The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-10-28
QUEEN ALEXANDRA AT HOME.
Her Life at sandringham as Princess of Wales

Apropos of bread. there is a story of
days gone by which Mrs. Tooley teels
to illustrate the queens ready SYM
pathy. Lord Beaconsfield was once
cutting, or trying to cut. a refractory
dinner roll, but the act, difficult enough
anyway. was further aggravated by his
turning to make some courtly remark
TO the Princess of Wales. who sat be-
side him. The knife slipped and he cut
his finger. The princess instantly de-
voted herself to giving first aid to the
injured by binding up the statesman's
wound. During the process be bowed
and said:
when 1 asked for bread they gave
me stone, but l had a princess to
bind my wounds"
Another story was about Tennyson.
who had written an ode at the time
of the princess arrival in England. The
ode left nothing to be desired in the
way of praise and glorifca ton. 1t
was several years before the princess
met Tennyson. and then, wanting to
be gracious and having forgotten Just
how laudatory the ode had been. she
asked him to read il to her. The poet
started in all right, but as he waded
deeper and deeper through the honeyed
verses, the praised and the praiser
went from embarrassment to hilarity
and ended with burst of laughter
6 . g
Countless stories are told of the
kindness and thoughtfulness of Queen
Alexandra. Charity begins at home
and it is worth noting that the San
dringham people adore their mistress
who is also their queen. At one little
cottage "A woman says.
Yes. I've been unable to get about
all winter and as soon as the queen
heard l was too i'll TO attend to myself
she sent a nurse to stay with me. She's
been here four months and her ma
1esty has been several times to see
me-"
The only child of the keeper of the
kennels was lying at the point of
death. but the man seemed to be
cheered by a telegram from the queen
at Windsor telling of her anxiety and
her sympathy
The queen thought a lot of our little
girl" he said, and somehow the queen
seems to have that rare gift of making
everybody feel that she thinks a lot of
them Mrs. Tooley visited a nefghbOr-
ing hospital one day and found the
place bubbling with excitement be-
cause the queen had just been there in
her motor car.
1T was most specially to see me,
ma am, that the queen came" said
an old lady who had burned her face
by accidentally setting fire to her cap.
You see. I've been gatekeeper for
years at one of the lodges and many's
the time the dear princess has come
into my cottage and when 1 stood up
Now, sit down and tell me how
you're all going on
And she'd bring the dear children
with her. Poor Prince Eddyi He was
never far from her side and Prince
George would be running all round
my place asking about everything. NY
accident happened when their males
ties were much engaged in London bus
when the queen came to Sandringham
she said: L can't leave without seeing
Granny and she brought me a basket
OF fruit and flowers and boxes of chOc-
olates to the other patients. She went
round all the wards, but of course
ma am. it was most specially to see
me she came
There is another hospital nearby;
one which was erected in 1877 in
Thanksgiving for the recovery of the
Prince of Wales. The queen recently
gave some new beds to the hospital
and at her first subsequent visit Law
down on one of the beds to see if the
mattress and springs were all. right.
Most of the patients were taking the
air at the time of the royal call, but
when they came in and found out what
had happened, they got what con-
ISOLATION they could by taking turns
rolling on the bed where she had lain
Mrs. Tooley very pertinently wonders
whether the spring mattress is still in
good condition after that test.
TO Americans it is almost a surprise
that the Prince and Princess of Wales
have had any home life at all Ac-
cording to the papers they seemed gen
orally TO be engaged in a mad round of
laying cornerstOnes, opening hospitals
visiting asylums and similar doings.
That this idea is not without founda-
ton is shown by the following ex-
tracts. culled haphazard, according to
Mrs. Tooley, from the court journal:
July 6.-Visit to st. Saviour's church
for deaf and dumb.
July 7.-Opening of new wing of
French hospital, also Fete Franchise
on behalf of French benevolent insti-
tutiOns.
July Staying foundation stone of
new building for Royal Hospital for
Incurables.
July 9.-Visit to Royal normal college
for the blind
This doesn't sound gay nor calculat-
ed to make one pine to be a royal per-
Sonage. In fact, it sounds very much
as II the queen is a working woman
and Woodworking one. too.