New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-07-03
THE QUEENS FETE.
DAY AFTER THE FAIR-HOLIDAY SCENES
TEMPER OF ENGLISH CROWDS.


guard against that fine. subtle cynicism which
| colors the thought OF the time For many
months there have been. preparations on an UNI
! exampled scale for a military pageant worthy
to symbolic the greatness OF the British Empire.
Fifty thousand soldiers were on guard ana
parade yesterday; and one thousand OF them
had been gathered, file by file, here and there.
from that worldwide realm upon which the sun
never sets incidentally. there has been specu-
Iators' combination for controlling seats along
seven-mile circuit, and a prolonged period OF
cadging for hospitals and various phllanthrop!c
enterprises. The arrangements for decorating
streets and Illuminating public buildings, club
houses and private residences have been con-
Quoted on a scale OF unprecedented magnitude
and expense. The great imperial town show for
which London has been waiting for many weeks
is Has the game been worth the
candle? The rocket has burst in air with a
wonderful shower Of stars lighting up the whole
Empire. Is there anything left except the empty
rocket stick with the powder completely burned?
Those are questions which practical men. who
have no sympathy with Mr.. Laboucherc's in
suar Radicasm. asking. The jubilee has
involved a suspension of business for several
days and interruption for many weeks OF
the ordinary conditions Of club life and social
recreation. 1t has been for long period the
one engrossng theme of London. and there are
many patriotic imperiasts who have read and
heard about it more than they wanted They
are rejoicing to-day because the great show has
come off without loss Of life any misad-
venture and because. also. there Will now be an
opportunity for talking about something else.
They are disposed to believe that the Queens
parade has not been Of any material benefit 10
the business interests of London, and that there
are no adequate returns for the time. money and
thought expended upon the pageant, beautiful
and stately though 1t was.
NOT WHOLLY SUCCESSFUL
1t must be conceded that the attempt to COM
vert the celebration Of the longest reign into
an imperial revel has not been so successful as
the optmists have anticipated. The Colonial
Premiers in the parade. and hearty were
the cheers which they received and the Cana
dian, Australian and other contingents from tho
Empire made a conspicuous feature Of the
pageant; but public interest at every point
along the seven-mile route was centred upon the
Princes the foreign ENJOYS and the Queen. 1t
has been with the old eaven Of loyalty rather
than with the new leaven Of Imperialism that
the feast has been kept The quiet little old
lady in the black dress and bonnet with white
hair and tme-worn face. for whom the cheer
was raised in front Of st. Pauls when the SER
vice of thanksgiving was closed. was the one
commanding figure Of the pageant. The Prem
fers were Of slight importance in comparison
with the sovereign on that great day; and surely,
the pessimist will say, it was hardly necessary
to turn London upside down for months in order
to prove that England loves and honors so good
and gracious Queen,
1t may not have been necessary, but there are
few men and women in Merrle England who are
not overjoyed that this great fete has been
planned and carried out in honor OF the unpar-
alleled reign and the sovereign. who enjoys the
unique distinction of having neither enemy nor
critic among men Of any race or nationality.
No other sovereign ever received or deserved
such popular greeting. 1t was an old-fashioned
tribute Of personal loyalty to the Queen, who.
as Mr. Gladstone said at Hawarden. has set
all her subjects an example OF fidelity to duty
in the state Of life to which they are called. II
was worth doing, anc because it has been done
there will be all increase of noble idealism with
out which life Is not worth living.
A CROWDED CIRCUIT.
The popular fete scenes were on Sunday and
Queens night. The former not included in
the official programme, the day being set apart
for thanksgiving services in the churches with
historical retrosrects from the pulpit, ard TIE
Deum and the national anthem by choir and
people. But the working folk of the metropolis
had full holiday and ceebrat ted 1t in their own
way Early in the afternoon started on a
seven-mile walk over the route of the procession
and adjacent streets for comprehensive view
of the decorations, and found myself In COM
pany with several millions of Her Majesty's
heartest and least ostentatious subjects. The
circuit opened at buckingham Palace and led
beyond Westminster Bridge through the borough
to London Bridge, with a long detour to St.
Paurs and thence westward through Fleet-st.
and the Strand toward st. James's Palace and
Piccadilly. The whole East End seemed to have
empted itself into these gaudily decorated
streets and to be making triumphal progress
Of it's own in advance Of the Queens stately
march. Every thoroughfare from noon until
was blockaded with pleasure-seekers
bent upon having all the fun that there was at
the fair.
heard few months ago platform address
by Canon Scott Holland, Of st. Pauls. in which
he referred to the East End as a centre of gayety
where the toiling millions were singing and dane
Ing from sheer love Of life. It seemed to mo
that he must have been thinking OF Paris, where
the opening bar Of a waltz by military band or
the creaking Of fiddle In an alley Is always the
signal for open-air dancing At popular festivals
men seize partners who are nearest to them and
women find themselves dancing at a moments
notice with strangers In an instant che back.
set Of a swollen current Of promenaders becomes
a whrling eddy. A Partisan street crowd likes
to dance and enjoys the sense Of rapid motion.
On fete days the popular thoroughfares are those
where tire merry go-rounds and steam whirli-
gigs are in swift flight with their screaming and
excited riders. An English crowd OF merry
makers is more sedate and prosaic. AIRY and
Arriet stroll about arm in arm. he with his clay
pipe and she with her orange but they rarely
dance in the streets. The madcap spirit OF JOY
BUSINESS and frivolity which is characteristic OK
a Paris street throng Is unknown In sober Lon
don.