The herald., 1897-06-24

ert&
The Colonial Prsmiers. riding in roys
carriages, attended b:r grooms in tn
royal livery. were severally escorted b
troops from their own country. 1t isno
certain whether the crowd recognize
the Premier of Canada, or whether Lau
rier owed a special welcome to the fac
that he came first in the muster OF Col
oniaI Premiers; he ce rtainly was ap
plauded above his fellows. New Soutl
VaIee. Victoria, New Zealand, Queens
land. the Cape, South Australia, New
Foundiand, Natal, West Australia an
little body of Rhodesian horse, fol
lowed in order. One of the most nofa
ble features Of the day was the larg
use made of the American nag IN acc
Grating houses and stands. 1t coui'
he seen today at every angle OIL tn'
route of the parade. No other foreign
Aap was so commonly used for decora
ting purposes.
LONDON GALA NIGHT
LONDON, June %, 10 p. m.-The night
IN the city was made notable by gaia
performance at the opera, Covent Gar
dena. which was royalty decorated
THE ten central boxes were torn down to
make room for the royal box. which was
really a magnificent salon, decorated
with tapestries and powered in roses.
special staircase was erected and an en-
trance cut for the prince of Wales ano
his party. The whole program and per-
formance reflected the greatest credit on
Maurice Grau. The event fairly rlvaieo
+he procession as an attraction to Lon
doners. For miles around Covent gar
dan the streets were crowded, and the
crush of carriages was so dense that
MANY men wearing gorgeous uniforms
and covered with jewels had to walk
for long distances amid the varying
comments of the crowd. Many others'
like the duke of Marlborough ana the
duke of Devonshire, drove to the opera
house in state carriages, with coacn-
men and footmen resplendent in state
livery.
In front of the opera house was
mounted guard of honor; inside the carr
of Lathom, with a lot of gold Sticks
awaited the arrival of the royal party,
while beefeaters lined the stairway and
mounted guard outside the royal box.
Meantime the house filled, and the
scene was most gorgeous. The women
blazed with jewelry; nearly every man
fore a uniform of some sort, While IN
dian princes, dressed in native costume,
occupied prominent boxes, and were Gu
rious spectators of the glittering dis
play.
At length the royalties began to arrive,
the Princess of Wales coming first. Her
costume was white, embroidered with
silver: upon her head she wore beau
tiful diamond tiara, pearls around her
neck and a long row of orders across
her bodice. AS she entered the royal
box the audience rose, and the band
PLAYED the national anthem.
The rest of the party then filed into
the box, each preceded by the earl OF
Lathom, walking backward. Among
them were all the visiting princes, and
all the members of the English royal
family, except the queen, Empress
Frederick of Germany and Princess
Beatrice.
AS soon as they were seated the cur
tain rose, disclosing the entire cast of
the opera, among them Madame Melba
and Nine. De Reszke, after which was
carried out Mr.. Grau's carefully ar
ranged program. including the second
act of "Tannhaeuser," third act of Gou-
mods Romeo and Juliet" and the fourth
act Of 'The Huguenots." The efforts
OF the singers and the orchestra were
received with the greatest enthusiasm,
and the performance surpassed in every
way the famous gala performance given
at Covent garden for the empress of
Germany.
yT-oC
loyeliness. The whole interior of the
structure was hidden by freshly cut
flowers, principally roses. The upper
tier of boxes was mass of Marechal
Mel roses, the next tier mass of pink
roses and the bottom tier of rich dark
red roses. White flowers adorned the
royaI box, which was surmounted by an
enormous floral crown of crimson roses
md golden orchids. The box was deco
.ated in the Louis XVI style, the chairs
and settees being covered with white
and yellow silk The same material,
iuted and patterned into diamonds,
formed the ceiling.
The box was beautiful picture. The
Prince of Wales wore the red uniform of
a field marshal, and among all the other
princes there were no two uniforms
alike.
The royal group seemed a collection of
ylittering orders and beautiful Jewels.
The Princess of Naples wore some won
derful diamonds and the Grand Duchess
Sergius displayed the largest emerald in
he world.
1t was noticeable, however. That the
royals were less lavish in jewelry than
many ladies in the other boxes, who
we're fairly plastered with gems. The
audience included all the leaders of Off
cial and social England and all the
ambassadors. Ambassador and Miss
Hay and Spencer Eddy occupied his
own box.
Great crowds are viewing the illumina-
lions this evening, crowds much greater
than those of Tuesday night. The pro-
cessional route and the widest streets
we're packed with every conceivable sort
Of vehicle, from coster's cart and tum-
brel to handsomely appointed coaches,
private open carriagee and omnibuses
especially chartered for the occasion.
carrying ladies and gentlemen in gala
dress.
In many parts where the police di-
yerted the traffic into the streets, men
and sometimes women can be seen leav-
ing their carriages and mingling with
the crowd in order to get a better view.
At the West End the route from the
Strand to st. James street is packed to
suffocation.
The heat is intenee, many women have