Diario La Nación
- The British Sailors in the Capital
- The Furnace
- Municipal Theatre
This Santiago page from 1 October 1926 carried a photo spread on officers and sailors from the British cruiser Colombo visiting the Chilean capital. The numbered captions that survive include a scene in front of La Moneda and the ship's officers arriving to greet the President of the Republic. Next to the photos ran part of "El Horno", a story credited to Guy Dent: a man looking for a woman named Violeta reaches No. 27 Linden Avenue, a house between two empty ones, and reflects that it is a good, quiet spot for experiments. Lower down, an advertisement announced a benefit performance of "Thaïs" for the fire brigade at the Teatro Municipal on 8 October, starring Carmen Melis and Armando Crabbe, with boxes priced from $250 to $500 and another category at $100. This reading is limited to the legible fragments and does not include the full photo spread or story.
Only three partial excerpts could be read. Colored flag printing covers parts of the photo captions and the fiction. Small type, the gutter and a red stamp limit transcription further. Captions 1–3 and 6 of the photo spread, most of the Guy Dent story, and parts of the advertisement's price list are fragmentary or illegible, and these gaps are marked in the translations. The sources consulted do not independently document the Colombo's route to Chile, the purpose of the visit, or the proceeds of the benefit performance.
Translation
The British Sailors in the Capital
[…] and 4. In front of La Moneda – 5. The officers of the "Colombo" arrive to greet the President of the Republic – 6. Group [of] sailors […]
[…] is to do, on indication of ille[…] procedures […] During the journey he had suffi[…]
The Furnace
Story by GUY DENT
[?] [?] [?] […] During the journey he had enough time to reflect on the difficulties of his position. Supposing it were not possible for him to get into the house, and supposing, on the contrary, that the doctor proved to him that Violeta was not in his house, nor had ever been.
More than half an hour passed before he reached the suburb the officer had indicated to him. He dismissed the taxi on entering a street of magnificent buildings, and continued on foot. When he arrived in front of house No. 27 on Linden Avenue, he was struck by the fact that the two houses on either side of it were unoccupied.
"A good, quiet spot for experiments," he reflected.
[…] slips with all […] [?]. […] fingers […] Wilber […] But his […] rest […] that the […] He was […] window […] head […] If […] the young […] house. He […]
Municipal Theatre
[…]
Teatro MUNICIPAL
BENEFIT FOR THE FIRE BRIGADE
Friday, October 8, at 9:30 P.M.
"THAIS"
– WITH –
CARMEN MELIS – ARMANDO CRABBE
TICKET PRICES:
"Cueva" boxes [?] $500.00
First-row boxes [?] 300.00
Baignoire boxes [?] 300.00
Second-row boxes [?] 250.00
[?] 100.00
[…]
Context
Why a British cruiser called Colombo was in Chilean waters in 1926
HMS Colombo was a Royal Navy light cruiser named after the former capital of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). From June 1919 to 1926 she served with the Eastern Fleet in the Far East, and in 1926 she was reassigned to the North American and West Indies Station. The visit shown on this page therefore took place in the same year as that transfer. The published outline of her service does not mention her route or any call in Chile, so the page itself is the main evidence. Its numbered captions include a scene in front of La Moneda, the presidential palace, and the ship's officers arriving to greet the President of the Republic, followed by a group of sailors. The captions present the visit as a courtesy call. The readable text does not say what diplomatic business, if any, was involved.
What kind of warship brought these sailors
The Colombo belonged to the Carlisle sub-class of the Royal Navy's C-class light cruisers. She was laid down at Fairfield's yard in December 1917 but commissioned in June 1919, too late to fight in the First World War. Ships of her type carried five 6-inch guns and a crew of about 432 officers and ratings. The "group of sailors" in the Santiago photographs therefore came from a sizeable ship's company. The readable captions do not say how many of them made the trip to the capital. The cruiser went on to serve in the Second World War and was sold for scrap in 1948.
Who the Teatro Municipal benefit was for
The "Cuerpo de Bomberos" named in the advertisement is Santiago's fire brigade. It was formally founded on 20 December 1863, after a fire at the Church of the Compañía de Jesús killed thousands of people. From the start it was organized around unpaid volunteer service, a model it still keeps. The advertisement shows one way the city's wealthier residents could support this volunteer institution. A benefit night of "Thaïs" at the Municipal Theatre, with boxes costing hundreds of pesos, turned an evening at the theatre into a contribution to the brigade. Neither the page nor the brigade's own published history shows how much of its 1926 income came from events like this.
How the page presented Guy Dent's story
"El Horno" is labelled "Cuento por GUY DENT" and printed as a column of continuous story text beside the news photographs. Its setting and names point to an English-speaking original: Linden Avenue and a man named Wilber. Only the woman's name, Violeta, appears in a Spanish form, which suggests the story was translated or adapted from English. The surviving passage is written for suspense. The man weighs the chance that the doctor will prove Violeta was never in the house. He then notices that the houses on both sides of No. 27 are empty and reflects that it is "a good, quiet spot for experiments." The page gives no translator's name and no note on where the story first appeared. Those facts cannot be established from this reading.
Original
LOS MARINOS BRITANICOS EN LA CAPITAL
ación y 4. Frente a la Moneda - 5. La oficialidad del " Colombo " llega a saludar al Presidente de la República - 6. Gru marinos E L H O R ón es hacer, por indicio de procedimientos ileDurante el viaje tuvo sufi
EL HORNO
[?] [?] [?] H O R N ileesde torambió a de esta SulleViotrospauyó, uego me ó el [?] Durante el viaje tuvo suficiente tiempo para reflexionar sobre las dificultades de su posición. Suponiendo que no le fuera posible introducirse en la casa, y suponiendo, caso contrario, que el doctor le probara que Violeta no estaba en su casa, ni nunca había estado. Pasó más de media hora antes de llegar al suburbio que el oficial le había indicado. Despachó al taxi al entrar en una calle de magníficos edificios, y siguió a pié. Cuando llegó frente a la casa N. º 27 de la Avenida Linden le llamó la atención que las dos casas a ambos lados de ésta estuvieran desocupadas. - Un sitio bueno y tranquilo para experimentos - reflexionó. resbala con tod portado [?]. Se ba dedos le Wilber Pero su las mole descans que la a Estab ventana beza, a renteme tento. Si la segu de aver joven qu casa. El se
Teatro MUNICIPAL
o... a esHae la [?] ldad se anron el ofi - - grisi lo haré con que paescuána se n la ranTeatro MUNICIPAL BENEFICIO DEL CUERPO DE BOMBEROS Viernes 8 de Octubre, a las 9 y media P. M. «THAIS» - POR - CARMEN MELIS. - ARMANDO CRABBE PRECIO DE LAS LOCALIDADES: PALCOS CUEVAS [?] $ 500. 00 PALCOS PRIMERA FILA. [?] 300. 00 PALCOS BAIGNOIR [?] 300. 00 PALCOS SEGUNDA FILA [?] 250. 00 [?] 100. 00 da, ca bía hab sa esta que el dicho q tumbre mente d cos mes tamente había h con Vio bía deja En es luz en instintiv canción la distan nas uno pudo ve un homb y mirar No po des grie dían dis dad. Wil presenc
Source: Source: Internet Archive