The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-02-02
Taken From Cowes to Portsmouth
With Accompaniment of Minute
Guns and Funeral Marches.
IMPOSING NAVAL PAGEANT
On the Royal Yacht Alberta the
Coffin Is Taken Through Walls
of Warships Ten Miles
Long.

London. Feb 2-Half million Of the late
Queens devoted subjects. lining the shores
of the Solcnt yesterday witnessed a ma
jestic and awe-inspiring pageant and ba lie
a last farewell TO their beloved ruier-hap-
py In the circumstance Of her death. SOW
ereign of the greatest nayal power in the
world. AMI fortunate in the manner If her
obsequies.
Yesterdays ceremonies were n lifting
tribute from "A ration owning Nelson for its
hero to its dead monarch. All who were
witnesses OF the function testify to the pro-
found emotion IL inspired and agree that
the spectacle could not have been surpassed
for splendcr and solemn effect.
The dominent note in the whole scene Was
its grand simplicity and. 20 far IS human
utterance was concerned. its silence. The
sad procession glided along IN beautiful or
der and precision. though moved by
some hidden power. No iacident of any
kind occurred 20 mar Its stately beauty.
There was no accident OF any sort lahore
or affuat.
With grand. yet mournful, display of
naval pomp and power. the body OF Queen
Victoria was borne this afternoon from its
quiet resting place in Osborne House to
Portsmouth. the heart OF England's navy.
Big Fleet In Mourning.
The half-hrndred red fighting ships thai
this afternoon fired their broadsides ant
minute guns were inferior In strength te
the force gathered i'm the same waters for
the jubilee celebration. but the lack of for
midableness was fully atoned for by the
solemnity Of this feet In mourning. over
the still waters, between the roll of the six
FOUNDERS came strains OF Chopins and
Beethovens funeral marches Inc crews,
accustomed To cheer with the heartiness
which belongs only to .jackies." stood ST.
lently along the decks. and the flags, which
usually float defiantly in the breeze. dropped
N fhA E.fv
The most powerful fleet England could
gather on short :-otice lay inert and silent
save for the mournful strains OF the bands
and the woefGl sound OF guns that betok-
ened neither peace nor war. but death. Past
these and past the Hohenzollern the huge
though cumbersome Camperdown, the Rod
ney and the Benbow. on through the line of
British battleships, all as powerful on paper
as the Oregon or Kentucky; still ON. till
world. was left astern, and the German
Baden was beam to beam with Vice Ad-
miral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson's
splendid flagship. the Majestic. of the Chan
mel Squadron. the naval funeral procession
slowly steamed. Ahead were eight destroy
err. and seldom have these speedy craft
drawn their long black hulls so sluggishly
through the water.
Coffin ON q Crimson Dais.
-Steaming leisureiy after them was the
royal yacht Alberta. haif-screened by the
awning on the poop. the royal coffin placed
on q crimson daty. the curtains OF which
were drawn back and tied to four poles.
leaving free TO view the magnificent casket
ahead. was the Trinity House yacht irene,
watching the course. while In the wake Cf
ans sne sI .s NE roEa yacht nrd
Alexandra, and the English royal family
the royal yacht Osborne. with other royal
personages; the imperial yacht H1henzol-
fern, with Emperor William. the Duke ard
Duchess Of Connaught and others; the Ad-
miralty Yacht lEnchautress. and a Trlnity
House yacht. with officials on Board
T.
cruisers were moored two and a half cables
apart, in one line. extending from Cowes
The Channel Fleet, under The command of
Vice Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Raw
son. formed the eastern portion, and the re-
serve fleet. under Rear Admiral Sir Garard
Henry Noel. formed the western portion.
The Line of WarshIps.
The foreign war vessels We're moored
of their arrival. and alongside of them were
moored eight British gunboats-the Ante
lope. Cleaner. Skipjack, Leda. Rattlesnake.
After leaving Trinity Pier the Alberta
with her attendant escort, steamed along
the deep channel between the coast of the
Isle of Wight and the single line Of battle
ships and cruisers.
The main line was as follows. beginning
at Cowes:
The Camperdown, Rodney. Benbow. COLI
ingwood. Colossus, Sans Pareil. Nile. Howe.
Melampus. Severn. Galatea. Bellcua. Pacto-
lIs Peicus biana HsS SonqHessr GIo5snt
Resolution. Jupiter, Hannibal. Mars. Piincs
George and Majestic.
Wafer Pa0ant Described. .
The pathway between the warships was
a quarter OF mile wide avenue of clear
water. Behind the lines OF warships hovered
a few yachts and channel steamers. Black
torpedo boats and torpedo-boat destroyers
were skirmishing about. and cfficers' gigs
and launches swarmed everywhere. Bugle
calls came over the waters. and gamdy
British ships we're also lighted with CLEANS
of the scarlet coats of the marines The
black ,r mn.zes s,. oi a tne @ mug s,r gnns swung
Through the whole length of the cnanreh
there were only a long double file of war
among them. For nearly three hours he
feet watched for the coming Of the funeral.
The officers on the bridges, In the most
soas snd medais scanned the CoWes shore
docks through their glasses. An occasional
burst OF sunshine showed tens of thousands
assembled to witness her last passage from
Cowes to Portsmouth,.
The Alberta starts.
shortly before o'clock a white smoke
ond later a report cracked over the harbor
and re-echoed to the hill, announcing the
starting Of the Alberta from Trinity Pier
down the line Each vessel OF the fleet was
firing minute guns. They all employed their
sides were siIhouettes Of hulls spars and
iron work. before backgrounds Of dense
gray smoke. The sound was that OF great
battle.
The funeral feet was Just well under
way, when II came abreast of The press
boat Eight torredo-boat destroyers crept
ahead. moving in pairs like silent Lail-
bearers marching before a ,hearse- They
were the Portsmouth Squadron, OF exactly
the same size, every Inch of hull and ma =
chinery painted dull black. with an Of
ficer standing like statue at each bow,
each of the crews aligned at Attention.
like sentries on their decks. Hardy a rip
pie came from their bows. their speed be-
Ing barely five knots.
The pairs of torpedo-boat destroyers were
about 100 yards apart, with four boat
iengths between stern and bows. Then. u
quarter of a mile behind. but seeming across
the royal yacht Alberta, the vessel on
which the eyes of the world may be said
TO have been ceutered. She was a common
place-lcoking little vessel. lying low in
the water. with a gflt-trimmed hull and
side-wheels protected by yellow paddle
formed in dark blue, alone. as motioness
as part OF the ship.
The Royal CatafaIquc.
The Union Jack was at the foremast, the
royal standard fell from halfway up me
mainmast and the naval. ensign traied
from her stern. The after-deck of the yacht
was rooted with white awning. and he
meath the awning. through glasses. could
be seen the catafalque Of royal purple and
Four officers in somber uniforms stood AZ
the four corners of the catafalque. with
their faces turned toward the ships. few
other persons could be seen clustered On
the Alberta's deck. As the funeral yacnt
moved slowly past the decks the warsnips
hnfr Tna-- xyssrs