New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-09
The Royal
Family Arrives

Ne arrived at Buckingham Palace feg
minutes before noon and were received b.
several of the gentlemen and ladies in WI.
ing and taken to the Bow Room. Here Va
were ranged in a semicircle, and at e.
actly noon the doors TO the adjoining room
opened and, as they say in play books, The
King, the Queen and Princess Mary were
discovered" The royalties entered the
room in which we were, and. standing BE-.
fore US, the King read his speech from
typewriter copy 1t was both speech o.
welcome to the mission and a message 70
the people of the United States, very brief
and very simple, and both in matter and the
manner of delivery very sincere. When
Mccormick had said mis- few words in reply
and said them very we'll, and we had each
been presented to our hosts by Campbell
Stuart, the Queen walked over to the head
of the line where the women of our party
stood and the King began with the frs Of
the men. All rules, such as waiting to be
spoken to first, were done away with, and
nave never seen meeting more uncers'
monious Or in all ways less formal. The
line broke up into little groups and TIE
King and Queen asked questions and tsksa
very freely of the war and what Englsnd
was doing and of what the United States
was doing. The Princess Mary stood across
the room and had her own little changing
circle.
do not know that during the hour We
spent with them the members of the mis-
sion gave their majesties much valuable
information or pleasure, but if they do
not, then the King and Queen Of Great
Britain are very good actors as we'll as the
best of hosts, for they gave the appearan's
of enjoying the visit almost as greatly IS
did the mission itself. The King laughed
and talked continuously, and in the con-
versation I was privileged to have win
him he gave a rather startling exhibitor
OF memory in quoting verbatim long lev
ters which had been brought to his notice
and which had been written by various
mothers about their sons at the front. hs
sympathy, his understanding and his IN
terest in the individual struck me as quiz
extraordinary and certainly very human
l was extremely fortunate, too, in HAVING
a long talk with Queen Mary, and shsA
always remember her as she stood ths'
morning in the sunlit room looking Oh
from the bow window on the beautiiu
gardens, which were fairly aglow with 'S'
spring flowers.
l had just returned from the Flanae's
front, and I suppose l was very keen y
tell her what had seen, and especially "
her own officers and men, and then w
Queen began to talk of France and the s''.
diers of France and not of her own troop
at all. She seemed to be quite unconse'0',,
of the room or the gardens, aAd certainly y,
myself. Her thoughts, know, were d" !.
France and the French people. Her gre.
regret was that circumstances had kept ~. :.
so long from che front, and she told h's :
great detail of her last visit. And WV,
she spoke of what France had suhe's-
of her losses in men, She devas's~s
of her land. the destruction of her 'in'e
and OF her beautiful fields and forests
the splendid bravery of her men and o. -.
women. she spoke with all the affection -.
understanding with which only "o'a..
can speak of sister country that sne W.. 4
l am only sorry that all the women =. :.
men of England do not understand ri's'
as does their Queen.