THE TRANSFORMED ABBEY

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

THE TRANSFORMED ABBEY

A PAGEANT OF SPLENDOUR

A MOVING INCIDENT

(FROM Orit OWN' CORRESPCrtTDENT. , ) LONDON, June 23. Weeks and weeks ago "Westminster Abbey ■was closed to the public. Inside and ont, day and night, the builders have been, at "work. Yesterday morning we crept in expectant through a long passage way under a great mountain of seats for the spectacle. Wo climbed a weary stone spiral and peeped over the edge of the triforium. The whole world was changed. Of the host of cold marble monuments not one was visible. The Abbey was transformed into a perfect symmetrical cross. Down the middle of the nave, leading from the -west

door, was tho blue-carpeted aisle along which the Royal procession moved to tho coronation theatre, banked on cither sido by tiers of 6eats rising right up to the croined roofs. So, also, in the transepts. Tho whole of tho stands wero covered with felt of a dainty shade of grey, which harmonised in the most artistic fashion with the aged walls of the building. The bare seats, dull and unreserved, simple in structure, were in themselves an artistic triumph. At the centre of the cross, with raised dais carpeted in dark blue, was the coronation theatre, where stood the scarlet chairs of Stato upon which the King and Queen sat after tho ceremony. Tho theatre and tho sanctuary itself, bright with vestments and gold Elate, had an* air of pro-Reformation rilliancy, effectively foiled by the plain setting of the rest of the Abbey. QUIET TOILETTES. But the real effect created by tho sceno was only complete when thospectators arrived and took their seats on tho towering tiers overlooking the aisle and the theatre. The day was dull, except for a happy burst of sunshine when the lloya[ procession was making its entrance, but the brightness of the uniforms threw an unwonted light even in the gloomy recesses of tho side aisles. Almost without exception the ladies were garbed in subdued colours, chiefly white, pale groy and palo shades of bluo. In that whole host of 7000 there wero scarcely a dozen ladies dressed in brisht colours. But tho quiet tone of tho ladies' dresses only served to accentuate the brilliance of tho men's uniforms, the decorations sashes and mantles, of tho various orders of knighthood; the dazzling red of the judges' robes, and tho medley of colours afforded by the forei<-*h attaches and princes. Long beforo the first procession arrived from Buckingham Palaco the Abbey was a perfect blaze of colour, like a bed of sprint flowers, divided down the centre by the plain pathway of the processional 'aisle. THE SACRED MOMENT. Thero was more of emotion and human truth in that one supreme moment when the Prince knelt before his father and swore fealty than in all else. Kneeling at the foot of the Throne ho mado oath with the bearing of a man : I, Edward, Prince of Wales, do become liegeman of lifo and limb and of earthly worship; and faith and truth I will bear unto you to live aud die, against all manner of folks. So help mc God. Rising, with his Garter hat in hand, ho touched the King's Crown, kissed the King on the left cheek, and then lather and son embraced affectionate *y as Edward and George did nine yeans ago. The ordered "Vivats" of the choir, tho conventional shouts of ""God Savo the King," and "God Save Kin«* George," were as nothing by the streaming eyes of tho Queen 'as sho watched the meeting of father and son, and the choking throats of everyone in the Abbey who saw it. That moment was human and sacred—the only moment of a splendid day that touched tho hearts of all and sent a thrill through the fashionable ranks. ROYAL SOLITUDE. Ono could not fail to be moved to sympathy by the -utter—the aimest pathetic—loneliness of the King in this great ceremonial. Throughout the greater part of the time—tho ceremony itself took two and a half hours—tho King, the Queen, and the Prince of Wales sat on thrones far apart. The young Prince, sitting on his chair of estate alone in the theatro while the ceremonies were taking placo in tho sanctuary, bore himself with great composure through the long ordeal. Tho Queen, too, was quite self-,possesscd, though visibly affected at certain parts of the service, which she followed closely. Her emotion when the young Prince came forward and did homage was sympathetically shared by everyone who saw it. KING GEORGE'S NERVOUSNESS. Now and again the King shower signs of nervousness. There was n< faltering when, on entering the Abbey he facedthe four corners of the oompasi in turn to meet the challenger. "Sirs," cried tho Archbishop of Can terbury, standing by the King's side ,"] hero present unto you, King George tho undoubted King of this realm Wherefore all j*ou who are come this day to do your homage and service, art you willing to do tho same?" The King stood gazing frankly at the great screen of faces before him. The people are supposed to "signify theii willingness and joy by loud and repeated acclamations," but this, if offered, was merged in the regular and formal shout of the choristers. "God Save King George," followed by a blare oi trumpets. It was at tho beginning of the ritual in the sanctuary that the King's nervotisness was noticeable. At first he stroked his moustache a good deal, fidgeted with his robes and changed his position. Once he dropped a paper which he had to stoop from his chaii to recover. Later he asked several questions of tho Bishop of Durham, apparently as to tho procedure, and nodded in the most natural manner when he heard the reply. He had completely recovered his composure within a few minutes of entering the sanctuary. FOR.MALISED CEREMONY. Ono cannot doubt for a moment the absolute sincerity of the King's reception, both in the streets and in tn« Abbi-y. Tho whole atmosphere was ol loyalty and. affection, not merely unquestioned, but of tho warmest, let tho service as carried out gave littk opportunity for public demonstration. The ono opportunity of which the spectators in the Abbey took advantage was tho moment when the Crown wm placed on the King's head. Simultaneously the peers raised their coronets to their heads, and tho formal cry of thi choir and tlio Westminster School boys, " God Save the King," evoked a chorus of echoes from every corner of the Abbey. The trumpets pealed forth and a moment later we could hear the boom of cannon far down the river; for the "order of servico" decrees that "the great guns at tho Tower shall be shot off." Already tho great Crown had been removed and replaced by a -smaller one. Tho King woro it scarcely a minute. It was exactly 12.33 p.m- by Big Ben when the King was crowned. The message had already been taken up at the Tower and transmitted to the fleet at Spithead, and one pictured to one's self irresistibly its passage round the j world to every peoplo interested. That is, indeed, the very atmosphere of this Coronation, its world-wide significance. There was a reality in tlio bold replies of the first King who has travelled his Empire to the. inquisition of the oath. "Sir," asked the Archbishop, "is your Majesty willing to tak*o the oath?" " I am willing," he replied. "Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Dominions thereto belonging, according to tho statutes m Parliament agreed on and the respective laws and customs of the same?" " I solemnly promise so to do," replied the King in a clear loud voice. And for us this was not nil. Tbe devices of the Dominions were worked into the colobium sindonis. with which tho archbishops robed the King in tho sanctuary, and their banners wero borne in his procession to the crowning. Walking abreast of the South African standard bearer (Lord Selborno), Lord Plunket. wearing the scarlet robe of a barca, carried aloft I the new banner of New Zealand, a |

banner never before seen (it was dosigned and worked specially f or thie occasion). He was followed by his son, tho Hon. Terence Pluaket, who bore his coronet. By tho choir the oversea banners were handed over to the heralds on duty, and as their _Majesties passed towards tho crowning a few minutes later, thoy were reverently dipped and laid on the floor, to be raised a moment later.