The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-06-06

Health and the People Celebrate.
LONDON, June 6. 4:37 a. m.-Queen Vic
toria, surrounded by the Duke and
Duchess of York. Princess Christian, Prin-
cess Victoria and many other notabes of
the court, drank to the health of Lord
Roberts and the army at Balmoral last
evening. A great bonfire, lighted at her
Majestys command, blazed a nearby
mountain Illuminating the country for
miles around. The nation joins in the
toast. glorifying Lord Roberts and turbu-
lently rejoicing in the victory.
The dispatches of Lord Roberts, telling
of the incidents before the surrender of
the capital by three civilians, stand alone,
as the correspondents with him have not
had their turn with the wires.
Lord Roberts's postscript announcing the
loss of the yeomanry battalion came too
late for the public to know it last evening.
The newspaper commentators consider the
incident deplorable but as having no
weight to speak of in the results. The
battalion numbered between 400 and 500.
General Botha and most of his men got
away from Pretoria. This is inferred from
Lord Roberts's message, but the presump-
ton is that the Boer commandant general
cannot escape the British dispositions with
out fight. Operations elsewhere seem to
have dwinded to nothing. General Baden
Powell joined General Hunter on Saturday
at Lichtenberg. Sir Redvers Butler has not
moved.
England has been celebrating tonight the
fall of Pretoria very much as she did the
relief of Mafeking. Drunkenness has been
tri1e less than when Baden-Powell was
the hero of the moment, but in London and
in other large cities the scenes last evening
were practically repetition of those which
marked the other victories. and long after
midnight uproarious yelling, the footing of
horns and discordant chants were heard in
the city's streets, usually, at such an hour.
silent the grave. During the evening
professions marched along the Strand, Pic
cadilly and the other leading thoroughfares.
In fact, so great was the crush that the
easiest method of locomotion was to join
one of the professions. for whose strident
choruses and waving flags all traffic
stopped. Coaches and cabs were freely
chartered in honor of the occasion, and
these were soon so packed with invited and
| unlimited guests that they assumed the as
| pect of living pyramids of bacchanalians
Babies in arms. white-haired women. girls
of the street. club men in evening dress.
and White Chapel costermongers intermin-
gled along the faring thoroughfares, bent
| upon celebrating the victory.
| Into the faces of all were continually
| thrust huge peacock. feathers, described
! for no reason as "Kruger's persuaders" :"
Girls were indiscriminately kissed. jostled
and tossed around amid the jubilation of
the mad crowd. A species of confetti
which stuck to the clothing of the recip-
lent. proved popular form of showing
ones exultation until the stores of the ped
dlers ran out. Then the night grew older
and rowdyism of the worst form held sway
| From almost every barroom came the
sound of inebriates attempting to sing
/ God Save the Queen and ''Rule, Brit
annia." At the music halls and theaters
| last evening the mention of Lord Roberts
brought every audience to its feet in a
second, and 1t was almost impossible for
the performers to hold the interest of those
in front of them. Every building possess
| ing an Illuminating device used IL for all II
was worth, until the metropolis was ablaze
with light. The clubs on Pail Mall were lit
up with huge torches, and the staid old
street of murky buildings was scarcely
recognizable. Around Marlborough House
and the War Office the crowd continued
| thick
Tho Prince of Wales came to town yes
terday afternoon and went to the opera
In the evening. His drive to and from the
| performance met with a tremendous well
come. During the day. stung to action by
the recent demonstration. the police made
strenuous endeavors to-day TO keep order.
| But horseplay, drunkenness and rowdyism
| prevailed wherever the crowds were thick.
The inhabitants of the provincial towns
are not a whit behind those in London.
| Bells were rung, flags were flown and holi-
| days were declared all over England
As coincidence Elton had postponed its
| annual June 4th celebration until yester-
| day and as Lord Roberts Is one of the
most distinguished old Etonians, he Is
coming in for great ovations from the
school. which has s44 alumni in South
Africa. among them being Generals Butler,
Methuen. Barton. Lyttleton, Hutton and
Dundonald. and so many other dis
tinguished soldiers that II Is already being
said that Pretoria was ''won on the play
| ing field of Eton" During the course of
tne ceiepfdiioh yesterday the Eton Doys
telegraphed their congratulations to Lord
Roberts The lord mayor OF London has
cabled as follows to Lord Roberts: THE
empire will never forget what you and the
forces under your command have accom-
plished Accept the grateful congratula-
| tions of the citizens OF London"
The news was wired 10 the Queen at
Balmoral Immediately on it's receipt and
the union jack was hoisted over the royal
residence. Throughout the country illumi-
nations occurred on large scale Efigies
OF Kruger were burned and innumerable
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