and for their . sale at the highest prices possible Lady NeWnes, for instance, had charge of the dolS dressed in the style of the seven teenth century, while the Baroness DEF ianger had nothing but little French peas ant dolls in her department Lady Tree had assigned to her use one of the Duch- ess of Harlborough's charming boudoirs furnished and upholstered in soft shades of gray and French blue. In this room Lady Tree displayed with much taste wonderful number of dolls, all of which were dressed to represent some famous stage heroines; While she also had number of little model stage settings, ex- act copies of scenes in well known plays within which were placed dolls dressed in exact replica of the original artists who appeared in this particular play queen Mary was specially attracted and interested by this pretty display, and fingered quite long time, while Lady Tree explained the various scenes and the mimic people appearing in them Another wonderful exhibition was pro- vided by Lady Lavery, the beautiful American wife of the famous painter and royal academician. With Lady Ian Ham, ilton, Lady Lavery was given possession of small drawing room on the ground floor of Sunderland house, and this they filled full of what they called Art DoIls'' | and Real Dolls." The art dolls were dressed in costumes representing the orig inals of many famous portraits, and also there were many futurist dolls. cubist dolls and dolls of the Vortex school I don't know whether the child-like child would quite appreciate the joys of these last named specimens, but they certainly were exquisitely and carefully contrived to arrest the eye and bewilder the senses with their queer colors and strange shapes.
 Sunderland house, by the way, since the beginning of the war, has almost become public property. There is always some thing going on in the way of a meeting
 bazar or an auction within it's impos- ing portals. I don't know whether as yet the cessation of hostilities has re- leased many of the masculine staff of her graces household, but I know that until recently, at any rate, only smart looking girls in dark blue uniforms have been seen in the places occupied in other days by butler, footmen, porters and the like By the way, when the duchess received | the Queen the other day she wore a
 | rather wonderful looking dress of dark blue silk stockingette with a bodice and side panels of some curious metallic look | ing material done in squares of alumi- mum and dark blue.
 Strange mistakes happen with the best l intentions in the world, and think one
 1 of the oldest is contained in a notice ap- bearing this week in the Agony col | umns of all the principal papers as fol- l lows:
 APOLOGY: Mir Clarkson much re- grets that in decorating MT. and Mrs Claude Watney's house, No. 20 Charles street, Mayfair, in honor of the visit on the 1st inst of Marshal Foch to Lon don, German flag was by mistake ex- hibited by his employees without his knowledge, and he apologies for the an noyance thereby caused to MT. and Mrs Watney. w. Clarkson, fl and 43, War dour street. w. 1. 5th DecemCer, 191S" I don't think further comment is re- quired, but one can we'll imagine the hor- TOT of "a11 concerned