a crisis when the fever had spent itself while the patient had
also become worn out. It was impossible to say whether he could live
another day. The Royal family were summoned to Sandringham on December
9th, and on the following day (Sunday) prayers were offered up in all
the churches of the land and in many other countries, by request of the
Archbishop of Canterbury. In the morning, the Vicar at Sandringham
Church received a note from the Princess of Wales: "My husband being,
thank God, somewhat better, I am coming to church, I must leave, I fear,
before the service is concluded that I may watch by his bedside. Can you
say a few words in prayer in the early part of the service, that I may
join with you in prayer for my husband before I return to him?"

THE CRISIS AND THE RECOVERY

On December 11th the _Times_ stated that "the Prince still lives, and we
may, therefore, still hope." During the following days crowds in every
town surrounded the bulletins and waited in the streets for the latest
newspaper reports; and the Government found it necessary to forward
medical statements to every telegraph office in the United Kingdom as
they were issued. On the 14th of the month a favourable change seemed
apparent, and on the 16th the Prince had a quiet and refreshing sleep.
On the following day the Royal family went to church, where, by special
request, the Royal patient and his dying groom--Blegg--were prayed for
together. The latter died within a few hours, but not before the
Princess had found time to visit him and comfort his relations. Slowly,
but steadily, from that time on the Prince began to make headway towards
recovery, though it was not until Christmas Day that the danger was
thought to be past and his Royal mother could express her feeling to the
nation in a letter which was made public on December 26th: "The Queen is
very anxious to express her deep sense of the touching sympathy of the
whole nation on the occasion of the alarming illness of her dear son,
the Prince of Wales. The universal feeling shown by her people during
these painful, terrible days, and the sympathy evinced by them with
herself and her beloved daughter, the Princess of Wales, as well as the
general joy at the improvement of the Prince of Wales's state, have made
a deep and lasting impression on her heart which can never be effaced."

CELEBRATION OF HIS RECOVERY

The recovery of the Prince took the usual course of the disease and was
pro