The Portland daily press., 1897-08-14

plays are held. The king was there, sit
ting under the broiling sun in the in
closure reserved for him with the prime
| minister of Norway at his side. The
boats were maneuvering about the inclos-
ure. In the shells of the boats, out of
sight the men who managed the electrical
th1ther firing their tiny guns, attacking,
repelling and destroying-a spirited sight
though done in miniature.
Suddenly in the deeper river outside the
Enclosure steamer appeared some kind
of a craft of burden bearing, noisily
putting up the stream. The king catches
sight of the boat whose prodigious waves
are. setting:theIlit craftSin the.inclosure
all atilt and disturbing their movements
sadly.
A voice rings out on the still air, a voice
with the clangor of the king in it's COM
| mandment
"Stannal Stannal Stannai"
1t was the Swedish demand to stop, and
1t came from Sweden's monarch, but that
blessed boat went gayly on up the sum
kissed waters of the fair blue Malar just
kings and their commands. The king
gesticulated with his cane and shouted
again and again and wildly waved his
arms, but the boat bowled on, much to
the deep disgust of the monarch, who
didn't want any commercial waves to dis
turb the movement of his warships.
Finally the ripples followed s-the waves
and the battle went on while the air rang
with the mad music of the miniature war.
1t was really quite wonderful-the man
ner in which the men in the bowels of
these ships kept them in line, rallied
them for attack, retreated in order or adj
vanced under fire with a steady sweep
that did much to make you forget these
We're but the show of war
GOLD GLORY" FAR FROM HOME.
I do not believe "The Star Spangled
Banner" ever was sung under more Pc
culiar circumstances than those which
obtained on Thursday evening, A wide
open meadow reach in the central part Eof
Saknsen on the exposition grounds,
fenced in by stout cord held in place at
intervals of tall pixies or.spears of antique
type; guards in strange uniforms, peas
ants of today and those who wore the
garb of the dead centuries touching
bellows; fully 10000 people waiting at the
border of the meadow stretch waiting
silently, with hardly a laugh to disturb
the stiffness Suddenly from out of the
pine trees comes great flag, the flag of
Sweden borne by one of Swedish birth
and along side it another-red and white
and blue, and with the stars of liberty in
it's field and an eagle of gold at it's staff
top.
Side by side the two flags are carried,
and behind them half hundred men in
snowy caps are marching. They wheel
and mass on broad platform overlooking
the crowd. 1t is o'clock in the evenin g,
nearly, but the sun is sending long rays
down the meadow stretch, touch the red
bodice of peasant girl from Delarne,
Frightening the white hair of bent old
woman from beyond the artic circle, and
falling in q rich glow on the wide winged
eagle of gold on the banner of the Ameri
can singers.
First come songs of the fatherIand sung
with tenderness and sympathy and spirit;
then the mellow tones Of the "Suwanee
River" then-and how few of these peas
ants and other thousands. knew what was
the inner meaning of these words-there
came the song which told of the banner of
the singers. Perhaps it was because the
singers were thinking of the six thousand
miles of sea and shore between them and
the land they loved so well; perhaps il
was the strange mingling of SO many
elements which not one present would
elsewhere in the world ever see blended
again-whatever it was, the song never
seemed to have in it such meaning, such
memories, such promise for the races in
the land of the free.
1t must be borne in mind in reading
that last paragraph that yesterday was
the Fourth of July, and due allowance
must be made for an American away
from home.
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