| OCR Text |
Show IAw rfrf mhlnrm i rifrwihfi? ffoo tiP0 iffPVWZP Said '"Sir" to King George, Was Discovered at ork on His . II Own Typewriting. Mackme, Took tlie Riglit Hand Seat J in tlie King's Carnage, and Mrs. Wilson Omitted I tke "Cixrtsey'V WTien Slie-' Met tke 'Queen. wi foe cf he Picturesque Yeomen of tli-? Guard or "Beefeaters." f ITTle by little unpublished details al-i beginning to arrive concerning "" the now historic five-day visit which resident an(j Mrs. wilson paid to the King ad Que n 0f England at Buckingham Pal-se, Pal-se, Londott. Of coui E(!, most people know that it was le first visit ever paid by an American resident -while in office to a king, but they a,i e probably not stopped to think of the ttraordlrary problems of etiquette that it iToived, tl,s unprecedented issues that it ii:nd. Fres.h.fjiit Wilson met the situation -with smoci -. c simplicity and good sense. The 3urt f,; 'Ttte of England is the relic of ygonrj cev. uries when the King was looked pon p s a son of super-human, godlike per-n3e per-n3e in whose presence the faithful sublets sub-lets must conduct themselves with obse-ulou.g obse-ulou.g and unnatural behavior, Mr. Wilson 1 t'j elected President of a great modern 'P 'ljlic and. manifestly, it would be ab-ird ab-ird and unbecoming for him of Mrs. Wil-n Wil-n to bend the knee to the crowned head t a monarchy. la her relations with the Queen of Eng-mcl Eng-mcl Mrs. Wilson acted with the same slm-liclty slm-liclty and democracy as did her husband. No one imagines that the President, an scpptioniilly intellectual man, was ignor-it ignor-it of the general rules of British court Iqnutie or Incapable of learning all about lem very quickly. There h an army of Tlcials at the court only too anxious to istruct a visitor to the palace concerning . ie smallest details of etiquette. It therefore appears certain that the resident gave the matter som? thought id acted as he did because he thought it - as the richt way to act. , Comments now received from the Eng-I Eng-I 3h newspapers show that somo of the S nirt functionaries, and especially 'he old m-ants of Buckingham Palace, wre as-s as-s nished at Mr. Wilson's simple and direct I ay of cutting the red tape of royU eti-r eti-r lette when the customs seemed ;o be msoless or unbecoming. The King and tieen understood perfectly well, but the g tlace servants were surprised. On the '5 liole the tendency in Engluntl is to admire i r. Wilson for his conduct. ' T'it the King and Queen thoroughly m. '1 yed the kindly informality of their vi;it- s is evident from their smiling appear-:y-: ice and many of their actions. : 4 To corae down to details, the thing that f tonished the English most of all was tha; e President, in his speech at tlie state nquet at Buckingham Palace, addressed e King as "Sir," instead of "Your ) ijesty." Here is one of the several XI ssages in which Mr. Wilson used this rm: ; "For you and I, Sir I temporarily em- dy the spirit of two very great nations, d whatever strength, and whatever au-A au-A Drlty I have, I possess it only so long atd ' far as 1 express the spirit and purposo j the American people." t is pointed out In England that all per ( is, including kings and the highest for- n dignitaries, when they have occasion'-SL occasion'-SL address the King in a formal speech, al-3 al-3 ys say "Your Majesty," if speaking Eng-l. Eng-l. In French they say "Sire." president incare, of France, has several times used s latter form in addressing the King. It 4 may not be generally known to Americans that persons of good social position in private pri-vate conversation address the King of England Eng-land always as "Sir" and the Queen as "Ma'am," but in any address which is in any way formal it is considered indispen-sible indispen-sible to say "Your Majesty." There is much speculation In England as to how the President, after using tha simple "Sir" in a formal speech, addressed the King when he sat down for long and Intimate private conversations with him, but this curiosity has not yet been satisfied. Another fact that impressed the British mind deeply was that when President Wilson Wil-son went away from Buckingham Palace In company with the King, the President hadhis left trouser leg turned up and noi his right He was photographed several times beside the King in this unsvm-metrical unsvm-metrical costume, and also between the King and the Queen. The King was in uniform, very correctly dressed, with sword at his side, gloves on his hands and his trousers turned down. Of course the photographs only prove that the President had other things on his mind besides the fit of his clothes, but the incident has excited comment, both in England and France. Various citizens of those countries are asking themselves whether in order to cultivate the valuable friendship of America they should go about with one trouser leg turned up. There was one distinctly American peculiarity pe-culiarity of the President that worried the British court officials very much. It may , be explained that the President's safety was watched over by an imnressive number of high court functionaries, army officers and secret service men. At about midnight the watchers in the Palace anterooms and corridors heard a strange, harsh, ominous, persistent regular regu-lar ticking, unfamiliar to British ears, coming from the Pink Room, one of the great suite occupied by the President. The Lords-in-Waiting and the Gentleman of the Cellars and the lesser lights of the court listened with terror and fascination. Could this be an; infernal ma chine? Thev had heard that thev ticked. To think of such a thing being planted in the room of the President of the United States while he was a guest of the King of England was certainly unnerving. At the risk of intruding on the . President's privacy at this late s hour they knocked at his door and called his attention to the danger. He calmly bade them enter and then, they beheld the President of the United Stales industriously pounding away on his American typewrit- ' er, preparing his speech for the London Guildhall on the morrow. Mrs. Wilson's democratic dis regard of senseless etiquette impressed the British nearly as much as the President's. Presi-dent's. It was particularly par-ticularly remarked that she did not "curtsey" to the Queen upon any occasion. The "curtsey" is the peculiar low bow which a woman makes to the sovereign. A short, friendly nod of the head was all that Mrs. Wilson ac- corded the Queen, while the latter bowed somewhat deeply. Mrs. Wilson, o f course, has no official position and it seems to have been expected by some people that she might act as an ordinary American woman does when received re-ceived at court. "I watched the two contrasting figures (Mrs. Wilson and Queen Mary) at the final good-by on the 'platform, at Charing Cross." says a writer in the London Sketch. "A long and cordial handshake was the only ceremonial. "Mrs. Wilson did pot curtsey to the Queen indeed the slight inclination forward for-ward was the Queen's, she having an advantage ad-vantage of inches over her guest" The King and Queen gave many evidences that they enjoyed the informal simplicity of (heir quests and the King showed his appreciation ap-preciation by acting at least once with the samo informality. It happened entirely by chance that the President Presi-dent passed his-sixty-second birthday in Buckingham Palace. The day was December Decem-ber 2S. Early in the morning Mr. Wilson ;, heard a knock at the ' door of his sitting room. Of course he thought it was one of ihe numerous functionaries func-tionaries or servants. He called out, "Come in!" The door had been staying at the Palace on his opened and there was the King of England, birthday, he might have been invited to vtib held out his hand and said: present himself to the King and be con- "Many happy returns of the day!" gratulated. If, on the other hand, a King It is explained that normally in court had been visiting the palace, he would life if a guest of less rank than a sovereign have been warned in advance that tha President Wilson Standing Between the King and Queen of England and Showing the One Accidentally Upturned Trouser Leg WJjich Started the Silly Inquiry as to Whether This Was the New Style in America Avon ' -A fHhr' K ' A (g) CJNTtAL N6wi. - y . - . ... - .,.,.r..,..,2...H.A J King of England Intended to offer his congratulations con-gratulations and he would have dressed himself in full uniform and stood up in his chief apartment to receive congratulations. It was evident that the President and Mrs. Wilson made themselves perfectly at home in every way at Buckingham Palace. As one observer expresses it: "No questions ques-tions of rank or precedence were raised, such as had marred the visit of General Grant" r The President took his place in the right hand seat in the King's state carriage on the two occasions when they rode together through the streets of London. It is whispered whis-pered that the minor officials and servants were quite shocked at this tremendous honor to a republican President. The same captious persons were still more dis. turbed when, as the carriage emerged from Charing Cross Railway Station and the vast crowd cheered heartily, the President Pres-ident promptly acknowledged the ovation by taking off his hat Again and again during the drive he swept off his hat with a graceful gesture, while the King gave only an occasional military salute. British experts in etiquette hold that all cheers uttered in the presence of the King in England must be intended for him alone, and should be acknowledged by nobody else, or at least only after the King has given his acknowledgment. The biggest jar of all was administered to official and servitorial sensibilities when the President delivered a speech from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. When the Wilsons and the royal party had entered the palace an immense crowd gathered outside and called loudly for "Wilson." Most vociferous among them were several sev-eral American soldiers and sailors, who climbed up on the palace gates and posts and defied the efforts of the London bobbies to make them come down. In - response to continued cheering the President then came out followed by Mrs. Wilson, the King, the Queen, Princess Mary and If. B, U. the Duke of Connaught in tne order nf id. That the King should folic. anybody at a public ap pearance in angiana was contrary con-trary to all precedent. Even the Kaiser, when in England, never .went ahead of the King in public. The cheering kept up and the President seeing that the people really wanted to hear from him made these remarks, contrary to all established precedent, from the balcony of Buckingham Palace: '"I do not want to make a speech, but I do want to tell you how much I honor you men who have been wounded in this tight for freedom and to thank you all for the welcome you The Koyal Carriage and Escort Mr. Wilson Preferred an Automobile " V- 'f i " ltl 1 k " ' v - 4- r : ? " . V V : , H -i -vA C y , Nl V ' f wC ' v v V - ( f f . .t . . Vfn , , 1 . f ) $ I - K , , i i t : if y , , 1 - , , ! - i , . s " ' ' - 1 1 s ' J 1 ' ' " - - 1 ' 1 . - - - i : i , - ' - ' u : 4 - . i - iri i , - ' 5' " " , . t i . v - v . ' ' ' , , , .'. -. . . v ; ..- . - -.. ' :. - ... t. -. - .rv, t - .-v:.'y;'v--.-,-;;;.f-'-.: -"t A . u i fc " . . .. "' : - t- ', - v ;-: ; -.J -y,; : ; - - . ... s . .. . . , ,i r t t J I . t ' - t President Wilson's Private Sitting Room in the Palaci Where He Did His Work Copyright. 1019, hv Star Cnnr.s-r. . sMJ-'-Z-'i K.s- . " l srousiy have given me. I hope each of you will live to enjoy the fruits of the victory for which you so courageously coura-geously fought" Some amusement appears to have been created in court circles by the personal attendants at-tendants of the President Presi-dent and Mrs. Wilson. The King and Queen have an army of flunkies, chosen with great care from the largest and handsomest handsom-est specimens in the kingdom by the high officials of the court. They wear powdered wigs, scarlet liveries, with knee breeches and white silk stockings. stock-ings. The President and Mrs. Wilson were attended by a plain colored man and woman. The colored maid, who bears the name of Susie, caused the most amusement. It is reported that when the celebrated solid gold plate was brought out for the state banquet ban-quet at Buckingham Palace some one asked her what she thgught of it. Susie answered ihat it was very fine, but that they had quite as fine a collection collec-tion of gold plate at the White House. Mrs. Wilson heaj"d of the episode and admonished ad-monished Susie that they had no gold plate at the White House. "I know that, ma'am," said Susie, "but I wasn't going to let. them know it." What 'i contrast this humble colored couple made with their surrounding may be Judged from some of the details ot the great state banquet. ban-quet. The Lord Chamberlain Cham-berlain and the Lord Steward of tho House-bold, House-bold, in full uniform, with their wands of office, assisted by all their deputies, also in uniform, had charge of tho arrangements. --iu life vi another woman I r 'Ir If &x ( fl ,r-vw-" rJ Hi rf These Men Were on Duty at the Palace During President Wilson's Wil-son's Visit in Addition to a Host of Functionaries and Flunkies. The inner doors and approaches to th King were guarded by the Honorable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, in full uniform, uni-form, with halberds in their hands. The outer doors were guarded by the still more picturesque Yeomen of the Guard, sometimes some-times called "Beefeaters," in Tudor costume cos-tume of blue and red and gold, also carry ing naioeras. A hundred servants in scarlet, and gold waited on the table. No one turned his back on the King at any time, but those having to leave the presence walked backward. back-ward. The solid gold plate was mostly on the table. Par-, of this was purchased by King George IV 'for $15,000,000, while tho rest had been collected by previous kings In past centuries. Three buffets were covered cov-ered with gold pieces too cumbersome to be placed on the table, including a great pitcher saved from the wreck of the Spanish Span-ish Armada. ' It was not only in addressing tho King that President Wilson played havoc with British etiquette. He addressed the Lord Mayor of London as "Mr. Lord Mayor" instead of the customary, "My Lord Mayor." It was at a meeting in the historic his-toric Guildhall of London presided over by this somewhat mediaeval official, that our President said: "Mr. Lord Mayor: We have now come upon times when ceremonies like this have a new significance. signifi-cance. " It should bo explained that the King would be careful to say ".My Lord Mayor" in addressing the head of the ancient city. In view of the President's disregard of the Lord Mayor's title it is significant that he said in his speech to him: "The breaking of precedents, though this may sound sfranr-te doctrine in Ensriand, is the most sensible thing to do. The harness har-ness of precedent is sometimes a very sad and harassing trammel." President' Wilson's democracy and disregard dis-regard of etiquette were shown elsewhere than in England. For instance, they were noticed In Rome, where he visited the King of Italy and the Pope. It is staled that he held out his hand to the Pope and looked His Holiness "straight in the eye with a friendly smile," instead of kneeling first as is customary. A British commentator says: "Nobody could be more friendly and more polite, but in Buckingham Palace anil at the Vatican nobody more Informal, than were Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. The President did not kneel to tho I 'ope a courtesy shown .him by Kings, Catholic and Protestant, Protes-tant, and by Sultans outside the Christian, creed. But nobody minded. The chamberlains cham-berlains exchanged smiles, but. they knew that for such a ceremony this was neither the occasion nor the man." Catholic Kings and princes kneel to the Pope because of his religious character as the divinely inspired representative of the Almighty. It may he questioned w-hether many Protestant rulers would kneel. Formal For-mal visits by foreign kings to Rome have been extremely rare in recent times, because be-cause they involved the delicate question whether the King of Italy or the Pope should be considered the first personage in the city. . - - . , - u'i.Cv.v, a most lawmakers do?" |
