SEEING THE CORONATION.

Evening Star, Issue 14638, 7 August 1911, Page 4

SEEING THE CORONATION.

PRESS SKATS IN THE ABBEY. [From Oup. Special Correspondent.] LONDON. June 23. The Press seats at the. Coronation were in tho Triforiiim, a gallery "which rurjs eaet and west above tho high Gothic: arches of the nave. The ticket of admission was a marvel of elaborateness and detail—a curiosity even in this land of forms and ceremonias. On the hack of this large handsome piece of pasteboard was a detailed plan of the Abbey and tho adjoining .streets, and in rod ink was marked the route which the holder of that particular ticket must take to enter the Abbey grounds, and 'the door at which he must present himself. The front of the ticket bore the Imperial Crown and tho signature of the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who was in supreme control of all arrangements. Accompanying the ticket was a carriage pass of pink pasteboard of even more imposing dimensions. It told you how to approach Westminster and ho'.v to leave it, and what to do with your footmen! It was signed by the Commissioner of Police, and although 1 did. not need its aid in tho disposal of footmen, I found that it inspired great respect among the-police, and it proved most useful in getting me pact the barriers. With this .came also a pamphlet containing three pages of police regulations as to carriage trafhe on Coronation day. a circular from the Earl Marena 1 giving' you all sorts of paternal advice regarding your conduct in the Abbey, and a. second circular informing you that the only permissible ccfitume for the Triforium was morning dress with black coat. A police pass, signed- by tho Commissioner of Police, completed my Coronation outfit, and armed with all theee tickets, passports, and circulars I had no difficulty in getting through the lines and into the Abbey. A narrow circular staircase from the cloisters, duly noted on the ticket of admission, conducted me to tho Triforium. The seats in the gallery were built up in tiers, a plan adopted for the occasion throughout the Abbey. By great good fortune I had been allotted a scat in the front low, commanding an uninterrupted view of the Abbey from the altar to the far end of the nave. For this consideration I am indebted to the Colonial Office, acting on the request of the New Zealand High Commiiedoner's Department, and it deserves mention a-s an instance of the recognition accorded to the representatives of the Dominions Overseas. There was an enormous demand for Press tickets for the Abbey, and when to many had to be refured the two New Zealand representatives admitted had reaeon to consider themselves fortunate. A front seat was a very special boon, for as a matter of fact tho&j in the upper seats at the back of the gallery could see nothing of the actual ceremony, and even the second row of ticket-holders could only see by standing on the seats of the first row and craning over the heads of those in front. But we lucky ones had a better view thail most of thas&;i» the seats of the miebtx.