George H. Ham, Reminiscences
of a Raconteur. Toronto: The Musson Book Company, 1921.
Mayor Hylan and the Queen
That reminds me of something altogether different—the
mention of Mayor Hylan’s name—which has nothing whatever to do with the case,
but as I am writing these reminiscences higgledy piggledy, just as they occur
to me, the reader needn’t mind.
When the King and Queen of Belgium visited New York,
His Honor was greatly in evidence. He is very democratic, you know, whatever
that may be. He introduced His Majesty to one of his friends in this way:
“King, this is Mister Jack Walsh, one of our very best officials.” That was the
democratic way, all right enough, but he went one better in the afternoon, when
there was a grand parade of school children, which was reviewed by Belgium’s
royalty. The grouped children to the number of ten or fifteen thousand sang the
national anthems of America and Belgium to the intense delight of their
Majesties.
After the function was ended, Her Majesty gratefully
acknowledged to His Honor her great pleasure at witnessing such a sublime
spectacle.
“Your Honor,” she said sweetly, “I can scarcely
express my feeling at seeing so many well dressed, highly cultured young people
and hearing their sweet voices in perfect unison singing the beloved native
song of my country. You should be proud of them. America should be, for in them
are those who will grow up to be the future fathers and mothers of a race that
will make the United States a wonderfully great and grand country—perhaps the
greatest in the world.”
And His Honor democratically replied:
“Queen, you said a mouthful that time.”
Then, even Her Majesty smiled, and the others merely
laughed.
=====
The New Yorker
20 March 1926, p. 12.
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
Queens
We are among those who often wondered if the story so
often told on a certain lady recently prominent in the life of New York City were really
true. We refer to her conversation with the Queen of the Belgians, in which, it
was averred, the latter having expressed admiration for the splendid specimens
of soldiers in a Fifth Avenue parade, the local hostess replied, "Queen,
you spoke a mouthful." The story, has, in fact, become so much a part of
tradition that the genial Richard Barthelmess, in his latest picture depicting
the dashing Crown Prince of the imaginary Kingdom of Koronia arriving in New
York, is met by a politician who promptly says, "Prince, you spoke a
mouthful."
And now we are able to throw some light on the
subject. We have met a young Egyptologist who represented a leading museum in
the recent archeological excavations in the Valley
of Kings, and who was introduced to
Queen Elizabeth of Belgium
at an official tomb opening. A short conversation ensued, during which the
American inquired casually about the famous bon
mot.
"I too have heard that story," the gracious
queen replied. "But I do not recall the incident. You see, the good lady
said so many things I did not understand that I really cannot say."
=====
The New Yorker
29 July 1933, p. 18.
PROFILES
EGYPTOLOGIST
Geoffrey T. Hellman
[...] When the Queen of Belgium was at Luxor a few
years ago, [Herbert Winlock, director of New York's Metropolitan Museum and
curator of its Egyptian Department] sat next to her at lunch, trying to screw
up enough courage to ask her whether Mrs. Hylan ever really said, "Queen,
you said a mouthful." Unsuccessful, he approached an aide-de-camp after
the meal and told him his trouble. A few weeks later he got a letter from the
aide-de-camp. "Her Majesty," it read, "does not recall the
incident, but says she heard so many incomprehensible things when she was in America
that this was quite probably one of them." [...]
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