Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-27

Il res ~ III IeLHiha bO
king and of the queen and the brilliant ball that attends
the ceremony. Since the house of Ak-sar-Ben has reigned over the
land thirteen monarchs have been crowned and thirteen OF the FAIR
est daughters have been led to the throne amid the plaudits of thou
sands of loyal subjects. 1t is a ceremony of surprising brlliancy
and from every quarter Of the kingdom the knights and their ladies
come to do homage to the newly crowned king and queen and to par
ueipate in the revery.
The grim old Den. the Mecca of thousands of knights who each
year pledge their allegiance to the king and that has been M scene
of UNRELIABLE tests Of courage and endurance, is transformed into a
veritable fairyland where thousands of lights, red, yellow. green and
white combine with trailing vines flowers bunting and spiashins
fountains, music and a handsomely costumed throng In a scene OF
surprising briliancy never to be forgotten by those who have been
privileged to look upon it, and that each year takes on some fresh
beauty. The great rafers and beams overhead that, unadorned,
seem impossible obstacles to anything pertaining to the ornate are
made the supports for arches of brilliant lights below which mynads
of bulbs glowing with the tri-color of the king subdue their briniancy
and shed a soft light over the multitude below.
At the north end of the great arena is raised the royal throne,
approached by a fight of broad steps carpeed with crimson velvet
Al either side of this approach, well above the heads of the assem-
blage; but still below the throne, is reserved a place for the ladies
in waiting to the queen and the ladies of the court, while at the south
end rises the platform where the kings musicians contribute their
share TO the occasion. And all about the sides of the great building
the galleries extend from the floor to the very base OF the brilliantly
illuminated arches overhead. Amid such a setting the coronation
and the ball take place.
To be called to share the throne with King Ak-sar-Ben is the
greatest honor that can come to a daughter of ouivera, S coveted
is the honor, in fact that every year 1t is whispered daughters of the
most noble families of the realm wait with huttering hearts for the
possible summons from Samson, chamberlain to the king. until the
time is past for such bidding. Then they can only wait on until the
king in his owl good time shall make known the identity of his
choice, 70. it is the pleasure of the king to guard this secret so jeal-
ously that even tho fortunate one herself dare not tell upon whom
has fallen his royal favor. 1t is also the pleasure of the king to
choose his consort from among the younger maidens, those who have
known nothing of the world outside their fathers homes and the
school room. This has not always been so, but 1t has been most fire.
quenty so. those who dare to speculate have come to cast their eyes
among the debutantes, or, rather, those maidens who will be debu-
tantes, for out of Difference to his majesty formal presentation of
these daughters is always deferred until after the coronation.
Next to the honor of being chosen queen is the privilege of serv-
ing as a special maid" to her majesty, and with these honors Sam
son is wont to console and to delight eight young women. AS the
identity OF the queen is never made known until she ascends the
steps of the throne, where the multitude may see her face for them
selves, It is the custom TO appoint nine young women to serve as
special maids to the queen, and one of these nine-no one may
guess which one-is the queen. This leaves an even number of
special attendants, and to contribute one OF the most effective
features to the coronation ceremony. The summons that Samson
issues to these fortunate ones is ever priced as a souvenir and, be-
sides this. when the ceremony is over, each young woman is pre-
sented another valuable souvenir.
And then there III the other maidens and the ladies in waiting
and the ladies OF the court. who are hidden from every quarter of
the realm. These, too, are among the especially honored, for they
are feted and dined by the good knights and ladies of the capital
city during their entire stay and are privileged to occupy places of
honor during the coronation ceremony.