Ne On har 
MANCHESTER WOMAN’S CLUB 
Mrs. Maud Conway Blanchard Pre- 
sented ‘‘ English Melodies ”’ 
The semi-monthly meeting of the 
Manchester Woman’s club was held 
Tuesday afternoon at the chapel, 
President Mrs. Emma E. Stanley, 
presiding. As the meeting was an 
open one, there was a very large 
attendance. 
The announcements during the 
business session included the Art 
conference at the Boston Museum of 
Fine Arts, December 7th. Mrs. 
Emma G. Tenney, delegate. The 
December 5th meeting of the club 
was announced as Home Day. Home 
talent drawn from the ranks of the 
elub members will provide a pro- 
gram on that afternoon. The hos- 
tess will be Mrs. Gertrude Prest. 
The program on Tuesday after- 
noon of this week was provided by 
Mrs. Maud Conway Blanchard. It 
was a lecture recital on ‘‘English 
Melodies.’’ Mrs. Blanchard has a 
fine presence. She possesses a very 
pleasing mezzo-soprano voice, which 
was heard to much advantage in her 
musical interpretations of the songs 
illustrating her subject. 
In the exposition of the ‘‘English 
Melodies’? Mrs. Blanchard referred 
to the old heroic ballads and songs 
which represented music in its crud- 
est shape and the now definite shape 
of the development of music. Music 
in its early lyrical state was either 
sacred or secular. It was traditional 
—having usually as its source of 
origin the monasteries, then the 
seats of learning. 
The first ‘‘Part Song’’ was writ- 
ten by a monk. To illustrate an 
early type of ‘‘Part Song’’ Mrs. 
Blanchard rendered ‘‘Summer is a 
Comin’ In’’ singing the air, the pi- 
ano supplying the other parts. 
England has furnished no great 
composers but was always first to 
accept advanced music. She has 
been primarily a country made up of 
men of letters. The world has 
drawn largely on her literary val- 
ues to enhance musical compositions, 
England has many folk songs. 
To illustrate an old English hunting 
song Mrs. Blanchard rendered SA 
Hunting We Will Go.’? The old 
English love song, ‘‘Drink to Me 
Only With Thine Eyes,’’ “ The 
Three Ravens’’ and ‘‘Sally in Our 
Alley’’ were other old songs exe- 
cuted. 
A song commemorating the old 
country dances of England, particu- 
larly the Maypole Dance was also 
rendered. It was entitled ‘‘Come 
Lassies and Lads.’’ 
S 2H 20OURSE 
The drinking song is of old Eng- 
lish origin. It was not unusual in 
by-gone days to listen to a song of 
over fifty verses describing the great 
qualifications of ‘‘The Leather Bot- 
tle’’ or ‘‘Bottel,’’ as it was called, 
over bottles made of other materials. 
Mrs. Blanchard sang a few verses 
of ‘‘The Leather Bottel’’ to show the 
characteristics of such an old song. 
To her audience it furnished the hu- 
morous note in the afternoon’s en- 
tertainment. It was greatly en- 
joyed. 
‘“‘The Token’’ representing the 
early type of ‘‘Songs of the Sea,”’ 
and ‘‘Barbara Allen,’’ which song 
had a great popularity in England 
and in America during the Revolu- 
tionary days, were also presented. 
For variety and national character- 
istics, Irish and Scotch songs were 
introduced. Where the English 
were always dignified and refined in 
their songs, the Scotch were pa- 
thetic and the Irish rollicking. To 
show a type of song of the early 
Irish school, Mrs. Blanchard gave a 
very piquant and charming rendi- 
tion of Samuel Lover’s ‘‘ Young 
Rory O’Moore.’’ ‘‘Annie Laurie’’ 
beautifully rendered, supplied the 
Seotch number and ‘‘Rule Britan- 
nia,’’ England’s great political poem 
and song, depicted the dignity of 
English music by contrast. 
An informal reception followed 
Mrs. Blanchard receiving with the 
hostess of the day, Mrs. Philip 
Stockton. Many availed themselves 
of this opportunity to thank Mrs. 
Blanchard personally for the pleas- 
ure and instruction they had derived 
from her program. 
In the tea-room where the social 
cup of tea was dispensed to round 
out the afternoon in a sociable fash- 
ion, Mrs. Wm. A. Russell of Bev- 
erly Farms, sister of Mrs. Stockton, 
and Mrs. Edith R. Morgan, poured. 
The late Commander Edward 
Linzee Amory, U.S.N., retired, who 
died last Sunday at the St. Regis 
Hotel, New York, was a native of 
Boston. He was a brother of Mrs. 
F. Gordon Dexter of Boston, and an 
uncle of Gordon Dexter of Boston 
and Beverly Farms. The funeral 
was held Tuesday afternoon from 
the residence of Mrs. F. Gordon 
Dexter, 171 Commonwealth avenue, 
Boston. When residing in Boston 
the deceased had apartments at the 
Touraine. 
6¢Oo90 9 
In the absence of James W. Ap- 
pleton, M. F. H. of the Myopia Hunt 
club, in Virginia, Thomas Pierce of 
Topsfield acted as master of hunt 
last week. 
BREEZE 419 
SOCIETY NOTES 
George Bakhmetieff, newly ap- 
pointed by Emperor Nicholas as his 
ambassador to the United States, 
reached New York, last Sunday and 
left immediately to take charge of 
the Russian embassy at Washington 
as successor to Baron Rosen. M. 
Bakhmetieff is a man of not more 
than 50 years—younger than either 
of his two predecessors, Baron 
Rosen and Count Cassini. He is a 
thorough master of English and is a 
man of some reserve, but yet genial. 
He is reputed to be one of Russia’s 
ablest diplomats and has faced diffi- 
cult situations. He was ambassador 
to Japan shortly after the orientals 
emerged victorious from the strug- 
gle with Russia, and while at Tokio 
he accomplished a new treaty of 
friendliness with Russia’s late foe. 
With the ambassador was his Amer- 
ican wife, the daughter of the late 
Gen. E. F. Beal, whom he married 
while he was secretary to the Rus- 
sian legation at Washington some 
years ago. Prince Koudacheff, who 
summered in Manchester, and the 
other members of the embassy staff 
met the new ambassador at the pier. 
o°o°09 
Plans are under way at Washing- 
ton to give Miss Margaret Preston 
Draper, daughter of the late Gen. 
and of Mrs. W. F. Draper of 
Hopedale and Manchester, one of 
the most elaborate dancing parties 
ever seen in that city. The occasion 
will be the debut of Miss Draper, 
who is a niece of former Governor 
Draper of Massachusetts. Live 
humming birds brought from Flor- 
ida and butterflies carried across the 
continent from California will flit 
around the miniature garden of 
daisies and rare exotics that is to 
grace the $25,000 party. Miss Dra- 
per, one of Washington’s wealthiest 
debutantes, will wear her priceless 
string of pearls. This string has 
been added to year after year by her 
parents and the first pearl on it was 
the gift of Queen Margherita of 
Italy, her godmother and in honor 
of whom she was named. 
00090 
December 9th is the date for the 
wedding of Arthur Hunnewell Shaw, 
youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Rob- 
ert Gould Shaw of Commonwealth 
avenue, Boston, and The Brown- 
lands, Manchester. and Miss Acrata 
McCreery von Schrader of St. Louis. 
The ceremony will take place in the 
Church of the Messiah, St. Louis, 
and because of the wide acquain- 
tance of the bridegroom’s family 
there will be many guests present 
from the East. 
