October lo, 1914 
LAND AND WATER 
THROUGH THE EYES 
OF A WOMAN 
Feminine Facts and Fancies 
WOMEN to-day are occupied with a score of 
things, and to those who are watching and 
waiting for news from the front these claims 
upon their attention must be a veritable 
relief. Many women, for example, are taking 
more than a passive interest in the Belgian refugees who 
have come over in such numbers to our country, and whose 
condition beggars sympathy. Alexandra Palace is now being 
used for the housing of a considerable number of Belgians. 
Men, women, and little children are here, and this large, 
somewhat unwieldy building has certainly never been put 
to a better use. The rooms have been turned into dormi- 
tories, and are bright and cheerful, besides being scrupulously 
•clean. The main hall is the children's playground, and here 
large swings have been fixed, which are rarely idle, as can 
easily be imagined. Here also are the inquiry bureaus. The 
various organisers have their own particular tables, dealing 
quickly and sympathetically with the different questions that 
arise. Alexandra Palace is, in fact, the clearing house of the 
refugees. The offers of hospitality arriving from all parts of 
the country are sent here, and receive careful consideration. 
The great difficulty is to please both parties — the entertainers 
and the entertained — and to see that all are satisfied as far 
as possible. Not an easy task by any manner of means, but 
it is being more or less accomplished, nevertheless. The 
refugees do not stay long at Alexandra Palace, for new 
homes are quickly provided for them, and they then leave to 
make room for new arrivals. Visitors are not allowed inside 
the gates without passes, but there are many who receive 
the necessary authorisation, and several well-known Belgians 
in London have been down to welcome their compatriots, 
amongst them the Duchesse de Vend6me. Several people 
have arrived at the gates with presents of clothing and food, 
and the gate-keeper has his time fully occupied answering 
questions and receiving various «jfferings. 
The Womsn's Emergency Corps 
Many societies and organisations have sprung into being 
since the commencement of the war, some of which bear 
tribute to little but misplaced energy, overlapping as they 
do societies already in working order. No such criticism, 
however, can be levelled at the Women's Emergency Corps. 
In the first days of the war the headquarters of the 
Corps were at the Little Theatre, John Street. Adelphi, but 
its activities grew so rapidly that larger premises had to be 
found in York Place. Baker Street ; and here great things 
are being done. The main object of the Women's Emergency 
Corps is to find employment for those who through no fault 
of their own have been thrown out of work. It is a work of 
women for women, and many clever people are bringing their 
best wits to bear upon the matter. One of the latest things 
that the Women's Emergency Corps is doing is to train a 
selected number of girls to become toymakers. The collapse 
of the German monopoly of the toy trade gives too good a 
chance to be lost, and of this full advantage is being taken. 
Sixty girls are busy making toys in the top rooms of the 
Corps' premises in York Place, and a very interesting sight 
it is. They have already made considerable progress in the 
art, and, judging from appearances, it will not be long before 
they are experts. Christmas and the toy season is not so 
very far away now, and war was declared j\ist at the time 
when large stocks of toys would in the ordinary course of 
events have been arriving in this country from Nuremberg 
and the country round. The children, however, are not 
going to be disappointed of their Yuletide gifts if the Women's 
Emergency Corps can help it. The Duchess of Marlborough 
is amongst the many taking an active interest in the Corps 
and its objects, and her example has been followed bj' many 
of the Americans who have been " held up " here. The 
boats now, of course, are running much more frequently, 
and a great many of our trans-Atlantic visitors have left for 
home. A considerable number, however, still remain, and 
more than one American woman has found her way to York 
Place during the last week or so. One pretty woman, who 
has joined the Corps till her departure for Washington, at the 
middle of this month, was ordering quite a large consignment 
of toys for her small boy and girl, and their tribe of little 
cousins in the United States of America. Many other orders, 
also, are arriving daily, and this latest industry should 
flourish. Nor is this the only work that the Women's 
Emergency Corps is providing. They have equipped the 
Queen's Canadian Military Hospital, at Shorncliffe, Folkestone, 
with sheets, pillow cases, draw sheets, and surgeon's overalls, 
and have offered to take on orders from any Government 
contractors who are finding it difficult to complete their orders 
within the promised time. 
The Latest Entertainment 
The newest form of entertainment seems to be the 
knitting dinner. The moment dinner is over, and the ladies 
have left their lords and masters to discuss politics, wars, and 
rumours of wars in the dining-room, knitting needles are 
produced and fingers grow busy. It is quite a usual thing 
for an informal dinner invitation to con\ev the warning, 
" Bring your knitting," and by this permission no time is 
wasted. Many people, indeed, are so occupied in making 
and dispatching knitted goods to sources all over the country, 
as well as abroad, that they grudge a leisurely evening in 
which needles and wool play no part. Lately it has fallen 
to my lot to go to three of these knitting dinners, and very 
amusing have they all been, each in its own particular way. 
Every woman has her own individual style of knitting. Some 
knit quickly, others are slow. Some are cxceedinglv practical 
at their task, finishing each row with decision and decreasing 
and increasing with the air of a commanding general, whilst 
others knit in an apologetic way, fully conscious that at any 
moment they may drop a stitch, let it unravel, and occupy 
some more capable person's time in repairing the damage. 
At the last dinner of the trio there was an exceedingly 
attractive culprit of this sort, who dropped stitches more 
readily than she knitted them, but was so pleasant to behold 
that we cheerfully forgave her her shortcomings in this 
particular way. She wore one of the new very short dresses 
of flounced net, with jei chains in lieu of sleeves, and a general 
impudence of design. The matron of the ]iarty wore a 
stately gown of velvet with a modest quantity of the family- 
diamonds, and the war, as usual, was the sole topic for dis- 
cussion from the moment we met till the moment we parted. 
The Fashions That Are 
As a matter of fact, for those who feel inclined to think 
about clothes, there are such things as the new winter models. 
All the models were ready and waiting in the Paris ateliers 
when war broke out, the only difficulty being their dispatch 
to London. This, as can easily be imagined, was a formid- 
able one, but it has been solved in a certain number of cases. 
The manager of one of the best-known London houses brought 
home a collection of models in his own personal luggage, and 
secured them for the benefit of his customers that way. \^'t 
were present at their display an afternoon or so ago, and 
duly noted the one or two points which differentiate the 
models of the autumn from those of the summer. One thing 
that is noticeable is the exceeding shortness of the skirts. 
They are almost absurdly short, and it is quite difficult for 
the eye to become accustomed to this curtailment. It is not 
with the walking suits alone that this can be noted ; afternoon 
gowns of taffeta or charmeuse are equally brief ; nor do 
the evening frocks escape. One of the most effective evening 
frocks we saw was entirely composed of moonlight-blue 
sequins, caught up on the shoulder and at the knee with a 
single red rosebud. Its wearer admitted its excessive weight ; 
but this in no way discouraged its subsequent purchaser, 
whose rapid decision, no less than her accent, proclaimed her 
from New York. It is Americans, in fact, who up to the 
present have kept the shops at work ; but trade shows signs 
of reviving now, and everybody is getting busier. — Erica. 
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