Victor  Emmanuel's  tenderness  for  the  sick  soldiers  had
done  much  to  endear  him  to  the  army.  He  was  a
constant  visitor  to  the  hospitals,  cheering  the  invalids  by
his  kind  encouraging  words,  by  presents  of  cigars,  and
various  little  favours — the  value  of  which  chiefly  con-
sisted in  the  fact  that  they  came  directly  from  the  royal
hand.  Many  anecdotes  the  volunteers  tell  of  his  bon-
Jioinie,  his  gentleness,  his  sympathy  for  suffering.  His
genial  presence  brought  light  and  animation  to  the  pale
faces  of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers.
'  Your  wound  is  slight  t  '  asked  the  king  of  a  youth
whose  bright  smiling  face  attracted  him.  '  Not  ver\',
your  majesty,'  was  the  reply,  as  he  lifted  from  under
the  covering  a  bandaged  stump.  He  was  promised
promotion.  Those  whose  families  were  in  bad  circum-
stances had  money  given  them.  When  the  king  came
to  a  poor  fellow  whose  head  was  all  bandaged  up  he
asked,  '  Are  you  wounded  severely  .' '

'  Your  majesty,  I  have  lost  my  eyes,'  replied  the
patient.  The  king  bent  his  head  sadly.  No  money  nor
promotion  could  heal  such  a  wound  as  this  ;  but  he  made
the  young  man  feel  his  sym.pathy.  Inquiring  about  his
family,  he  learned  that  he  had  a  mother  who  was  very
dear  to  him  :  and  Mctor  Emmanuel  took  a  medal  off
his  own  breast  and  put  it  into  the  hand  of  the  blind
soldier  with  a  kindly  pressure,  telling  him  to  send  it  to
his  mother  as  a  proof  of  how  well  he  had  ser\ed  his
countr}'.
