Entertainments .sx ST. MARTIN'S THEATRE .sx " LADY-IN-WAITING " .sx By HARRY GRAHAM AND JACQUES NATANSON .sx From the Original by ATTILO ORBOK .sx What fun it must be to be a typist in Ruritania !sx In the first place , you are necessarily as gay and charming as Miss Leonora Corbett , and that fortune should encourage any typist at her desk , as it may well encourage the actress who made last night her first appearance within half a mile of Charing Cross .sx Then , even before adventures begin to come to you and they are , perhaps , a trifle slow in coming you have an amusing family a Micawberish papa with Mr. Aubrey Mather's slow , dawning grin ; a shrewd , comfort-able mamma with Miss Dora Gregory to make her thoroughly at home ; and a brother , Mr. Van Gyseghan , who be- .sx comingly wears a rod shirt and corresponding opinions .sx Then you have a friend who is a journalist an asset to any woman , and he is the kind of journalist who , enjoying the acquaintance of the purveyor of Royal motor-cars , takes you for a drive in King Yovan's new straight eight .sx And he drives you into the palace grounds by the side-entrance , sitting back in the car .sx while you , being incurably curious and feminine , look out of the window to watch the sentries salute and the passing bourgeoisie take off their loyal boaters .sx After that , what do you expect ?sx Lili , being young and innocent , didn't expect it at all , but it happened nevertheless .sx King Yovan , it was said , had a mistress , and Lili was reputed , or disreputed , to be she .sx The chairman of her bank sent flowers ; the manager sent chocolates ; her red-shirted brother became a capitalist in a day ; the leader of the Agrarian Party courted her influence ; the Theatre Royal made her its leading lady ; and the Jews , their soft heart admirably represented by Mr. Gilbert Davis , gave her credit without security .sx What could the girl do but keep it up ?sx But she was a good , unmercenary girl who hated to deceive .sx She didn't like pretending that the King was her lover ; she would have preferred , she thought , as she dreamed herself into the part she was playing , to exchange pretence for reality ; and of course when the King did meet her at last in the Prime Minister's ballroom it needed only a delightful confession by Miss Corbett and an enchanted acceptance by Mr. Donat to send them both off to a house in the Ruritanian woods .sx The journalist , it may be added , was made Minister of Fine Arts , a pro-motion that Mr. Cecil Parker had well deserved .sx But most things go pleasantly in this country of make-believe .sx Mr. Spencer Trevor represents its politics and Mr. T. H. Roberts frequently drops in for a glass of vermouth , which excellent diversions are not surprising in a work that ladies may rule without having to sell any preliminary oranges .sx BACH CANTATA CLUB .sx MEETING AT ST. MARGARET'S , .sx WESTMINSTER .sx Bach's use of the chorale is well exemplified in certain of the church cantatas where the same melody is subjected to two or three different kinds of treatment .sx Other examples were performed by the Bach Cantata Club at St. Margaret's , Westminster , last night , but taken from various sources .sx " Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten " occurs in the cantata of that name , the melody being played instrumentally with counter-subjects sung by soprano and alto duet ; in another cantata , sung by chorus with solo recitatives interspersed and instrumental accompaniment ; and in three organ choral-preludes .sx These were all put together so that the contrasting treatment .sx could be easily perceived .sx The effect was interesting to hear , although somewhat grey and sombre , partly owing to the prevailing minor keys and partly because there was no orchestra .sx Another group showed the use of the beautiful melody " Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr , " which occurs in two different cantatas No .sx 85. a delightful variation of the theme for soprano solo with orchestra , and No .sx 112 , the choral sopranos taking the melody while the other voices move contrapuntally , supported by elaborate accompaniment , and again in an organ prelude .sx Here also one missed the orchestral colouring .sx In between the motet for double choir .sx " Komm , Jesu , komm " was sung a work of finely sustained expression , and one of the Schemelli collection of sacred songs completed the scheme .sx The tune of the choir , which was under the direction of Mr. Charles Kennedy Scott , was uniformly pure and steady , but just a little lacking in breadth of phrasing .sx The soloists were Miss Gladys Currie , Miss Mary Morris , and Mr. Gordon Ives ; and Dr. Henry G. Ley and Mr. Herbert Dawson were the organists .sx WIGMORE HALL .sx A RECITAL OF SCHUBERT .sx Mme .sx Alexandra Trianti's' programme of songs at the Wigmore Hall last night consisted entirely of Schubert's songs grouped under two headings , the unfamiliar ( " unbekannt " ) and the popular Schubert .sx Even in the latter group those songs whose popularity has made them almost hackneyed were avoided , and under the first head were some which are practically unknown in the concert room .sx It was refreshing to get a really enterprising and well selected programme of Schubert's songs , and Mme .sx Trianti's singing was for the most part worthy of her task in selection .sx Among the four " Geistliche Lieder " at the beginning the poignant " Ach , neige du Schmerzensreiche " stood out prominent .sx The delicate " Wachtelschlag , " with its reiteration of the quail's rhythmic figure ( as Beethoven has it in the Pastoral Symphony ) contrasted well with this prayer to the Mother of Sorrows as scherzo with slow movement .sx A second set of four " Lieder der Sehnsucht " began finely with the " Sehnsucht der Liebe " and ended with " Das Heimweh .sx " This last , a vivid presentation of the mountaineer's fever for the " Gebirge , " was one of the things which makes us qualify the generally high estimate of Mme .sx Trianti's singing .sx Her voice , always rich and smooth in quality , has not quite the urgency for such a song as this .sx Among the popular songs , " Im Fruhling " had to be repeated ; " Der Neugierige " was , perhaps , a little too mannered for the simple sentiment which underlies it , but all had charm and delicacy of expression .sx The singer was ably seconded by Mr. Gerald Moore , her sympathetic accompanist .sx " GIPSY BLOOD " .sx Now that the sound apparatus has come , it is natural there should be adaptations from Carmen , as that opera is something of a film producer's dream , with its melodramatic plot , generous opportunities for " striking " settings , .sx and a theme-song which every errand-boy can whistle .sx Gipsy Blood , a British International Picture , now showing at the London Pavilion , takes full , if slightly facile , advantage of all that Carmen offers .sx With the musical arrangements in the hands of Dr. Malcolm Sargent , there is no vulgarly insistent attack on the Toreador song , and the voices of Miss Marguerite Namara and Mr. Thomas Burke are more than equal to the by no means heavy demands made upon them .sx Work has now begun at the Islington studios on Mr. Bobby Howes's second talking picture , Lord Babs .sx Entertainments .sx FRENCH ART .sx THE EXHIBITION IN .sx JANUARY .sx FROM OUR ART CRITIC .sx At a meeting of the Royal Academy on Wednesday , attended by a delegation from the French committee , the progress of arrangements for the forthcoming exhibition of French art , which is to open on January 4 , was reported and discussed .sx Details have not been given )officially , but it is understood that arrangements are proceeding satisfactorily , and that there is every prospect of a thoroughly representative exhibition .sx The contributions from the Louvre and other national collections are not yet finally decided , but from provincial museums , churches , and private collections in France 150 paintings , 32 objets d'art including ivories seven tapestries , and about a dozen works in sculpture are definitely promised .sx The list of paintings is not yet available , but some details can be given of the other works .sx The Wets Part include reliquaries and church vessels and vestments .sx Thus , from Conques is coming a ninth-century reliquary ; from Rheims Cathedral a twelfth-century chalice and the sixteenth-century reliquary of St. Ursula ; from the Cathedral of Nancy a tenth-century 1 chalice and paten ; from Chartres Cathedral a thirteenth-century shrine ; and from the Orleans Museum a thirteenth-century Virgin and Child in ivory .sx Among the tapestries are a fourteenth-century set of four subjects from the Apocalypse , from the Angers Museum ; and fifteenth-century altar hangings from Sens Cathedral .sx The sculptures include two fourteenth-century statuettes in marble from Nantes , and two thirteenth-century carved capitals from Toulouse .sx From provincial museums and private collections in England , Scotland , and Ireland 68 paintings have now been definitely promised .sx Those who are familiar with the collections of Mr. Samuel Courtauld and Lord Ivor Churchill both described in the series of articles on private collections published in The Times during the summer of 1928 will not be surprised to learn that these works are mostly of the nineteenth century , though there is a fair sprinkling from earlier periods .sx ART EXHIBITIONS .sx ENGLISH WATER-COLOURS .sx Though it is specially addressed to collectors , the autumn exhibition of Early English Water-colour Drawings at the Squire Gallery , IA , Baker-street , should also interest students of the subject .sx It is evident that , particularly in the case of the earlier and less familiar men , great pains have been taken to get the attributions right , and the exhibition is full of side-lights and cross references in style .sx This is a field in which the Squire Gallery is doing useful work work which is only possible to those who constantly handle and compare the productions of the school .sx The drawings are catalogued , though not arranged , in chronological order , and the range in time extends from Francis Place ( 1647-1728 ) to E. M. Wimperis , who died in 1000 .sx Great names are represented , but a large proportion of the works are by artists that few except special students know much about .sx One of the two drawings by Place illustrates cross reference .sx " Easby Abbey , Richmond , " a charming thing in pen line and sepia or bistre is of its period ; but " Sherif Hutton Castle , Yorkshire,' suddenly leaps for' ward in style and might be mistaken at a glance for a work of the Cotman school .sx Two of the seven Paul Sandbys are in strong contrast ; " The Study " is free and fantastic , but " Landscape with a Grotto " would suggest that the artist was minutely interested in the subject itself as if he had landscape-gardened the scene .sx There are four Rowlandsons , including " A Singlestick Match " at a fair , from the late Captain Desmond Coke's .sx " PUNCH'S ALMANAC " .sx Except in frivolity , politics have no place in Punch's Almanac .sx It is just fun , although there are some shrewd hits in the clever caricatures by " B. P. " of prominent people in various surprising poses .sx Arthur Watts , Lewis Baumer , and other favourite Punch artists contribute to the amusement in dozens of pictures in colour and black-and-white .sx " Evoe " and others tell excellent stories , and " Zeus at Geneva " is a memorable account by " A. P. H. " of the 147th Session of the International Conference on the Standardization of Christmas Dinners :sx the meeting broke up without finding a formula .sx The price of this almanac is is .sx AN AMERICAN PORTIA .sx MISS MAUDE ADAMS'S RETURN .sx TO THE STAGE .sx FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT .sx NEW YORK , Nov .sx 4 .sx Miss Maude Adams , who retired from the stage at the height of her popularity in 1918 , received a tremendous welcome on her reappearance last night , when she played Portia in The Merchant of Venice , at the Ohio Theatre in Cleveland , with Mr. Otis Skinner in the part of Shylock .sx Miss Adams is now 58 years old , but once again the charm that made her the idolized heroine of Barrie's plays in the early nineteen hundreds and established .sx her in American oyes as the Only Peter Pan that ever could be , seems to have won for her the affection of public and critics alike .sx Between the lines of the columns of narrative of her life in dispatches from Cleveland one gathers that her Portia of last night , while not the Portia of Ellen Terry or of Ada Rehan , was nevertheless an excellent performance in its different key .sx She was , in the words of one critic , " a human colloquial Portia , " and she played the part " with zest , buoyancy , and a fine comedy sense .sx "