The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-03-26
CURTAIN AISER
TOTHE CORONATION
Great Memorial to Queen Vic
toria Will Be Unveiled
May IS.
PREPARING THE PROGRAM
Carpenters Already Taking
Scatfolding Down From
Great Monument.
THE PROGRAM
nY PHILLIP EVER EFT.

- 'iie . cay memorial to Queen Vic
toria in front or Buckingham Palace.
which is TO take place on May Is, will
act as curtain raiser to the maEnif
cent coronation festivities that have
already now put the staid old city OF
London into state of feverish excite
ment. \ small army or worEnen arc
already taking down the scaffolding
around the Victoria monument that
has for so long been an eyesore to tho
royCl residents at Buckingham, and
the Lord Chamberlain's department is
busy preparing the program Of the un-
VeiiIng which Will be conducted with
al the pomp of full state ceremony
owing to the presence Of the Kaiser
and kaiserin and their daughter. be-
SIDES every member OF the British
royal family, representatives Of all
european courts and the whole corps
diploma tque.
as the Kaiser and Kaserin will
stay a few days with King George ana 9
queen Mary, court ball may be given II
in honor Of Princess Victoria Louise
and there Will be a dramatic entertain
ment at the Royal Theatre in Drury
Lane on Wednesday, May II, which
Will be attended by tho whole court
and their royal and imperial guests
Now that the long period OF official
mourning Is over. English society
passes the threshold Of new era. but
what It's Influence Is to be- must ne
cessarily remain, for the moment,
matter OF speculation
1t is long since comparatiyely
young King and Queen have reigned
III England. The late King ana
Queen Alexandra were past the meri y
dian Of life when they came to the
throne. and their court and encourage
were chiefly composed of their con-
- n ttsn Etne. H. = a
had not only left the amusement OF
carly youth behind them, but whose
sons and daughters werc married and
had families of their own. Neverthe-
less, King Edward, who had at heart
the revival OF social activities IN the
| interests Of the community at large,
encouraged his greater subjects to
give the example In the matter of en-
tertainment, and himself attended balls
! and the like functions. in which ho
| could scarcely be supposed to find
| much personal diversion.
! In fact, his share Of such amusements
| was generally limited to the royal
lQuadrille. after which he retired to 3:
quiet rubber Of bridge. Unquestionablya
brilliant though 1t was. the Bucklng-
ham Palace environment was naturally
composed OF men and women of an
age more or less nearly approaching
that OF the soverctGns. Very young
people Of either sex had but little part
or lot therein, and BY the force of cir
cumstanccs they remained to a great
extent in the background during the
| last reign 1t Is on record that at
ball some five or six years ago the
majority OF the ladies present had at
| tanned to the dignity OF GRANDMOTHER
hood.
With the King and Queen very
| much younger than their predecessors
on the throne, more youthful atmos
phere Will certainly surround the
court than has been the case for some
time past Their Majesttes' personal
friends and the members Of their
household are for the most part very
| nearly Of an age with themselves, and
in two or three years time, when the
Prince OF Wales and his sister. Prin
cess Mary, arc old enough to partici-
pate in social Gaiettes. the Younger ele a
ment Will come TO the front In n way
! which has not been seen at the Eng
fish court since the days OF George
III. .6
Douglas NTawson. who accompanied
sir Ernest Shackleton on his Antarctic
expedition and shared It's greatest
dangers and successes is now In Lon
don completing arrangements for an
Australasian expedition to the South.
Scientific research and the discovery
OF commercial possibilities are It's main
objects. For this Mr.. Mawson Is excep-
tionally Well equipped. He is a grad.
uate in mining engineering, and when
he joined the Shackleton expedition he
was lecturer in mincralogy and PETROL
ogy at Adelaide University. z
.This is not South Pole expedi-
'tion." said Mr.. Mawson to me. What
we want to do IS to establish 2,4Oc
miles Of unknown coast line and fix It
on the map West OF Cape Adare to
~, n a 1T 10 o. Is
nedition's headquarters. and beyond 1t
the coast limo of the Antarctic conti-
mont is unknown. There may, however
be possibilities in 1t, and Australia +
should have the chance Of these
AIR. Mawson hopes to start in Mo-
vember and spend two summers and
one winter on the expedition. The
cost. Il is estimated. VIII be about
100000, and this sum is being raised
IN Australia. Thirty thousand dollars {
was subscribed in five days
In Bcrmondsey. within a stones
throw OF Tower Bridge. stands
church, IA crypt, whlon is charnei
house. Eight hundred moldering collins
are packed away In the crypt with 8
only thin layer OF earth above them.
and the clergy are now applying to the
local government hoard to have them
removed.
'"rhere may be anything up toS1,oo0
collins In tho crypt" said ono offthe
clergy to-day. mo one can say posi-
lively how many there are. Yon can
only estimate tho number. They are
packed away one above the other like
biscuits In tin. Al the top is a tain
/. layer OF earth. don't think thig ton
coating OF earth was more than foot D
in depth. aud now It Is little moro
substantial than a shrinking OF gravel
in places. The wooden collins have
long since moldcr.ng ay,and now tho
lead shells arc dropping to pieces, 81
NO hurials have taken place In the IS
crypt for the las. seventy years, I am
| told. II is most extraordinary thaEgS
| collins should ever have been buried
| in that fashion In the crypt,