The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-14

1881, two somewhat excited gentlemen
of large girth and gorgeous attire left
the stately pile where William ". had
just expired and made their way with
as much haste as their ponderous dig
nifty would permit to- Kensington pal
ace. They were no less personages
than the archbishop of Canterbury
and the lord chamberlain. After some
little delay at the palace gates, caused
by the surprised and heavy eyed serv-
ants, they were ushered into the state
apartments and left to cool their dis
tinguished heels while a pompous gen.
tleman In waiting went to pass the
word along that they wished an audi
ence with the Princess Alexandria
Victoria
For fully half an hour the impa tient
dignitaries fumed and fretted before
they were haughtily informed that the
princess was still asleep and must not
be disturbed
Tell her, then. that we are on bust
ness OF state to the queen. Even her
sleep must give way to that"
Not long after that an agitated
young woman-a mere girl, in fact
appeared before the archbishop and
the lord chamberlain, her long hair
falling loosely over the shawl which
she had hastily thrown over her white
nightdress There, in the gray, cold
light of the early morning, Victoria
was told of the passing away Of the
king and Of her own accession to the
throne. For a moment there was
silence, and then the young queen
turned to the archbishop with tears
in her eyes and said, II ask your
prayers on my behalf
And together the sovereign in her
nightrobe and the head of the English
church knelt and prayed.
Since that June morning three score
years ago Victoria has ruled as queen.
Never before in the history Of the ma
ton has a British sovereign sat on the
throne for so long a period, and her
subjects are going to celebrate this
fact with week Of jubilee.
OF this week Of celebration six DAYS
will be devoted to the entertainment
of the nobility. There will be royal
audiences, receptions, memorial gath
erlngs. formal tea drinkings, cere-
monials of state and banquets with
gay Of the British peerage will enter
tain at royal functions of which the
great mass of Englishmen will see
nothing but the carriages and the
sidewalk awnings.
But on one day the great British
day, June %, the queen, followed by
the whole royal family in carriages,
accompanied by dozens of native and
foreign princes on horseback and es-
corted by $4,000 of Englands crack
troops, will drive from Buckingham
palace to ST. Paul's cathedral and back
again. This is what the English call
a. royal progress, and 1t is something
that every .Englishman dearly loves
to see and talk about. It is done, to
put it bluntly, to show the common
people the royal folks in their bravest
attire and in their finest equipages.
Nominally the queen goes to st. Paurs
to offer thanks for long life and a
record breaking reign Il
This royal parade will be in some
respects remarkable and we'll worth
seeing. The procession will be fully q
mile in length, and although it will
largely consist Of soldiery they will be
the pride of the English army. Then,
moreover, there will be such a collec-
ton of royal personages as has been
seldom seen in London, where at no
time is royalty scarce.
The most conspicuous figure in it all.
OF course, will be the queen herself,
and it will be the ambition of every
loyal Britisher in the world who can
to get to London during the jubilee
and there will be a vast number Of
them-to see the sovereign. London
itself has 100000 British subjects who
Will be on the spot and no less anxious
TO catch a glimpse Of their ruler than
Englishmen who have travelled thou
sands Of miles across the sea for the
same purpose. This may seem strange
to Americans, but it must be remem-
bered that Victoria has kept herself
very much secluded for the last fifteen
years or so, and her wanderings about
the British domain have been very
much limited by advancing age
So on June %, AIRY and 'Arriet will
go down to London town to see the
queen ride abroad in her splendid state
chariot drawn by twelve cream-col-
ored horses. They will rub elbows
with other British subjects from all
corners Of the earth. It will be a big
family gathering, and the many for
elgners who are going to attend must
expect to be crowded
If Victoria is at all impressionable
she cannot help being deeply stirred
by the sight of a densely packed
double wall of loyal Britishers miles
In length attesting with a mighty roar
their undying fealty.
The trip to ST. PauPs will be through
the most fashionable part of London,
which will give such of the nobility
as do not participate in it an excellent
chance to view the parade from their
own windows in comfort. The return,
however, will be through the borough,
and the royal progress will be through
the streets Of the poorest part of the
British capital. This is by direction
of the queen herself who desires that
her humblest subjects shall have some
part in the jubilee.
Constitution hill, down which the
procession will pass on leaving Buck
ingham palace, has been the scene Of
most Of the attempts on the queens
life in the earlier part of her reign. 1t
was there that Oxford fired a pistol
at her. There. too, an officer Of the
Prince Of Wales crack regiment, the
riage steps and struck her with a cane
several times in revenge for fancied
grievance.
For months all London has been pre-
pairing for the great day, but by far
the most prominent indication Of the
Of iy1Tn hac