A PAGEANT IN THE MAKING.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 135, 8 June 1911, Page 8

A PAGEANT IN THE MAKING.

FIRST EEHEABSAI.S AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE. AHUSISG EPISODES. DISTINGUISHED PERSONAGES PARTICIPATE. iFrom Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, April 28Fooli And children should never tee a h*U done thing i= a proverb that s«mnl apt and ipecially made lo lit the «xne at tiie Crystal Palace on Monevening, "hen We nm reuearsal «: * :_■_■ tageatni vi London touk place uaici the supervision oi Mr. trank Lasccliei, tie Master oi the Pageant. 1; i= always interesting "bemud the 6vea«," and the working of iiii=—to be 1:1 c bluest thing oi the kind ever at-Itnjp-.cd—was entertaining and amusing 10 a decree, and lull of lessons on sUeCtSilUi generalsnip. When it i≤ known that there are to be no less than nileen thousand performe:= altogether, and that all those fifteen tnousaJKl have to be drilled, for roles not always simple, something of the nature of the work to be go: through can be ira alined. Mr. Laseelles i≤ a very marvel oi patience, and his sense oi humour stands him in excellent stead —many a dangerou; and delicate episode breaking up in laushter that might- be far from it, but for ins appreciation of its funny side. Tins, on Monday, some oi the "proper-ii.-s"" not being available he, instead oi fcreping everyone -waiting, appointed human substitutes. "Will you kindly be an altar?" he politely asked a man ■α-aiting for his turn to conic on in a temple scene with which the paseant opens, and the advancing rows of priestesses, swinging imaginary censers, took the =ac :-uiu-1 altar seriously. and threw- themselves iieart and soul into their graceful duty, the altar meantime looking as impassive as he could. The last pageant that the wiiter saw rehearsed was the very antithesis of the Crystal Pa. :e essay, though a iamous ac-rress directed i; and few who -were bo; rioted aetre?«es tnok part in it. There, .instead of smiles and earnestness, tears, protestations, and obstinacy were the order of the day, and at least One player -whos? name is well-known all over the world, walked on to do her part with tat angry tears coursing down ler cheeks, and genuine sobs shaking ier pretty little frame. At the Crystal Palace one could not Tiut note that the Master, though he laughed when anything untoward occurred, allowed no otip to present slipshod work, sometimes ending people up a l r 'nsr flight of steps four or five times, but jic-rpT omitting praise when it was earned. NATURAL LOVELINESS. Tue beauty o: that part of the Palace gro:;uds where the Pageant is to be enacted will delight- the spectators, and make a peculiarly picturesque background ior the tableaux. There is a natural amphitheatre in one ■ oi the green valleys, and this has been - turned inio an irumence arena with great terraces of seats which command a perfect view of what is going on on ths '"stage."' Trees, dressed now in the de " Ecate hue of spring, form a background graceful paths lead to a long winding sheet _of water —to be utilized as tht Thames —flowina under an uld bridge, and over the tree-tops can be seen a magnificent panorama —the plains and woods of Kent and Surrey. It will be sad indeed it this gigantic effort does not save the dear old Palace from the auctioneer's hammer, for certainly its grounds and many other beau- . . ties should look at their loveliest when tie Festival of Empire is in full swing. The scene, on Monday, when some three or four hundred people went through their paces in the first foui scenes, was, perha.ps. to an onlooker more amusing than anything else, thougt a deal of good work was got through. The Master gives his instructions and Criticisms through a megaphone, and communicates through a lieutenant, witl

Jdis—t .av marts _i" the grounds—where " the performers -wait to come on— by " telephone. Altogether there are eight ' telephuaes feed to trees to be used in ' sending oh the various groups. Each * instruinent is named after old London " land————, as follows: —The Bridge, ' East Gate, Ludgate, North Gate, South " Gate, "West Gate, Upper River, Lower ] Eiver. l One <_ "the prettiest scenes in the early part of the pageant will undoubtedly be the arrival of Carausius, the victorious general, to sacrifice a stag, in thanks- , giving, upon the altar of Diana. Double lines ot" priestesses advance from the wide- steps of the temple on to . the green sward swinging censers and chanting sweetly: j "Oh lady of the silver bow, ' Whose shafts fly straight and far, i Gnide tho-j the shafts of Britain's fate, J in these hard days of war." . th--a return to the temple' to watch fcr the arrival of the triumphant Em- ' ptiur. His galley, a large open boat "* painied red and white, is seen at last, '' coming down the river, and lute players, ' men with torches, dancers, trumpeters, ' the Emperor's wife and children, advance ' to meet and gTeet him. 1 The Emperor turned out on close in- ! spection to be an overcoated Englishman in a bowler hat and with a silver-topped ' walking stick, the Empress, a tall woman "' in a dark coat and skirt and fashionable . cerise hat, who, after being wildly hal- ! lo'd for and found, had to be bidden, "Dear lady, be in time!" the oarsmen— , probably to be later clad in scant re-splemien-cy—now wore soft hats, hard " hats, grey, blue or black suits of modern \ cut and handled their oars with a some- j what d_i—ae _midity. "Cheer ladies, cheeV." the Master beseeched, and the air was rent with musical "•hurrahs" ot varying intensity. ' ~No, no, not hui-rah," protested Mr "Lascelles—"didn't have hurrahs in those days, probably, "Carausu—"—"CaTa'"Keep it going—keep it going" he "pegged, running round the advancing procession like a football referee, and many a maiden must have been truly thank-] fa] to sec- the stately Carausius alight : :-o_ "us chariot with his lady and olive braric_es, tiie signal for them to cease t-tc-:r cries of welcome. ■ As a matter of fact on Monday the tr.mnphal chariot was found to "have been mislaid, and only came to light i« its tvory and golden dignity, after the scene had »ome to an end." so the wae„ moustache, and rather portly ponad, with his spouse and "suite xo v.slk up the r ed gravelled path behind 2? bored -I«*H«_- white horses, their Wdked. Pthlga dra e^ n S as they

asciest: and modern. Down flocked the "priestesses," in coats and skins, princess gowns, cloaks, in black, white, heliotrope, red, blue, and green; with large hats and toques ot all descriptions; with and without gloves, and some with umbrellas and parasols; tie "priests" carrying torches in one hand, sticks in the other, to meet the victors who looked, in their city rigouts, rather like mourners at a funeral. The next scene was "The Restoration of London" by Alfred in the year SS(3. It takes place at Ludgate-hill. Alfred, who rides in State, accompanied by his Queer borne on a, litter, is attended by prelates and monks, crosses the bridge, and is presented with the keys of the city by the sheriff. Such is the scene as it will be. King Alfred, at the first rehearsal, after some argument with his charger, tumbled ungracefully off its back, and started to roll down the red path with such velocity that a man iwho should have known better) shouted delightedly from behind mc on the grandstand: —■ "Dunt stop him—don't >top him, and he'll roll into the Thames'." The kingly one. however, was caught and put aboard once more, and the rehearsal proceeded. One dazzling youth in correct, morning suit, top hat. spats and monocle, carrying a dainty cane in one hand, an important-looking despatch case in the other, and adorned (in the pageant) with an honoured Saxon name, flatly refused to kneel on the grass when he was bidden. "Oh. I say. you know. I really can't, you know."' he sniggered, but down he J had to go. using his despatch case to protect his smartly trousered knees. A white-haired old pallant. being presented to Alfred, created a deal of merriment by shaking his monarch firmly by the hand. then, trying to remember his part, bowing stiffly to His Majesty as to some chance, and not too reputable, r.n acquaintance in the street, raising his bowler hat meanwhile in salute. I Yet another aanisinj ep'sode oecurr°d when, through some mistake at the telephone, instead of -! legion of soldi'": advancing towards the area over ths bridge. a horde of brave* —v.ho bid without doubt practised th"ir truly military demeanour and victorious stride— appeared from one of the iiills. On explaining themselves to the astonished Mr. Lascelles he burst out Hugliirsr — ■'Oo back, go back." he s:\id. ''you're three hunderd years too soon!' . And back up the hill they all had to march, laughing as heartily as any at the accident. Among the principal players will be the Duke of Westminster as Henry V.. Lady Plymouth as "Queen Klizabeth." Lord Howard de Wald°n a= "The Black Prince." Sir Melrill and Lady Beachcroft as "The Priest and Priestess of Lud,"' Sir Thomas Robinson (AgentGeneral for Queensland I as ''Captain Cook." Miss Dorothy Smith I daughter of the Mayor of Cape Town) as "Peace" in the Masque of Empire. Lord Hill, Lady Donegall. Sir Roger Curtis, and Lady Regnart are also appearing: also Lady Jane Herbert. Lady Helen Cassel, and Sir William and Lady Russell, of New Zealand, who will probably appear in the Xew Zealand scene.