Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-06-19

II is believed that the series OF ceIe-
monies and festivities which Will pc
gin in London a month from June 20
and will continue for several days Will
he the most elaborate within the mem
orv Of the present generation. IL
deed if is doubtful il even those
stupendous celebrations IN the Tar
distant mast. those fetes and banquets
which Theopnile Gautier declared
were SO gorgeous that people OF mod
ern timeh could form no idea or them'
were actually more elaborate than Will
he the ceremonies attending the coro-
nation of his Majesty Edward VII, by
the grace of God king OF the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
and of the British dominions beyond
the seas. king, defender Of the faith,
emperor of India.
It has sometimes been asked why
long period was allowed to elapse be-
tween the accession and coronation
of the king. AS a matter OF Iact'
he time available for the prepara-
tons for the coronation has been none
too great, and even at this hour
number of important matters are sui
unsettled. / lmost every detail IN
connection with the central ceremony,
the actual coronation in Westminster
abbey. has been ordered, but the Of
Hcials are still discussing the compo-
sition of the professions, which, SO
far as the public is concerned, Will be
the main feature of the coronation, LOT
the reason that they will be the only
feature which any appreciate proper
ton of his majesty's liege subjects,
not to speak of the many thousands
of foreigners expected in London, will
be able to witness.
The cost of the coronation is sub
ject on which it is impossible to speak
with any approach to exactitude. The
parliamentary grant is only a compar-
atively insignificant item in the total.
to it must be added the immense sums
to be expended in almost every town
in the United Kingdom with the ex-
cepticn of Ireland, of course) and in
every British colony; the large
amounts which private persons will
spend for philanthropic purposes; the
money which will come out of the
British exchequer in a thousand diff
ferent ways, but which will not be
credited to the coronation account;
the cost of the decorations all over the
empire, and the enormous amount
which those who take any part in the
ceremonies will be obliged to eXpend
for costumes and other purposes. The
good citizens of London hope to re-
coup themselves for the expense to
which they will be put by the contri-
buttons of strangers within their
gates; but, SO far as other persons are
concerned, the only return they can
hope for is, the consciousness of hav-
ing displayed their loyalty and, in a
very few cases, possible peerage, a
baronetcy or knighthood.
BY the way, though, there must be
added to this list of benefciaries the
English penny a-liner, who, at the
present time and for some time previ-
ously has been gathering in the har-
vest of his life. 1t is only necessary
for him to exercise a little ingenuity,
10 spend few hours at the British
museum or some other establishment
where there is a good collection of
historical books, and he is able to
turn out copy" by the yard which is
eagerly purchased by the London pa
pers. And afterward, like Oliver
Twist, they ask for more. There seems
absolutely no end to the number of
ATf1CIpS-1ll
to which the cornation gives rise. The
cost OF the coronation, honors to be
conferred in connection with the cere-
mony, historic customs to be followed
historic customs to be dispensed with.
coronations (good for a series in IL.
self, the history of peers coronets.
the evolution or the coronation cere-
mony- these are few titles. taken
at Radon, of articles which have re-
Gently appeared in London papers.
And the great British public reads
them all eagerly
Three Important Days.
The most important events IN con-
nection with the coronation Will take
place on June &c, q and %. On the
first of these days King Edward will
be crowned. The second day he will
make his royal progress through the
city of London, and the third day the
great naval review off Spithead is to
be held. Actually the coronation fetes
will begin in the middle of June, and
will not end till a fortnight after the
naval review. A large number of
elaborate entertainments are to be
held in London before and after the
ceremony in the abbey, and large
proportion of these entertainments
will be Of an official or semi-official
character. On June 16 King Edward is
to review large body of soldiers at
Aldershot, and even such an item of
news as this is placed by the London
newspapers under the head of The
Coronation, because the troops TO be
reviewed will nearly all be employed
in London for the coronation.
Then, after the central events. there
are such fixtures as the kings garden
party at Windsor castle on Monday.
June 30, at which the special corona
ton ENJOYS will be present, and the
coronation dinners to the poor of Lon
don, to be provided by his majesty,
on July 1t is expected that the last
named entertainment will prove one
OF the most interesting in the whole
series Of festivities. The dinners will
not all be given at one place. ex-
Perience of previous affairs of the