RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 99, 21 January 1935, Page 8

RANDOM NOTES

Sidelights on Current Events (By Kickshaws.) Hitler is shouting peace so impressively that one becomes suspicious that lie is planning a nice little war to enforce it. » c * Britain, says Mr. Lloyd George, should lake the lead. That, according jo him, would be better than swinging the lead. # * * We seem to be hearing quite a lot about a certain individual named Haddon who claims to be a close relative of the King of England. Mr. Haddon, however, is by no means unique. Not so very long ago, in fact, a claimant to the throne of England died in Los Angeles. He rejoiced in the name of “Prince” John George Edward Wettiu Rex de Guelph de Windsor. He claimed to be a son of King Edward. When Edward died this scion of the Royal Family issued a stirring proclamation and followed it up by a stirring message to both Houses of Parliament. Incidentally he founded a social bureau and for £2O he guaranteed to have people presented at Court. The fact is that the Public Records Office know only too well that there are' a score of cranks who spend all their lives in an incessant search for documentar.v evidence that they are rightful Kings of England. One lady who arrives at eleven every day claims to be the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, and Sir Walter Raleigh. » » • One ardent enthusiastic old mau is positively assured that he is the la-st remnant of the House of Piantaganet and should be King of England. He bases his claims on the fact that Henry II had seven sons. John, the sixth son, caused his younger brother to be imprisoned in Windsor Castle. Eventually the prisoner escaped and lived in humble circumstances. The gentleman claims to be a descendant of that son, who seems to have avoided leaving behind any documentary proof. ♦ ♦ • Incidentally to this day one may meet a King of England in a little grocery shop in Glasgow. His name is' Frederick Stuart. He alleges that he is a descendant of Charles I. Twice a year he holds a rally of his followers. A makeshift throne is rigged up and those, present, some 200 or so. renew their allegiance to the real King of England—King Frederick. These “kings” usually give very little trouble. Not so long ago, however, a descendant of Richard Coeur de Lion broke the glass in front of the Crown Jewels, because, as he pointed out to the astonished Beefeater who stopped him, he was really King of England and had a perfect right to take his own jewels. * » » It may be true that many young men have been following the Duke's example and growing a moustache. But there is more in it than that. Following a hint that the King wished it, those officers of the Household Cavalry who did not already sport moustaches have also been busy growing them. The rank aud file, it is said, have been following the example. Probably the time is due for a moustache epoch. We had one during the war. It waxed to its crisis toward the end of the war when, for some unknown reason, the toothbrush moustache was horribly popular. After the war people shaved off their moustaches and faced the slump_clean shaven. After the moustache comes the beard. XV e are due for a swing back to the beard. But what of the side-whiskers? These have little honour in any country, but the beard is otherwise. Tho bearded nations have always held higli honour. * * • If we never swing right back to beards, at least we ean play pretty tricks with our moustachios. One Japanese general, for instance, boasts moustaches that measure 20in. from tip to tip. Even so, the British Empire can proudly point to an Indian sergeant witli a 34-in. moustache. Even in the Guards at one time iu Egypt, beards and moustaches reached almost recordbreaking proportions. Beards, however, are not permitted in army fashions, although iu the navy they are tolerated. It is a curious fact that, during the Great War, only four officers of the British army had beards—the King himself, General Smuts, Mr. Augustus John, and Captain Waldenstrom. The last-named was a Swedish subject, who served under Allenby as interpreter. Queen Victoria may not have had much to say about beards, but she was a firm believer that the moustache made the soldier. There was, indeed, a time when, if Tommy shaved his moustache, be was confined to barracks until he grew a new one. In contrast to this, Queen Victoria disliked sailors with moustaches. "On no account,” she wrote to the Admiralty, “should moustaches be allowed without beards. That must be clearly understood.” $ sj: “As no other ‘fool’ has rushed in where ‘angels fear to tread.’ ” says “C.A.M.,” "I am very timidly suggesting that you have made one or two statements in your very interesting., column this week that are not strictly correct. I say ‘timidly,’ as I have such faith in your infallibility that tho possibility of my being wrong is not in the least remote. This week sometime you referred to the fact that we could not temper a copper or bronze razor blade as well as the Ancients could, because the art had been largely lost. Are you not confusing tempering with hardening? Copper and bronze can be hard drawn, but not tempered. That art has, unfortunately, been entirely lost. Secondly, to-day you referred to radium emanations, whereas I understand that there is only one emanation from radium.” 3 * =* As regards the hardening ot copper, to-day we are able to harden copper as well as, if not better than, the ancients. There is, however, a difference between tempering and hardening. There appears to have been some lost art employed to temper copper and bronze that has not been replaced by modern methods. In this line we ate probably behind the Romans, or at any rate, no better. Indeed, until a workman by chance, threw a piece of cheese into some molten copper a few years ago, our knowledge of hardening copper to resist wear was deplorable. The casein in the cheese, it was discovered, produced a remarkable effect upon the copper. Gramophone copper originals last many times longer when casein treated, and it is believed this is always done now. It will be seen, therefore. that the Ancients may have got hold of some quite simple process, probably by luck, which caused copper to temper. As regards radium, the energy is known to be liberated >n Alpha. Beta, and Gamma radiation". but it Is not unlikely that there are more. There are certain observable differences in the known emanations which can be measured. such as the weight of the par-