THE KING AMONG SPORTSMEN.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1523, 20 August 1912, Page 9

THE KING AMONG SPORTSMEN.

CHARMING SCENES AT HENLEY, THEIR MAJESTIES ON TOE BIVER. Tlio most enduring memory of llin visit of the King and Quocn lo Henley Regatta 'on July C will bo one of colour, colour such as is seldom seen beneath an English sky. There was not a square foot of dullness in the whole length of that fair vista of a mile of glistening river walled with green and venerable trees. But, except in one place, every 'shade was delicate, pink and heliotrope and apple-green and' pale, blue, dotted about in ;i mass of dazzling white. The one exception was, .fitly enough, tho King's own barge, of flaming scarlet nnd gleaming gold, with it gorgeous baiinur flaunting in the bows. By noon the river, except for the. racing course, was so completely floored with boats that you could have walked dryshod from end to end. Some people, had slept in their boats overnight. The sun shone generously. Front* river, houseboat, bank, and lawn, everyone was gazing upstream towards the old stone bridge. Suddenly the tiny figure, of a scarlet guardsman appeared between the battlements of Henley Church tower and waved a little blue flag lo and fro. The King and Queen had arrived. Ten minutes, and the blue flag waved again. They wore in the barge; and then, with a roar of cheers accompanying it, tho stately old craft came slow and seemly through the dark arches of the bridge. The gold badges on the backs of the scarlet oarsmen shone bravely as they swung, and there, bemlmg thfir heads to look out from under the gold canopy of the awning in tho stern, were the King and Queen and Princess Mary, smiling with delight e.t tho fairest scene the Thames has known for many a year. Down to the white pavilion on the Berkshire bank they swept, tho King's bargemastcr,- Mr. William East, craning his neck lo peer over the awning-roof and steering cunningly with the tiller between, his knees. At the blue-carpeted stage they landed, and went up over the dainty little, lawn, bright with, geraniums nnd blue hydrangeas, that matched exactly tho Queen's dress, on. to the balcony above. The King's Colours. Tho'King hod the red aad Wuo colours of tho Guards' Brigade round his hat (a straw of tho Horn burg hat shape) and in his tie, and ho wore a. dark blue jacket fluit. The Queen was wearing a light blua coat and skirt, with whito plumes and pink roses in her whito hat, and Princess Mary, prettier than ever, was in lij.;ht blue too. There is a sudden cannon shot. Eton and Josus arc- off in tho final of tho Ladies' Plate. There follows five minutes' silence, while everyone, from King to boat-boy, watches two little dots drawing nearer, and nearer'up the long course. A ■ shout goes up as the signal is hoisted at the rmlo, "Eton lead." And now the King and Quean- hear the cheers Tolling towards them, keeping paco with the racing boats. . On they come, practically level, and now by the royal box the Eton boys, true courtiers, spurt and draw ahead. The slim, light-blue body of thoir young coxswain jerks forward as the boat lifts to each drive of'the blue- blades. Old whitehaired Etonians , in tho grandstand shout and gesticulate madly. Eton, has won. Just before one o'clock tho water pageant moves off again from tho royal box down the long white lines of cheering people to take the King to luncheon at Greenland's with Mr. W. F. D. Smith, and Lady Esthor Smith, the King talking to tho bargemastcr as ho goes about tho prospects of i. tho Australians against Leander in jjhe. final of tho Grand, and about the crown on the top of the barge flagstaff, which he thinks looks top-heavy, and should bo replaced by one calf its size, and about tho careers and exploits of the eight well-known watermen who aro rowing him. Salute of a Thousand Oars. There is a shower at lunch time, but it is over by the time the King and Queen come back. It was a beautiful sight to watch their red and white and gold galley come up tho green and silver river. By a picturesque inspiration the white-clad pcoplo standing in their jostling boats outside tho course , toss up thousands of paddles and oar-blades and hold them high in the air as a salute. And now "C'est l'instaat, mon vioux!" says the Frenchmen to each other, for the Rowing Club do. Paris is about to row in the final of the Thames Cup. They win it, too, with the same ease with which, to the astonishment of rowing men they have sat upright and unexhausted at the end of each of their races to applaud their beaten rivals. By this time the King is so interested that he says he will follow the race be> tween the Australians and Leandor all the way in the umpire's launch. So the Royal standard is hurriedly transferred from the barge/ The Queen decides to go too. She puts on a long biscuit-coloured coat trimmed with lace, and off they go quite informally in the white launch. With the King and Queen following them twenty yards behind, the two powerful crows.rows themselves out'to the last ounce. Leander are the pick of English university oarsmen, and both they and the Australians are to row in the Olympic Games this month at Stockholm. From the top of the island the Australians are slightly ahead, and though Leander spurt with grim courage again and again, they aro beaten <hy threequarters of a length. ' After tea the Queen, gave away the prizes, and then the procession, by water back to the station brought a I>erfect day to its ending.