KIND EDWARD’S WIDOW.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3358, 26 October 1911, Page 7

KIND EDWARD’S WIDOW.

HOME LIFE OF QUEEN ALEXANDRA. Sandringham is looking glorious just now, and a walk round the estate is a feast to the senses. As on© wanders through the woods-and over the commons, the air is heavy with the scent of pine and heather, while nearer the house itself the fragrance of the luxuriant floral growth of the beautiful gardens is insistent. Over all is a quietness and a great peace, and the thought comes that the place is just a verdant and glowing monument to the memory of the one whose care and thought designed much of it and brought it to fruition. Also, it is the chosen retreat of the gracious lady who shared its joys and sorrows for upwa ids of 40 years. Looking around 1 , all sorts of memories crowd upon one, and on every hand can be heard reminiscences of memorable happenings —nearly every narrative, however, finishing with a more or less lengthy account of the last visit of the kingly owner, who came down for th© exclusive purpose of personally inspecting the then recent alterations, and satisfying' himself that everything was just as th© Queen would like it. “The Queen.” Yes, Her Majesty is just “the Queen” in all the surrounding villages. “Queen-Mother and “Queen Alexandra” are never heard here. “She- is our Queen,” said a villager; “when our children grow up, Queen Mary will be the Queen, to them perhaps, but this one is queen of our hearts and always will be.” Needless to say, the villagers are loyal folk, and do not for one moment intend any disrespect to Queen Mary, but the Royal lady who has cared for the people and entered so largely into their domestic life for so long a period must always be first in their affections. COTTAGERS’ AFFECTION.

Scarcely a- cottage can be entered, scarcely a single individual can be spoken to. without hearing some story of how the Queen had helped in any hour of need) which had arisen. “She always knew just what was wanted,” said one. “I have many a time blessed the day the Queen ever came here,” said another. “Look what our late dear King and Queen have done for us all,” said a* third. One can only think that the latter expression might well be echoed throughout the length and breadth of the country,'that every British subject might well say: “Look what the King and Queen have done tor us.”

Just how many difficulties King Edward tided over, just how many dangers to his people he averted by his wise diplomacy and boundless tact, the world will never know ; and just how many sorrows the Queen has soothed and how many cases of distress Her Majesty has relieved, can never be estimated. Hospitals, institutions, public charities, and! individuals have each and all benefited, and all sorts and conditions of men have been made better and happier —not only for the financial support, which has never been lacking, but also for the sunshine and comfort which Her Majesty’s presence amidst'the sufferers has ever brought. Incidents crowd upon the mind and one can recall many occasions when the Queen has led the way wilien relief was wanted, but of recent years perhaps none stands out more prominently than when distress was so rampant in the East End of our great City of London —when hundreds of women and children were on the verge of actual starvation in the streets of Poplar. 4 READY SYMPATHY. Queen Alexandra, with ready sympathy, grasped the fact that immediate help was more to the purpose than the formation of committees, and so Her Majesty sent a donation of £2OOO for distribution, accompanying the gnt with a letter which went straight to the hearts of the people for whom the relief was intended 1 , and. incidentally, touched the heart of the general public in such measure tlxat money poured in from all charters. Monarchs are hedged round, but could the Queen have seen the joy on the faces of the poor sufferers and heard the words of gratitude, often choked by tears, as did the present writer, Her Hajesty would have felt repaid a hundredfold. “It is not so much the money,” said one, “though to be sure, it’s a bigger lot than we can rightly understand, but it‘s the kind heart of the Queen:. She thinks of us there on her throne because she is a- mother herself, and that's what makes us cry. God bless her! say I,” and “God bless her!” flew from lip to lip, and was as fervent a prayer on Her Majesty’s behalf as lias ever been offered. HEIRLOOMS In no place wae this personal touch more realistic than in the villages around Sandringham; and no more pathetic note could be struck than the touching little story related 1 recently by a cottager, telling how the Queen came among the village children at the Coronation tea-, and personally assisted in distributing coins which bore thereon the bust of His Late Majesty, this being Her Majesty’s first appearance among the children since her bereavement. These coins are carefully preserved, and will become sacred, heirlooms ini the various families. But time moves on, and time only can assuage and heal. For the present, the Queen, so loved and revered, is living in: quiet retirement, interested in the ‘ cottagers surrounding her, and in her horses, dogs, and flowers, as of old. . That Hor Majesty keeps in touch with the needs of the outside world was fully proved at the time of the Coronation. when she made so magnificent a- donation to the Police Orphanage, in recognition of the arduous duties the men had to perform throughout the n umerous functions. Little is seen of the Queen by outsiders. Her Majesty takes her daily drive in her favorite white motor carriage, one of her most frequent resorts being the pretty bungalow on the nearest beach to Sandringham House. When, however, the Queen emerges from her two years’ seclusion., and moves once more among the people, it is quite safe to prophesy that her appearance will be hailed with glad acclamation's. The gracious ladv who has done so much for the' land of her adoption has ensured for herself a. place in the affections of the nation which can never be sill alien.