The Empress Victoria and Dr. McKenzie.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 319, 24 November 1888, Page 6

The E mpress Victoria and Dr. McKenzie.

The "Daily News" prints the following letter from the Empress Vjctoria, no c printed in Mackenzie's forthcoming work, and which has never been published : "I took care to tell all the eminent German medical men with whom I came casually in contact, that you had said to me the first timel saw you, that you thought what you saw was innocent yet you could not be ,sure until it was examined by Virchow, and that a malignant disease might be present somewhere out of sight, though there was no proof of it, the most unfortunate element of the case being my husband's age. At that time you told me that benign growths and malignant growths were seldom found together, and that you thought the growth you could see on the vocal cord was a benign one : you also paid you could not hold out any security to me that a malignant growth might not appear some day. " You said that the operation was opposed (the one by the German doctors in May, 1887), as it wab running too great a risk ; that it was exposing life, and that should it succeed, the condition of the patient after it would be so terrible that his chances', if lot alone, would be more favorable. I have since heard that different medical men think this a reasonable view, and say that under these circumstances we could have cjone nothing better. " You also said, I think, if I remember rightly, that you would not have laryngotomy or thyrotomy performed in your own throat, on surmise or suspicion of a malignant affection of the larnyx, without positive proof, and not even then, as the tendency of thef malignant case was to reappear in other places when removed from one. In consequence there would bo a possibility of having to go through the operation and yet lose one's life after all by the reappearance of the disease, " Furthermore, you said, I think, that you did not know whether the Crown Prince's' 'constitution , could withstand so serious a shock as that inflicted on the , whole system by so important an operation. I should have repeated all this at the ' time much oftener had not the prevailing feeling been one of joy and gratitude at having escaped the horrible operation. You can show this letter to whomsoever you please." • v i

Gold plate io the value of £2,400,000 is stored away in the Gold Room of Windsor Castle. One piece, a salver, is worth £10;000.