New Britain Herald Newspaper, January 12, 1928, Page 12

fe Scramble When #fwo Divorce Pdriiequ Mi ~. LS - e @ R O Two Beauties, a Bet., One Practical Joker—and in - Wafted 20 Startled Ex-Wives on Their Surprised Ex-Hubbies! GUEST, Chariagas 4 e Joined Fay Marbe's Party Because Lady Cheylesmore {(Right) Had Just Been Awarded & Temperary Divorce. © Graphte Phete Tnien, London W. C. 1) ENTERTAINED DIVORCEES. Sir Michael Bruce Entertained the Divorcees Who Met Their Titled “Exes” at Victor's, He ls Shown Here with His First Wife, Miss Doreen Dalziel Greenwell. LONDON. MERICANS have long been accused of having too much respect for nobility, of standing awe stricken in the pres- ence of titles, On the other hand, it has been considered axiomatic that the British have no sense of humor. But the fallacy of these two beliefs was proved here re- Fay Marbe, (Left) American Actress, Was Indirectly Responsible for the Matrimonial Scramble. cently when twenty divorced peers hé an_ American " 3 | ractical < ' their G . v % were tricked, actress and an glish joker, into dining witl tv;nty {orm;rtwive-. ) n spite of furious attempts to . hush up the affair, details of the discom- fiture of the forty nationally and interna- tionally famous celebrities are beginning | to leak out, and smarter London is chuck- hnf. he peers were herded together the result of a bet between Fzy Mnrl: and Tallulah Bankhead, two American actresses. A British practical joker, Lord Kinnoull, combined this party with one another humorously inclined Englishman, 8ir Michael Bruce, had made up of the pe;n' 'te‘hvorced wives. 0 tense was the'atmosphere when th two parties met that the di';lomltic owne: of Victor'’s Club, fearing scandal, refused admittance to the Duke and Duchess of \ork, who arrived unexpectedly. The emotional reactions of the twenty di- vorced couples ranged from frigidity to hysterical gaiety, from squabbling xnj re- newed bickering to love making and recl?ncnh‘;uol:l. o 'ay Marbe was indirectly respon: for it all. One evening sheyvu":i'}l:lul;xs.- ing whether the English aristocracy really approved of divorce. Tallulah Bank- head thought they didn’t. “What'll you bet?” z 6, DuKE STREET ADELPH), LoNpoN. WC 8 Cadles Awasmao, Loxpon Tsphore Rsarns 66 @62 ranged raterooms. “Miss Fay Marbe/’ he announced, “has kindly arranged a special entertainment for her own Eanicuhr guests. Sir Michael ruce has also made prepara- tions for a private orm- ance to be given for the ladies he has brought here.” Nobody looked more sur- prised than Fay and Sir Mi- chael. Each, however, felt an - Diverced Husbinds and the Party of Former Wives to Most Him at Vistor's Extract from a Letter of the London C m""i'.m of This Editor the “In: Scrambled “Di asked Fay, turning on her smile which is insured for $250,000. Tallulah said she would bet & platinum cigaret case studded with diamonds. Fay, to win the cigarette case, planned a party. She hunted through “Burke's Peerage” and ‘“Debrett” and invited di- vorced men only. The night of the party the merriest table at the Cafe de Paris, the favorite rendezvous of the Prince of Wales, was the one at which Fay pre- sided. She was the only woman present, and, when the twenty divorced peers learned why they had been invited, they laughed. Tallulah, who also was dining at the Cafe de Paris, saw the happy party and strolled over to greet Fay. Raising ss of champagne, she said, “You win!' “Great Scott! 1 thought she invited me because she liked me, and now I find it was only to help her win a bet!” roaned the Earl of Hardwicke, in mock espair At that moment Lord Cheyles more, whose divorce was marked by sen- sational features which electrified Lon- don a few months ago, came over and asked why he had not been invited. “I certainly belong here,” he exclaimed, taking a seat His Highness the Rajah of Sarawak approached the table. “You are not di- vorced!” cried someone, and Fay's guests .rose in a body and shooed him away. © Basano, Ltd. Lendon W. 1) JOINED PARTY. Lord Cheylesmors Thought Fay Marbe's Party so Amusing He Came Along Uninvited—and Was Sorry Later. About an hour later Fay was summoned to the telephone. It was the Earl of Kinnoull calling. He protested that he had been divorced and should have been invited. Fay was apologetic. “Then bring them all over to Victor's,” urged the E: “There’s a jolly crowd coming The Earl failed to say that the jolly crowd would consist of the former wives of the men in Fay's y. So the twenty peers were shepherded into taxis and the merry procession headed for Victor’s on Grafton Street. Fay, enthused by the success of her rln\l. did not stop to think that a practical joke was being played on her guests. But Sir Michael Bruce, a descendant of the Secotch King, Robert Bruce, had in some way learned about Fay's party when the invitations for it were sent out. He has a reputation as a. - tical joker, but claims he was merely in- viting the former wives of Fay's guests to dine with him that night. had no intention of combining the two parties. z The combining of the two parties is blamed on the Earl of Kinnoull. In some way he had learned what was going on at both places. After calling Fay and telling her to meet him at Victor's with her twenty peers, he called Sir Michael Bruce and told Sir Bruce to meet him at Victor's with the twenty former wives of the geers._;‘There‘a a jolly crowd at Victor'’s,” e said. Fay and her guests arrived first, hila- rlous and happy. They were led into the already crowded supper room by Victor himself. Victor was trying to quiet them down when he was told that another party had arrived to join this one, 50 he hastened out to greet the mew- comers. He was appalled when he recognized in the superbly gowned and bejewelled women of the second party the former ives of the party he had just finished seating. He begged a moment’s conver- sation with Sir Michael. “As long as you like after supper, Victor, old boy, bLut e says he { Lot et o 1, 52 2 said Sir 3 gue: up the stairs. There was a petrified silence when Lord Kinnoull arose to the ladies :"lh?n ex-husbands he . ?e(nlined ::d:. eir supper partners. ifelong - ing in 'P'ood form” alone prevented an unrestrained scene. The noble ladies controlled their emotions and selocted their seats near or far from their erst- while mates, as they felt inclined. The strain became so acute that the Honorable Willlam Arthur de la Poer Horsley-Beresford, once the husband of Florence Millar, and only just divorced rom his second wife, Laura, couldn’t stand it. He rose to leave. At the same instant his ex-wife sprang up with similar intention. They met at the door, bowed, smiled, and the Honorable William po- litely offered his arm. 8eeing the humor :nl.d e situation, a reconciliation had been e, But the situation was becoming increas- ingly tense with those remaining. Through- out the room a feeling of impending social disaster spread. ere and there the arguments which led to the divorce court were being resumed or ignored by a forced and unnatural gaiety. It was the ingenious Victor who at last hit upon a plan to rate the ex-spouses. He telephoned frantically to various cab- aret artists and asked them to come at Then he hastened back to the supper room. Here he found things even more critical than he expected. Several couples had apparently smoothed over their difficulties and were chatting ami- ably, but the others had reached the stage of sitting bolt upright, silent and digni- fied, ignoring one another’s Voxlmity. The cabaret artists arrived. Victor ar- once. enormous relief at the thought of ending the melodramatic farce which the party had be- come. _Disentangling their guests,' Fay led the men and Sir Michael the women into separate rooms. Victor had saved the day. But, before the cabaret artists arrived, he was summoned to the door to greet the Duke and Duchess of York. “I'm sorry,” he said to them, even though any club would have been hon- ored by their presence, “but all the tables are taken.” Victor did not wish to involve the Duke and Duchess in a so- cial scandal. The sensational debacle of Fay's stunt is the nine-day wonder of London society. That the British can take a joke, even a gmtlc-l one, is shown by the number of reconciliations made at the party. Three of the divorced couples, falling into the spirit of the occasion, became friendly again. It is rumored that one of these couples will re-wed. . “There’s such a thing as be- ing too successful,” confided Fay Marbe, discussing the din- ner. “That was what was the matter with my stunt. I wanted to win my wager, but I didn’t mean to do anything more than that. I hope my next party won’t make me cry, for home in tears from the strain of this one.” But indications are that Fay’s tears were soon dried. This young actress has long been known for her MADE THE BET. Miss Tallulah Bankhead, as Caricatured by It Was to Settle & Wager With Her That One “Divorce Party” Was Planned. “Sammy.” 1s whispered came American ranks among London’s peerage, and ’ ide i lln'th;:fi:ae ’t:l:\‘m A le in her re lon. red her scheme was by Lord Kinnoull, v;: is in thedlimeluht nov{' l;‘y his recent announced engagement er the envy of many other