IN THE FOREST.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1194, 1 August 1911, Page 6

IN THE FOREST.

THE EAST END CHILDREN. A beautiful clearing in Epping Forest, at Loughton, was the setting recently of as charming a play-scene as ever was acted oil any stage, says "M.A.P." Tho audience consisted of a thousand poor children from tho East End of London, from Haggerston. The occasion was ike opening day of tho twentieth seasaS of. the Fresh Air Fund. Tho actors wero some of tho brightest and most particular stars of our stage. The great Sir Herbert Tree was there, making epigrams in his incomparable way even in the hurly-burly of a scramble for sweets, over which lie presided. Beautiful Lily Langtry -was there—Lady de Bathe—a veritable fairy-godmother in the children's eyes. Miss Gertie Millar looked more radiant than ever in a dainty white frock; an angel she must have seemed to the eyes of tho little people from slum-land. Mr. George Grossmith, junior, threw himself heart and soul into tho entertainment of the children.

Lady de Bathe, in a wonderful robe, was a 'vision of loveliness, and it was touching to see how, as she moved about among the groups of children, grubby littlo fingers would go up to stroke the crushed strawberry-hued stuff of which her frock was woven.

When dinner-time came the children, who had been revelling in a wonderwander about tho forest, assembled in groups on the grass, expectantly awaiting tho giant meat-pies that aro a feature of every F.A.P. day. Lady de Bathe turned herself into a waitress, draped dusters about her, filled an apron with the meatpies, and went about feeding the hungry, showering smiles and kind words liko ■blessings. Little girls looked up to her in a shy. timid way, that soon melted into friendship as the great lady, the liko of whose beauty they had never seen, dispensed her charities. Lady do Bathe could not fill her apron riuickiy enough to satisfy demands, and was seen running again and again for pies and moro pies, for all the heat of a glorious June day. Sir Herbert Tree, arrayed also in dusters, might have stcod as a model for that plump head-waiter of the "Cock" of whoni the poet sang. Every moment he said something witty; he won a thousand children's hearts that day.

Picture Sir Herbert, hat off, armed with a big pile of Coronation rock—the stickiest of sticky sweets, and one of the most wonderful, a pink sweet, a foot, in length, with pictures of the King and Queen that magically appear as you eat. Mr. Alfred Lester more than lived up to that famous motto o? his, "Always merry and bright." It was the order of the day, and the kindly actors kept the fun goini;, fast and furious. Mr. George Grossmith as a pieman was a play in himself. You should have seen him dancing about the forest, with about two hundred little girls for partners, all wil/lh singing "Yip-i-addy-i-ay!" Mr. Joseph Coyne cracked jokes with the children, and some of them told stories to him; one sad enough tale explained the reapon of four groat inUmarks on a nockethandkerchiof worn beneath a boy's cap: "It's for mourning," said the wearer. Thero was cricket in tho afternoon, and skipping, and races, and football, and rounders, and every kind of game, including, of course, kiss-in-the-ring, when Mr. Alfred Lester was blindfolded, and at la-st, after ten minutes of rollicking fun, caught Alice Spencer, who kissed him, as well sho might, whereupon he gave her sixpence, saying she deserved it for ber plucky deed! So tho day passed in revels and joyousiiess. Photographers and kinematograph operators took pictures of tho scenes, so that all the world might have the chance of knowintr how tho poor town children who are taken for tho F.A.F. holidays enjoy themselves. ■ Sond ninoponco to the Frivsh Air Fund, and you give a poor town child just such a day nf unalloyed happiness in the country. " This is tho inner meaning of the pence without delay, and buy, through tho Fresh Air Fund, for a poor town child, the happiest day of a lifetime.