National Affairs: Bread-&-Butter

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Tireless Alan Frederick Lascelles, acting private secretary to George VI, was kept busy last week during Their Majesties' home-bound tour of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and

Newfoundland, writing bread-&-butter letters to their U. S. hosts. King George, of course, addressed President Franklin in person:

"The kindness shown to us personally by you both was endorsed by your fellow countrymen and countrywomen with a cordiality that has stirred our hearts.

"In Washington, in New York and, indeed, wherever we have been in the United States, we have been accorded a reception of which the friendliness was unmistakable.

"Though this was our first visit to your great country, and though it was necessarily only a brief one, it has given us memories of kindly feeling and goodwill that we shall always treasure."

But if future anthropologists ever have to plot the world's transition from male to female dominance they may well refer to Their Majesties' visit as early evidence. The most pointed aftermath came from women involved.

> Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth broadcast from Halifax: "To the people of Canada and to all the kind people in the United States who welcomed us so warmly last week, to one and all on this great, friendly continent, I say thank you, God be with you and God bless you. Au revoir et Dieu vous bénisse."

> Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Roosevelt, in her unique column, My Day, let go with both barrels of a female news-sense.

"The Queen told us that when she talked to her two young daughters over the telephone yesterday they were much amused that she was about to go to luncheon, when the younger one was about to go to bed. They were not in the least interested in the heat of Washington because they have been having a heat wave in London. . . .

"We stood and waved, but my mother-in-law reminded us of the old superstition that one must not watch people out of sight, so before they turned the bend we were back in our cars and on our way home. . . .

"At Hyde Park the servants* we brought from Washington suffered from a jinx which followed its course in three mishaps! My mother-in-law's serving table in the dining room has a center standard. Too many dishes were put on one side, and in the middle of the dinner the table tipped over. No one could think for a minute because of the noise of breaking china.

"Later in the evening with a tray full of glasses, water, ginger ale and bottles, one of our men going into the big library slipped and dropped the entire tray on the floor. And, as a final catastrophe, on Sunday afternoon my husband, moving backward across the grass by the swimming pool, almost sat on another tray of glasses and pop bottles!

"On each occasion Their Majesties remained completely calm and undisturbed. . . ."

> Portcullis Pursuivant Anthony Richard Wagner of London's College of Arms revealed that Her Majesty is distantly related to George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

> The U. S. Secret Service (through Frank J. Wilson, chief) announced: "The thing that sticks out is that no one seemed to want to do them any harm."