The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1901-02-09

Il IN 4 ~
Earl Roberts Monopolixe the At
tention of the Crowds.
London, Feb. 8. = England has paid
the last tribute to the dead queen.
With every circumstance of splendid
ponlp the body of Queen Victoria was
borne through the streets Of the capital
to the ancient fortress palace Of the
sovereigns Of England.
The day has been filled with the
mournful %pageantry of royal woe. The
gorgeous trappings4 Of military power
trailed behind the coffin of the dead
queen. Massed bands With nlutfled
drums hreathed requiem for he dead.
Deep-throated cannon Numbered out
sonorous grief, and big bells in ca
lthedral domes tolled off the minutes
while the cortege passed.
The transit of Victoria's ashes from
deathbed to tomb through the streets
of London was a thing apart, a specta-
Gle that even yet seems not quite Of
earth. It is easier to believe it a Won
derful dreamland allegory which typi-
fled
The Majexty of Death
and the submission of emperors and
kings to the last great Leveler.
Friday it was a tribute of Neptune;
Saturday it was q tribute of Mars.
Both could be commanded by the mere
sovereignty of clay On which the crown
and scepter rested in saturdays pro-
cession. But no government or human
authority could have commanded the
supreme tribute which Briton and
alien alike, the heart Of mankind itself,
paid to Victoria's memory.
1t is not surprising that amid the
monopolizing emotion of the day there
were only three figures in the funeral
procession that attracted the slightest
notice of the %on-looking masses. They
were,the king, who was as oblivious Of
the presence Of his myriad subjects as
if he were riding n a trance; the Ger
man emperor, whose face was the coll
or of the white horse which he rode,
and earl Roberts, the stern immovable
veteran of many campaigns.
Simplicity and Dignity
characterized also the last rite of all in
st. Georges Chapel. The scene and
the atmosphere became strangely
medieval when that iHustrious congre-
cation had assembled. The ceremony
was brief and simple, and when the
prayers were said and the king pro-
claimed according to the olden custom,
the dead was left by the assembled
representatives of the larger family Of
man to the last: ministrations of. her
own sons and daughters and Of her
children's children.
It was nearly IL o'clock when the
train from Portsmouth, bearing the re-
mains Of the dead queen, arrived at
Victoria station.
The coffin was removed to the gun
carriage, the pail and the regalia Of this
British crown were placed on the coffin.
The king ana the others mounted and
the procession started.
The little khaki-colored III carriage
! which carried the remains from Vic
toria to Paddingtor station was drawn
by eight Hanoverian c~ream-colored
horses, which drew the queen at the
jubilee.
The Funeral P~rocersion. (
The procession, apart from the gum
carriage bearing the coffin and the
royal family and official mourners
about it, was not noteworthy. Parlia-
ment, the judiciary and the commercial
bodies were not represented. Royalty,
the army and navy monopolized the
pageant-three thousand soldiers and
sailors, picked companies representing
all branches of the service.
Then came Field Marshal Earl Rob-
erts and his staff, and, after him, four
massed bands playing funeral marches.
Three hundred musicians announced
the coming of the body of the queen.
There was a long array of court Of
ficials under the leadership Of the duke
Of Norfolk (the earl marshaD, all at
tired quantity and brilliantly, bearing
men, who for years had served the
queen.
Most Of the spectators expected an
Imposing c%atafalque, and the coffin
was almost past before they
Recognized It's Presence
by removing their hats. It was q pa
thetically small oblong block concealed
beneath a rich pail of white satin, on
the coronets Of which cleaned the roy
al arms. Across the pail the royal
standard was draped and a large crown
of gold, encrusted with Jewels, rested
at the head OF the coffin, which was at
the end Of the gun-carriege, just over
the gun. On the foot Of the coffin were
two smaller crowns with a gold jeweled
scepter lying between them.
Around the the coffin, walked the
bearers. non-commissioned officers Of
the guards and household cavalry, and
on either side were the queens equer-
ries. lords in waiting and physicians.
Immediately after the company about
the coffin, three royal mourners rode
abreast. King Edward VII. was the
center figure. "A black chap .au, with q
plume Of white feathers was on his
head. and a long black cloak was butt
itoned around him and hung down Owe
the big, black horse. Reside King Ed
ward rode Emperor William. On the
kings left rode his brother, the duke Of
Connaught. In the second rank be-
hind rode two more sovereigns, the
kings Of Greece and Portugal. Then
followed
A Daxsline Array
Of members Of royal families. number
ing about forty In all and riding three
abreast.
The funeral procession occupied two
hours in passing from Victoria station
to Paddington. q distance Of three
miles. At Paddington the funeral party
boarded trains for Windsor. Here. as
elsewhere, the streets were jaIpEned
with people. The comm was taken from
the train and placed on . gun carriage