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Show BMS I LOGGER FEAR HPPELiI Believe Great Aircraft Are Not as Formidable as Was Claimed. KING GEORGE IS BUSY Ruler of England Keeps a Careful Watch on German Ger-man Diplomatic Corps. By PHILIP EVERETT. Special Cable to The Tribune. LONDON, Feb. 27. Londoners are no more afraid of Zeppelins than are the Parisians, less than ever now that the last raid has shown us how comparatively compara-tively powerless are these much advertised adver-tised German machines. If we think of j them at all, it is rather with a fear that after all we may not be allowed to see them, which would certainly be a disappointment dis-appointment after these many months of enforced darkness. In official circles, however, ai air raid is still considered almost certain and especially does Lord Kitchener lirmly be-Heve be-Heve that one of theBe nights we shall wake up to find thorn dropping their missiles mis-siles of death upon Just and unjust alike. As a result of this conviction on the part of our military dictator there will be. no courts held at Buckingham palace this spring, for the Germans would be almost certain to use such an opportunity to present themselves to royalty. , London tradesmen are consequently very much disappointed, the more so as it was said not long ago that King George was quite determined at least two courts should be held. Queen Grows Stouter. It Is becoming quite evident that in spite of the war Queen Maty continues to grow stouter, to the despair of herself and her physicians alike. The latter have repeatedly advocated physical exercise and sport, but It seems Impossible to find any form of exercise which appeals to the queen. Golf Is out of the questioa, for she cannot bear walking. She has absolutely abso-lutely refused to ake to horseback riding and immediately put her foot down when It was suggested that she might row a dummy boat In the privacy of her own apartments. A trip to Marienbad or Karlsbad would undoubtedly do the queen a world of good and In ordinary circumstances she would probably consent to go, though she hates continental visits. But the war, of course, makes any German or Austrian health resort re-sort appear as remote as our neighboring planets. Artists at the Front. Among the comparatively few things which this war compels us to do without is the annual exhibition at the Academy of Arts. As a matter of fact, practically all our young artists are away at the front and an officer said rather wickedly the other day that most of them are proving better fighters than artists. While German illustrated papers are full of sketches sent home by artists serving with the colors, we have not seen a single sketch of this kind In London, a fact which is unquestionably due to Lord Kitchener's dislike of letting us lay eyes on anything which too closely resembles the real thing. Royalty to Visit Ireland. It is now quite settled that the king and queen will visit Ireland next month, and thev will probably stay some time at Dublin. The principal object of the visit Is to give King George an opportunity to thank the people of the Emerald Isle for their unswerving loyalty during this crisis and the splendid manner In which they have resented German attempts to persuade them to abstain from answering the country's call for men. From Dublin the royal couple will start on an extended tour throughout Ireland, terminating with a visit to Belfast. It is expected that the royal visit will do a great deal to heal the still existing breach between the various parties. The Idea of the visit is said to have originated with Queen Mary, who has al-wavs al-wavs been exceedingly popular In. Ireland, Ire-land, and when she was Duchess of York It was said In Nationalist circles that she was the only royal personage who, under all circumstances. had remained a staunch friend to Ireland. King Keeps Busy. After his return from Sandringham. where his stay was only a few hours too short to witness the first Zeppelin raid on this country. King George is working harder than ever. It Is no exaggeration to say that from the moment the king appears, as a rule dressed In khaki, at the breakfast table at six In the morning, he has not a single moment he may call his own. He Insists on being kept Informed on everything which is going on. He anxiously awaits the Intervention of a number of other European countries In the war. Machinations Machina-tions on the part of Germans In all parts of the world, of which the public never hears, are constantly reported to the king by secret agents. Spain Is being watched very closely, as are also the Scandinavian countries. The strange errand which took the Queen of Sweden to Berlin, ostensibly on a visit to the German empress, would amoze the world were It to become known. King George is fully awaro of the reasons rea-sons which stayed Rumania's hRnd and kent her from achieving her long-cherished ambitions In Transylvania, and these are entirely different from any reasons rea-sons given In the press. In nothing more, however, has King George taken a greater interest than in Lord Kitchener's brilliant plan by which It Is hoped to bring Germany to her knees, or at least drive her out of Belgium Bel-gium before three months have passed. But of this nothing1 can be said at present. pres-ent. Living Is Higher. Xaturally, the war has made living in England dearer than ever, though we have the" consolation that we are faring far better bet-ter than Germany. Taxes, of course, have gone up considerably, but they are by no means heavier than the English people can bear. As for food. It Is enough to sav that while prices have risen there Is no scarcity of any kind of food and every Imaginable luxury Is to be had in London if you are willing to pay the price. In cases it cannot bo concealed, however, how-ever, that shortsightedness or too great cautiousness on the part of the govern- merit Is to blame for a sharp rise in the j price of some of the necessaries of life. j Bacon, for Instance, has gone up to a i price hitherto unheard of. j We get most of this article from Ben- mark and one of the greatest Danish Importers Im-porters tells mo that the rise is entirely due to the obstacles the government has placed in the way of Imports of American 1 corn to Denmark. Tho object, of course, was to prevent the corn from baimiy exported ex-ported from Denmark to Germany, but the result has been that Danish farmers have been obliged to kill thousands of sows and sucking pls which, in the ordinarv course of business, would have reached England in the shape of bacon. Now our breakfast table Is suffering. i Germans Write Letters. , Apropos of Denmark, the writer is tha : London correspondent of the lanrest Copenhagen dally and, as my cables rather frequently have differed from German Ger-man official versions of the eventB of the war and as the Copenhagen paper is wide- . ly read in Berlin, I am dally adding to a . large collection of threatening letters which give a very Interesting insight into I the mind of the German people. J Many of these letters, which are beVig forwarded to me from my Copenhagen editor, are written by German officers of . high rank, though most are anonymous, ; and threaten me with Instant death the , moment Germans arrive In London cr sooner, if some patriotic German living here may be found willing to mete out to me the punishment I deserve. If, therefore, some week my cable letter let-ter should not arrive It will be because : ' I have paid the price of telling truths J un'ilensant to German ears. In the meantime. I am not losing any sleep over the matter, but if I ever get a j letter from a sufficiently Interesting per- sonace I shall not withhold its contents from my American readers. |