Levee Comedies.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 July 1922, Page 4

Levee Comedies.

frantic dressing-boom STRUGGLES.

ADMIRALS. AS EXCITED AS DEBUTANTES.

! loxdox, .Mii.v 30. (By Elizabeth Clifton.) | Tlie excitement of a woman dressing 1 for a hall is a tepid affair compared with the state of nervous tension which the average man gets into when attiring himself in fall-dress uniform. esterdny morning, hy ten in Service (Inis and private houses nil over London, the glittering contents of tin-lined eases were strewn about innumerable dressing-rooms. Wives of j major-generals searched feverishly for ! missing white gloves. Ambassadorial 1 I valets rushed headlong to a Piccadilly I ' shop to goL the latest acquired and most brilliant decoration for the ilj lustrums chest. H .Mothers surveyed, ecstatic, the iin- | ishcd toilettes of newly promoted subj lieutenants while waiting for the taxicab to eorne round to the front door. | Sisters tried to solve the intricate proj Idem which arises from the eonjune- | tion of a sword belt with full-dress ; eoat-laifs. j PUESSIXC-rtOOU CLAMOUR. | The premises of a famous firm of naval outfitters were, at an early hour j in a state of chaos. Admirals, in goldhue trousers and pale blue silk braces, wandered in and out of their dressingrooms, clamouring imperially for counsel and assistance in the matter of arranging their decorations in the proper positions and sequence. In the rooms reserved for officers of less exalted rank captains, commanders, and lieutenants, amid a maze of shining Wellington lioots, cocked hats, sword In Its, and epaulettes, with the temperature at nearly 80 degrees in the shade, (jought for the lookingglass with emotion and language which would have surpassed even a provincial music-hall artists’ dressing-room. 1 narrate these dramatic scenes, of course, entirely from hearsay! The results of wlmt must have been the agony of dressing ware, however, dazzling to behold. Taxi-cabs and motor-ears, in unending succession, passed down St James’ Street and along the .Mali from 11 o'clock onwards, hearing their exquisite occupants to the Levee. scakLkt AXI) 001,1). Diplomats encrusted with gold lace and orders, scarlet and gold Dragoons. Hussars. Horse (Inards. Lord Lieutenants, resplendent in vormillinn and silver; (freon Jackets, Life Guards—every branch of all the Services was represented. A more sober note was introduced liv ami occasional legal dignitary in his wig and black silk gown. The weather must have been extremely trying for these hewigged gentlemen. I saw two almost fainting K.C'.’s reel into a taxicab coining out of the palace after the audience, and felt that; in default of an oflic-al hat they should have been allowed to carry parasols. The American Ambassador and his staff iu their plain evening dress provided a contrast to the other more flamboyant members of the Diplomatic Corps. Herr Sthanier. the (ferinan Ambassador, was likewise wearing even ing dress, a vast change from the glittering elaborate uniforms of former (ferinan Ambassadors to the Court of St James’. DAZZLING hTtil'llKß. The procession of dazzling figures to and from (be palace was magnificent. Swords clanked down the pavements, helmets and eqiiniottes flashed in the sunlight, hoots shone unbelievably bright. One very exquisite young officer in the “Blues’’ alighted from his car opposite the palace; then catching sight of his hoots in a shop window, decided that their radiance was not up to the required standard, aild summoned his clnffenr, duster iu hand, to polish them up. He stood sufiorbly blocking tin traffic while this operation took place. Admiring crowds lined • tlie pavements outside St James’s Palace, anil at the comer of Ball .Mall and St. James’s street. Pretty girls passing by in taxi-cabs craned tin ir heads round over the hack of the lmod to catch another glimpse of some particularly lenicdallcd person iu blue and gold or scarlet. As each group of aiguilletted officers emerged from beneath the arches leading from tile front entrance to the palace, they had to pass down between the ranks of spectators lilac eyes and brow n enfiladed them as they stalked magnificently towards their ears. They endeavoiin d to look as if they did not like it. but of course they did. enormously.

The look of disappointment on the faces of the fair onlookers when a mere black velvet Court uniform appeared in lieu of the mole devastating Army and Navy was pitiful. Kilts, as always, scored many points. “Isn’t he quite beautiful ! J ” gasped one of the admiring throng on the kerb to her equally enthusiastic friend as a youthful subaltern in the Black AVnteli passed by. He pretended superbly thud he had not heard, hut the kilt swung into even greater hauteur than before.

HAT IM,FAIRS AS FANS. The I,even was over before P2.AO and with an air of relief distinguished olticers fell hack on to the cushions ol waiting motor-ears, removed their plum ed" hats, and began fanning themselves with the cock’s feathers. It must have been a try in it day on which to support a coclud ii’a.t and gold-laced collar with ef|Ufinimity. Tl f »0 .from windows of tin* elid>s on Ball Mali’ and St Jumos's-stfoet wprp soon filled un with resplendent figures recovering from the strain and exertion of the m iming with the aid ol drinks of a suitable length and strength.