"They are giving all
their time day after day. They are splendid. And many of them, of
course, are in great anxiety."
Already, by her tact and her simplicity of manner, she had put me at
my ease. The greatest people, I have found, have this quality of
simplicity. When she spoke of the anxieties of her ladies, I wished
that I could have conveyed to her, from so many Americans, their
sympathy in her own anxieties, so keen at that time, so unselfishly
borne. But the lady-in-waiting was speaking:
"Please tell the Queen about your meeting with King Albert."
So I told about it. It had been unconventional, and the recital amused
Her Majesty. It was then that I realised how humorous her mouth was,
how very blue and alert her eyes. I told it all to her, the things
that insisted on slipping off my lap, and the King's picking them up;
the old envelope he gave me on which to make notes of the interview;
how I had asked him whether he would let me know when the interview
was over, or whether I ought to get up and go! And finally, when we
were standing talking before my departure, how I had suddenly
remembered that I was not to stand nearer to His Majesty than six
feet, and had hastily backed away and explained, to his great
amusement.
Queen Mary laughed. Then her face clouded.
"It is all so very tragic," she said.
Pages:
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346