The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-04-29
SLAAl,S KING TO HAVE A TRULY REGAL
 HOME WHILE ON VISIT TO UNITED STATES
(By NEA Servicc)

New York.-Ophir Hall, square lowered Norman castle of gray stone. dominating the huge estate of Mrs Whitelaw Reid in Westchester County, N. Y., has been pronounced fit for d king. Artists and deco rators have withdrawn. leaving the great halls and tapestried rooms in perfect order. Physicians have in- spected a newly installed. white tiled operating room. Landscape archi- from the broad, lowered terraces which surround the house on three sides. Guards have been selected and assigned to their posts surround ing the estate Frock coated visi tors from Washington have tip-toed over the whole scene, nodding ap- proval during their inspections. For this is the American castle of King Prajadhipok. ruler Of Siam, king of the north and of the south, descendant of Buddha. supreme arbiter of the Ebb and Moon. Half Brother Of the Sun, Possessor of the Four and Twenty Umbrellas.
 will Seek Scciusion Of course he will be here in- cognito, q mere prince, and has ordered legation officials to avoid all possible pomp and ceremony during his stay in the United States. But everybody knows that his oriental majesty is still king the only absolute monarch left in the world. And it will be as king that Prajadhipok will rule at Ophir Hall.
 Siamcse representatives in Amer ica who were charged with the selection of a home for the king and queen and their party, were offered a number of estates. They quickly
 h hxy Mrs Whitelaw Reid, who often has used it for formal entertaining on large scale. It not only is the larG- est of the country houses within easy motoring distance of New York, but has particularly interesting so- cial traditions behind it.
 More than a half century ago the house was known as the home of one Ben Holiday, who is said to have had wild western ideas about life in Westchester County. He bought up hundreds of acres of land, which still belong to the estate, and stocked them with buff falo and deer.
 In the gay nineties. the place all ready had begun to take it's place in social geography. In 1906 the house was extensively remodeled, and the grounds landscaped: To- day the estate is noted for it's gar dens, which are said to represent an almost inestimable fortune in rare plants.
 Mrs Reid began 20 years ago to collect terrestrial orchids (calen- the hybrida) She now is said to have nearly 5000 varieties under cultivation, and all of them rare.
 From the house, gently sloping lawns and gardens lead down to less formal gardens of shrubbery. These give way to dense growths of trees which keep the outside world from view. King Prajadhi- have no fear of prying eyes, wher- ever they may choose to wander on the estate.
 The interior of Ophir Hall is done in the most opulent and for nal Georgian style. Many rare chief art work-a stiffly occidental setting for the visitors from Siam.
 May Play Golf
 One of the bathrooms has been refitted into an operating room for the removal of the cataract from the monarch's left eye. For sev- eraI weeks afterward, he will con- valesce on the estate, receiving al- most no visitors.
 Prajadhipok will have a chance to indulge his two hobbies-color photography and goi1. queen Ram ba Barni is his favorite golfing partner, and they are expected to play with other members of the royal party. These will include the queens parents, the Siamese minister, an aide-de-camp, pri- vate secretary, a physician Tn or dinary, a lady in waiting, an as- sistant secretary, a treasurer of the household, and several members of the Siamese legation