ITEMS OF SOCIAL NEWS.

imrs Hasmwt, who a on the ' S.k»« ilUe . 01 'the , Duchess ?! , , iSw# American matinee in «4 • |#fejthe^. 1 £O.A concerts at the front, Bail 83 a Miss Burns of New York before WmS- marriage. She know. England better, liiiKwta she does , ™"' for If ' 6 srait. much of her early life travel--1 Jjng in England or on the Continent. ylkie first woman to hold a secretaryship t „ Prime Minister is Miss StevenW L who is creating all scrts of #3fefe^& o records. When she went to '* I **' I," Ministry of Munitions as one of Mr. tli&d (force's secretaries she was the t woman to have held such a post. «£. followed her chief to the War Office. |i||3 voZhe is duly installed at No. 10, . | Downing Street. General Sir George Luck, whose death was recently announced, was responsible 'or the steel curb shoulder-straps used by Vfitisli cavalry. When Sir George set out for Kandabar—he commanded the 15th Hussars in the Afghan war—Lady luck sewed two curb chains under each imtrflßS shoulder-straps to protect him from ! 'Msiie6td cuts. They proved so effective ' that on his return he persuaded the War Office to adopt them for general use. . jord Charlemont, the we 1 .1 -known Irish ''' r peer, until recently was a munition worker i |,i Woolwich. His wages were 25s weekly a ?an ordinary mechanic, but ho someI TMllimes made £3 10s by doing additional »> : sce-work. and never " took home," to quote the vernacular of factory hands, > less than 35s a week to his charming young wife. Another workman peer is J SJ, the Earl of Xorburv. who went in for 1 «roplane-makin^. p T :' Jit# Andrew Carnegie has purchased | the second largest private residence in I America, and intends to spend the re- | mainder of bis life there unless the ter- • ' mination of the war permits him to re- % tarn to Scotland. Shadow Brook, which | ' stands in 250 acres of land, high up J If among the hills of Massachusetts, is built vl J|\ old .English style, and was occupied » 'slbvi Mrs- Alfred Vanderbilt during the Wj j/pigrst year of her widowhood. 8 ' Eaton Hall, the magnificent Cheshire I seat of the Duke of Westminster, which ha 3 been, offered to the nation as a military hospital, is a modern building, the l>Sl® fourth that has been erected on the site. r to It was designed by the late Mr. A. Waterhouse, R-A., and was erected in 1867 and succeeding years. » The 17th century gates MM and iron railings, surrounding the court:'i "' tad , l remain. Rising above the great % buildinc is a clock tower, 175 ft in height, f®iwiti 28 bells. Eaton Hall contains many " fine apartments. The library is 92ft in ' *. " "/£ The Duke of 'the Pnglie and the Duke cf Spoleto, who have been visiting Eng;'^g:: land, have had an affectionate wel- . come from the Royal family. Not only Qbecause their mother, the beautiful and spirited Duchess of Aosta is a sister of fefeSffQueen "Amelia. of . Portugal, and because II they are the kinsmen of our ally the 1 King of 'Italy, bat on their mothers account. Queen Alexandra was deeply attached tc Princess Helene;.of Orleans, and would '■'•.U 3 v6 liked her as' a daughter-in-law in WOM. the days when she had two sous. But the S| 1 1 leligious jjj faith or the French Princess ' proved a barrier, and later she married , the good-looking Duke of Aosta. Her sons are still in their teens. i. » mam—t i The American "".Women's Club *is the *, only body of American women in London \h doing . war ■- work ? that fis - recognised by the War Office. They have the most effi->-V cient hospital 'itequipit*. loans in the midst of the more usual club "fittings," where from ten, to six o'clock nearly a h hundred Americans are to be seen nwking |V" bandages and comforts for our men. They "I have a large number of : philanthropic ac- » directed by the Duchess of Marlm; ■ 0 borough, Mrs. Levis iSarcovtrfc" and \ Mrs. : W Curtis Brown, but the ; club is also ? a social W one. and at teatime the place is en fete W vi'th bridge tables, a small orchestra, and ■"■ t drawing-room full of interestingly efficiri' women. JfAi" ' The Maidiione&j of Londonderry, who 'V^las.been very busy working on the land, if one of the cleverest -- sportswomen in 4 society,"' and quite in her element on the { moors. She is a daughter oil; Lord Chaplin, and, being left motherless in her injancy, was i chaperoned • before her ! mar- | riage by her youthful aunt-in-law, the r , Dncbea- of Sutherland. In 1899 she married Viscount Castlereagh, ; son and heir of ' the late Lord Londonderry. Lady | ' Londonderry is greatly interested in Ire- "•: land's welfare, and gave the. pretty Irish name of Maureen !: to. her first little girl. : . ■ She is passionately fond ,of hunting and is one of the few 'aristocratic . sportswomen who ride astride, t - She is • slight and tall, with a fresh skin that betokens open air life. Like her husband, . who is a staff officer: at ; the front, her ladyship v cares little for London, and spends; most /. 7 it of her' f time riding, fishing, shooting,, and f tfe|^£o^ ; in Ireland. 5. ; " ?fysfcr Italians ; everywhere are delighted that i,' | the Sing of Italy is received the G-C.8., •' the news having given special pleasure amongst 1 ; the Italian colony in "England. The presentation of the order gave rise | to a charming : little ceremony,. the British Ambassador at Rome travelling to the nalian headquarters 1 in order to present | ;;^the- insignia. The King ■Of Italy 1 spends J much time with the armies in the field, :j and, though he r was always a popular ? monarch, his ,i popularity has ' increased tenfold since Italy joined in the war. \ J , The Queen' also has been associated in this, and has won all hearts by ~ the 5 ' 1 splendid way in which she has helped in | hospital work of all descriptions. A' very J \ ' sympathetic woman, her 'great charm of | manner and kindness of heart have been given full scope, and her. thoughtful S v actions have been the subject of many a 5 i Isjpretty tale amongst her husband's people. x& A well-known personage .has, passed J away in the death of the Countess of B ' * Rodent For the past four years she has r ' - B more or less of an invalid and had 3 p |p ?°t left her room, but she still kept up a } keen interest in all that went on in the ;! HH | Political and social world. She often jj i delighted her friends with her shrewd s; /: 'v wmments on men and manners, |" < a .i well las reminiscences of such famous i |ss men. & the poet Byron, the famous Lady 3 Holland, and Count d'Orsay. "Sophie," ii Countess of Roden and Charlotte Lady | - 'x r'- rck?ter (who predeceased her sister mto or three years ago) were daughters i co-heiresses of the first and last Lord Broughton, who was the friend of Byron I i: Slid of all the social and political celebrij «es of his day. , Simultaneously with the official anI i; jjwncement of Lord Curzon'f inclusion in • ar Cabinet came news of his engage- , ~ went to Mrs. Alfred Duggan, widow of a fi;i.'^'^ ea 'thy ® utnos Aires gentleman. Lord ■ ; vurzon's first wife, who died 10 years ago, (ff i i/ 5 an American, daughter of the late ■ Z. Leiter, and his present fiancee < Eg^-v? a * so an American, born in Alabama. ; daughter of the late Mr. J. Monro Hinds, North American Minister to Brazil, The ■interesting couple will start their married with six children—Lord Curzon's I Sillif 6 daughters and Mrs. Duggan's two I ; |§ 6 ™ s a 'id one daughter. Lord Curzon's i ' daughter, Lady Irene Curzon, was I married lately to Mr. Guy Benson, eldest I °f the wealthy banker, Mr. R. H. 1 I - Mrs- Alfred Duggan is a tall, I jppK .Mndsome woman. She is we!l known in I both in Europe and America. k°rd Curzon has already an interesting behind him. He was GovernorIK * ' General of India at a comparatively early >nd the husband of one of America's lovely daughters and greatest ;l '"teases—Miss Leiter, of Chicago. When Bllpiv 0 in India Lord Curzon quickly #j quired a reputation, which is especially Jn in that land of mystery, of being 3 . * ut; Viceroy, and his rule in India SIM by the unforgettable, Durbar. 1 SSi Curzon is : without an heir to his i| His brother is heir presumptive jj 1130 Scaisdale peerage.

ONE OF THE BRITISH TANKS HALTING FOR REPAIRS, ASSAULTED BY GERMAN INFANTRY ON THE WESTERN FRONT: A .DESPERATE FIGHT AMONG THE ENEMY TRENCHES. One of the most exciting incidents in connection with the adventure of the tanks 'on the western front is recorded as follows: "Then a tank strolled alone,'rolled over the trench, with fire flashing from its flanks, and delivered' it into the hands of the infantry with nearly 400 prisoners, who waved white flags above the parapet. That was not all. The tank exhilarated by this success, went lolloping along the way in search of new adventures. It went quite alone, and only stopped for minor repairs, 'when it was surrounded by a horde of German soldiers. These men closed upon it with great pluck, for it was firing in a most deadly wsy, and tried to kill it. They flung bombs at it, clambered on to its back, and tried to smash it, with the butt-ends of rifles,' jabbed it with bavoneto, fired revolvers ;at it, and made ft wild-pandemonium about it. r Then our infantry arrived, attracted by the'tumult of this scene, and drove the enemy back. But the tank had done deadly work, and between 200 and 300 killed and wounded Germans lay about it« ungainly ; carcase. ; ,'* '•$/ , » •(,:» -V ' ■ • . , • • > —Sphere. • ■* ! ~f ./v"Vv ' T. ' •• ' i I e V v.. IJ , , V. . . " I ,>1 v <. - _ . '