WOUNDED OFFICERS IN ENGLAND

A TRIBUTE TO

BRITISH HOS-

PITALITY

The great kindness and genial hospitality shown to our officers and men w.ho are sent to England, wounded or ill, has been recorded by many of them I in most grateful terms. From letters [ *ent to New Zealand it is quite evident j •that the people of Great Britain have— j as might have been safely presumed— vied with one another in doing them kindness. In the course of a letter, to Tn's friends in Hawera, Lieutenant R. -G. Sellar pays a very wnrm tribute to their hospitality, and incidentally gives a most interesting deseriDtion of historic records which"., by the courtesy of

the owner of tlie country house where he was for the time aguest 3 he was enabled to see and examine. He says:— After a month under the happy roof of Lord Aberconway, at 4b Belgrove Square, where both Lord and Lady Aherconway showed the wounded officers under their care ti.e greatest hospitality and friendship, 1 was s<:nt to Chequers Court, in .Buckinghamshire, the Home of Colonel and Mrs Lee, to recuperate and rusticate. Colonel and Mrs Lee have placed their delightful place at the disposal of Sister Agnes ior more or less convalescent officers, and perhaps you would like some account of it. Chequers Court is beautifully situated in a high-pitched valley of the Chiltern Hills, ever famous for their beech woods, which still abound. The earliest records of the house show that in reign of Henry 11. (1154), it was the residence of Elias de Seacarrio, keeper of the King's Exchequer, whence it has derived its name, and the present building was erected by Win. Hawtrey in 1565. Even previous to 1154 there had been buildings on this site, but their history is not known. In the park, however, the 'remains of the ancient stronghold or castle of Cymbeline, the reputed birthplace of Caractacus (A.D. 20) are still prominent, so that it must have been the habitation of British chieftains some 2000 years ago. The building erected by William Hawtrey b a very beautiful one, and a typical example of a fine Elizabethan mansion, which, although in the course of time it underwent considerable alteration, has during the last six or eight years been restored to very much its original appearance and condition by Colonel Lee, the present occupant, who removed some very disfiguring stucco, and in other ways revealed the ancient beauty of the place. I am unable to describe the inside of the .house, but it is altogether very beautiful. The rooms are large and spacious,' with dai-k oak panelled walls, stained glass windows, heavy oaken doors with oid-fashioned latches, immense fireplaces, with huge smokestained chimney pieces, and very fine qLd; fashioned grates. Altogether, the place takes one back to the reign of Elizabeth. A great deal of the furniture is what was originally here, and what has been added has been selected with great ta>ste by Colonel and Mrs Lee, who, by the way, have taken meticulous care to restore and keep the house and furniture as much as possible in its original state. The walls are adorned with many valuable and interesting pictures, most of them of persons connected with "Chequers." A great many of them are of Cromwell's descendants, as one of the owners married a certain John Russell, a son of Sir John Russell and Frances, Cromwell's youngest daughter. On this acccunt there are many interesting, relics here of the great Cromwell himself. The room in which I now write is called the Cromwell Room, and on the mantelpiece there are two of his swords. In the long gallery, carefully kept under glass, with many other relics, is his dainty and beautiful little watch. The William Hawtrey who built the present building, although not knighted (as his son was), seems to have been a persona grata with Elizabeth, because he was entrusted by that worthy with the care of Lady Mary Grey, a sister of the unfortunate Lady Jane ..Grey. Mrs Lee has kindly allowed me to read some of the Lady Mary's correspondence at the time she was a prisoner here, and I find it most interesting and entertaining. It appears that Lady Mary was a possible successor to the English Crown on certain contingencies. She was a descendant or Mary Tudor, Henry VIIL's youngest sister, and was named with her sisters Lady Jane and Lady Katherine a successor to the throne, failing Elizabeth's issue. Elizabeth therefore made it her business to keep a very watchful eye on these young ladies, Katherine and Mary, Lady Jane having already been put out of the way. Not only did Lady Katherine marry without Elizabeth's consent, but following hara upon this, and like her sister Katherine swayed by that most interesting of Human passions—love —Lady Mary did a similar thing. She clandestinely married the Queen's sergeant porter, a certain Thomas Keyes. Elizabeth was doubly wroth, and immediately sent the Lady Mary to the care of Wm. Hawtrey at Chequers, with instructions that she should remain with him and "not go out of his house abrode, except it be necessarely to take ye ayre for hir helth." She was to be allowed only a single groom and gentlewoman, and even her table was to be thriftily spread, for Hawtrey is to see "that she be not dieted other than shall be convenient for her sustentation.' 3 I have just had the pleasure of seeing the room where this historic prisoner was confined, still called the "prison room." Its ceiling is supported by great oak beams, and it retains its original stone arched fireplace. On its walls may still be seen (now carefully covered ,by glass) traces of Lady Mary's handwriting and drawing, but unfortunately the writing is too much effaced to be decipherable. Here she remained a prisoner for two years, and undoubtedly Mr Hawtrey was more than pleased when he received orders to transfer his prisoner to her step-grandmother, the Duchess of Suffolk. The correspondence reveals something of the state ot Lady Mary's wardrobe at this time. Apparently she had not very much of personal belongings, since we find the said Duchess writing to "Mr Secretary Cecil" saying that the Lady Mary had brought nothing with her but on old feather bed full of patches, and "suche a little petteous canuype of rede sersinette," and begging the loan for her of "the furniture of one chamber," and some "old selver potte to fetche her drinke in." There is a personal touch about this old correspondence which makes it intensely interesting. So far as I can see Lady Mary and her husband never met after their first separation, as he was imprisoned by Elizabeth's orders in the Fleet Prison, where he died. Upon his death the Lady Mary was again allowed her liberty, but she did not enjoy it long, as she also died at the early age of 33 years, her death being hastened by her griefs and miseries. Chequers Court contains many other interesting rooms, such as the great parlor, with its day bed and chairs of Charles ll.'s time; the long gallery, with its wonderful library of old books and many valuable relics: the great hall, with its wonderful pictures, and this —Cromwell room; but to write about them all would take me a very long time. Old documents disclose that hundreds of years ago Chequers Estate was well known for the beauty of its parks and gardens, and I should say that this beauty had increased rather than diminished. It is simply gorgeous to look over its wonderfully green fields with their magnificent trees, and for convalescing I do not think my lot could have been cast in a more pleasant place. Only two miles from Chequers Park

is Hampden House, the home of that great patriot John Hampden, famous as one of the founders of our liberty by his historic resistance of the payment of that unjust shipmoney tax. Hampden House is still owned by the descendants of the great John, and a few days ago I, in company with some other officers, had the pleasure of being shown over the house by Lord and Lady Buckinghamshire. Therp we saw the historic room in whicTi John Hampden was arrested, an old family Bible containing the original entry of Cromwell's birth, the helmet and

breastplate carried at John Hampden's funeral, and many other relics of these two great men, who, by the way, were cousins. Opposite to the lodge gates of Chequers Park is the little village of Great Tumble, where stul stands in a state of excellent preservation the little church in which John Hampden publicly stated his refusal to pay the tax, a now historic incident.

Although it is raining to-day, the weather since my arrival here has been excellent, and I, in common with the other officers, have been afforded by Colonel and Mrs Lee, who have placed a, very fine Cadillac at our disposal, an excellent opportunity of seeing the county of Buckingham, in which Chequers stands. We have thus been able to visit from here Windsor Casfcle, Oxford, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, and very many quaint old English villages, and to enjoy the beauty of the Chiltern Hills with their famous beeches, already mentioned by me.

I cannot speak too highly of my treatment as a wounded 'officer fn England. On my arrival I was placed under the care of Sister Agnes, a most capable lady, who has been in charge of^ King Edward Vll.'s Hospital for Officers for many years. Since the war many people have placed their homes, temporarily converted into hospitals, at her disposal, and thus I had the pleasure and benefit of a month at Lord Aberconway's London house, and now am enjoying the country air at Chequers, where 1 am daily improving in health. During the whole time one has the benefit of London's bestknown specialists, as well as the very best of nursing.