The Washington herald., 1911-05-07
AMERICANSWILLSWARM
TOKING'S CORONATION
Fully 100000 Citizens of this Supposedly Demo-
p, cratic Land Will Go Over to Revel
in Royal Function.

/ 49, 1SOy -
Great Britain, Ireland. and the "Domin
ions beyond the Seas on June %, and
fully 100000 loyal Americans, most o.
| them descendants of men who fought Il
| throw or the yoke OF King George!
great great grandfather. are rushing
across the Atlantic to witness as much
| Of the pageant as may be seen from The
outside. and that, from the spectacular
point of view. will be we'll worth a triI
across the Atlantic.
Before going any further it may be a:
well to say right here that any one who
has not already made arrangements tc
go to the coronation should give up al
idea Of going. Every berth in every
transatlantic steamer Is booked until the
middle Of July, and any one who is going
with the hope Of seeing the King
crowned-that- is, of being physically
present In Westminster Abbey and with
his own mortal eyes watching the Arch
bishop Of Canterbury set the symbols OF
majesty upon the head and into the
hands Of George Wis doomed to disap-
pointment. Tickets to the Abbey cannot
be begged, bought, or stolen. Rank and
official position give certain persons a
right to invitations; these receive them
as a matter OF course and no one else
can receive them. Besides these. there
are a few, a very few. box seats reserved
for personal friends of the King and
Queen, and he who is not fortunate
enough to be one of the small group OF
their intimates can no more penetrate
that charmed circle than can one who
Is not a Freemason work his way into
the Grand Lodge.
Not more than fifty American-born per-
sons will see the King crowned, and
most Of these are women who have lost
their American birthright by marriage
with British noblemen.
What, then, will the others see? What
does the ragged street urcNn see of the
circus? The parade, Yes: they will see
the parade. There will be plenty OF op-
portunity for that. Professions will pass
through about thirty miles of streets, not
all on one day, but SO divided up that
scarcely any part of London town will
not have the opportunity to "see tho
King in his golden crown There will
be on coronation day the procession to
the Abbey and the procession from the
Abbey to Buckingham Palace, with the
king and Queen in the latter riding in
state, with their crowns upon their heads.
their coronation robes about their shoul-
ders, the orb and scepter in the Kings
hands: their gold and glass coach drawn
by cream-colored horses, ridden by pos
tilions in scarlet and gold coats, preced-
ed by heralds and pursuivants. escorted
by squadrons of Life Guards and fol-
lowed by all the great officers OF state
and the visiting kings and queens and
princes and ambassadors. Then there
will be the Kings state visit to the city
Of London. at which his heralds will
have to knock at the city gate and ask
the lord mayors permission for the King
to enter.
High Prices OF Seats.
These and other professions cost moth
ing to see. They are free to all the
world. You can go from New York or
Devils Lake, from Pekin or Timbuctoo.
and take your place anywhere in the
streets and stand and watch the show
60 by. Or. if you don't like the idea of
standing all day. packed like a Brooklyn
ite in a rush-hSur car-only without a
strap to hang to-you can hire a seat in
a window, or whole window. or a perch
on a roof overlooking the route Of the
than an orchestra chair at the opera on
a gala night. What it will cost it is too
early yet to predict. Seats have already
been sold at prices ranging from SIS to
sl25. and windows have already been
booked at $50 and $500 But before the
actual day arrives these prices may take
tumble, as they did when King Ed
ward was crowned, for it has been esti-
mated that there is room in the streets,
parks, and windows for 10.000.0C0 specta-
tors. So 1t is possible that those who
wait until a day or two before the pro-
cessions may get seats for IS or perhaps
for less. But they cannot be had at such
low figures now. and there is always a
possibility that those who wait may get
left and have to run their chances in the
street.
1t is these professions that the Ameri-
cans are going across to see. And, of
course, there will be gala performances
at the opera and the theaters. state balls,
banQuets, garden parties and levees at
the palace, with entertainments innu-
merable at the houses of British noble
men and rich American residents. The
possibility of sharing in this purely So
cial side Of the occasion depends entirely
upon ones personal acquaintance People
who. like Frederick Townsend Martin,
know everybody can go across knowing
that they will be asked to take part in
these festivities. People who know no
one in the great world must be content
to stand outside the tent and read about
it in the newspapers.
OF all people who are looking forward
to the coronation the Keepers of hotels,
and shops in London
are those who are preparing for it with
keenest anticipation. For them a coro-
nation Is harvest of gold. and corona
tions don't come often enough IN war