The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-20
BY pECIrp

BY WESTBROOK PEGIFp
NEW YORK, Dec. 19.-Yes j.,
deed, time was when the post a,
ambassador to the Court of 9.
James was regarded as the ca w.
ital prize of the American din;s
matte service and went to the wv
who had given most to the c.~
paign fund of the party in pov rl''
provided, however, that neither H.,
nor his loving sr Use had ever hons
divorced. 1t was SO desirable
its time, that the lucky fellow NO.,
err hesitated to assume the oro'.
per- nal expense over and s Guas
his rather nominal pay and tb'
petty allowances, which lat,a,
hardly paid for the polish to brigb..
en- the doorknob and the brss,
plate out in front.
The ambassador to the Court 4,
st. James was somebody, Whether
he was anybody or not. He lived
up to his hips in dukes and lords
he could just pick T. the phons
and talk to the king, and he o.,
invited out, to the best estates f.,
the trouting in the spring and tbs
grousing in the fall. He Learned
to say. II mean to say" at thp
rate of four times a minute. and
'tfortnit," too, and, most fun of
all. he could treat other Americans
as just what they are, after all
nothing but a lot of Americans.
Half the Pleasure
That was half the I,-caSure Of be.
ing the American ambassador IA
the Court of st. James. 'Sorrv,
the ambassador won't be able IN
see you today; he's having tea at
the palace. No, tomorrow he's off
to Scotland for his holiday. Then
to Cowes with his majesty, P'raps
you'd better see one of the clerks
and state your business and, for
Gods sake, get rid of that chew,
ing gum. Do you want to be an
American all your life?"
That was the life. Those were
the days.
And in the court season wasn't
our ambassador the one? All the
rich Americans W tn unmarried
sprigs in tow who happened to be
on that side of the water, and
many who had made the trip just
on the off-chance, would start arch.
ing their necks at Mr.. Ambassador
well in advance of the season in
the hope of obtaining bids to the
big reception which would set the
winners apart forever as ladies who
were permanently special, and
there he would sit, in his pajamas
at night, going over the list and
looping off the pretty heads OF IN.
happy little dummies v''o couldn't
make the grade. and scratching
himself and laughing like a mad
executioner.
A few years ago. there, it looked
as though Mr. Joe Davies wouldn't
mind sitting in at St. James. He
certainly did seem restless in the
two jobs which he did hold-tirst
at Moscow and later at Brussels
always bouncing away on Mrs. Da'
vies' yacht, and he seemed 10 be
maintaining a regular blockade off
the British coast on the possibility
that our Mr.. Bingham, then incum.
bent, would step down to the COZ.
ner for a dish of beer. 1t was like
a game of musical chairs, with our
MIR. Davies always alert to plump
himself down in Mr.. Bingham
place; but now Mr.. Kennedy IS
home from London, permanently,
and the place is wide open, and It
begins to look as though we NIGH
have to draft a doughboy and send
him over to London as a single
handed A. E. F. TO represent the
United States at the Court Of ST.
James.
What do you suppose can nave
happened to the good old Court o.
St. James, anyway, that no rlcL
deserving democrat seems to wan
the job? Has the climate changeo'
maybe, or is the moon too oflgH'
these nights and likely to keep d
man awake and blind his eyes
Are they having some kind Of scN'
ness over there, such as flu u
typhus or some other condition ln@'
would impair a persons heaiu,
OF course, u Colonel Wild bill.
Donovan Is there on some soI'
government mission, but the cu'
onel wouldn't be eligible to repre-
sent his country, being a fepoOa,
can and, anyway, he seems
have a 50-trip ticket on the eAg
pers which he must use up III
certain time or forfeit t'e renldA'
ef.
This is a very good job. A the
house goes with it, free, and o"iD'
to the pressure of other buslAs:.,
the cost of feeding the BRUSH d.
tocracy rich meats ana leam
gravies would be negligible lHe.
days. But, of course, the pflH'-prj
spiritual pleasure of the post "u%
be missing, too, because ne 'o u;rs
trade has fallen away TO hol.+'
and there would be very 1e" AiN''
leans to snoot. ~.
Maybe it is all on account o.
noise in London now. Lohaou
said to be a very noisy city. lll. ~.
being slammed around al ~,
time. Trash and debris LII
streets, too. Never were strees
untidy as today in the very IeS' n
a ~