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Evening Star, Issue 14964, 26 August 1912, Page 4

Few will be surprised at the gracious and kindly messages that Royalty and His Majesty King General Booth. George and Queen Alexandra have sent to Mr Bramwell Booth on. the death of " his great, good, and never-to-be-forgotten father." The words of august son and mother are singularly felicitous and appropriate, and express admirably the common sentiment of the vast majority of those whom Abraham Lincoln termed ''the plain people." The Royal Family —past and present—have ever displayed in charmingly unconventional ways their high appreciation for the late General Booth, his Army, and their philanthropic, social, arid religious work. That which shocked many pious and worthy people never weighed with the late King Edward VII., Queen Alexandra, and their son, who inherited in possibly an even larger degree their practically sympathetic interest in and personal liking for the late General Booth. This interest has proved both

lasting and sincere, and has been shown in many ways. There is the quite authentic story of the Salvation Army officer who, one foggy night in London, piloted a gentleman who had lost his bearings to Buckingham Palace gate. On their way the two chatted familiarly, the gentleman asking many questions of the officer as to the work of the Amiy. At the gate the sentry saluted, and the officer recognised his companion, who handed him 10 sovereigns and wished him a pleasant " goodnight" before entering. It was around the rails and outside the gates of this palace on the night of Sunday, May 8,1910, that a mighty gathering of sorrowstricken people were assembled. In a chamber of the palace lay the dead body of the King. Suddenly the silence wa3 broken by the distant strains of a band, followed by an even greater hush as the sounds ceased and a few Salvationists, bearing a banner folded with crape, appeared on the scene. Then the gates of the forecourt were opened, and, to the surprise of the multitude, the band passed through—they, but none others—and, taking their stand in front of the palace, they played the dead King's favorite hymn, 'Nearer, my God, to Thee.' Afterwards, with bared heads, they sang Queen Alexandra's favorite, ' Abide With Me.' It was a unique scene, as touching as it was unprecedented, and brought home, as nothing else could perhaps have done, how near were the Army and their General to the hearts of the Royal Family. That sympathy and interest have never failed, and will live tus. a bright and refreshing memory in the hearts of thousands the world over.