TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 11876, 25 April 1904, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The recent announcement An Ancient by Lord Balcarres in tho Sanctum. House of Commons that the Chapel of the Pyx, beneath Westminater Abbey, was to be opened to the public, under conditions, was needed to remind some, and inform others, that such a place was in existence. The mysterious chamber referred to has been guarded with the most jealous and absolute exclusion since the time of the Norman conquest. Sir Gilbert Scott records that before he could gain admission he had to obtain the permission of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of the Treasury, and to be accompanied by their representatives, who, with seven mighty keys, solemnly undid the seven cumbrous locks that secured the massive iron door. The Chapel of the Pyx was formerly the Royal treasury, but in modern times the "Pyx," or chest, has contained nothing more valuable than the various standards of tho coins and measures of the realm. To the "Pyx" used to be sent for safe custody the most sacred treasures, historic relics, and memorials, some of which went back to the foundation of the kingdom. There found sanctuary the Regalia of the Saxon Kings, Athelston's sword, the Holy Cross of Holy wood, the ampulla of Henry IT., besides "the jewelled crowns, cups of State, and precious vessels acquired by the Norman and Plantagenet Kings. But what imparted the most inviolable sanctity to the crypt was the fact that there were deposited the bones of Edward the Confessor. In spite, however, of the protection afforded by those hallowed remains, and the ponderous iron door, the Chapel of the Pyx was, in 1303, the scene of one of the most triumphant burglaries record* ed in history. The Treasury was at the time unusually well stocked, containing, in addition to a vast amount of valuables, £100,000 laid up by the King, Edward 1., for his Scottish campaign, a sum equal to at least a million sterling now. All this cash, with many bags of jewels and precious vessels, golden dishes and spoons, images and crucifixes, rings and brooches, regal crowns and jewelled girdles, was carried away and variously "planted," mostly in graves. The leading spirit in this colossal sacrilege, John de Podelicok, made no attempt to incriminate anybody else, but as it took him, on his own confession, four months of nightly toil to cut through the massive stone wall, there was evidently a wide conspiracy. Some of his confederates confessed, and many were caught in actual possession of the spoil, much of which was ultimately recovered. Suspicion fell upon

the mc "is, and the entire lay staff of the Abbey and a number of others were committed to the Tower. Podelicok and two of Ids chief accompHces were hanged, "most likely," says one authority, "with the pleasing additions to hanging which prolonged the ceremony, and gave it greater importance." Thenceforward, though the Regalia continued to be kept in the Chapel of the Pyx, the national caah was deposited elsewhere. A special correspondent Fugitives of . the London "Telefrom graph" gives a graphic Port Arthur, account of the flight ..f women and children from Port Arthur and Dalny by order of Admiral Alexit-ff, a few hours' efter Admiral Togo had delivered his first destructive attack. Two trains left the same day crammed with a total of 2000 souls, almost exclusively tiro wives and children of the officers and m<n of the garrison and fleet, and a great number of them had to be content with accommodation in the ordinary covered trucks us*» 4 for the transport of troops. Through Manchuria the journey was comparatively endurable, the fugitives having the sympathy and assistance of their compatriots at the various stopping places on the route. But at the Khingan mountains station "this mass of frail humanity had to change into the very inferior accommodation of the Trans-Baikal railway—-no food to be got along the line, hardly any water, no milk, and 600 children of all ages, huddling together for warmth and crying with misery and hunger." Five days were spent to cover the 750 miles from the Manchurian fronties to Lake Baikal, with nothing to distract their attention from their own misery but an interminable succession of troop trains hurrying to the Far East, shunted to allow the trains of fugitives to pass. At Lake Baikal this "pitiful freight of women and children turned out of their trucks and carriages for the first time for five weary days, to face the dread crossing of the frozen lake." They were driven across in troikas —three-horse sledges—the operation requiring five hours. Then came another entrainment for Irkutsk, where many stopped for a day's respite from the nerve-shattering experience of the ten days in the crowded train, and to get the luxury of a wash,-a decent meal, and a few hours' comfortable sleep. At Irkutsk the special arrangements made trains with the unfortunate-women and children eeem to have ended, and those who went on were left to ehift- for themselves. The correspondent who interviewed some of the fugitives on their. arrival at Moscow learned among other things that "up to tho very minute when the first stroke of" war fell," the feeling in Port Arthur was one of perfect security in the all-round superiority of Russia, the Japanese being spoken of with contempt and pity as poor misguided beings, devoted to the slaughter. On the fateful night when Admiral Togo hurled his thunderbolts the senior officers of the fleet) were attending a banquet given by the Admiral's wife, and it was believed that the Japanese kjfw all about this function, and timed their attack accordingly. ~ ■. * Bendigo papers bring acBendigo'a counts of this year's great Flower charity carnival, which ap-" Fete. pears to have even excelled previous example* of originality and splendour. It is of this town that a schoolboy once made record in on essay, "Bendigo produces Easter Fairs in large quantities, and it also produce* gold." The floral effect, seem really calculated to impress more than the youthful mind. This year the flowers need were chiefly dahlias, and to meet the 'demand supplies had to be obtained in almost phenomenal quantities from. Melbourne, Ballomt, and other places in the State. One of the Fire Brigade exhibit* was a representation of the Japanese warship H.M.S. Mikado. This wa» enriched with 80-ton guns worked out completely in flowers, some of which measured five and six inches in diameter. The boat was manned by youths dressed as Japanese naval men; the funnels emitted volume* of smoke to produce a more realistic effect; while to demonstrate the local sympathies, the stuffed fignre of a bear, as emblematical of Russia, was seen chained to the stern of the vessel. Another notable exhibit was a floral version of the famous Tower Bridge in London. Here, we are told "dahlias of variegated hues made a solid mass of colour that was indeed charming, and also provided a striking contrast to the gilded pillar* of the Tower." Amongst polititcal tableaux, the proposed importation of Chinese into the Transvaal was eodly illustrated by a Chinese miner sitting in undisturbed possession of a model mine, while two English soldiers questioned significantly (in dahlias) "_» this what we fought for in South Africa?" But probably the most popular scene was that called "Just in time," which ehowed two little girls in a floral cottage, supposed to hove caught fir©—the brigade, of course, arriving to save the children from the impending death. This dramatic episode must have been contrived a trifle too realiaticallv; for during the torchlight procession at night the design was found to be actually on fire, and the little actors had to he hurriedly rescued in fact, and fortunately unhurt.