Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-05-15
'SI MINISTER ABBEY THRONGED
AT EASTERTIDE WAR SERVICES
sl and West Meet as
Brothers, Friends and AL
lIeh in Great Cathedral
<8mbre Black of Relatives
Of Victims Contrasts With
Colorful Uniforms
.Ffltteu EspeciaIly for EVENING Lsporn.
By ELLEN ADAIR

LONDON, April 2s.--It was a thousa nd
Ftafa ago that Easter sunlight first dawned
1'f the wallis Of Westminster Abbey. and
<1d4f another Easter Sunday has come
tfa gone In all those thousand years was
there ever more Impressive service than
@H1 wartime gathering of this morning i?
Aeeined as though all the peoples of the
ft'fh were congregated together in great
wave Of snpplication.
The crowds were hurrylng from all
H|f4ftiono--past the historic House of
Lords and this House of Commons to the
1nlfance at the north transept From West
Mestninster bridge, too, where 1t crosses
the wide sweep of the Thames the Worship
ptfe came. People of every nationality
and condition were thare-brown faces.
yellow faces. black faces. pale faces--and
AZ with the shadow of war upon them.
PICTURESQUE H1NDUs.
A company Of Hindu solders-brave lit
tI8 0urkhas Of the fereoious face and sunny
e,niieLstood outside n 10 Abbey. their relIg.
ion forbidding them to enter; but their
clrioalty drawing them to the very gates
And the crowds swept past them, on and
into the vast. dim building, 'sown with the
dust Of kings," where for a thousand years
The victories OF England have been cele-
bfated and the defeats of England have
been mourned.
Tho sun filtered through the stained glass
Vinfcue on n sea of bowed heads. Griz-
nied m fiors were kneeling below the flags
Of Aeincourt and the tattered banners of
~ Ware Of the Roses 1 saw four dusky
AZ icane marching UP the nave and won
defed II they knew that beneath their feet
was the grave Of Livingstone. the man who
gave his life for their country Beside
tho tomb Of Chaucer and the immortal
Spenssr was a company of keen;faced
Maoris from New ealand and with them,
also In uniform. were some Senegalese.
Wounded Belgians were directing them to
seats, and a. watched that queer crowd
Il struck me that at last had the East
and West really met together, brother
and friend.
In one pew sat line of Americans from
Harvard, Chicago and New York. who had
snlisted with the Canadians at the out
break OF war and who had all been
statue. 'LookT' whispered one. They've
got Lincoln here In our honorv' But II was
only Lord Beaconsfeld, whose chiseIed
features in the dim light bore remarkable
RESEMBLANCE to Americas Great Heart"
+ saw an old British general his uniform
covered with medals and orders, limp slow.
" along. His foot was bandaged and three
times he had to sit down and rest with
him was his orderly. who was beseeching
him not to undertake the ceremony.
fHushr' was the answer. Don't you
know there are six British generals buried
Il my, feet, and their ghosts will haunt me
Forever II 1 give In to a mere trlhing
wound" f...
IL was very strange scene At the
high altar knelt the finest fighters, of the
Niiek. admirals and generals and com.
nanders, side by side with the hurlblest
and the rawest of recruits. Glass and dis
anctfon were quite forgotten. The kings
ana queens OF England slumbered peace
fully on within their marble tombs q long
line Of them, dating back to King Sebert
81 the saxons, who died in 6l6
CHOIR BOYS CHANT.
~
ef triumph. THE fight is DER, the battle
aonp." sang the choir boys And ones
eyes fnvoluntarlly turned to the long line
or wounded officers and the still longer line
Of izhaki-clad figures whose fight WIS all
70 come. and whose battlefield still .ay be- |
fore them. There they were. Maoris and |
senagalese. Beers and British, French and |
Belgians. Canadians and Americans, Ser
bieun and "Anzacs'--all kneeling at the
high altar and taking communion before
Esturning to the fight Had Westminster in
I'll It's centuries ever seen finer or more
Impressive sight?
A long stream OF blinded officers and
men were waiting their turn patiently
Then came a number OF boysh-IoolinR
night leutenants, the golden eagle em-
nroidersd on the blue sleeve of their coat
= symbol OF their branch of service, their
faces tanned with sea-winds, and their
zyee with the keen look of men who must
yer be watching for death in the air.
The waiting crowd beside the choir was
Handing on the grave of Sir Isaac Newton.
Tor every step In Westminster Abbey COW
fa the burial-place of some celebrity The
zings lie above ground, inclosed in marble
emhs, and below is the dust of queens
nd princes.
Il was by tne grave of Queen Elizabeth
bat saw curious meeting take place
he Easter service was over, and the
rosgds were breaking up, when an Amer
sap Jcas and a wounded Frenchman came