Evening star., 1927-11-27
BY MARGARET Il. DOWNING.

The Minister from the Netherlands
and Nine. RoNen will observe the
feast Of st. Nicholas December >,
hut since there are no children in the
legation at present, the day will be
Shorn of many of the picturesque Tea
lures which marked it when Httle
,Ia<ie Graeffe. son of the former Min
lister, now royal governor OF the
Dntch East Indies, entertained IN the
traditional way. For centuries the
feast of st Nicholas was nationally
celebrated both in the religious ana
civil way. but now ii Is merely
whimsical kind of holiday, when mas
siva packaCes are solemnlN delivered
10 the Crownups and TO be unWfap'
ned and found to contain something
very small and valueless gifts, like
a il1mpinc toy or n bali or sometimes a
nice rcd apple The children, how
ever. Get gifts of TOYS and candies
and PARTIES are popular on this day
in Holland The Minister and Nine
Roven have two sons, Robert Ninth-
roD and Johan, both of whom are at
the University of ieyden. There are,
however. three little girls in the faml-
lies of the legation staff. Marguerlta.
daughter of the secretary of the leGa'
ton and Baroness van BetZlaer Won
Oosterhaus; Rose Marie, little dauSh.
ter Of the agricultural attache and
Nine. l.. a. II. Peters, and the infant
daughter of Attache and Nine. Rich
ard van Schuylenhurch. who was
born in Montreal in September. In
ali these homes good old st. Nicholas
will be honored as in the home coun-
try and there will he merry making
for both the young and the mature.
The Netherlands legation will he
we'll represented in society this Win
ter. the new counselor. NJ. l.. G. van
Hoorn. who came to Washington dur
ing the past month, being bachelor
and socially inclined. He was at
tached to the staff of NJ. Royan in
Rome and recently was transferred
from that city to serve under his for
mer chief. The agricultural attache
and Nine. Peters will entertain for
the Winter the formers sister, Miss
Carla Peters.
Princess de Lisne. wife of the Bel
cian Ambassador. and her daughter.
Princess Elizabeth. are champion
tennis players and also have gathered
Iaurels in the field of sport. The
chatelaine of the beautiful embassy
on massachusetts, avenue. purchased
soon after the World War from the
ingalls, estate, Is the QauSnleE VI TN'
st. Paul de Sincay of Brussels.
famous master of hounds in Belgium
and a frequent visitor to England for
the Autumn sports. His hstoriic pack
at Vielsam fell a victim to the Ger
man invasion, a catastrophe which
caused heavy sorrow all over the
kingdom. Since the war the hunt
clubs have gradually rerasserted
themselves Princess de Ligne and
her family have ridden to the hounds
since they could sit a horse. The
Ambassador is a world traveller, and
after his appointment to Washington
he noted the absence of President
Coolidge and that he could not doe
officially received. SO he and the
princess and the oldest daughter,
Elizabeth. spent three months in the
Belgian Congo, one of the few regions
which they had never before visited
Just as soon as occasion permits the
Ambassador and his family are to be
entertained in the famous horse
country of Virginia about Middle
burg and Leesburg and will join the
fox hunts.
Lady Isabel Howard during both
her residences in Washington. for she
spent two years here from 1906-l90S.