The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-11
sents you. and the rest depends upon

sents you, and the rest depends upon yourself.
 Half-Dozen Secretaries
 There are half a dozen of these sec retaries, constantly moving about through the rooms, bringing people together, adding to little groups, taking shy people in hand, introduc- ing people who speak the same Ian guage, making appointments and giv- ing information to people who want it-information which, by the way, always turns out to be exact and up to the minute.
 Lady Astor brides herself on her knack of finding just the right kind of secretaries. And naturally they have contributed a great deal to tho success of her parties. Each has a special epartment-women's Urgani- cations, prohibition, the laws govern ing women, the aims of women's DO litical groups, child welfare or milk. They are all young, they look like very young society girls; but Lady Astor herself looks like very young woman and she has an air of being fresh and new to everything, eager for every new experience.
 Wine is served at Lady Astor's, but neither. she nor Lord Astor drink or smoke. Where her own country women or Englishwomen are con cerned she is very sarcastic about these little vices. One evening at a critical point In the discussion of very important question with a group of women, the chief of whom was puffing away at a cigartte, she suddenly broke in with: Look here, just throw away that smoke and give T know it's asking a lot, but--just for me" And she cooked her pretty blonde head on one side and looked so tantalizing that the woman, a very big doctor who went through four years .in Serbia and the east, good naturedly threw her cigarette out of the window and settled down to busi- ness.
 No Clothes Worry
 Lady Astor and her secretaries dress simply. always. No woman from any country ever has a mo- ments worry about her clothes when she wants to go to Lady Astor's. She knows that she will find her hostess dressed either in a black coat and skirt with white linen or crepe blouse, or in a fourard or crepe dress, with frilled white net fichu and cuffs. The secretaries wear pretty little frocks which any girl could afford. They are keen and full of laughter and only one of them ever seems worried, the one who has to make her chiefs appoin ntments. This girl a mere slip of a child is all ways reminding Lady Astor that the day only has 24 hours and that she can't speak in Plymouth and conduct a pure milk campaign in Birming ham on the same evening.
 are among young people Lpthert Con
 It is partly because as soon as you get inside the house you feel you are among young people, partly be- cause of the freedom from all cere- mony. that people talk so well at Lady Astor's. Or they can sit and think. and are allowed to muse for hours In a corner if they want to, without interruption.
 No 'Frivolingo Allowed
 The one thing you are not allowed to do is to frivol about nothing at all. Look here, dZ you think I left an important division at the House to your hostess will say, if you waste her time with mere chatter. At first people resent this sort of thing, but it always turns out that Lady Astor is in the right She speaks her mind right out: but having said her say, she forgets all about it, and in five minutes a group of women which had been chattering will be deep in the heart of some scheme for getting new law or utilizing new inven- tion to the service of the community.
 And of course the secret of it all is that there Is no personal ambition about Lady Astor. She wants to get certain things done, she knows that she can help, and she means to help, no matter how hard 1t is, no matter how many enemies she makes, and she welcomes anybody, man or wom- an, who will lend her hand or who Is heading in the right direction.