"Bobs" and the Little Woman from Ireland.

Manawatu Herald, 20 September 1900, Page 2

"Bobs" and the Little Woman from Ireland.

♦ The following letter, which appeared iv the Express, tells a new and very good story of " Bobs " : — " Only last year Lord Roberts was present at a big review at a place which may be called Some where -in - Ireland. He felt the ground hot and thirsty, and had still far to go before lie could reasonably hope for refreshment of any kind, when he came on a house with a pretty garden in front of it, and a lovely Irish girl standing at the gate. She called on him to halt, reminded him they had once met, and invited him to tea. " It may have been because he had acquired an abnormal thirst ; it may have been because the Irish girl was charming. At any rate in taking his leave Lord Roberts assured his hostess that he had never enjoyed a cup of tea so much, and added, ♦ Remember, I will never forget the little woman of Somewhere-in-Ireland.* The girl— she was twenty-one — laughed back her thanks, and was duly proud. "Now the girl was the wife of a captain in an Irish regiment, and he was presently ordered to Africa. When it came to crossing the Tugela, the ! company he led was first, and half way across he was badly wounded in the chest, and would have been drowned had not some of his men cradled him on their rifles. " The news came home, and hiswife wanted to go out and nurse him, but was without the necessary funds for the voyage. At last, after much effort,

she got employment on one of th< hospital ships, and so reached Cape town. But even here her case wai little better ; she could not pay for i passage round to Durban, whence she could reach the hospital where hei husband lay. " She appealed to the authorities tc send her, and they all protested thai they could not do so. ' There is onlj one man that can manage it,' said an officer, who was more explicit than the Others. 4 Who ? " said she. • Lord Roberts,' answered he. " She went and asked to see Lord Roberts — who was still in Capetown— and to have her name sent up she was told it was impossible. And then — she was very good to look at — she procured a blank card and wrote on it, • A little Woman from Somewhere in Ireland,' and managed to get it sent up to the Commander-in-Chief. 11 In a very few seconds, to the evident astonishment of everybody except herself (you wouldn't be much afraid if you were trusting to the pledged word of Bobs) there appeared a messenger, who asked her to step up. " And Lord Roberts came to meet her. • I know all about you. Don't explain ; I remember perfectly. What can I do ? ' " She told him, and was dismissed with another promise, and soon got a letter which told her that she was to have a free passage, and had been com' mended by the Commander-in-Chief tc the special care of everyone who coulc help her. And at last she got to the hospital and asked — who knows with what a dread at her heart ? if Captain So-and-so was still there, explaining that she was his wife. " She was told that he was, but thai he must not be disturbed, since he had only that day undergone a severe operation, and was now asleep. But she pleaded hard, and blue eyes can be eloquent ; and at last a soft-hearted nurse let her go and sit by the bed of her husband and watch— and watchwhile he slept hour after hour. 11 Then at last he woke and looked up lazily, and recognised her. He just gripped her hand, which had been handy for hours, and then ' How the devil did you get here ? " he said, as he fell asleep again. " They are both back in England now, and he is longing to get sent back to the front."