The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-27

scene which followed when darkness
had settled down.
The illumination of the fleet at Spit
head tonight was one of the most
charming sights of a week of delightful
spectacles. The night was pleasantly
dark; no moon dimmed the effect of
mortal creation, the waters of the So
lent were reposefully quiet, everything
contributed to enhance the success of
the programme. 1t was all ghostly,
fantastic, suggestive of fairyland and
the world of magic-a fitting termina-
ton to day Of imposing realities and
iron facts. The brutal grimneSs Of all
the eng1nery of destruction-savage
looking guns, venomous torpedoes. the
veritable teeth Of war-was lost in
peaceful shadow and softening gloom.
The spectator knew 1t was all there,
but it was not relentlessly thrust upon
the mind as it had been the day long
from every angle Of vision. The man
tie Of night shut out what was jarring
to the non-combatant and revealed
only that which was agreeable.
A minute before 9 o'clock the miles cf
waters showed only such lights as are
usually associated with shipping, the
red and green Of port and starboard;
white lights at mastheads; CLEANS that,
like tiny rows of diamonds, showed
the ports of passenger craft, with here
and there some parti-colored lights that
had been lit on private vessels before
the time. At o'clock there was
flash; a rocket from the Renown ripped
into the dark blue, and, bursting with
a shower of splendid stars, signalIed
the lighting up of the fleet The stick
OF the rocket had not turned towards
the water ere the mighty fleet was sud-
denly skeletoned in brilliant yellow
light, hulls, smokeStacks, spars and
cordage being thrown into strong relief
Light lines ran in graceful curves along
the sweep of the monsters, now ghostly
grey in the sudden glare and from
bow to stem over the mastheads were
garlands Of incandescent light like
Jeweled necklaces hung upon the
horns of night"
AN UNCANNY GLARE.
A few minutes later they vanished
with the suddenness of their aprear-
ance, leaving the spectators staring
at the place where they had been,
this time by numberless search lights
which, with uncanny glare, like the
eyes Of a hundred Cyclops, lined the
heavens as a checker board with ra-
diant bands. Later these eyes slowly
opened swept the gathered craft and
the shores beyond, as if seeking some
thing to discover or devour Then
they were all shut off, leaving the
darkness more visible than ever.
A pause and the darkness was
pierced by hundreds of signal rockets.
ambitiOusly soaring into the blue.
with messages of jubilation, not dis
aster, delivering them and falling
burnt out and useless into the waste
of waters.
The purpose of this naval exhibit
ton was not to be overlooked, how
ever, for the night of Britain, it's
ever prepared strength was again to
be impressed upon the staring thou
sands signal rocket leaped from
the Renown, and no where was pro-
vided an exhibition of what war
would be like if ever an immense
fleet Of battleships and cruisers
should engage at night. A royal sa
lutte Of sixty guns was fired from
every ship capable Of firing it, Great
guns and small guns answered each
other In one prolonged roar, rising
and falling In intensity as more or
less of them firing together It was
truly awful. Even the certain knowI-
edge that there were no deadly mis-
sles in the gums did not prevent a
chill feeling from creeping over MANY
of the civilian spectators.
The foreign warships moored onn,-
site the British lines, joined the can
onade, and, to the superstitious, there
was from the rdeep-throated guns of
the United States, Russia, France and
Germany note Of defiant answer
all in honor of Victoria Then the
angry roaring ceased, much to the re-