Prandial

Last week, U. S. Ambassador and Mrs. Frank B. Kellogg were wined and dined by one notable after another and wined and dined one notable after another in return. Ambassador Myron T. Herrick came over from Paris to stay with the Kelloggs; he too got wined and dined. The most important and at once the most brilliant of these functions was a dinner given by the Kelloggs in their ambassadorial home (Crewe House) to King George and Queen Mary. To this brilliant function, a long line of lords and ladies was invited--the Londonderrys, the Greys, the Oxfords and Asquiths, the Desboroughs, Lord Cowdray, Lady Leicester, Lord Colebrook, Lady Northcote, Premier and Mrs. Baldwin and Foreign Secretary and Mrs. Chamberlain. Among the Americans present were Ambassador Herrick, Mr. and Mrs. S. Parker Gilbert, Cora, Countess of Strafford, Lady Astor, Frederick Sterling, Counsellor of the U. S. Embassy; Ray Atherton, First Secretary; Boylston A. Deal, special attache. The men were dressed in court costume, the ladies in expensive gowns. The banquet over, the King and the other gentlemen stayed to crack the usual jokes and discuss the usual topics over their port and nuts. The King, said to be particularly struck with the youthful appearance of S. Parker Gilbert, Agent General of Reparations, asked him many questions about his work. The ambassadorial host then quoted Barrie, asked: "Shall we join the ladies?" A feature of the evening was the excellent performance put up by Degroot's six-piece orchestra. Degroot is at present the greatest attraction of the Piccadilly Hotel where he plays in the foyer in the afternoon, in the dining room in the evening and in the ballroom at night. Declared the King: "I have never heard such a feast of music in my life"; the Queen, asked by Degroot if she would command him to play a '"number," replied: "It is all so exquisite, I have no preference." The King was entirely at home. He stood, legs apart, hands behind back, facing the room in front of a roaring fire. For more than an hour he conversed with Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg, was so obviously enjoying himself that he never thought of taking a chair--a fact unfortunate for the other guests, for they were obliged to stand until 11 o'clock, when the royal guests departed.