The Washington herald., 1911-03-27

God save the King,
Guide him in HAPPINESS.
Guard him IN Storm and stress,
Then in Thy kingdom bless
And crown King
But FIVE verses of national anthem Is
quite enough, though in Chill they have
forty. in Siam, sixty-six. and in Uruguay,
seventy.
Special hymns and revised versions OF
the national anthem are making their
appearance. God Save Our Gracious
King has its prototype in the Agin-
court anthem. tie last verse of which
runs:
Now gracious God he King:
His people and all his well willing
Give him gond life. and good ending
That We with mIrth may safely sing
Dco Gr1uas. Anglia retde PRO victoria
Which is old English is a far better
affair than many of the wheezy efforts
OF to-day. Now that extra verses to
the national anthem are floating about.
one may be grateful for small improve
ments For the additional verses of a by
gone day were enough to kill loyalty
altogether. Take this. for instance,
whcrewith the Duke OF Clarence was
greeted when. as lord high admiral of
England, he took Louis XVIII across the
Channel:
God save noble Clarenr
Who brings her King TO Franr-
God save Clarence
He maintains the sl0y
~ the British navy.
o God. make him harry:
Cod save Carenc,-
One Of the most dreadful attempts at
fourth verse for the national anthem
was that given apparently in all good
faith In an old Hanoverian musical work
1t runs thus:
God cave Errst George or King:
Long live noble King;
God save the King
S<rd rs roast beef IN store
II its gone -erd Us spme mo-.
And the key Of the crllar dooc.
That We NAV drink.
The hostesses who are arranging coro-
nation balls are sufficiently numerous
One hears OF a royal ball at Devonshire
House. OF two at Stafford House. and OF
one at Londonderry House. The Duchess
NJ Norfolk. the Duchess Of Marlborough
the Duchess Of Westminster. the Duchess
Of Portland. and the Duchess OF Rutland
are among those who are arranging
dances which win be attended by men,
bers OF the royal family. Some difficulty
may he experienced in fixing the dates
Of these and other affairs. for. OF course,
hostesses will be anxious TO avoid clash
ing. When 1t is remembered that the
Warehouses OF Iansdowne, the Mar
chioness Of Salisbury. the Countess of
Derby. the Countess OF E!lesnlere. Wis
countess Iveagh. Lady Farquhar, not to
mention other society leaders. intend to
organize entertainments. and that the
various enlba SsteS will arrange dances,
II Will be seen that the problem OF ar
ranging suitable dates is a real one. But
hostesses who are anxious on this score
NAV console themselves with the thought
that the coronation festivities. so far as
society is concerned. will last several
weeks. and NAV even extend until grouse
shooting begins.
Extra ordinary sums are being asked for
the rents OF West End fats and houses
for the coronation season. and as an in
dication OF the high prices likely to be
obtained for good views of the process
sion. the occupier of house in st. James
street has let il to a wealthy American
who has contracted to pay 5000 for the
day. Two thousand five hundred to 5.0Oo
guineaS are being asked for the season
for houses about GroSveuor Square. In
Belgravia the prices range from 500 TO
100 guineas, and 800 guineas for the
larger houses. while in the Hyde Park
district. including Bayswater and Ken
sington, the rents are anything from 800
To 900 guineas, and similar rents are be-
ing asked for fats.
In the opinion OF one well-known agent.
these prices are altogether too excessive
and instead of good business being done,
there is the likelihood OF slump in
house letting unless there is a modera-
ton in the rents asked Fancy rents"
he said, will keep prospective tenants
to hotels, or keep them out OF London
altogether. And I might mention that
the supply of houses TO be let exceeds
the demand"
REFERRING to coronations of the past.
II is interesting to note that whereas
seats and rooms at the coronation of
Queen Victoria and King Edward
fetched anything from 500 to $4,000. in
the very early days seats formerly
could be had for as low as a farthing.
The earliest recorded price paid for
coronation seats was in the reign of
Edward I, when a few extravagant
sightseers are reported to have spent
a Ga coin equivalent to half a
farthing or a quarter OF a cent-for a
good place from which to view the
pageant At the coronation OF Ed
ward III a seat cost a halfpenny; Rich
ard III. a penny: Henry V, two pence.
and in Henry Wis reign the frequency
of coronations caused them to pail on
the public taste, with the result that
the price went down to a halfpenny. 1t
rose again with Edward " to two
pence, which was the standard price
until Henry VII, when 1t was a whole
groat. At Queen Elizabeth's corona
ton the charge was a tester, or six
pence; at James rs. shilling, and was
advanced to half a crown at the cor
onation of Charles II and James III.
At that of King William and Mary 1t
was a crown, and at Georges lis a
guinea, increasing slightly with each
successive reign until that of George
". FIANEUR-
Copyright, 1911. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndiote)