New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-04
THE ROYAL REVIEW.
TIE TROOPS FROM EGYPT AND THEIR VEL
CONE HOME.

| view of the troops who had come back from Egypt,
and st. James's Park, where the review was to take
place, and the streets through which the army was
atterWard to pass, were swallowedjup III fog. by
dint of much cropping and stumbling about, people
had got to their places the stands in the rear of
| the Horse Guards and the Admiralty by noon. But
once there they seemed little better of than If they
had stayed at home The prayers and entreatles in
answer to which tickets had been grudgingly forth
coming. might as well have been spared. The pub
lie, in truth, had been treated badly. Provision had
| been made for certain favored classes. The two
large stands calculated to hold the whole body
OF Peers members of the House of Commons, the
diplomatic Corps, suudry military and naval bodies
OF distinction, some official people and Their
TRENDS, aud such others "a could bring certain
amount OF influence to bear on the authorities. The
Press was provided for much on the principle which
goyetns the arrangements in Parliament, where
London and few leading towns in the country are
| admitted and the rest of the universe Is ignored
Even ambassadors had but scant courtesy. They
| might take members OF their embassies and
| Their familics-nobOdy else. AS for the general
public certain spaces the ground were allotted
to early comers If sou likol to pass through the
gates before 10 and stand till toward l, you had
chance of a place: otherwise no.. But. as was
saying, when the hours came the fortunate few
were more miserable than the unfortunate many
They had taken much pains to see the Spectacle
and the only thing clear was that as spect'cl
the review would be a failure.
From the Treasury buildings, which look straight
on the Horse Guards Parade and thence all across
St. Jamess Park, the prospect at noon utterly
dismal. Tho parade itself just visible, and
| 4 few shiyer.ug figures moving uneasiy over the
ground. The stands could be seen,- and rows of
people huddled together Opposli, them You could
half make out dim line Of what seemed to be
mounted troops and the belief tha. this dim light
might b. the Life Guards was confirmed by an oc-
casional ne Oh and the impatient stamp Of unseen
hoo:s. A black knot of indistneuishablo humanity
just below proved, when puff Of wind
| Tor one moment made rent in the fog. to be the
| Indian contingent. Now and then caught
glimpse OF the flagstaff in the centre of the parade
| from which the royal standard was supposed to
float, and at intervals a mounted staff officer tore
past on Il shadowy stced. But OF the long lines of
| troops we knew to be somewhere drawn up, of the
broad oxpansc of park and take Of trees and stately
mansions bordering the park, Gnd Of the great pal
ace straight before us, not a sign was to be SEEM
| We chattcd gloOmily together. looked upward to
the spot in which ought to be the sky where We
imagined tho sun might break through, discussed
the state Of the wind and jestcd III bitterness Of
| spirit about Queens weather"
The Queen was to leave Buckingham
Palace at hal:-past r. and she is known TO be
miracle Of punctual cxacn,s. As the Horse Guards
clock doomed the half hour we listened for the
guns, but no sound Of guns was to be heard | be-
leyc that in fact none were fred though they
promised Every two or three minutes that We
looked at our watches the fog seemed TO grow
thicker and the delay was ineXplicable. But at
twenty minutes to l a strain OF " God Save tho
Queen was borne eastward and moment later the
sound of distant cheering made it certain that Her
Majesty was really approaching Presently from
the dirty white sea Ct sitting yapor below and be-
yond us came the noise Of mounted troops
in motion. Through that impenetrable cur-
tain OF fog tho tramp of horses, the crunching
of frosty gravel beneath iron hoofs. the clank of
sabres, the sharp word of command. the Kissing Of
wheels as they slowly rolled along the hnty road,
all the confused mumur OF great mass IN
movom mt, reached US with d,stinctneSs ever in
crcasng. The mass in movement, whatever 1t might
be- remqined totally invisible. We all stood as if
in dream listening to tie stir of we knew not what
ghostly procession
Her Majesty and her escort had to drive down the
slope Of the Mall to the southcrnmost end OF the
parade, turned sharply to the left aud so straight
back again to the sauting point IN
the centre The whole of the escort and
staff passed us fifty yards away, unseen
As the royal carriage swept round the angle the
fog parted. and we saw tho Queen, the Prince of
Wales riding on her right hand, the Duke of
Cambridge on the left ray of sunlight glanced
on thcm and fifteen seconds Ia ter the clouds broke,
the fog dissolved, the sun shonc out in splendor,
and the scene came into view all in one magical
moment.
Just beneath ia stool the Prime Minister. with
his family and friends in private stand erected in
lie garden of his official residence Across the
Parade TO the west the Life Guards, had
guessed. were IN line, the red and white and gold
and black of their splendid uniforms and
steeds shining out IN the sudden Hood of
light and set off against background
of trees the outline of whose lealcss
branches was softened by the still cnslng mist.
Beyogd them slept the smooth surface of the water
! and beyond that again rose II more distant and
| shadowy belt of tail shrubbery To the right
stretched tie line of soldiers. with CLINT OF sunlight
| flashing back from every point and boss and broad
surface of polished steel and gold. In the centre
| the royal STANDARD streamed out with the rising
breeze, and beneath it, sitting in her car
riage and bowlng to the cheers OF the multi
tude that encirclcd her was the Queen. The head
ouarters staff were gathered about her. brilliant
with every hue foreign uniforms minging with the
! scarlet of England; and the blue OF the
| Navy gathered III one mass. nan
the beauty and chivalry of the land
are here. The Princess of Wales is in the carriage
| next to the Queen; Prnccsses by the half-dozen
hard by; the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the
Crown Princess, who ough tohaye been named
first and who will one day be Empress Of Germany;
minor ROYALTIES too numerous to mention. Ana lhey
baye all the Generals of the army of Egypt TO stand
guard over them.
But almost before any Of us know It, the march
Iii.
past has begun the escort OF the queen breaking up
and reforming beyond the standard aud moving
ut l. ,,,.o,, Tho rovol corria,,e and the two great