Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-06-25

position. Then the whole scene was
over 1t took but a few moments and
but for the general air of the House to
which l have alluded, the scene was
not impressive.
The House then went on with the
discussion of the education bill in it's
many details, somberly, but regularly
and prosaically as if nothing had oc-
CURED. But there was a certain life
lessness in it all, ana as is usual when
something tragic is in the air. the real
life of the House was in the lobbies
and not on the floor. The members
gathered in groups. King. Edward was
the one topic of conversation. There
was nothing but regret and sympathy,
the tragic elements of the case broke
down all barriers, and men only
thought of the suffering fellow man
stricken down at the moment when, if
ever, the hand of cruel fate ought to
have been stayed
The excitement was brought to a eli
max when report spread like wildfi-e
that the King was sinking. This was
soon followed by a report that His Males
ty was actually dead. \ shiver. as of the
passing Of the angel of death, passed over
everybody.
The place to so to at that moment for
the latest information was the House OF
Lords. The false report of King Ed
ward death came at 20 minutes past
O'Clock and at 40 the House of Lor is
began It's sitting. There was an unusual
ly full attendance and so many ladies
pressed for admission that they had to De
demonstrated with by the attendants. and
the poor things We're rather hustled.
Ihe peers mad to begin like the Com
mons, with some commonplace business,
the reading in dumb show of some trivial
ties, but this did not last long.
Lord Spencer is now the leader of the
Liberal party III the House of Lords: the
Earl of Kimberley is dead and Lord Rose
berry has retired. Lord Spencer used to
be regular Rufus, with red hair and
long, flowing red beard. He was called
the Red Larl' in the days when Ire
land was in the throes of the great strug-
gle of the Land League, but he has grown
gray with the years and, today, when he
arose he was pallid and evidently un-
a sentence and a half OF sympathy, after
the terse fashion of Englishmen
Lord Salisbury was more lengthy. IN
deed, to ten the truth, he appeared to
around for words and as if his usual fe-
icity of language had deserted him 1t
was not a very impressive scene. but it
was thought to be rather striking than
the scene in the House of Commons.
Here comes one of the little ironies of
life:
Tea on the terrace. one of London's
most fashionable gatherings, has been al
most abolished this year by the bad
weather. Today, the sun was blazing and
the ladies came out like butterflies after
a shower. Never was the terrace so
thronged, 50 gay and so tumultuous as
on this day of fright and grief There
was something mournful as well as strik-
ing in the scene and if anything Were
wanting to make it more mournful, it was
the gray bunting the Venetian masts and
the glaring colors of the decorations on
Westminster bridge which cuts the sky
line from the terrace.
The flags tapped Iazily in the sutry
air. the vast crowds passed slowly by
ana the huge and groaning busses stood
in rows of six and seven at time
THE tide Of life flows on strong and
tumutuous while the King is fighting
with death.