The King entered the fourth year of his reign yesterday, with a return from six arduous days among the troops in France, during which he went everywhere, sometimes quite close up to the front line, and took his meals where he might—you heard, no doubt, of the Frenchwoman keeper of a little estaminet who was suddenly called on to provide lunch for the King "of England, but still found time to send out and get a bunch of red carnations for him—and hardly gave himself time sleep.
But every day he found time to write to the Queen, the letter being sent over by a special messenger. 1t is, to put it no higher, a pretty custom that couples who respect themselves should write daily, and one now entirely disregarded by the younger generation. They telephone, but writing seems beyond their powers.
"While the King was away the Queen went down to Sussex some camps of London She had lunch with the children in one camp, stewed steak and potatoes and jam tart, with a mug of water, at a total cost of 3d. and pronounced it "very good" Clearly the Royal Family are developing a taste for economical living, for we read that the Princesses have been in Aberdeen spending. their sixpences and threepences at "Mr. Woollie's." All of which is simple, homely news in pleasant contrast with the ridiculous veil of invisibility in which ridiculous officials hid their Majesties during the early days of the war. It is said that the King insisted on his visit to France being given the fullest publicity, with a wise instinct for what it would mean both in France and here.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.