Evening star., 1902-08-23
ON CORONATION DAY
An American Girls impress
sions of the Sights.
CITY AWAKE AT 4:30
sPLENDoRs OF COURT PAGEANT
RY vIvIDLY DESCRIBED.
Contrasted With the Street Throngs
Gathered to Witness the
Fine Doings.
CITY AWAKE AT 4:30
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

LONDON, August 10, 1902.
Probably the most interesting day 1 have
ever spent was yesterday, the coronation
day of his majesty King Edward VII of
England and his most gracious and beau
tiful queen. Friday had been cold
cloudy day; every little while it would rain
In torrents, discouraging the thousands of
people who We're busily decorating the
streets and buildings. All feared for the
next day, when good weather would mean
SO much-ln fact everything. But It's the
kings own weather, miss" was heard on
all sides, for 1t seems that when the king
plans anything the people make ready for
bad weather, and, on the contrary, when
queen Victoria chose a day the people
heralded 1t as a fine one to look forward
to. The whole city was awakened at 80
by the royal salute of twenty-one guns. 1t
was just sunrise, and 1 went to my window
overlooking st. James Park and Bucking-
nam Palace, and there at that time were
waiting dozens Of people who had been
standing probably for hours to see the
royal family as they left the palace. At
$50 tand 1t was a perfect day. the troops
were forming in Wellington barracks be-
meath our windows, and the bands Of the
different regiments soon put an end to all
thoughts of sleep.
There were but few good seats in the
abbey besides the royal boxes and those
specially reserved for the diplomatic corps
and representatives from foreign countries,
and rather than be off in some wing, as
hundreds of others were, hearing nothing
AMI seeing absolutely nothing Of the cere-
mony, and only looking at a mass of home
ly peers and peeresSeS, we were delighted
to have splendid seats on the Whitehall
stand, within sight of the abbey, and right
In the front row, too, where we could see
everything going TO and from Westminster.
I,.i1Ii n +
sight. Each side of the wide street, as far
as we could see, were lined six deep the
home guards and colonial troops. The
scarlet coats and tall fur helmets of the
home guards, the gay turbans of the East
Indian troops, the picturesque troops of the
Scottish Highlanders in their kits, the
sunburnt troops just returned from South
Africa, in their rough suits of khaki; the
pig-tailed Chinese troops from the same
land, and. not least Interesting, the bare
footed, bushy-haired and darh-skinned
creatures from some of our islands, all
added a variety and a splendor to the scene
which no other nation in the world could
produce.
Flags floating and bunting everywhere,
and such masses of people-where did they
all come from? All so orderly and quiet.
One of the most pleasing things of this
great day was the total absence of fire.
crackers, and it was a blessing. At one end
of Victoria street stands a huge, ungainly
affair called The Canadian Arch 1t is
made of grains and the base is octagon in
shape. Pictures made of grain fill these
spaces, and it is just such as we often see
at country fairs etc, but these good people
have gone quite mad about 1t, and thousands
stand and gaze at it by the hour. Half way
up are large pictures Of the king and queen.
and on the opposite side are pictures of
Lord Kitchener and Lord Roberts. What
connection there was between this hideous
arch and the grandness of the coronation I
have been unable TO solve, but it has been
IL, +1l,-
in the past six weeks, thus using up the
Canadian wheat supply, but these people
now imagine that all of Canada Is perfect
garden spot, and that 1t furnishes the
bulk of the breadstuffs to England ard the
world. Under this frightful arch the royal
procession had to pass
All Ready Early.
People were requested to be in their seats
at 10 o'clock, and many were there hours
before, as It was most Interesting to watch
the gorgeous carriages pass to the abbey.
1t was no surprise, the gay coaches with
their powdered, "wigged" coachmen and
footmen In their velvet suits and long silk
stockings, and all the gay Outriders, etc,
were just as they always look on the pages
of picture books. l have cut hundreds of
them ont when I played paper dolls" and
l pinched myself TO see If l were awake
or dreaming it all. AT last the royal sa-
lutte, this time telling US that the process
sion had left Buckingham Palace and that
we would only have short time to wait.
First came the beautiful dress carriages
and pairs conveying the royal family and
the foreign royal princes, then the coach
with the Prince and Princess Of Wales.
Following came the dress carriages and
pairs conveying the household of their
majesties, and such cheering was given
when the kings sweet-faced nurses passed
on their way to the abbey, dressed In their
simple regulation gowns and caps.
Then followed the yeomanry, militia, In
dian troops. naval and marines, and after
these the escort of colonial cavalry escort
OF Indian cavalry and escort of the Royal
Horse Guards. Then the gorgeous state
coach carrying their majesties, the king
and queen. In an instant every one was
standing, and amid the waving of handker-
chiefs and the playing Of God Save the
King the king and queen passed on their
way to the abbey, both bowling most gra-
ciously. Two expressions were heard on all
sides, How well he looks,'' How beautiful
she Isl This coach is the most wonderful
in the history of empires and was built es-
pecially for the coronation of the extrava-
giant King George w, whose coronation was
the most costly in the history of England.
costing more than double the sum of Queen
Victoria's coronation and nearly one hun
dred thousand pounds more than the coro-
nation of King Edward VIE The coach is
massive gold affair, the whole sides made
of clearest crystal. 1t was drawn by the
eight cream ponies In their elaborate trap
pings so associated with queen Victoria and
her days of splendor.
The Royal Robes.
The king and queen both wore their royal
robes of purple and the king a velvet can
trimmed with ermine.a The queen wore no
jewels but her famous pearl earrings and
rope of pearls around her throat, and no
ornaments of any kind were worn in her
hair. which was dressed very high. She
was beautiful far mere beautiful than
had dreamed she would be.
Now came the long wait during the tire
some ceremony at the abbey. It went
slowly enough for US, but what of those
poor troops who had been standing in ner-
feet columns since very early morning? II
was a very cool day. still, hundreds of neo
pie tainted from fatigue, and the hospital
corps men had their hands full attending
to the demands upon them. Every one
waited almost breath!essly for the guns at
1915 which would proclaim to the world
that the king had been crowned Minutes
flew past, and people everywhere were won
dering at the cause of the delay. Eyery-
where were anxious looks, but at forty
minutes past II the guns sounded and all
the world knew that Edward VII, by the
grace of God. of the united kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, and of all the
Pritish do-oipions havopd. tho 80.