THE QUEEN AND HER SOLDIERS.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10633, 18 April 1900, Page 5

THE QUEEN AND HER SOLDIERS.

THE VISIT TO NETLEY HOSPITAL.,

The Queen, accompanied by FrinoesHenry of Battenberg and Princess "Victoriaof Schleswig-Hoistein,-pa-id her long-expect-ed visit to the wounded at N«r4ey Hospital on Tuesday, March 6th. Her Majesty was received ut tho north entrance by Cokmei Charlton, and accepted from Mrs Charlton al beaufenul bouquet of orchids and lilies, tied wit- khaki-coloured silk. The Queen then proceeded to inspect the sick and wounded, numbering 565, of whom the greater number ..-.d been wounded. Those abl-e to feava their beds were reviewed in the main corridor, along which her Majesty was wheeled by her Indian attendant. Subsequently every ward was visited, and- every bed-ridden patient addressed with sympathetic words as to tho manner in which tlie. injuries had been inflicted, and tho hope that each mart would speedily recover. "As an additional manifestation of ber Majesty's tender feeling for her wounded soidiera, she gave to each man a bunch of flowers, the fragrance and fceauty of which would do much to cheer t_em. The Queen paid' marked attention to the men of the Irish regiments, praising „tern for the gallantry they had displayed, and commending them for their splendid work. Her Highlauders. too, came in for their meed, the Queen observing, that, they must have had-a very hard time of it, but hoping they wouiu soon be well again. Many relics of the campaign lay about the wards, including scores of bullets. Ono Highlander, who had a Mauser bullet buried in his ribk, displayed a, Rontgen ray photo-gram of it to the visitors. A corporal Boasted no less than five bullet wounds, of which he appeared veryproud. Others had lost arms and legs; while a few had suffered a partial tion of their sight. It was a, sad spectacle, but the men bore their sufferings .with alight heart, and a cheerful tone- pervaded the entire institution. Tlie Queens' visit lasted nearly two hours, and her Majesty left for Windsor looking very little fatigued by he* long journey. ■ , • On Wednesday ono of the wounded men of the Gordon, Highlanders arrived! ab Waterloo station from Netley hospital ore his way to a private convalescent homo at Walton-on-Thames act apart for the uccon_noda,tion of soldiers wounded In tho war. He had sustained serious injuries to his right leg, and was walking with tho aid of crutches when a reportel interviewed taim. "I waa," !he said, "ml tho thick of it at Magersfontein. By Jove! it was stiff work, but we got tnrough all.right. Shells were coming in upon us like showers, and ono of the saddest things we discovered after tho b_ttla was that some of tho men we hud been fighting against were Englishmen. Yesterday her Majesty was very kind. I was drawn up in line with six others, and as she was wheeled by she epoke to us in a most affectionate way. In fact, it was more like a greeting'from a mother than, from our Queen. To ma she said, 'God bless you. You have done well for. your country.' Her Majesty then _ms_e_. on to a comrade, and I heard her fity to him, 'You, haven't recovered- from your wounds. entirely, but the attention you will receive here will assist you, I am sure.'"