ROYALTY AND U.S.A.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 20, 25 January 1939, Page 7

ROYALTY AND U.S.A.

HITLER'S GRABLAND. MUSSOLINI DISAPPOINTS.. LONDON'S BURIED 'TREASURE' (By CHARLES MARTIX.) LONDON, January 8. When the King and Queen cross the Canadian border into the United States this year, they will not, of course, be the first members of the British Royal Family to - enjoy the hospitality or an American President at the White House. Towards the end of the 18th century Prince Eedward, afterwards Duke of Kent, made several holiday trips from Canada, where he discharged military duties, to pay his respects to Mrs. Washington. On one occasion the Prince, who was the great-great-grandfather of our present King, attended the First Lady's New Year reception. King Edward VII., when Prince of Wales, was warmly welcomed by the Americans when he broke into his Canadian visit in 1860 to visit Washington, notwithstanding the fact that the then President-had complained of being coldly treated by the Queen when he called upon her at Windsor. The Prince attended a ceremony at the tomb of General Washington, a consecrated spot to Americans, and it is thought that a similar event will be arranged for his grandson. Czechs and Germans In Regent Street. The London offices of the German State Railways and the Czechoslovakia Travel Bureau, adjoining one another in Regent Street, continue to attract the notice of many people who have no intention of utilising either of the services offered. Their window appeals have changed since those first anxious days when a policeman kept day and night guard on the pavement outside. Within a week of the change-over the German office started to boost the charms of Sudetenland, formerly advertised next door. Displayed prominently is a map of the Reich, showing the new territory incorporated, with Karlsbad. Marienbad and other newly occupied towns starred to attract the attention of passers-by. There is also a reminder of the part played by Mr. Chamberlain in the recent crisis—a photograph of him shaking hands with Herr Hitler. There is no picture of the British Prime Minister in the window of the Czechoslovak Travel Bureau, and the motif is no longer fishing. The Sudetenland is prominently featured here, too, but it is the reverse side of the coin. The other window appeals for holidaymakers to visit a delightful country; this one for subscriptions to help refugees who have fled from a country which for them holds few delights. The Unfinished Portait. Another reminder of Mr. Chamberlain's recent preoccupation with the affairs of Centrol Europe is to be seen at an exhibition of sculptures in a London art gallery. It is a portrait relief of the Prime Minister, intended for a political association, but it is unfinished. His fishing was not the Premier's only peaceful engagement interrupted by the crisis. He was unable to sit for the sculpture, and the artist, Miss Jessica Stonor. had to work from photographs. Miss Stonor is a great niece of Sir Harry Stonor, Extra Groom-in-Waiting to the King. History Re-writes Shaw. Never has a play become out of date so swiftly as Bernard Shaw's "Geneva." the third act of which the dramatist is re-writing in order to keep pace with history. When he put into the mouth of a thinly-disguised Mussolini a criticism of another dictator's antiJewish activities. Shaw did not foresee the changed racial policy of the Duce. Professor Siegfried Trebitseh, who translates Shaw's works into German, has arrived in London to collect the manuscript of the new third act, though it is unlikely that the play will ever be performed in Germany. Many of his other plays are popular in that country, but the name of the translator, who is of Jewish origin, and lives in Switzerland, is omitted from the programme. Theatre Tastes Differ. Another example of how London and New York theatre tastes differ has just been provided by the failure over here of a play that has proved an outstanding success on the other side of the Atlantic. ' "On Borrowed Time," a sentimental fantasy about death, has been running on Broadway since early this year, and snows no signs of being with-

drawn. At the Haymarket it lasted five nights. Perhaps the time—-when Londoners were recovering from the crisis—was ill-chosen for such a theme, but the English often are unappreciative of American sentiment. On the other hand assured laughterraisers in this country not infrequently fail to provoke the Americans to mirth, "(ieorge and Margaret," which has been convulsing London audiences for many months, was not considered by the NewYorkers to be particularly funny. When Book Titles are Changed. What's iir a name? Quite a lot of American publishers apparently think, when the name is the title of a book. An English theatre hit may fails to please American audiences, but an English best-seller usually does well in the United States, even though it is -often considered necessary to give the book another name. For instance, Winston Churchill's recently-published collection -of speeches, "Arms and the Covenant," appeared in American under the more sensational title. "While England Slept." Galsworthy's "Over the River" became "One More River," an "improvement" which niay not have appealed to the English novelist. On the other hand, Major Yeats-Brown, as an old soldier, may not have objected to his "Golden Horji" being turned into "Bloody Yeans." The Dean of Durham, however, was not at all pleased when his novel, "Strained Relations," was. called in the United States "Through the Shadows." The alteration, he eaid, was "a distressing change to the author, who had always thought it a rather sunny little book." Digging Up Relics in London. All sorts of strange relics have been unearthed in London these last few weeks as a result of the wide-scale trench-digging in the parks, open spaces and private gardens. As was to be expected, quantities of bones have been dug up, but none appears to have had any antiquarian significance. The remains of the very first Londoner have not emerged to provide the miseing link. A soldier turned up with his spade a military spoon marked Ist Battalion Coldstream Guards, and x several gold coins were discovered. Amusement was caused when diggers near Chelsea barracks came across thousands of oyster shells. A restaurant had once stood on the site.