THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, JUNE 30, 1902. THE KING'S ILLNESS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12392, 30 June 1902, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, JUNE 30, 1902. THE KING'S ILLNESS.

The King is out of danger. That is the welcome intelligence contained in the _cnb!e messages which we publish this morning. The blow with which the Empire has been threatened has, we rejoice to know, been averted, l'or this gratifying result the calmness and pluck which his Majesty himself exhibited during the critical stages of his- illness has been, wo learn, largely responsible. The trouble which necessitated the operation no 'longer caufes the royal physicians any nnxiety. Their concern now chiefly attaches to the state of the operation wound, which, it appears, still requires constant attention, and will, moreover, continue to do so for a considerable time. That, however, is not a circumstance that need, we apprehend, cause his Majesty's subjects much uneasiness. The life of' our Sovereign is out of danger;—.that is the main thing. His people once more breathe freely. The healing of the wound is, of course,

a question of time, but with the unceasing vigilance which the skilled medical men in attendance upon the royal patient will bestow upon the case it is nothing more than a question of time. 'I lie risk of any untoward development is, under the circumstances as tliey are now presented to us, so small as to bo absolutely remote. The King himself, it is gratifying to learn, is suffering no serious inconvenience from' the wound. He is even permitted to enjoy the comfort which an occasional cigar will afford him. His principal anxiety lias boeu iu connection with the disappointment of his subjects over the postponement of the Coronation. " Will my people ever forgive me?" lie is reported to have exclaimed when the influence of tho anrastlietic was exhausted on Tuesday last and lie recovered consciousness after the operation. By this time, however, he lcnows that his people's thoughts have been centred solely upon himself, (or v:e ave told that iiis devoted Consort communicates the contents of the newspapers to him. Through the recognised organs of public opinion, therefore, his .Majesty will have learnt how intensely grieved the British Empire was to know that lie had, by a cruel stroke of fortune, been laid low upoif the very eve of tho Coronation; lie will have learnt with what loyalty and with what affection his subjects regard liim; and he will have learnt with what fervour and with what unanimity they Imve prayed for bis recovery. We may well believe that the King has been greatly touched by the demeanour of his people during (lie last few days. Through his illness a new link of mutual regard has been forged between Sovereign and subjects. And the outcome of it all will be that when tho Coronation take. l ? place— —and that may be, we suppose, at auy time after a couple of months havo passed—there will be more enthusiastic and more universal rejoicings even than there would have been if the event bin] been celebrated on Thursday last.