The King and Queen will spend Easter with their children "in. the country" it is cautiously announced. But as we are also fold that a special messenger will come down twice daily from London, that a private telephone wire will be. connected with Buckingham Palace, and that his Majesty will ride a great deal with his daughters, it is not hard to guess that "in the country" will be neither Balmoral nor Sandringham.
One interesting engagement of their Majesties" last' wede Was to inspect the first section of the Anglo-French Ambulance Corps. It ix staffed most entirely by men who were in the last war and are determined to be in this one. They range from men of wealth and position to ex-naval" stokers. One enthusiast had pald the whole cost of his ambulance himself. "Among them the Queen was surprised to meet an old friend with whom she frequently, danced before her marriage. He is on the reserve of officers of the Guards but now wears the uniform of a private in the Ambulance Corps, The war is not going to stop people going away for Easter. One hears that the south coast hotels are plentifully booked andi there will be} Some special trains, though of course nothing like the usual number. Te is surprising to hear that the south of France is doing very well. But that may be due to the patronage of the chillysfooted, just ax towns like Bristol and Exeter (hey would be very much offended not to hear Themselves. called cities) are simply bursting with people, Conversely, every day now brings multitudes of soldiers on leave from France. Leave was suddenly stopped a few days ayo and now as suddenly has been renewed. Waterloo this evening was surging with men just rouurned, Their spicke and span appearance contrasts oddly with that of the muddy creatures one rermembors in the last war with the earth of the (ouches thick upon them, Nowadays the papers rarely have even #0 much als a aid somewhere along the lines in France to report When, one wonders, will te War soully' bom! green baize aprons to the metallic cries of the auctioneer.
But there was extra pathos in auc-Yioning last week at_ Cheshunt in Herifordshire of the Chapman Circus which of course included a large humber of performing beasts. It belonged to a girl, Miss Georzia Chapman, who had inherited it from her father and would have been fully capable of carrying it on—for the art fof circus management once acquired descends from parents to children like the miller's thumb or the: horn-player's lipbut of course the War: Knocked such things on the head.
Owners of private 200s all over the country and tradesmen on the look, out fur horses and ponies to draw the carts which have replaced motor vans" attended the sale.
[Some tots went very cheap—a fine pair of ponies for only £15 for example. One trained horse was bought by one of the circus hands he had always "attended to it, and could not bear to see it go to anyone else, You could have had three In-igh tigers for £70 and three beauti-fut black bears for only £20.
One purchase must particularly be mentioned. Georgie Chapman's aunt, Miss Ada Chapman, who has been in the aires all her life and has trained several animals herself, could not re~ ist buying three elephants—a pair of grown-ups anda baby—when she Saw them about to go far below their Value. - They cost her £295 the three. How she will yet food for them in
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.