Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/537

 513 THE LADY OF QUALITY This section of Every Woman's Encyclopedia wil and social life. It will contain authoritative articles upon : Presentations and other Func- tions Court Balls The Art of Entertainins^ Dinner Parties, etc. Card Parties Dances At Homes Garden Parties^ etc.. etc. deal with all phases and aspects of Court The Fashionable Resorts 0/ Europe Great Social Positions Occupiea by Women Etiquette for all Occasions, etc. 'WOm^'m IH GREAT SOCIAL, FOSITEOHS Continued from pa^e 36S, Part j THE BRITISH AMBASSADRESS AT WASHINGTON An ** Alice in Wonderland Ball ''—How a Secret Leaked Out— Salary of £10,000— A Salon of Clever People Mass., he played cricket with a team mainly composed of his own servants, and led them with the ardour and freedom of a schoolboy, A Russian Irishman '"yHE most important diplomatic post in the world." It was thus that Sir Mortimer Durand once referred to the office of the British Ambassador at Washington. He went further, moreover, and in a tribute to Lady Durand, remarked that " the greatest measure of responsibility rests upon the ambassadress." Sir Mortimer retired in 1906 in favour of the Rt. Hon. James Bryce, and during his three years of office he added very consider- ably to his reputation as a diplomat. It may not at first be apparent to the aver- age person why so much more importance should be attached to the British ambassador- ship in an English-speaking country like America, which carries with it a salary of which is worth ;^ 11,500. The explanation lies in the fact that upon Anglo-American friendship, with its influences in Canada and in the Far East, depends to a very large extent the peace of the world. In no other country, moreover, do social amenities count for so much in official life as they do in America. Upon the Ambassa- dress, therefore, rests the responsibility of winning popularity for her husband, and fostering those friendly relations which have hitherto proved so mutually beneficial. Lady Durand In Washington, as in New York, the elite vie with one another in the originality of their entertainments, and when, for instance, Lady Durand hit upon the novel idea of giving a ball in which the dancers repre- sented tableaux from "Alice in Wonderland," it was voted the social event of the Washing- ton season. Sir Mortimer himself, moreover, was voted " a real good sort of fellow and a democrat to the bone " when, at Lenox, Again, America was greatly pleased by his diplomatic reply to a persistent lady who wanted to know the feelings of the British Government towards Russia during the Russo-Japanese War. Sir Mortimer, of course, could not discuss the question. " At any rate," continued the lady, " we hear over here that the Irish sympathise very warmly with the Russians. Why is it that they pray for General Kuropatkin's success ? " " That," answered the Am- bassador, " may be because they believe he has Irish blood in his veins. Have you never noticed how he spells the third syllable of his name ? " Then, again. Lady Herbert, wife of the late Sir Michael Herbert — " Courtesy Her- bert," to quote a nickname bestowed upon him by a noted Senator — Lady Durand's predecessor at Washington, added much to her husband's popularity by establishing a smart social salon at the embassy. Almost every day there were five o'clock teas on a scale of considerable magnificence, where one could meet all the diplomats and governmental bigwigs, as well as all the stars in the artistic and professional worlds. Lady Herbert became famous for her entertainments, and, like Sir Mortimer Durand, Sir Michael was the first to admit how much the lady of the embassy can contribute to diplomatic success. Lady Herbert, however, had the ad- vantage of being an American lady — she was a Miss Leila Wilson, and is an aunt of the present Duchess of Roxburghe.
 * ^io,ooo, than to that of France, for instance,