25 YEARS AGO

GENERAL Charles de Gaulle, the soldier and statesman who towered over modern French history, died suddenly at his country home last night. The man who led Free French in the second world war and founded the Fifth Republic collapsed with a heart attack while playing a game of patience and died 15 minutes later. He leaves the legacy of a foreign policy devoted to keeping France free of entanglement in Great Power blocs, and of asserting the French presence as widely as possible. 50 YEARS AGO A NEW code aimed at putting "sing" into nursing, including the abolition of drudgery and restrictions to freedom and amenities, making the profession more attractive, is proposed by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry indicates a disturbing shortage of workers in all branches of the nursing service, and recognises that to meet this shortage there must be reasonable assurance that recruits will be happy in their work. This involves larger domestic staffs, it being realized that scrubbing floors and preparing meals were regarded as unreasonable adjuncts of training. 125 YEARS AGO

A GENTLEMAN writing from Frankfort, describes the arrival there of a train, containing another batch of French prisoners. They were, he says, escorted by a detachment of the 81st Regiment, Hessians, and a strong guard had been drawn up on the platform of the station. "When the train had stopped," he continues, "I beheld a scene which I am not likely to witness again. No fewer than twenty-one captive generals of different rank were there on one spot, huddled together, and no less than eighty-seven superior officers, the greater part of them belonging to the Staff, thronged the platform, to say nothing of about 70 orderlies.

They were conducted to the waiting room, and then walked off to the Hotel du Nord, opposite the station.

A hearty meal had been provided for the officers in the spacious dining room, while the generals had a smaller room set apart for them. The way in which they did honour to the various dishes proved clearly that for a long time they had not enjoyed such luxuries. The wife of one general, wearing the Geneva Cross upon her arm, having followed her husband into captivity, joined the company at table.

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