Evening star., 1928-04-29


almost ungracious TO count them
on lady, to say Mabel Board
man" has meant Red Cross
and 10 say Red Cross has
meant Mabel Boardman."
Tall. magnihcently built. wearing her
hair in the pompadour of the 90s, with
a hat pinned on top in the way OF the
Dos. there is something magnifieently
of the royal family about her She
and Queen Mary might be cousins.
Indeed. the story is told in Washing
ton that the Prince OF Wales, on enter
ing a room during his last visit TO this
country, saw her and exclaimed: MY
Lord There's my motherl"
She has the royal manner. She has
the coinposure Of the assured. She Is
perfect Victorian surviving to our day
to be an example 10 the young.
She is a perfect aristocrat, with the
sense of obligation OF a genuine arlsto-
crat, surviving In world which mas
gone democratic I'm pieces.
In young society fun of Jazz. short
skirts, Snappy words. she maintains IN
her beautiful house on Dupont circle in
washington an atmosphere of elegance,
Among the elder statesmen who frequent
her drawing rooms she walks In evening
creetly long. invites only the greatest
Of musicians 10 perform for her guests
and listens 10 conversations as Olympian
as herself.
She would be the last 70 call her sun
day afternoons at home salons" Roy
atty does not have salons" Houses Of
lesser people, lesser personages and
lighter conversations win the appella~
ton in Washington. The lsl1s and
i920s talked OF salons" Not the true
VictOrians.
RORN Of a family significant in
- American history. the granddaugh~
ter Of an early Senator and Of the foun~
der of Sheffield School at Yale, she dis
played I'm her earliest childhood the
characteristics Of her maturcr life. She
always was the leader. II young peo-
pies party was on, IL was Mabel who
always knew the best time for giving IL,
IL was Mabel who had ideas for the mti-
sic, who thought up "A dozen new stunts,
found the most fantastic figures and
iavors for the e0tiliion
When her uncle, w. w. Phelps, was
made minister % Gefmany~~in the time
before tie post became an embassy--~it 1t
vas Mabel who attracted To the Ameri~
can legation the most daahing, the
| tightest laced and the sharpest bowing
young officers In the kaisef's crack reg
| iments. II was Mabel who appeared Ia
the longest of satin trains 0f all the
young ladies presented at the Kaigers
'gchIeppsucourg" II also was Mabel
who knew how cold the great stone halls
could be aud how long the preliminary
1 fzA tya fEsF,
! other Americans Of the extra warm
things that ought TO be under the
satin and pearls.
And when those same dasliing young
| officers appeared 0f an afternoon. IL was
Mabel whom they found with the most
! interesting book covering her short
! Lurned~up nose. Mabel, with friendly
| smile always ready IN her blue eyes
! and, often, alas, Mabel with the best of
! impefgonal manners with which Ia
snub too-approaching familiarity
without giving Offense.
! She wss then the perfect Victorian
| young lazy,
Today she remains the perfect Vic
! totian mature. For II she could be im@
| per onaIly oblivi0us of young officers
Intentions" if che can be socially OBJ
| ltyious 0f Jazz age, she can also carry
| into her method 81 work for the Tied
Gross "a sublime obliviolisness 10 new
Rener8ti0n's methods
ny her present services. as by hef
past services 10 that great, perhaps
| greatest organization, She stands with
| out q rival Vet her methods and ways
of attaining her und0ubted accomplish
msnls are 50 supremely her own, se
silpremely, continuously Victorian thai
sile remains bewildeTment 10 thf
younger generation ~ workers, trained
in the schools 0f efficiency" "profes'
si0nRIjgIn" and current GatehWords
They shake their heads and wonder
nov che does II AhoW," as they put It.