El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-09-26
KING AND QUEEN
VISIT HOSPITALS
To GIVE CHEER
King of England Personally
Questions Wounded Con
corning Battles.
BROOM BRIGADE
PRESENTS ARMS
By HERBERT TEMPLE.

ONDON, Eng Sept Z6-The British
king and queen have certainly
added to their popularity by their
attitude in the present conflict. Espe-
cialIy are their visitations to the hos
pitfalls appreciated. Their cordially on
these tours Of bedsides is almost demo-
cratic.
On a recent visit to 800 wounded in a
London hospital they received probably
the strangest salute ever given to a
sovereign. Some of the wounded men
were so far recovered as to insist uron
doing something TO help" They were
sweeping out a ward with long brooms
when one of tEem suddenly caught
sight Of the king and queen, who had
entered unannounced and we're regard
ing the line Of Industrious ''Tommies-"
present BroOms.7
The soldier exclaimed The kingF'
In an instant the men had drawn up
In close formation. facing their
maJesues, each presenting a broom, in
lieu Of rifle at the salute.
The king answered the salute and
then burst into laughter. as did every
one present
Starting at the Tarrow ward, their
maJestles, either together or separately
and numbers Of regiments with par
ticulars of injuries. were on the cards
and these were carefully sCrutinized.
The king surprised each wounded SOL
der by questions which proved his
knowledge Of the names Of officers and
other details about the regiment to
which the patient was attached.
So quickly were men placed at their
ease that they were telling readily Of
adventures and how they received their
injuries. Particular interest was
evinced in the case Of a drummer boy.
one man who was in the x-ray depart
ment found uPOn his return to a ward
that the king had gone and his
brought 10 him The man was wheeled
10 the ward then being visited, and he
narrated how he was injured by his
horse rolling on him
No Dragging By Wounded.
There was no bragEadociO about the
stories They were only told in answer
to questions, but once the story was out
there was no hesitation in producing
from under pillows some war relics.
These consisted Of bullets and frag-
ments Of shrapnel extracted from the
soldiers at the hospital, and preserved
TO be mounted in scarf pins and
brooches
The king was very interested in the
x-ray pictures Of the bullets before
extraction The men were very proud
Of possessing the missiles. and spoke
AAAEAAE u the SAIL anu dLLEALADl VI the q
hospital staff
One man said he was waiting for
his bullet" It was shown by the X-ray
that ne had had marvellous escape.
The bullet actually cane in contact
with his spine With another pound OF
force the man must at least have suf- {
fered paralysis downward from the !
point Of contact
Another man received bullet in the !
nose, and it passed out through his {
nerE ou1z- dfE1Odginu p tooth
@DeadH Man Wounded.
Among other cases, that Of a man
who was sewn up in blanket for {
burial is worth mentioning He had /
died" from cholera but recovered, |
fought and was wounded. Another man !
walked so miles without boots; his feet i
had swollen to such an extent as the /
result Of forced marches that his boots 4
One soldier who was able to sit up 1
was wearing a kilt and the king said /
''HullO SeafOrth, or are you a. Cameron ,
All, I see now you are a Cameron; the 4
Tlaids are similar" The Cameron was 4
delighted at the recognition
The king and queen overlooked no !
one They toured ten wards and ap- /
peared in the garden. from where they
could be seen by the civilian patients /
They were at once recognized and were
enthusiastically cheered.
Asks About Smoking.
The king inquired whether the SOL
diers IN the wards were allowed to
smoke and was informed that they
were. His majesty thereupon expressed /
the opinion that II was an excellent re-
Taxation Of a general rule.
On being informed that relatives OF
the wounded were allowed to visit
freely and hearing that one young 4
fellow in particular. was very anxious /
TO see his aged mother who lived at a /
great distance, the king remarked that /
Il would be splendid thing II it could |
be arranged that in similar cases free /
railway passes could be supplied to
those whose inability to pay the fares
was established.
Passing through Gloucester ward on /
leaving, the queen was interested to
see civil 7atient, who was formerly in
her parents employ and had carried
her often when she was a child The
old man was highly delighted to have
the honor Of a visit from her majesty.