The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-11
A PAIL OF GLOOM
OPPRESSIVE CEREMONIES OVER
BODY OF EMPRESS.
SCENE OF DEEP S0LEMNlTY.
COFFIN BORNE FROM THE PALACE
TO THE CHURCH.

nv the Light of Wierdly Pickering
rorches the Procession Moved
Slo1vIy Between Tiles of Empress
own RegIment, the Kaiser Pacing
with solemn Tread Behind the
Coffin which Shrouded His Moth
.r,s ISemains-PoIice Regulations
of the Most Drastic.
cronberg, Aug. 10.--The church bells
so,e been toiling throughout the day.
The Empress, the Crown Prince and
othar princes drove over from HON.
burg this morning and were present at
the reading of prayers by the Bishop
of Ripon at the side of the coffin of
tbe Dowager Empress. A requiem SER
vice was held in the old Catholic
Church. Bishop Eckerlwing eloquentlY,
discoursed on the virtues of the de-
ceased. All the italian workmen at
Cronberg have been sent to Frankfort
or have been ordered to leave their
residences. The military and police reg
ulations are of the most drastic ma
tpre and the facilities of newspaper
correspondents are much curtailed.
All day long the heat was intense.
From o'clock this afternoon car
riages and vehicles of every descrip-
ton came streaming into the town,
bringing sightseers from Homburg,
Frankfort, Nauheim and the country
for miles around. Mingling with the
soldiers, detectives and workmen en-
- - o,oot;n.r ,,,orrpiror Yoasts OnA
found a motley gathering intent upon
seeking points of vantage from which
to view the funeral procession.
From s O'Clock this morning the
military held the streets and none but
most privileged few We're permitted
along the route to be taken by the
cortege At the bend where the road
reaches the old part of the town is
great arch with green bows and pill
lars, the support of which is four i'm
mense wierd torches.
A Wierd Sight.
Punctually at $50 o'clock tonight
the far off sound of muffled drums and
the will l-O'-the- -whisp like twinKling OF
torches through the distant trees told
the people OIL OIOllBtiS lilclI tlAC PAC-
cession had left Friedrichshof. AS the
glare of the uplifted torches drew near
er down the winding road it revealed
long, black, massive line on the
shoulders of a dozen soldiers. Then
another flare revealed the we'll known
figure of the Emperor pacing with SOM
bre tread just behind the coffin. 1t was
a wierd wonderful sight, appearing for
a moment and then dissolving under
the flaring torches, while on each side
Tor a mile along the road were revealed
the glttering bayonetS and helmets OF
the Eightieth regiment of the line, OF
which the dead Dowager Empress was
colonel-in-chief. The deep, muftted roll
Of the drums added to the solemnity of
the scene.
AS the precincts of the old medieval
town were reached the scene seemed
even more mystical Behind the EN-
peror followed the royal family, save
the ladies', none of whom was In the
procession. Within the dimly lighted
church four officers, with drawn sa-
bres, stood as guard of honor within
the chancel. The coffin was borne ST.
lently down the aisle and deposited be-
tween the guards beneath a cruclfix.
The royal mourners followed. The
Emperor, advancing to the head of the
DR. Dryander, the court chaplain, spoke
few simple words 1t was an inn
pressive scene. The flickering of the
renaissance candelabra cast grotesque
shadows upon the tesselated floor,
flashed here and there from the drawn
steel of the military guard and inter-
mttently revealed and obscured the
Romanesque tracery and bas-relief
work of the Italian ceiling, which are
tne most striking features of the
quaint old fifteenth century church.
Scene Intensely Dramatic.
Following the chaplains addres in
the deathlike stiffness the Emperor
stepped forward and deposited mag
alhcent wreath upon the coffin. His
Majesty stood a moment motionless,
then dropped upon his knees by the
side of his mothers body. The whole
congregation followed and five min
utes was devoted to silent prayer. 1t
was an intensely dramatic scene. the
more so because of its great simplicity.
Not a breath broke the stiffness of the
cnurch, not a sabre quivered among the
sIdtuesque figures of the guard until
He emperor rose, a marshars baton
~ MS hand, and silently left the church
'OIoWed by the chief mouners.
Ihen sounded the clash of side arms
a. the escort without spoken word of
SUHlhand, closed up around the car
.ldges and the party was driven back
W Friedrichshof. leaving the coffin to
.ySt throughout the night between its
SHe1t guardians beneath the dim light
VI The glittering candles.