KING AND QUEEN.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 65, 16 March 1912, Page 3

KING AND QUEEN.

* HEARTY WELCOME HOME. SCENE AT VICTORIA STATION. NEW,' ZEALAND'S DISPLAY. (From Our Own Correspondent.) ■ LONDON,' 7th, February. Their Majestic* the King and Queen arrived at' Portsmouth on Monday on their 'return from India, and travelled by bpecial train to Victoria Station. The cold and wintry character of the weather was more than atoned for by the unusually hearty welcome, which awaited Their Majesties after their historic tour. Inside Victoria Station the scene was well worth. watching, the Prime Minister and all the highest, dignitaries Of the State having assembled to salute thd Sovereigns on arrival, as well as the Lord Mayors and'Mayor«>of most of the great, centres of the country. All ' hearts were hied with gladness when the Royal train cain<? in, and when after three months' absence the figure of the King was seen again, not changed by his absence except by the bronze of an' Indian sun., and" sale and sound at home among his people of London. After greeting • the Royal ladies and gentlemen, the Jtirig w,alked toward the eminent public ■men., whose identity was almost lost great' ulsters. . All shades of political , thought ' were represented. The Archbishop 'of ' Canterbury, the Prime 'Minister, ' famous officers in the Army and Navy, and representatives of foreign . nations joined in the welcome. Both the King and .Queen chatted for a. few minute* with' 1 the Prime Minister, who stood at , the ; head of the group, and then they .walked -slowly with outstretched hands through the cluster of notabilities, who included Sir Edward Grey, Lord Haldaiie, Lord Morley t the Home' Secretary, the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord'Boberte, the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Sfcratncona, Lord Carrington, and a host of 'others. , New Zealand was represented by the -Hiffh. Commissioner (Sic William Hall* Jones). IN VICTORIA-STREET. Despite the bitterly cold weather, large crowds had' collected along the rout, and the. drive to Buckingham Palace wag otte prolonged ovation. Victoria-gtreet was gay with bunting and decorations. The New. Zealand Government offices had been, tastefully decorated by Messrs. Whiteley with flaga und evergreens. Cdnspieuous in the scheme were the words "New Zealand" and "Welcome," the letters "G" and "M" and a. crown, together with- shields, garlands, and scarlet hangings. The New Zealand Ensign also flew proudly from the building. Only once during anany years pnst has Royalty" graced Victoria-street, and on that occasion Queen Victoria, drove along the thoroughfare.' It is generally conceded : that King 1 George included the street iv life progress on the present oc caslon a» ( a mark of honour 'to the Oversea States! so many being represented there. An excellent view of the procession was' obtained' from the New Zealand Government windows, and among those who bo witnessed it were: The Misses . Hall-Jones ? . the Misjsos Beauchamp' (Wellington), the Misnes Herricfe (Napier),' Mn>L and Miss Pallieer, -Mrs. Hamer, and Mrs. ']?/ Ludlow Voller (DuneHul)'., Everyone riot iced how bronzed the- King and Queen were, tho Prince of Wales, .who also drove in the' carriage, looking quite white in. c6mparison. At the ' Palace, itself ail even more striking demonstration of pApular feeling waa afforded. The huge throngs out-, side th.c' gates sang the National Anthem, with "Home, Sweet Home," whose appropriate and pathetic strains were probably never before heard in such moving circumstances. Their Majesties plainly showed their appreciation of this spontaneous qutburst. and repeatedly bowed" their acknowledgments. -. A. NATION'S THANKSGIVING. The first public act of the. King and Queen was to attend; a special service at St. Paul's Cathedral (yesterday, the day of their return., .They' were accompanied by the Prince of Wales and Princess Mary, and other members of the Royal Family included Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria. From the Palace to the Cathedral the routu was thickly lined with t'reops and people, and the reception throughout was one of immense enthusiasm. Inside the. Cathedral the fecene .was a. , one, the vast interior being packed ,by specially invited; people— Army , and Navy officials resplendent in uniforms glittering with gold lace, medals and 1 orders; members of the Judical Bench in scarlet robes and full-bottom ' wigs ; city dignitaries in their, robes of office; representatives of embassies, in full uniform .: Ambassadors and - Ministers represented Austria, Spain, Japan. . the Netherlands, Hayti, and other Powers and Stales; members of the Government' were there, also of the Houses of Lords and Commons, accompanied by their wives and daughters. For more than an hour before the time announced for the service all these people wore assembling, and the- entire building wa* soon filled. Arrangements for the seating wero admirable, and for the first time each person present went to a numbered seat — an innovation avoiding any confusion, and one likely to be repeated on future- occasions. Mingling with the great officers of State wan a. large detachment of naval men— these were the officers and crew of the Medina. The, marshalling of the great body ol clergy' went on in one aisle. By degrees the vast choir became fijled, much *pace being -needed for the accommodation of the orchestra of '3oo instruments and for the members of outside choira, including tho Children of His Majesty's Chapel Royal wearing their rich and gorgeous costumes of scarlet and gold. Sir George Martin, in hit doctor* robes, w;i4, on the alert waiting the signal that tin- Royal visitors had arrived^ A few minutes before the due time. A long pioeessiou of clergy man-hod from the Iliijk Altar to the 'wvet dooi. It consisted of the deu-n and tin- canoins residentiary, preceded liy the olhei ' Cathedral clergy— minor "caiions pn-benda,Ties-~then a. striking on ay of Princes of tho Church— s-oinp twenty Bibhops'in their vertments. The Arch bishop of York and the Archbishop of | Canterbury wove the next to engage attention, in copo and mitre, with cioziei borne before. Tho Lord Major was in the piocessioii, too,' bearing" the pearl sword of the City' of London. It was, not long befoie thufee in the building heard a distant roar of cheering .and th'« faint -strains of th«-Natiunal Authe'ui o'uls-ide, announcing the an iviil of tho Kiiiß and Queen. A few 111010 "HLJSUIi* __d the proctsiiou mu\ed tin

tho Cathedral— the clergy, the Lord' Mayor, the Kuig i Queen Mary, Queea Alexandra, tbo Prince of Wale*, Princes* Mary, accompanied by the Dean of St. Paul's and the senior cation in copes of Kreun and cream and gold. Then the brief service began. First with the ringing of two versos of tho National Anthem : this was followed by Sir George Martin's "Te Deum Laudamus." thechoii- giving a. fine interpretation of Sir George's masterly setting. Special players were read in a voice distinctly audible in spite of the immensedietonoe; it was the voice of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the prayei-b wore chiefly prayers for India. Next the Archbishop of Canterbury moved forward to the Chancel entrance, and. standing on the fitep*, he read a brief and thoughtful addi'e«e. "INTERCHANGE OF TRUST BETWEEN KING AND PEOPLE." The Archbishop said :—"lt: — "It is a good thing to give thanks unio the Lord and to sing praises to Thy Name, 0 Most Highest. It is a good tiling. And if everw'e are right to do it. we are surely light -10-day. Through three months, of dark winter wo at Home have daily prayed that God would preserve by' sea and land our King and our Queen, and that their journey might 'tend to theincrease of goodwill among tho peoples of India.' Shall we fail to give thanks now for the rich, the almost startlingly rich, answer to oui- prayers? I stand hene, the spokesman for a moment of & loyal people's quiet, deliberate thankfulness to Him wm> has preserved the going out and coming in, and whose , benediction, we know it, vests now upon our offering of praise and prayer. When Christmas came our King and Queen weie more than 7000 miles, away. But the old refrain of the Christmas message. 'Peace on earth, goodwill toward men,' rang out for us with an added note of meaning as our Christmas prayers went up to God. and the 'goodwill* in East mid West is o,n everybody's lips to-day. Long centuries ago tlie Old World used to sco what men called a> 'triumph' when the victor brought back to the centre of the Empire 1 the far-off chiefs whom he had conquered. Our triumph song'to-day is for the conquest, not of foemen, but of friends, and the are woven strands of loyalty and love. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. A throb, of sadness for the shadowed home of a Princess dear i to all -our hearts lias its place in' the glad home-coming, but it makes us enter more deeply into the knowledge' of;' the all-embracing love of Him from whom every family in heaven and on earth i« named, and the ehorub of to-day's thankfulness rings on. We look outward . and onward now, tyid from full hearts, 'Sit, we. wish you joy. The deepest kind of earthly joy is found for a Sovereign in such an interclmngo of trust between King and Queen and people as the snowystreets of London witnessed, yesterday and to-day. We. join in the prayer that as the years of thoughtful, strenuous service' to the Empire run on, • 'i . Wie voice of a. 'tsitlsfied people may keep A bomid in jour eats like the sound of the deep, i Like -the bound of the deep when the wkds arc asleep. "The liord preserve your going out ,and your coming in from this time forth i'or evermore." After this came the short anthem, "Halleluj&h to God's Almighty Son." sung as only such a choir could' ding 1 it. Th© bnet service was now almost over, for the Benediction was pronounced, and, to the strains of the hymn, "Now thank we all Our; God," the procession began slowly to move to the west dooi- — clergy and. city dignitaries conducting their Majesties. As the tiual strains ol" the hymn, were dying away, once more one could hear the distant sound of impulsive wind enthusiastic cheering from the throats of all the multitudes still waiting outside. Presently it was an interesting sight to see the robed and wigged luminaries grappling with their skirls as they, made their way down the cathedral pteps to await the arrival of motors and taxis to release them from the mud ie the streets. A large ' delegation representing tlie Fl-ee Churches attended th© service, and New Zealand was officially represented by jSir William and Lady Hall-Jones, while just, a few New. Zealand visitors were fortunate in having- seats allotted to them in the building.