A Star Announced at Sea

PARK AVE PARLOR Vol. 16 — May 13, 1937 A STAR ANNOUNCED AT SEA—BUT NOT YET SEEN Miss Iris Cockatoo abandons one of her favorite traditions aboard the RMS Carinthia. From the Parlor’s Society Desk The Atlantic has witnessed its share of unusual declarations—engagements, abdications, fortunes won over cards and occasionally lost before breakfast—but it may now add one of Miss Iris Cockatoo’s recoveries to the list. During a private gathering aboard the RMS Carinthia, Miss Cockatoo confirmed that the Institute for Recovery of Irreplaceable Specimens has recovered the Star of Rangoon, the celebrated jewel that eluded her late father during his lengthy expedition of 1912. The announcement was received with the enthusiasm one would expect. Champagne appeared. Questions multiplied. Several passengers who had previously displayed only a modest interest in preservation discovered an immediate and scholarly fascination with precious stones. The Star itself, however, did not appear. This is unusual. Miss Cockatoo has long understood that a recovery is only partly an expeditionary achievement. The remainder requires an orchestra, several hundred invitations, a room arranged to flatter both the object and its owner, and enough anticipation to keep New York discussing the matter for months. Her exhibitions rarely begin when a crate is opened. They begin when the first rumor escapes. Yet the Star of Rangoon—possibly the most famous recovery of Miss Cockatoo’s career—was announced at sea, before an audience determined more by a passenger manifest than a society list. There was no exhibition catalog, no procession through the I.R.I.S. galleries and no carefully illuminated case awaiting the evening’s appointed revelation. There was not even a glimpse of the jewel. Miss Cockatoo appeared entirely untroubled by this departure from custom. When asked whether the Star would receive a formal New York presentation, she smiled with the confidence of a woman who considers a question answered once everyone has become sufficiently interested in asking it. No date was offered. Representatives of I.R.I.S. have likewise declined to confirm whether a public exhibition is being prepared. Those accustomed to the Institute’s methods may find the silence more remarkable than the recovery itself. Miss Cockatoo has never been accused of allowing an extraordinary object to arrive without an appropriately extraordinary entrance. Perhaps a gala awaits us after all. Perhaps the Carinthia announcement was merely the opening movement of a larger performance. Or perhaps, for reasons Miss Cockatoo has not chosen to share, the Star of Rangoon will enter the I.R.I.S. collection without ever receiving the celebration ordinarily considered inseparable from one of her triumphs. For the moment, New York has been told that the star has been found. Whether New York will be permitted to see it remains another matter entirely. CUNARD WHITE STAR OFFERS ASSURANCE AFTER “RECENT DISTURBANCES” The steamship company promises increased safeguards while declining to identify the vessel—or explain what occurred aboard it. Cunard White Star has issued an unusual public assurance concerning the safety, comfort and security of passengers traveling aboard its vessels. The statement follows what the company described only as “recent disturbances occurring during a transatlantic crossing.” No vessel was identified. According to the company, its officers are cooperating fully with port authorities and appropriate representatives in France, Morocco and Egypt. The statement further assures the traveling public that every unfortunate circumstance connected with the crossing is being “thoroughly and properly investigated” and that all responsible parties will be made available to the appropriate authorities. The company did not explain what those unfortunate circumstances were. “Passengers may continue to travel aboard Cunard White Star vessels with complete confidence,” the statement reads. “The welfare of those entrusted to our care remains our highest obligation. Our captains, officers and crews are trained to respond promptly and discreetly to any circumstance affecting shipboard order.” Additional security personnel will reportedly accompany selected crossings for the foreseeable future. Access to certain working areas and passenger corridors will also be more closely supervised, although the company insists that these precautions should not inconvenience travelers or diminish the standard of service for which its vessels are known. The statement praises the conduct of the officers and crew involved in the unnamed crossing and characterizes their response as “immediate, disciplined and entirely consistent with company procedure.” It does not state what required that response. Nor does it explain why an incident aboard a transatlantic liner now appears to involve authorities in three countries. Representatives declined to confirm reports that passenger accommodations were searched during the voyage. They likewise offered no comment regarding rumors that portions of the vessel were temporarily closed, that certain passengers were questioned or that officers met privately with individuals after the ship reached port. No interruption appears on the company’s published schedule. No official passenger complaint has been disclosed. And no explanation has been offered for why a matter described as fully contained should require increased security on future voyages. Cunard White Star maintains that its ships remain among the safest and most carefully operated vessels in Atlantic service. On that point, the Parlor is pleased to accept the company’s assurance. We remain rather more curious about everything the assurance neglected to mention.