The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-02-28

Shall II BE tho Prelude to . Greater
Glorincations
In the grand old Cathedral of st. Paul the
heart Of the English nation was yesterday
lifted up in thanksgiving to the Divine Power
through whose grace people and their Queen
have recently been spared heavy sorrow.
From morning till night the sound of great
rejoicing was heard throughout the United
Kingdom-in bustling city and quiet hamlet,
in the castle of the peer and the cottage of
the peasant-responsive to the cathedral
service, and in the metropolis itself scene
was enacted that in many of its features
eclipsed all the pageants Of the past Its
interesting details, presented in our special
cable dispatches with all the vivid charms of
painting, will pass like panorama before the
eyes Of the readers of the HERALD They
will see the military, with their prancing
horses and their steady tread the Gordon of
well-discplined police, like solid wall,
keeping the line of march the packed and
surging multitude stretching as far as the eye
can reach; the windows, balconies and roofs
thronged with spectators of all ages and Of
both sexes the gayly decorated arches, the
graceful festoons, the waving banners, the
wreaths, and flowers and bright smiles of con-
graduation on every side; the long line of
snowy equipages whose progress is marked
by the rolling roar of thousands of human
voices; the Prince, on the threshold of a new
existence, feeling that he has never before
known or been known by his people; the
Queen, realizing probably for the first time
since the overshadowing bereavement of her
life, that there are ties which still bind her to
the beings and the things Of this world; the
Princess, beautiful in her happiness, recalling
the eve of her early marriage, when similar
joyous ovation first welcomed her to her Eng
lish home. The electric current, which
draws all the nations of the world
together, brings before our eyes the scene
enacted yesterday in London as wildly as
though it were to-day visible in substance in
our own city.
1t must have been a glorious and wonder
full sight, those seven miles of loyal SUBJ
jects, millions in number, thronging the
gayly decorated streets along the route of the
procession and sending up their shouts of
sympathy and love as their widowed Queen
line; and it is not difficult to imagine the feel
ings of the royal party as they witnessed this
demonstration of the earnest affection of the
people. Only few months ago the noisy
prominence Of radical agtators, whose exist
ence depends upon their activity, seemed
to threaten the peace and order of the king
dom, and especially of the metropolis.
Fenanism raised its rebellious head in Ire
land, despite the pacidcation policy of the
British government; the mysterious Inter-
national stalked, spectre-like, through the
manufacturing towns and crowded cities
of England; the horrible nightmare of
the French Commune sat heavily on the
breasts of British statesmen The Prince of
Wales, the heir apparent to the throne, was
then the object of attack for every ranting
demagogue and mischievous idler. The gen.
erous impulses and the venial slips of youth
were alike distorted to his prejudice and used
as means of stripping him Of The respect and
love of the people. The prospect looked I'M
promising for the future King, and there were
not wanting prophets of ill-omen who pre-
dicted that Victoria would be the last of her
house to die in royal harness. Suddenly a
dangerous illness fell upon the Prince. He
was stricken by disease whose shadow had
already darkened the life-path of his widowed
mother. At first it was hard to believe that
the strong, vigorous man, whose form had 80
recently been seen among the people
lay almost within the grasp of death;
but by degrees the nation realized
the weight of the sorrow that seemed
about to fall upon it. The voice of calumny
was hushed, and while the most profound sci
ence and the keenest skill watched the flicker
ing flame striving to feed the dying lamp of
life, millions hung breathlessy over the hourly
bulletins, dreading to learn the fatal end. The
value of their Prince was taught them by the
nearness of his loss. At last CLEAN of hope
shone through the gloom, and as it frightened
into certainty a weight was lifted from the
heart of the nation. There has been rejoicing
ever since; but yesterday it eliminated in
great outpouring of the gratitude and loyalty
of whole people, demonstration that must
have convinced the most sceptical of the de-
votion OF British subjects to their institutions
and their rulers, and taught the royal reci-
pients of a nations homage that ''out of evil
cometh good"
Nearly twenty years ago st. PauPs Cathedral
was crowded by the participants in a sadder
service. On that occasion the warrior Duke,
who had fought the battles of the nation, was
consigned to the tomb. Then the flags along
the route foated at half-mast; heavy black
drapery hung on the closed buildings; the
soldiers marched to the sound of the muffled
drum, and minute guns doomed monotonously
through the air. Inside the Cathedral all
was gloom and mourning; and the solemn