From Correspondent.
London, May 4.
A showery May Day sent people off to the races with mackintoshes over their arms and in the absence of the classes the masses took possession of our streets. Labour planned a gigantic procession and marched on Hyde Park. This was headed by charabancs and motor lorries, packed with women and children all decorated with the red rosette or badge of socialist or communist. Rosy and rejoicing in their holiday they gaily sang "The Red Flag" as escorted by burly policemen the _serpentine-like procession wound its way to the platforms in Hyde Park around which had gathered perhaps 5,000 people, Among the unemployed marched trades-unionists carrying banners, and the unemployable, fuel to the flame of the agitator and bitter with a mental hunger, unwashed, hopeless, eager pull down women walked with their out-ofiwork husbands, some carried babies, children ran beside their parents, young girls struggled with the cords of unruly banners.
As they marched the demon-strafers held out collecting boxes for the benefit of "starving Russia." Psycologically it was an unfortunate moment to urge Russia's\ claims, fbr most of us had just read the ultimatum that the Bolsheviks had launched at our heads at Genoa, and knew that even then a special train was in waiting to carry them back to Russia, and so break up the Conference, if the Allies failed to realize Russia's stand-point-that she has been more sinned against than sinning, and requires conpensation from us to pay for damage done her.
Foreign affairs took unusual prominence this May Day, for having collected what they could for Russia, a deputation of workers sought an interview with the Japanese Ambassador and presented a copy of a resolution just passed in Hyde Park, this,'called on the Japanese Government to fulfil its declaration made at the Washington Conference and "'immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Siberia" Those in authority at the Embassy undertook to forward the resolution to the Ambassador, then representing his country at Genoa, and so matters were left for the time being, but the deputation told the Japanese that if the Ambassadors's reply did not seem satisfactory to those responsible for the resolution they would "demonstrate outside the Embassy every night until they obtained pictures that the crush of society. had made invisible at the "Private View." Chief among these are the portraits, for Sargent, Sir William Orpen (whose ''Chef" last year created a sensation), Augustus John, Shannon, Sims and Lavery are all well represented. One of the unusual features of the show is that in several cases there are portraits of the same person by different artists, this is the case in regard to both Sir Henry Wilson and the Countess of Rock-savage who, painted stately and sedate by Sargent, is shown in entirely different character by Sims, seated with her fair little son balanced on her knee. Controversy is rife as to whether her hair and eye brows are really indigo blue as sims has depicted Sargent's large panel Some General Officers of the Great War" presented to the National Portrait Gallery by Sir Abe Bailey, showing, standing in easy line, 22 famous soldiers in service kit, is fine piece of work and keenly interesting alike to the student of character and of military history, Plumer, small but wiry and pugnacious as a bull-terrier, is almost central, and, stretching out to right and left are Birdwood, Smuts, Botha, Byng, Rawlinson, Lukin, Monash, Home, Milne, Sir Henry Wilson, Russell, Cowans, Earl Haig, French, Robertson, Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, Allenby, Marshall, Currie, Cavan and Dobell, the last curiously youthful among the assemblage of men almost all of whom have hair touched with grey. Judging these men as a whole, there does not seem to be any definite military' type of face such as is clearly shown in the portrait groups of naval men, airmen, legal and ecclesiastic luminaries hung this year.
Mri Jack's "Marriage of the Princess Mary" draws a feminine crowd but the_ usual comment heard is that it "might be any marriage anywhere." There is a far stronger touch of romance shown in Sir John Lavery's can was. "The Royal Wedding Day" which gives the passing of "our princess" in her golden carriage the narrow way, kept by the red-coated soldiers, through the thronging, cheering people, with the grey towers of Westminster in the background. Yet another picture that is occasioning a good deal of comment is Charles Thrale's portrait of Her Excellency Madame Wellington Koo, who, dignified in white satin, is hung above Cope's Indy characteristic portrait of Ear] Beatty.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.