The Washington herald., 1911-06-25

ness Of the color scheme, which was re-
lieved only slightly by a few ships in
brighter paint than the dull grays and
drabs covering all Of the British and
most Of the vessels Of other NATIONS The
observation craft steamed slowly through
the highways of steel during the morn
ing, the passengers cheering and bring
ing the crews to the rails TO reply to
salutations with answering cheers. The
, heartiest were given for and returned
by the D'Anton's Frenchmen, the Kur-
ema's japanese, and the Marcos Italians,
although there was a constant salvo
from the British ships.
The Delaware attracted most general
attention, her unique military masts iden-
tifying her Immediately without the ne
cessity Of reference to the Stars and
Stripes Haunting proudly over her deck.
Easily the Center of Interest.
On every side there were remarks such
as There's that Yankee; mighty boat
that, looks every inch a fighter. More
powerful than our Neptune. Wonder
how long 1t would take her to smash the
Kaisers Wonderland
As the day wore on 1t increased in
beauty, and the picture of the armada
began to glow with color. The British
ers broke out white flags with a blue
cross, signifying the beginning of. re-
ligious services for the invocation of q
blessing upon the pageant. Wigwag-
gers appeared on every deck, until the
spreading armada was agleam with
brightness like flashing searchlights. The
wooded shores and the gentle slopes of
Wight and the mainland furnished a
frame soft as green plush for the league
long masterpiece.
The King and Queen and the royal
and other distinguished guests did not
depart from London until 10 o'clock, SO
there was ample time for the tens OF
thousands to study the details OF the
picture.
Baptized in Battle Blood.
They saw the Russian cruiser Rosa,
which was the only ship Of that vast
assemblage ever baptized with battle
blood. having figured in the war be-
tween Russia and Japan. She was
swinging at anchor next to the Japanese
Kurama. Japan also had the cruiser
Tone, being the only nation to have two
representatives present. China's Hal
Chi flew a great yellow ensign sporting
a blue dragon over q rakish-looking deck.
The Dreadnought lane was the Fifth
avenue of this war ship colony. Here
lay Germany's Vondertann, which was
scrutinized intently, perhaps anxiously,
by every Englishman attending the re-
view. Her clear-cut decks, the absence
of top hamper. and the general appear
ance also OF a pugilist ready to enter
the ring compelled admiration even from
the solicitous Britishers. Another smart
warrior was the Austrian Rodetsky, in
a suit of olive brown-the dandy OF the
review.
prho a,-t1,aI ~ tha LYtn- .La-t,,, -.
fore 1 o'clock. was announced by can
non from Nelson's old flagship, the Vic
tory. AS the reverberation echoed over
the Solent, every ship of the armada
-blossomed out as II by magic with flags
OF every hue. The breeze flaunted mill
lions OF pinions contained in dressing
ships, Transforming the picture from
neutral tints to gorgeous tones. The
waters Of the Solent were dancing with
sun-gleaming whitecaps, but the roll Of
the sea was not sufficient to disturb the
war craft, though the torpedo boats
end destroyers rocked drunkenly and the
smaller observation craft were tumbling.
Boom Out Royal Salute.
His majesty was received by Admiral
Sir Arthur Moore and staff. and escorted
aboard the royal yacht Victoria Albert,
which broke out the royal standard.
Promptly two torpedo boat scouts nosed
into the lane, showing the path to the
four yachts participating in the review
AS the King. standing on the bridge
in the uniform OF an admiral. came
abreast of the first war ship the latter's
guns doomed a royal salute. The first
crash was the signal for all the ships
to take up the deafening acclaim In
stantly the quiet prevailing the moment
before was followed by peal on peal like
Olympian thunder, which hurled against
the shores CT either side Of the Solent
and was hurled back again TO the ar
mada In fact. the waters were covered
by q smoke pail which. raising, revealed
The royal yacht advancing Enthusiastically.