Evening star., 1934-02-19
BY DE WITT MACKENZIE.

(Copyrisht, 1884, by the Associated Press.)
Albert, King of the Belgians, was
beloved for many qualities, but 1t Is
as the soldier-savior of his fatherland
that he finds the warmest spot In the
hearts Of his people.
They like to think Of him as the
leader who through the cruel years
OF the World War fought and SUI
fered with his ragged and often
hungry little army to defend against
overwhelming odds the tiny little
strip of his kingdom snatched from
German invasion.
But linked with this always Is the
softer memory Of the great love which
bound him to his queen. Often of
an evening the Belgian firesides hear
the sweet story Of the romance which
carried this ideal couple through the
greatest tragedy Of all time-the story
Of how hand in hand they daily risked
their lives for country and people.
Had this deep love not existed. to
fortify the ruler In his well-nigh
hopeless fight, the history Of the war
might have been different.
Albert Under Fire.
It was my privilege as war cor
respondent accredited to the Belgian
Army to know much of Albert and
his charming queen. One can still
see the CHEEKY wave Of the Queens
hand as she passed on her endless
missions of mercy, while the angry
guns thundered and belched death
only S miles away.
The capital of the little triangle OF
free Belgium was La Panne, Flem-
ish village which nestles among the
great dunes on the coast, not far
from the French border. Some 5
miles away was the dug-in battle line,
which wove its way through the
flooded marshlands along the wind
ing User.
The palace" was an unpretentious
residence which was dignified by the
name OF chateau, but which was
really farm house. Here throughout
the bloody struggle the royal lovers
presided over their miniature king
dom.
There never was time when the
Germans could not have blown La
Panne off the map, but it was tacitly
understood that the village home Of
the King and Queen should be free
from bombardment, although the
place constantly rocked from the
crashing Of great guns not far away.
Queen . Bavarian.
It may be that the Germans had
an additional incentive to withhold
their fire in the fact that Queen
Elizabeth was a Bayarian princess.
She was fighting her own people and,
as she once remarked:
"A curtain of steel has been low
cred between my former countrymen
and myself"
There was somewhat grim but
still amusing incident on April 6,
1918, King Albert's birthday ami
versary. At high noon the Germans
threw three huge naval shells over
into field on the outskirts Of the
village. There were three measured
"booms" which shook the country
side 1t was a birthday anniversary
salute-the Germans little joke,
which not only conveyed greetings
of the day, but said as clearly as
need be:
"Of course, your majesty under
stands that We could blow you all to
kingdom come If we wanted to-"
But while the German gunnerS and
aviators respected the village, they
gave no guarantee of safety for the
King as he went about in the danger
zones. He constantly exposed himself
to death and 1t was a miracle that
he came through alive.
Indomitable Courage.
His indomitable courage kept his
army going under conditions which
would have broken utterly the spirits
Of most men.
The troops often were poorly clad
and without proper food. Duty in
the trenches Of the fighting line In
many cases meant hell in a territory
where infantry sometimes were wading
10 their armpltS In the ICY waters Of
the marshes Relief meant a return
to beds of straw in buildings so ram
that they let in the rains of
Summer and the soaring blasts of
Winter. Frequently it meant hunger.
The hospital in La Panne was jam
med with gravely wounded men. At
one time there was such a scarcity of
nurses that each Red Cross girl had
10 care for 80 soldiers, many Of whom
were dying, with legs and arms blown
OF, or worse
One Of the most efficient Of the
nurses was the Queen, who had been
trained in this profession Of mercy.
Daily she employed her skill in the
hall Of death, and many a man passed
on with his Queens hand clasped in
his, and the imprint of her lips on his
brow.
Naturally the King and Queen were
separated most Of every day, but
whenever they met for moment
always there was a word of encourage
ment and affection from each for the
other. 1t was the tonic to help them
in their grim tasks.
Comfort and Debate.
And in the evenings when they
paused in their labors one would see
them pacing up and down the yellow
sands Of the beach near their humble
home-arm in arm, heads drawn close,
each other and debating