The herald., 1897-10-24
CANNOT WALK A STEP
Truth About Queen Victoria's
Condition by One Who
Knows.
GOSSIP OF COURT.
Entertaining Interview With a
"Lady-in- Waiting" Who Speaks
With Unusual FrankneSs.

The storm of denials which followed
the recent illusions to Queen Victorias
approaching blindness was vigorous
enough to be founded in truth, but the
fact remains that the aged Queen is
even more oppressed by her infirmities
than any one outside of the Court is
supposed to know.
At an afternoon tea given in Veules-
aux-Roses near Dieppe, France, about
three weeks ago, an English woman,
one of whose most intimate friends is
dy-in-attendance to the Queen, and
who has herself two beautiful cousins
who are countesses prominent in Court
circles, verified these rumors in the
course of a delightful gossip 1 had with
her about Her Majesty.
1.-THE Queen" she said, ''has always
been painfully short-sighted, but with
in the last year or more the blindness
of old age has grown upon her so fast
that she appears to be thoroughly
alarmed lest she becomes unable to see
at all. The Queen would miss the loss
of eyesight more than any one else
could do, it seems to me,-she has al
ways made such good use of it. 1t
would seem as if nothing that called
either for blame or for praise ever es-
capped her when once it came into her
presence.
"a little while ago something hap
pened which illustrates that perfectly
Each of her discriminating receives
$3.50 year and gives two months SER
vice. She is not supposed to dress
magnificently, but the slightest lapse
from absolute correctness and appro-
priateness is never allowed to pass by
the Queen, who has her own way Of
treating such cases.
Zone of her ladies had just finished
her two months of service, but for some
reason remained at Court an extra day.
That night, for personal reasons, she
was obliged to wear a ball gown to
dinner or remain away from table.
She spoke of it to her companions, say
ing she was going to keep as far away
from the Queens eye as possible, hop
ing it would pass unnoticed that there
were no sleeves to her frock They en-
couraged her, but she insisted that
nothing she had ever hoped the Queen
would not see had ever passed unno-
ticed, and she didn't expect it then.
"Sure enough, when the dinner was
over, the Queen said, very clearly and
pleasantly:
'AAiss MacDonald!'
ayes, ma'am!'-every one has to
say, Yes, ma am to the Queen, you
know.
"'That is a very pretty ball dress you
have on at dinner tonight!'
"Only that-but poor Miss MacDon-
aid wanted to sink through the floor.
why didn't you explain how it hap
pened?' I asked her. One doesn't talk
back to the Queen, she replied. There
is nothing to do but courtesy and say,
Thank you, ma am
I'm every way except mentally the
Queen is positively decrepit. Her mind
AMI her conversation, however, are still
brilliant,-brilliant in a degree equalled
by none of her children, save Empress
Frederick. She is very, very fat, and
always would have been called so since
her oldest children were born, if she
had not been a Queen.
"Practically she cannot walk at all.
The different palaces where she stays
have been fitted up with tram cars as
well as elevators, and in those or in a
wheeled chair, is the only way the
Queen goes from one apartment to an
other. When you read of her walking
down to her carriage or stepping into
a railway coach, it is only polite way
Of speaking.
IF her own life and those of all her
subjects depended on it, the Queen
could not lift either foot to climb a
single step three inches high. When
there is a step over which she must
pass, the two Indian servants who are
always with her simply lift her over If
when they seem merely to be support
ing her. Even on the smoothest sur
face walking is exceedingly difficult
for her. 1t is more an affair of shuffling
one foot after the other, and painfully
at that, than anything else
'"The Queen has never danced at a
state ball since 1861 she has never
even been present at one of these en-
fartainments at Buckingham Palace.