THE KING & QUEEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 June 1939, Page 7

THE KING & QUEEN

STROLL IN PUBLIC GARDENS AT HALIFAX MEETING WITH TRIPLETS. AN OPEN-AIR PAGEANT. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright. HALIFAX, June 16. A 15 minutes’ stroll by their Majesties in Halifax’s famous public gardens before their departure for England was marked by two unscheduled events. One was a stop which their Majesties made when they noticed triplets in a baby carriage. The King stopped mom • entarily in his stride and started forward again, and then turned toward the carriage. The Queen was already halfway there. The rest of the party stopped in bewilderment. The officials did not know that the family would be there, and at most they did not even know who they were.

The children were Betty, Marion, and Mary Lou, the eight-months-old daughters o| Mr and Mrs Arthur Salterio, who were proudly standing by the carriage while thousands of people milled round the fence surrounding the gardens. Their Majesties bent over the triplets in evident enjoyment and conversed for five minutes with the parents before resuming their walk. A few paces further on their Majesties encountered a gardener, who was hopefully holding a four-foot oak. It was explained that it had been planted in another park on Coronation Day. Smilingly, the King agreed to replant it. He .expressed doubt that the tree could have grown so much in two years, but he was assured that it was so. The gardener remarked later: "He took some convincing. He knows plenty about flowers. Why, he asked me more questions about those rhododendrons than I could answer.” The huge natural amphitheatre of Citadel Hill became a Royal theatre for a pageant depicting the bestowal of Nova Scotia’s Royal Charter. A replica of Edinburgh Castle provided the background for a spectacle which was witnessed by their Majesties and 75,000 of their subjects. As they were leaving, the Queen’s attention was drawn to Earl Bailey, a painter without legs or hands, who holds his brush in his teeth. She asked him for his autograph, which he wrote with a pencil in his teeth. The Queen commented: “Doesn’t he do it quickly!” The Queen was given a richly designed 'album of French-Canadian songs, including “Alouette.” At Sherbrooke her Majesty had said that “Alouette” was one of her favourite songs and that she sang it frequently to the Princesses.

MOONLIT SEAS PROGRESS OF THE EMPRESS OF BRITAIN. GREAT FAREWELL BONFIRE IN NOVA SCOTIA. NEW YORK, June 16. Carrying their Majesties to Newfoundland for the last visit on their tour of America, the Empress of Britain early this morning was steaming through moonlit seas at an even 24 knots. Their Majesties retired early after a light dinner and stroll on the deck. The liner slowed briefly while off the coast of Nova Scotia to permit their Majesties to view a huge farewell bonfire lighted on the mainland. VISIT TO N.Z. MR NASH MAY APPROACH THEIR MAJESTIES. LONDON, June 16. • The “Manchester Guardian” says that if, as expected, Mr Nash meets their Majesties before leaving for New Zealand in July, he will informally ask them ito visit New Zealand. An official invitation from Wellington will follow.

PRESIDENT’S FAREWELL PLEASANT MEMORIES LEFT BY VISIT. AMERICANS DEEPLY TOUCHED. (Received This Day, 9.10 a.m.) ABOARD THE EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, June 16. The King has received the following farewell message from President Roosevelt: — “I cannot allow yon and your Queen to sail for home without expressing- once more the extreme pleasure which your all too brief visit Jo the United Stales has given us. The warmth of the welcome accorded to you everywhere you visited in this country was a spontaneous outpouring from Americans, who were deeply touched by the tact, gracionsness and understanding hearts of our guests. 1' shall always like to think that you felt the. sincerity ol this manifestation of the friendship of the American people. Airs Roosevelt .joins me in parting felicitations to your Majesties and in best wishes for a safe and pleasant voyage.”