TARDY RECOGNITION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1552, 12 February 1887, Page 1

TARDY RECOGNITION.

. The London correspondent of the BeU fast Morning News gives some curious particulars about the man who saved the Queen’r' life near Kensington Palace in 1821, when Her Majesty .was only two years old. The man was an Irish soldier named Moloney., He was, wallting near the carriage in which the infant princess was driving, and when the carriage was. upset he rushed to the child’s rescue, and brought her safely out of the broken vehicle. He broke his leg, however, in' the attempt, and sustained other injuries/ from which he suffered for some time afterwards. The Duchess of Kent, the Queen’s mother, gave him, the munificent , reward of one pound for his heroic act,. In a few years he was sent out to India with his regiment, and there he spent upwards of twenty years, returning- to : England a pensioner on sixpence a day. Being in great distress—sixpence a day being unable to maintain the poor fellow-* he wrote to. Her Majesty, reminding' her of the, important service he bad rendered' to bet; in early life. No notice' whatever i was taken of the application, Nothing daunted, however, he wrote again- and ■ again, but still no response-came from Windsor, To shorten the story, be kept reminding Her Majesty for nearly twenty years that be,had saved her life,; and ■as he was beginning to think at last that be could never succeed in exciting the Royal ; gratitude to do anythin,' for him, he re»: ceived through the post a small donation anonymously. The following week it was repeated. Upon the introduction' of postal orders be,got. one for. jfil almost every week, the donor being still nameless, As the orders, however, bore the Windsor postmark, he suspected, .the source whence they came. 1 At day a slip of paper, which appeared to hkvebeen put into>the letter.accidentelly, revealed : the name -of the,, sender- Sir Henry •: Bonsonby,; the Queen's Private Secretary. Since that Moloney has got the potal orders without any disguise whatever .from Sir Henry.' 11 Moloney was originally intended for 15 the Church, but being a wild young fellow he. lpft home during- hie student days, taking!with him a large sum of money which belonged to his father.'. This he soon spent,! ana then he enlisted.; He .knew classics fjairly well, and while, a soldier used to amuse his companions by quoting verses .from the Latin and Greek poets. He is mow over eighty years of age/and lives <at Houns-low,-near London. '.i .i, i