SHE KING IN WAE TIME

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 81, 31 December 1918, Page 5

SHE KING IN WAE TIME

SIMPLE LIVING AND STRENUOUS 1 INDUSTRY BUSY DAYS AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE (By tho Special Correspondent of the "British Weekly.") I was one of that vast multitude who, on the evening of August 3, 19H, assembled 'in front of Buckingham Palace to cheer the King and Queen. Sir Edward Grey's speech had flashed through London, kindling wrath and resolution. We knew that Belgium was invaded, that the Cabinefs decision was taken, that we stood on the eve of war with Germany. By a common instinct-of devotion and loyalty, the masses approached their King. Still I 6eem to.see him on the balcony with his gracious, Consort, still the cheers of that summer evening echo'along the Mall and across the parks. It was a sound full of menace for -tyrants, that tribute of a free people to a constitutional Sovereign. Three powerful monarchs divided 'between them on that evening the military might of Europe The Tsar Nicholas rests in an obscure grave, done to death by traitors. The Emperor Karl, last of the ancient House of Hapsburg, has abdicated and sought refuge in, Switzerland. William of Hohenzollerm has slunk across the Dutch border, an outcast who awaits the penalty of his crimes.

"The gems upon the brow of kings grow dim, Like stars of morning on heaven's eastern rim."

But our beloved King wears the diadem of victory. No British monarch has ever attained the height of his splendour. Humbled and' oppressed peoples loot to him' as their deliverer. He has received in fall measure those blessings for which Gilbert Burnet prayed at the Coronation of William and Mary; "Obedient subjects, wise counsellors, and faithful Allies, gallant fleets and armies, victory and' peace." Some such thoughts are in the minds' of London's thousands as thev father day by dav to cheer the King and Queen. Children held up in their parents' arms to watch the Eoyal progress will tell half a century hence how they saw the greatest of English monarchs in the hour of his triumph. No shadow mars our- rejoicings, for the King and Queen, tlirough four years of terrible war/have acted with never-failing wisdom, gentleness, and sympathy.- Their record is unstained.; First in honour, they have been first in sacrifice and service."

Private Life in War Time. Since the beginning •of the war the whole character of Court life has of necessity been changed. .Will it surprise our.readers to learn that the King had only occasionally a few days' clear holiday at Sandringhnm during three years, and even in that brief interval two Royal messengers'arrived every day with dispatch boxes? Until Thursday evening of last week His Majesty had never attended any public entertainment except a few performances for charitable objects. Mr. Lloyd George said with perfect truth at Glasgow that there is one man who* works as hard as tbe most' strenuous toiler in the country, and that man is the Sovereign of these realms. White the King's daily nrogramme follows no fixed routine, owing to the infinite variety of his engagements, his liour of rising is.regular as clockwork. He breakfasts early with the Queen and Princess Mary, and by 9.30 his round of duty has begun. In fine weather ho works with his secretaries in the garden, where a tent is furnished verv much like a city man's office. The desk is piled high with dispatch boxes, heaps of official documents, and letters. The King keeps "a clean desk." Bach day's business must be cleared oil punctually; no arrears are allowed to accumulate' In the intervals of work the King takes a stroll in tho garden, and it frequently j happens that these short walks are his ; only recreation. . However busy he may be, time must bo found for the writing up of his "Journal." He' has' kept a diary "since, boyhood, "and''' uses ' odd ihinute's to fill its pages. The motto' on his writing table is "Do it now.''. Spectacles with tortoiseshell - rims are used by him when dealing with papers or when reading, but his eyesight is remark- , ably good and sure, and he has no noed | to wear them at. other times.

The luncheon interval is a brief one, and the meal very simple. Our readers have not forgotten how in 1915 the King set an example to the -nation by banishing alcoholic liquors from his table. He 'claims no exemption from the rationing system for himself or his household. In this connection a little incident, may bo recorded. ..The. Canadian papers having mentioned that the King and Queen were on rations, a loyal Canadian woman became uneasy lest Their Majesties should be insufficiently nourished, and she began the practice of sending regularly boxes of food to Buckingham palace: a few eggs, a pound of butter, a piece of bacon, cakes, and loaves of bread. These gifts were continued for several months before the sender conM bo assured that thev were unnecessary. The King counts on half an hour of real. relaxation at tea-time. An omnivorous reader, lie snatches an occasional hour.with .his books j n the evening. Eleven o'clock- is. bedtime at the Palace, and the King is usually awake by six. 4 In travelling from place to place His Majesty takes his office with. him. When the private train reaches a station where it is to remain for some hours, telephonic and telegraphic connection with London has at once to be installed, and ■work goes on just as at home. Couriers travel back and forth between the royal train and London, and telegrams pour into, the train office.

At home or abroad tho King is a diligent newspaper reader. He glances through several papers at breakfast. One of the tasks of his -secretaries is to mark - or cut out articles in which thev think he will be interested, While the war lasted, messages arrived four times a day . at Buckingham Palace with the latest * military reports. In one of the Palace studies the walls are covered with maps, and in this room the King was accustomed to meet every evenim; a member of the General Staff, who outlined to him the day's operations and readjusted the coloured pins showing the two lines. ■JTpvp-once, even in th" din-lcest. davs, ha* the King wavered in his firm assurance of final triumph. Thenl-* in part to t-.hr> calm optimism or his spirit, his physical health has continued excellent. . The King's Public War Work. Turning to the. more public side of His Majesty's war activities, we think first of his ceaseless interest in {lie I'orces. Five times he has visited our army in France,'and the full record of these wonderful days remains to bo written. Innumerable military inspections have testified to Ins interest in the efficiency of Ihe . troops. Throb times lie has visited the Grand Fleet, and hns personally inspected most of the naval buses. ' As General-in-Chief of the .Royal Air Force he has done everything possible to aid in its development. No reminder is . needed of the solicitous concern which tho King has shown for the wounded in all branches of the fightin" .services and in civilian life where cas" unities have occurred through air attacks. He 'has paid constant and innumerable visits to hospitals, and his tender •sympathy hns cheered many a bed of pain. His generosity lias (lowed forth unstintedly towards the floral Boil Cross and St. John of .Jerusalem funds. The mention of air raids reminds me that the King has always heen most reluctant to leave London at times when finch attacks were.expected. He has felt it bis duty" to share all risks with his subjects in the capital. A volume might be written on the Royal (ours in munition- ureas. Their Majesties have visited munition works of every dpscrinli-n throughout tliecomitry, and have thus come in personal contact with Labour. The King has for years been a close student of Labour problems, and is a convinced advocate of those far-reaching social reforms which must occupy our statesmen 'during the period of reconstruction,

Personal interviewsoocupy many hours of the King's time. When he reads in the papers of some bravo flecd he never rests till the hero is found and brought to the Palace, where the King hears his narrative and speaks those words of

praise which are so dearly valued. In these talks State etiguette is relaxed. No British Sovereign has over mingled so freely with all classes of Lis subjects. Investitures are held twice a week, and these, are not exactly "play-work" for His Majesty. He makes himself acquainted beforehand with the special services rendered by every individual on Whom honour is conferred. His warm handgrasp and kindly, tactful words are an assurance of personal approbation. Over 15,000 decorations have hcen conferred by him during the war, Apart from formal Investitures, the King has often given more than forty war interviews in a singlo week. Cabinet Ministers and the heads of Departments bring their reports; generals home on leave from tho front aTo welcomed; foreign statesmen like M. Venizelos share the Eoyal hospitality; little bands of escaped prisoners tell their story in the Palace, where none dare seal their lips. Reading the list of Eoyal engagements for one week in October, and remembering the mass of correspondence to bo dealt with daily, I wondered whether we of the commonalty have any realisation of the labours cheerfully undertaken by the King nnd Queen. " One of the busiest men in Europe, who has had exceptional opportunities of learning the facts, said to me the other day, "The King works all the time. I should like his job. He accepts the day's routine as a great duty, and puts his heart into all he does."

Familiar as he is with country life—a practical farmer and agriculturist—the King has watched with pleasure the growth'of the allotment system, with other efforts designed to counteract the menace of the submarine. The Eoyal gardens at Buckingham Palace and Windsor have been planted with vegetables, and the hospitals have benefited by the results. Often in the past two years the King and Queen might be seen inspecting their potato patches. In the use of coal and light, as in every other war economy, Bwdcinuham Palace has set an example to ,the nation. Condamnation of the Kaiser, What are the King's feelings towards the author of the world-calamity? I am able to confirm a recent statement in the Press that he regards the Kaiser as the greatest criminal in the world to-day. The German autocrat, in his view, is directly responsible for the outrages on the Belgian and French civil population; for tho air-raids on unfortified towns; for the torpedoing of passenger and hospital ships and the einklng of survivors in boats.

For the burning of historic Louvain, the first use of poison gas, the poisoning of wells, the uprooting of fruit trees, the destruction of cathedrals and churches, above all, for the inception and ruthless execution of submarine, warfare, our King lays the blame on the man who. by a single word, could have prevented each and all of these horrors. For such a.man no retribution, however severe, would be undeserved, and (lie King, I understand, lias intimated that the c:Kniser's relationship to the Royal family is to be considered a negligible quantity in any penal action on which the Entente Powers may decide. I close with the words, of Tennyson, written in April 1848, and.sent to Monday's "Times" by Lord Lee of Fareham: "Sublimer sight did this world never see than our Great Britain, isled on the rock of the Constitution, and watching all the old dynasties breaking up in thunder. Lcng may she keep her position, for as far as I can eee the whole hope of- Ihe world rests in her." .