OUR LATE QUEEN.

New Zealand Mail, 21 February 1901, Page 66

OUR LATE QUEEN.

HER MAJESTY’S ILLNESS." , A GRADUAL RAILING OF POWER. AN AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT’S • ACCOUNT. ! (Per R.M;S. Soiioma, at Auckland.) •V ' ;JSAN FRANCISCO, January 24. Tile Ncw York “ISTor Id” of January 21st publishes the following account from iig 'London boiTespoiident of the breaking down; oF Queen' Victoria : Your correspondent has obtained from a source nothin ©ourt circles the first comprehensive and’ actual account of the Queen’s, illness given out. The facts given , place the illness of the Queen in a startling and pathetic light. They show that her mind has been failing for many months.. Even before her visit to Ireland she had been a mental wreck for-months. Whenever it was officially announced that she made felicitous responses to speeches at public functions, it : was a matter of cold fact that the p'oor Queen was in such a daze that all fehe could say to her companion was “Where am IF” Several times when she has appeared in public during the past six or eight months she has fallen asleep. Had it been anyone, else.vbut ;■ the Queen of England* it would have : been plain,, long ago, that the malady, was senile decay, and- that. truthfully is what afflicts Victoria. But for her'physical breaking up ’ of the past weekif-an.; attack of paralysis iu : the left side-—it would’ have been possible for the Court and Royal Household to have kept from the British people the knowledge of her mental decay for an indefinite period, for the Queen had lapses of intellectual: vigour 'These, however, were more distressing to her than, her periods of mental density. When hot brain was clear she immediately fAverted to the horrors of the war in

South Africa. - Again and again sue harped upon the war. This war, which she strove with all her power to avert, made the last hours of England’s Queen, who reigned happily longer than most men live, most wretched and miserable. In Her lucid intervals it haunted her incessantly. The Queen’s strong constitution manifested the first symptoms of serious decay during the stay of the Court at Windsor, in November and Deoember of 1899, when evil tidings of the South African war, • which began the previous October, began to arrive in rapid succession. . General Buffer, before leaving England for the South African campaign, assured the Queen that the war would be “difficult but not dangerous.” In oonsequence the news of many reverses came to her with added severity. She ' felt she had been deceived, and never forgave Buffer. It was at this time that the Queen had fits of crying in an aggravated form, which immediately preceded her present critical illness. The excitement incidental to her visit to -Ireland —which, despite everything stated to the contrary, was her oyrh idea —seemed to revive her, but before the visit : ended the reaction had BOft in. The public, however, was hoodwinked by the accounts, of her Majesty’s doings and utterances given to the newspapers by her household. The unfavourable war news and the reports of the acute sufferings of her dying daughter, the Empress Frederick, affected the Queen keenly. ■ The last. t-ihie ' slit drove outside , the grounds of Osborne the .villagers of East Oowes ’were astounded to hear the clear treble of the son : of the Princess of Battehburg trilling out from the Royal carriage. The hoy was singing to keep his grandmother awake* in obedieneg to her wishes. Now and again she dozed, waking to tell the boy to continue his chant, which to onlookers; /contained a world of pathos. The Queen drove about in her donkey chaise ■ within the grounds of Osborne House for the last time on Tuesday. The: Duchess of Edinburgh, or S axe-Cob urg-Gotha, was her companion. On her return to the castle the Queen was asleep, and in that condition she Was carried to bed, never to rise again. Dr Pagenstecher, the German oculist, who was attending the Duke of Somerset for an injury to his eyes, was summoned to Osborne. The Queen suffered! acutely from 1 her eyes, owing to to her constant crying. Dr Pagenstecher made a general examination on Monday, and reported 1 that the Queen had nothing organically wrong, but was suffering from nervous exhaustion. In her periods of mental activity she harped so incessantly upon the war that the Colonial Secretary, Mr Chamberlain, was directed! to go to Osborne to console her with reassuring news. Mr Chamberlain led the war party when the Queen favoured 1 peace in South Africa. It was not a wise thing, as it turned out, for her household to summon Mr Chamberlain. His efforts to console the Queen were fruitless, and she abruptly closed the conference. Subsequently Lord. 1 Roberts was directed to appear at Osborne. He reached there last Tuesday. He did! not attempt to deceive the Queen, but frankly explained the difficulties which ha<d to be overcome before the war could be terminated. The interview lasted some time, and it was the last time the Queen displayed the wide knowledge and shrewd commonsense which played, such an important part in her long reign. 'lt was after

Lord Roberts’s interview that the Queen, accompanied by the. Duchess of Edinburgh, went for the -drive already mentioned. Two weeks before the public knew of it, Sir Francis La king had been assisting Sir James Reid at Osborne. On Thursday Sir Douglas Pou - ril, .the heart and; lung .specialist. >v:> summoned because of two attacks of heart failure from which the Queen suffered'on Wednesday night* An tills time the Queen’s condition had assumed the gravest complexion, but the Prices of Wales, in order to prevc .- public alarm, attended a dinner given iu Lord Roberts, and appeared at a. theatre on Thursday night. On Thursday the Queen had a stroke of paralysis, and since then has been in a comatose condition.

EXPRESSION OF AMERICAN OPINION. UNANIMOUS ADMIRATION AKB PRAISE. The press of the United States made a magnificent showing in handling the publication of details of the great change in the British nation. Mr Alfred Harmsworth, a London newspaper proprietor now visiting the States, sent out a telegram complimenting the press highly upon the masterful and enterprising manner in 'which the news had 'been set forth. Doubtless to the work of the press is due the credit of bringing all of the English-speaking world, at least, into close touch, and uniting nations as one family in anxiety, in mourning and 1 in hope. The following are some expressions by leading Americans regarding the life of Victoria: Mr John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy: < There is a general feeling of sincere respect for Queen Victoria, not only in view of her unprecedented reign, but also for her high character and good influence as a Queen and a woman. Her death copies as a personal loss to her people and to others. Mr A. E. Stevenson, a former VicePresident of the United States: The tidings of the death of Queen Victoria will be received with-?- deep regret throughout the world. In the Jaighest sense hers was an exemplary life. It will stand in history in marked contrastto that of many who have preceded 1 her in her great office. Her reign marks an epoch in English history. For two-thirds of a century she had been in name Sovereign of Great Britain. The fact, however, remains that she has reigned, but has not ruled.

Lord Pauncefote, British Ambassador : The many expressions of sympathy which have come to this Embassy during the past trying days are fully appreciated. This feeling is natural,., when it is considered that Queen Victoria has been the guiding spirit of almost numberless efforts for the advancement of her people at home and the betterment of conditions for multitudes under her sway beyond the limits of her home islands. To those who had the wonderful distinction of knowing the venerated Queen, her loss is something inexpressible. These who have served her have priceless treasures in remembering her kindness, her encouragement and benignant disposition to

reward with more than generosity the smallest- personal or national service. General Nelson A. Miles: Her reign —considering the history of the past sixty years, the important political events that have occurred, the progress matte by the whole world, the part GreatBritain has played in progress, and the iML;, -mo its Sovereign constantly exeroi.it. *• upon the a>l airs of the world—is the n. '-t remarkable in the history of rh.e er-nt . There was ever close reiari'Hi.ship '-tween the Queen and her military forcer, both the army and navy. One need, - or bo told of the deep affection -of *BA f h.-h soldiers* and sailors for the Queen sfrer hamog noted the loyalty •and devotion displayed wherever the English soldier or sailor' is to be seen. The affection was reciprocated by. the Queen. Thu-> her iufiuerme'is felt all through, ike armr end navy. Mr Robert T Lincoln., formerly Unwed States Minister bi Louden •. Queer Victoria was cine of the wisest- woraexibably the wisest woman—that ever iivx-rt I do not mean to, say that, she was » genius, but her great- gift of commonsense, reinforced by her vast store oi knowledge, enabled her to counsel men and women in a way that could uoo ce excelled. Bishop Potter is quoted as saving: This morning, when I observed a bulletin in front of a newspaper office, I asked myself what was the! meaning of the world-wide sorrow manifested in that deathbed sceine. She was not a woman of great intellect or of great gifts, yet no human being who has lived in the last eighty-two years has exercised so enduring or remarkable! an influence on the world as she. Like Washington, it was her personality—the influence of character—that achieved this result. The Queen did heir duty without faltering or failure. She was always womanly, pure, patient and devoted to duty. Tunis G. Bergen, a leading member of the Boer Relief Committee : That the longest reign in England should be the greatest is because the sceptre was in the hands of a pure and loving woman. Victoria’s reign will bd best known by its victories in the arts of peace. The mailed hand of British power which too often has struck down in other lands was not the hand of the Queen.