River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1901-02-07

/ uToaYs sorrowful pageant through
| the swarming streets of London, with
/ hundreds of thousands of mourners
forming a black border TO the route,
will never be surpassed.
Distinguished Mourners.
Never in English history has a SOW
ereign been borne to the grave attend
! ed By so many distinguished mourners.
/ The gathering of crowned heads sur
passed those who rode in the jubilee
procession. All the great officers of
1 state participated
The display of the naval and military
forces reached the great total Of $4,000
men.
Minute Guns Fired.
The firing of minute guns and the
tolling Of bells at quarter past 1 an
nounced to the countless multitudes
who had been crowGing London's mud
| dy streets since daylight that the
funeral procession with the body of
Queen Victoria had begun its passage
through, the capital.
People Seek to see Colin.
The people fought for hours for
| glimpse of the coffin and the kings and
others, following it. They saw a long
procession of soldiers, passing show
| Of dazzling regalia. with a hundred
royalties crowding after. and then dis
! persed. while all the church chimes Of
the city were ringing and muffled
dirges were played.
Funeral Train Arrives.
1t was nearly II o'clock, when
amid cries of The king of Portugars
horse" the grand duke of Hesse's
| horse as the princes mounted. the
/ train steamed into Victoria station
a minute ahead of time.
| All heads were uncovered as the
! saloon carriage bearing the queens
remains stopped exactly opposite the
| gun carriage and King Edward, Queen
| Alexandra, Emperor William and
\ others alighted.
Coffin Removed from Train.
Then the bearer party advanced to
/ the saloon carriage, and with his
hand at the salute and standinga little
in advance of the others, King Ed
ward watched the painfully slow re-
moval of the coffin to the gun car
riage. 1t was finally accomplished
and the pail and regalia of the Brit
ISL crown were placed on the coffin.
Procession Starts.
! The king and the others with him
then mounted and the procession
started
The procession, apart from the gun
carriage bearing the coffin, and the
royal family and official mourners
about it, was not noteworthy. Par
lament. the judiciary and the com
mercial bodies We're not represented
Royalty, the army and navy monopo-
| lied the pageant. Three thousand
soldiers and sailors, picked companies
representing all branches of the serv-
| ice, cavalry. artillery, infantrT, yeo-
many, militia volunteers and colo
malls, formed the advance escort.
March without Music.
They marched slowly and without
music Most of the uniforms were COW
cred with dark overcoats and the stand
ards were draped with black, the Of
ticers wearing bands Of crepe on their
sleeves. The infantry marched in coll
umns of four, with rifles reversed.
They were half an hour in passing.
| Then came Field Marshal Earl Roberts
and his staff, and, after them. four
massed bands playing funeral marches.
| Three hundred musicians announced
the coming of the body of the queen.
| There was long array of court Off
cials. under the leadership of the duke
! of Norfolk (the earl marshaD all at
tired quantity and brilliantly. bearing
maces or wands, most of them elderly
men who for years had served the roy
al lady for whom they were performing
the last offices.
The Royal Mourners.
Immediately after the company
about the coffin three royal mourners
rode abreast. King Edward VII. was
| the central figure of the three, but no
less ostentatious parsonage was seen
in the procession.
black chapeau with plume of
/ white feathers was on his head. and a
| long black cloak was buttoned around
! him and hung down over the big black
! horse which he was riding. The kings
familiar face seemed grave and care
worn. He looked straight ahead. APP
pareutly al the gun carriage on which
was the body of the sovereign whose
/ glory and responsibilities he had in
| herited. He did not see. or gave no
sign of seeing, the long ranks of sol
diers hedging back the populace about
/ him.
Appearance of Emperor William.
Beside King Edward rode Emperor
! William, his nephew and neighbour
The unique commanding figure Of the
German emperor could not for mo-
ment be mistaken. He looked every
inch a soldier and the commander OF
men.
On the kings left rode his brother.
the duke of Connaughy. a man Of sol
dierly appearance, almost uuuoticed
and unrecognized by the people.
Then followed a dazzling array Of
members of royal families, numbering
about 40 in all and riding three