WHAT AN AUSTRALIAN SAW IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14111, 2 August 1911, Page 10

WHAT AN AUSTRALIAN SAW IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

(By W. H. Frrcrarr, 8.A., LL.D., Author of "Deeds that Won the Empire.")

AN IMPRESSIONIST VIEW OF THE CORONATION.

■ spectacle. Each peer, as he came in, carried with anxious care his own coronet, and in not a few cases the owner seemed, when he sat down, not to know what to do with it; whether to put it under his chair like a hat or carry it on his knee liko a baby. t THE FEMININE SIDE OF IT. n It was tho feminine half of the great n mass, however, which gave to it that d ! look of vivid grace and splendour of g I artistic colouring which it possessed. fl | Tho lines of flowing silk, generally of | some soft tint, fawn coloured, or '• ("frey —gavo a curious aspect of softness .- to the great slopes of human* figures o j rising in nave and transept. In the Q i Peeresses' gallery tho triple low white feathers which nearly all wore, and the long white gloves gave a snow-like d effect to the whole slope. Every-where e| ran tho lines of fair brows and of fair it faces. Everywhere, too, there was tho n j flash of jewels—the white fire of the 0 i diamond, the r,ed flame of the ruby, the whito softness of pearls, tho gleam of 0 gold on breast and wrist —until it s seemed as though some rainbow had o fallen upon the slopes of living figures, i- and all the prismatic colours were scati# tered in tiny, broken points among them. That aspect of rich manycoloured beauty in tho old Abbey steadily deepened as the crowds grew, v and tho seats were filled; until transepts and nave and choir all seemed 0 so many sloping parterres of flowers. Later when all tho actors in the great ' function—bishops and heralds, knights 0 and chamberlains _reat ladies with e> j their train-bearers and nobles with >& their coronets —moved with stately a steps, with a sort of sacerdotal slowness towards the great altar, the spoc- ' taclo for what may be called pomp of 1 colour and splendour of setting could a hardly bo surpassed. s And this was in every scnso fitting. . "A great Empire and little minds," says Burke, "go ill together." A magnificent fact ought to be expressed in magnificent symbols. Tho crowned >■ ruler of more than one-fourth of the I human race, as he passes to his throne 5 ought to bo encompassed with" all the splendour that art can plan, or skill j contrive or money buy. John Bull is 1 ; usually described as being of tho sober i heavy-footeel type. Ho is hardly ox- ; pected to shine in tho realm of art. But the genius that builds a great Empiro can when need arises, find ade- . quate artistic expression for tho Em--1 pire. And in the Abboy function this ■ wais done nothing 10-s than majestically. ■ I Certainly the scale and splendour ot . | the scene would have delighted any ■ i Australian or New Zealander. The ! Australian, liko the New Zealander, has J the quality of youth, with its quick sus--1 ceptibilities, fts frank ardours, its joy lin braveries of dress and bearing, lie > lovea splendour, although he does not sco much of it at home- And when for a moment—as in the great function in the Abbey—the heavy-footed Empire ■ breaks into such a glory of colour, it . seems, to a good Australian, at least, . most fit. Ho sees in it tho pride of a , great race, and the strength and wealth of a great Empire, reporting themselves, in concrete terms, to tho very senses of men. GREAT MOMENIS. But what were the most thrilling moments in the great function The first, perhaps, was when, faint and low, and with a curious sense of distance, came the sound of a hymn. It was Luther's hymn "Em Festo Burg." They were "consecrating" the regalia. The crown, the sceptre, the swords of Justice and Mercy, the orb with its cross, the ivory rod with its 1 dove were being placed on the altar. They were presently taken off again, whilo with the sound of silver trumpets , running through the melody, tlio choir sang "O God our Help in Ages Past," to the old familiar tune known as St. Ann's. And thoso two tunes ran in silver threads through tho whole musical scheme of tho Coronation, breaking out in unexpected places, and to unexpected accompaniments; but always the instructed ear welcomed them with delight. Tt was a thrilling moment, again, when, preceded by a fanfare of trumpets and a brazen rattle of kettle drums, and attended with rejoicing music, there caino tho procession of royal representatives and guests and their suites. All the thrones of Europe, great and small, were represented in that stately procession of shining figures; from the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, to tho heir presumptive of Siam and Prince Tsai Chen of China. Amongst these, and not the least striking figure, walked the Hon. John Hays Hammond, the representative of President Taft. This was the .Mr Hammond who took part in tho Jameson raid and was temporarily sentenced to death as a result. Life has strange alternations, but the transitnon from tho condemned cell at Pretoria to the Coronation scene as tho representative of tho great Anglo-Saxon Republic, is a very long stop indeed. In the procession, again, walked Prince Henry of Prussia, who might be described as the creator of tho new German navy; a little after him came the dark face of Prince Kasia of Ethiopia. No wonder each link in this picturesque human chain was watched with breathless interest. The entry, preceded by another fanfare of trumpets, of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princsses of tho blood royal was for the feminine half of the spectators not the least thrilling moment in tho whole function. Here came all the great ladies of tho Court, each with her train homo by maids of honour, and coronet carried by some red-coated soldier. It was curious to note the fixed and sudden attention with which every woman in the audience gazed on each gorgeous .figure as it passed. She was noting and assessing every detail of dress and jewel.of Jook and manner. And tho great ladies were conscious of that keen scrutiny, for women dress— not for men, but for other women. Presently, to still louder blast- of silver trumpets, came her Majesty the I Queen, with her household. * The Queen's train was borne by a cluster of stately dames; on either side was a gen-tleman-at-arms ; then there followed the ladies of tho Royal Household, a cluster of heralds, etc. The whole group defiled, with stately slowness, to the right hand side of the altar, and stood waiting for the King. At that moment the wholo scono was staged with perfect skill. At the altar stood the Archbishop of Canterbury. On his right were the bishops, a double line of stately figures in 6carlet and white. On the opposite side stood the Queen and her household. Tho Queen herself was the central and most striking figure of the group. Strong masculine faces were on either

(WRITTEN FOB " THE FKESS.")

Tt is not a little thing, but a great and memorable thing, to havo been in London on Coronation day and on tho days immediately preceding and following it. The present writer has seen nearly all the great cities of the world, and seen them in many moods, but he has not yet seen one which compares with London at this precißo juncture. It was as though some strong wine were burning in every drop of the great city's blood. And the .Briton takes such an experience in a fashion of his own. Ho does not effervesce into oratory, as Frenchmen do. He does not organise himself into vast processions, and blossom into flags and symbols as the Americans do. But tho general pace of his life is quickened. . He grows warmly hospitable. He loses his solitary habit. And in such a mood a city like London crystallises easily into vast cjrowds. They make their appearance in any neighbourhood and on any pretext. On Coronation day, some 60,000 troops, to say nothing of 20,000 police, were in the capital. Tho parks were turned into miles of tents; and, as the soldiers went off duty, they betook themselves into tho streets, and crowds of the city were everywhere pricked, as with moving points of flame, with the red uniform of the troops. Horace Walpolo, writing of the London of his day at a similar time, said "This century ought to be called the century of crowds." But ho never saw or - imagined such crowds as thoso London saw during Coronation week. And the vastness is almost less noticeable than their good temper, their obedience to order, the respect of each struggling and much squeezed human atom to all the other atoms being squeezed about him. It is a sober truth that no crowds of exactly the scale and quality of theso London crowds have ever gathered before in history. Rome never saw such crowds, or Paris, or Berlin. Thero may have been crowds of equal scale, but these London crowds are a. replica in little of the whole world. Men of every race and speech and clime are here; and, they are not here as spectators and foreigners, but as , fellow-citizens. And when before in history did the free citizenship of a single Empire sweep round in curves so vast, or include such diversities of type? This was perhaps the profoundest significance of the great function in Westminster Abbey. In that one golden hour the Abbey was the centre and heart of London. London was the nerve centre of tho British Isles, Bet in their girdling seas, the British Isles in their turn were the living heart of the great circle of self-governing Dominions which girdle the world and constitute the British Empire. And what did an Australian see as he studied the great function on Juno 22nd? To eyes which eagerness had made critical the first aspect of the great Abbey, waiting for the coming of the Coronation of the King was, it may be frankly admitted, somewhat disappointing. It is not easy to transmute into what may be. called bridal splendour- a building on which lies the shadow of so many centuries. Ihe time-stained walls kept their stains in defiance of all upholstery. The great slopes of seats, north, and south, and west, wero \yet almost empty, and the fawn coloured drapery upon them looked dull. The deep Garter-blue carpet covering the floor had, by way of compensation, a look of kingly and indescribable richness. It was fit for the feet of a king to tread. • But a committee of ladies, with the severe' feminine senso of harmonies in colour, would never have tolerated the great altar carpet. In detail of work, no doubt, it must bo very rich, but, as a whole, and looked at from a distance, it seemed to bo a patchwork of gaudy and irrelevant colours. It was neither in artistic harmony nor artistic contrast with tho sea-blue carpet on which it was stretched, and which underlay the whole scheme of decoration liko a sea. The grey brocaded gallery hangings again,* embossed in velvet, when running in long lines, lacked "both expression and colour. But the decorations of the Abbey were, of course, planned to servo as a mere frame of a great human picture, and, as the spectator watched, from every, door the stream of guests flowed in—each stream a rivulet of colour —the frame of tho picture was filled, and the whole Abbey put on an aspect of many-tinted splendour. THE COLOUR SCHEME. It is difficult to describe what may bo called the colour scheme of the whole scene. It was so rich and complex. Scarlet and ermine, flash of jewel, flame of gold, dainty flutter of silk, and sometimes a gleam of brass from a breast-plate, or the keener glitter of steel from a sword, or the flash of a star, or of a line of medals on some soldier's coat —it was delightful, and occasionally the delight was 6hot through with a thrill of amusoment as the critic tried to analyse the great human picture and find out its elements. It is difficult to say whether the Church, the Army, or the Navy, expresses itself in more gorgeous attire when its higher, ranks aro reached. .The bishops, of course, in cope and cassock, hood and gown, with crossbearers in front of them, and chaplains in the rear, were delightfully picturesque. But the Navy, too, has its artistic splendours, and an Admiral of the Fleeti with heavy gold epaulets on both shoulders, a row of medals on his breast, and gold braid meandering in broad streamers over his whole person, is an object to movo both wonder and admiration. Tho Army, again, with its brilliant uniforms, and gleam of steel and gold, studded the whole human mass with patches of glory. Among tho Indian grout) were some with turbans of light blue, or pure white, above their keen dark faces. The judges and peers, with their 6carlet robes and short white capes, contriboted a,Vivid ST)!—sh of /v-.fniTr +a +.1-.A

side of her, and in contrast with them, her face, with its rich mass of hair, its clear cut profile and pale tint, wore a striking aspect of grace. Part of her Ion? train was cast, as if by accident, in front of the line on which she stood, and it lay like a pool of rich colour on the deep blue carpet. THE KING COMES. The climax of the great day was, of course, the entry of the King. As he came the music for a moment ceased, and the Westminster boys in the choir gallery above broke out a tumult of clear boyish voices, "Vivat, Vivat: Long Live King George!" That thread of school-boy voices in the Coronation service dates from James 11. It is vain to attempt to onumorato tho stately figures that followed—the Knights of the Garter, the Lord Chamberlain, all the great officers of tho King's household, Lord High Chancellor, the Archbishops. The most striking feature of the procession at this stage was the ewords and their bearers. The Sword of Mercy with its broken point, was carried by the Duke of Beaufort. On either side walked, glittering and uplifted steel in hand, a great soldier fit to carry the sword of an Empire—Lord Kitchener and Lord Roberts. And what other nation at the present moment can show two solders to surpass these in fame? After theso came his Majesty King George, and passed t<o the chair waiting for him near to that where th!o Queen stood. As ho stood thero, the centro of tho whole great scene, lie was outshone in eplendour of attire by many of thoso about him. As yet )io wore no crown. His dress was a crimson robo and a short white cape. THE HOMAGE. Now tho Archbishop of Canterbury begins his four-foid challenge, cast, west, north, and south, to tne homage of the great audience. "Sirs, I hore present unto you King Georgo, tho undoubted King of this realm. Wherefore all you who are come this day to •do your nowageand service, are you willing to do the same ?" The doubt up to that moment was whether a singie human voice could challenge and command the hearing of so vast an audience. But tho Archbishop settled that doubt in a moment. Ho still keeps that broad-vowelled fulness, the sharp cut consonants of his Scottish stock, and his voice rang full and clear up to tho groined roof. And from each point of "the compass came, sudden and sharp, 'with a sorb of explosive effect, tho reply, "God Save King George." The Bishop of London, who read tho Gospel, has a thinner voice, but his style is easy and natural, and thero is a curious carrying quality in his voice which makes it more penetrating than some voices of greater apparent range. Tho Archbishop of York, who was the preacher, and who condensed some sound theology and much good sense into the brief five minutes, has a noble voice. Everybody waited with eager interest for the administering of tho oath to the King, for then, for tho first time, the King's voice might be heard. His Majesty remained sitting, with capped head, while immediately before him stood the tall figure of the Archbishop of Canterbury. His strong masterful voice rang out, "Sir, is your Majesty willing to take the oath?" and the \yholo audience hushed to a deeper silence to hear tho response But the King was content to reply in accents which were clear to those who wero about him, but which failed to reach tho groat crowd. THE ANOINTING. Many, no doubt, watched with curious interest the anointing of the King, and those very med»joval pcxforuiaui.es, the presenting ot tho spurs, the investiture of the robe and ring, tho gift of the sceptre, etc. But the supremo act of the whole- great function was the actual crowning. The King sat in King Edward's chair, beneath it the famous stone round which are wrapped such strange myths. With full, resonant voice the Archbishop recited the noble prayer, etc. "0 God, tho crowner of the faithful." Then he" took the crown from the Dean of Westminster, and for a moment held it up. In its front burned the great diamond known as the istar of Atnca; above it shono the red firo of the Black Prince's ruby. The Cardinal of York's sapphire shines on the other side of the circle. As the Archbishop slowJy placed tho crown on tho King's head tho stillness through tho great Abbey deepened. But when tno crown actually touched tho King's head thero was sudden turn in the ritual. Evory Peer had up to this sat uncoroneted; and as ino3t ot them are bald-headed, their contribution to tho goncral colour scheme had beon very ineffective. Now each. Peer rises to his feet, and lifting hie coronet places it on his head,, and in a moment the whole mass of the Peers shinos and glitters from end to end with jewels. Then, with a burst of sound, and with a delightful note of spontaneity, camo the shout that rang along tho nave nnd transepts and up to the groined roof, "God Bavo the King!" Tho whole function in the Abbey had its elements both of majesty and of beauty which will be long remembered. And yet, how rich in paradox is the whole* Coronation service! It is, perhaps, well that an ecclesiastic, and not tho Primo Minister, should put the crown on the head of tho King, for the Coronation is a religious, rather than, ia political, act. But anyone who judged tho Constitution under which we live by tho ritual of the Coronation service, would conclude that it was hopelessly undemocratic. But we aro content that rncdiasval forms should cover democratic facts. This* is the characteristic British method. We love to keep the old formulae, though we charge them with a now meaning. The wine is new; but tho bottle must still be of an ancient pattern. Perhaps tho most striking proof of the medireval element in the Coronation scone was tho part in it assigned to the Press. All the representatives of modern journalism—and they wero a very brilliant company—wore packed into what is called the triforium, a dark gallery high up in the very roof of the Abbey, and most of them had to contemplate the scene they had to describe through tiny loopholes in the stonework of tho upper arches which bear the groined roof. "Now, it was the task of the Press to make tint great scene visible and audible to the whole of the outside world. But for the Press the great scene of tho Coronation rriight as well have been- performed in a. dark chamber or on a desert island. It could make no appeal to the intelligence and imagination of tho outside world. And the ofßrials responsible for tho Coronation practically packed all tho representatives of the Press into an unlit p;arre+t; and then expected them to describe what was happening in the drawing room.