The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-06-23


Nothing in all London or elsewhere
exceeded in artistic beauty and brill
Hancy of display the scene from Vel
Hngton statue with the Bank of Eng
land on one side and the Mansion
House on the other. The official home
of the lord mayor was bathed in so
much light that all the beauties of the
day seemed to fit in and charningly
mingle with that of the night. On top
of the pediment a splendid star of IN
dia burned its brilliant points into the
sky. Prismatic gas globes outlined
the facade and a portion of the side,
while the royal crown, encircled by a
wreath of laurels in incandescent lamps
stood out prominently in front of the
building. The crown was f1anked on
either side in crystal gas lamps with
~. r. l.
At the top of the side elevation Of
the Mansion House was a radiant sun
in open glass, with the royal mono
gram. Twelve fiaring tripods adorned
the roof and two notices stood out bold
ly in letters of light: Long Live Our
Queen" God Guard Your Throne"
The Bank of England, that hOtbed of
old fashioned British loyalty, had a Su-
perstructure frame of amber lights
along the Threadneedle facade, within
which hung festOOns of White-lit globes
fastened at short intervals with illu-
minated deep red bows.
Here and there set pieces of cut crys-
tails broke the frame and added their
multi-cOlOred CLEANS in loyal devices.
The corner at Princess street and the
corner at Bartholomew lane supported
a crystal device, The Grecian Honey
suckle," sixteen feet wide. Right across
the front of the ugly building, signii-
cant of so much of empire, were the
well chosen words of England's last
poet laureate burning in a glare as if
forever:
She wrought her people lasting
good
Turning from the bank to the Liver
pool, London and Globe building, at the
apex of the Corn Hall and Lombard
street, the front was outlined in blue
and red and gold.
The windows and roof were also out
lined in exquisite blue and gold Old
sightseers pronounced the scene one of
artistic brilliancy in illumination and
unsurpassed even by the decorations
for the car in Paris
Father Thames furnished an impress
siOnist color scene. The sweep seward
from the pool myriad lights here and
there just touching into ghostly form
the shipping, the tower, the heavy lines
beyond on the long necklace of SHIN
mer1ng gems away toward Westminster
with st. Pauls shadows of the silent
waters, the small string of colored
lamps on some wandering tug or. cum
brouS barge, lines of lucent color on
nearby bridges, the streaming rays
darling skyward from the dazzling
streets-made more marked the gloomy
warehouses, dark patches Of almost i'm
penetrable shadow that on the rivers
edge seemed to fringe the glory of it
all.
Among the many displays of one sort
or another between Westminster bridge
and the Horse Guards, one in particu-
lar demanded nOtice-that by the Lon
don q Northwestern Railway COM
pany at the corner of Bridge and Par
lament streets-the most extensive il
Elimination by electric light to be seen
IN the metropolis. There are 5000 16-
candle lamps arranged to outline the
TAf fao
large crown surrounding the dome at
the corner, containing 500 lamps They
were mostly white, but the jewels in
the crown. the orb and cross were shown
by clusters of colored lights The col
unns supporting the dome were nick
60 out IN white and there were hori-
zontai lines of white over each floor.
with lines vertical on the bridge.
Stretched around both frontages col
ored lights completed the scene
mere were thousands of devices Of
every description scattered over greater
London from the artistic electric dis
plays to the row of taIloW dips in the
slums. '-49
Hotels were equally to the front.
victoria street was notable for the
illumination of the United States ero-
bassy and the offices of the coIonioI
agents generally. The most prominent
ana successful of these was that erect
ed by Sir Donald Smith, in which the
shield and armorial bearings of +bo
Dominion of Canada were Surrounded
by the names of the provinces painted
on white glass and Illuminated so as to
show a bouquet of color
All the stately houses in Carlton
House terrace, including Mrs. Mackay's
and Mr.. VIM. Waldorf Astor's, We're
blaze of light, but the splendid man
sions occupied by Americas two am
baSSadOrS. Colonel Hays house on one
side and Mr.. WhitelaW Reid's on the
other were especially brilliant and
called forth many approving comments.
The two houses were Illuminated in the
same design. The familiar big " R
L" surmOunted by a crown and the
dates '1S37-1S97" On either side of the
center of the design was a large Amer
lean shield surmOunted by the eagle
and with the significant number of
thirteen stars in the shield and from
both houses large American flags hung.
With Examinations universal in every
town and hamlet of England, Wales
and Scotland and in some parts of Ire
land; with fireworks in countless places
with ilIuminatiOns following the fall of
night in every part of the empire where
the queen has sway, there yet remains
to be mentioned the final tOuch-the
lighting of the empires torch-the an
cient form of giving warning or sending
joy. the beacon fires. AS 10 o'clock
struck at the Greenwich observatory a
tongue of flame shot up from Great
Malvern, the backb bone of the mid
lands" 1t was the jubilee beacon fire.
Hardly had the spectator time to look
on II DeIOre anOIher haired up in the
distance on the right, then again on
the left, on the north, south, east and
west. Peak answered to peak until
from Berwick on-Tweed to Rough
Tore and Brown Willie in Cornwall:
from the cathedral towers of Litchfield,
Worcester RipOn. Lincoln and Dur
ham, from SkiddaW to St Heliers, from
Hastings to Caderiris and across the
water to Donegal and Dublin, a thous-
and beacon fires blazed up their mess
age of loyalty to the sovereign. Half
an hour later the lOwlands the high
lands. the wild Hebrides even to VI
TINA Thule, sent answering signals to
the sky. And then slowly as the light
falIaa frn-., Ga!-