PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2527, 20 August 1902, Page 69

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

CORONATION LEGENDS

In last week's Witness there was the best picture of the Coronation Regalia that I ha,ve seen, and I hope that my young readeis are keeping a copy of the Witness p-s a memento. H.ive any of you a good medal commenu>r<iting tha event? There are a few in Danedin mado by >Spinks, of London, abmil the bize of a. crown piece. It; is biiid that their Majesties gave a special silting ti> the maker of the die, and that this die lus been u<-ed not only for the ones sold heie, but for the gold and silver mcd.'.ls issued to those vho attended the services at Home. To what extent tliat is true, I don't know. If any of you would like fine of these iimLi,!s you may send me 7d in stamp.*, and I'll see if I cm get you one. If I cannot, ihen 111 send you 6d back, using the other penny for postage.

THE LEGEND OF THE IUNO

But it is about legends that I am to write. Tho Witness contains an illustration of what 1 told you is taUed poetically "The Wedding King of L'ngland." The legend concerning tlii.s ling runs something like this: — One day a be^ar ask p d Ed'u aid the Confessor for chanty. Edward, pie«-uin-ably not having any money on hi-> person, and being of a. very religious and chantuble nature, gave the beggar hi." ring. Some time after, in the Holy Land, two pilgrims ■were accosted by un aged man, ulio gave them, & nng, lulling thpm that it was the nag given by the Confessor to the t-ap-posed beggar, who, however, Mas no beggar lit all, but St John the Evangelist. "In commenioiuiiun of tins legend Edward II offered at in^, crowning, as his tirbt oblation, a golden figure of <i man bearing a ring, and as the second oblation a figure of a pilgrim stretching out his linger to receive the iiiig." IHE LEGEND OF THE CORONATION

OIL AND AMPULLA

According to the mediaeval story the oil «i uuctifiii wag miraculously delivered io

Thomas a'Becket by the Virgin Mary. The following are the MS. words supposed to give Becket's own account of the occurrence : — "One night as I-i - praying in the Church of St. Coluniba . . . there appeared to me the Virgin Mary with an eagle of gold in her bosom and with a small phial of stone in her hand. She took the eagle from her bosom, and put the phial into it, placed the eagle and phial into my hands and said these words :

' This is the oil with which the Kings of England must be anointed, but not those wicked men who now reign. Now there will be a king of the English who will be the first to be anointed with this oil. He will be the greatest among kings, and ... as often as he carries this eagle on his breast he will have the victoiy over all his enemies. , . . There is a man in this town, a monk of St. Cyprian's of Pbictiers . . . give him ihe eagle and the phial for him to take to the Abbey at Poictiers, and I will hide it in the Church of St. George, where it will be found at a convenient time.' " I don't know when this holy oil was found, nor which sovereign was the first to be anointed with. it. You may also notice that the Holy Virgin is made to refer to Becket's enemy as a wicked king. THE LEGEND OF THE CORONATION

STONE

First we read that the Stone of Destiny is the one that the patriarch Jacob slept uu at Bethel. It was from there conveyed to Spain by the founder of the Scottish nation, who had married Scota, daughter of Pharaoh, a Princess, whose heart had been touched by the preachmg of Moses. From Spain it was carried to Ireland, where, on the Hill of Tara, it became the Coronation seat of the Irish Kings. It is said that when a -rightful sovereign sat upon it, it gioaned ; but that it remained silent when occupied by a usurper. From there it was taken over to Scotland about 330 years before Christ, and after a time of wandering found a resting-place in the Cathedral, at Scone, and became the crowning seat of the Scottish Kings. The rest you know. Edward Longshanks, in 1296, removed it with other spoil to London, and there had it dedicated to Edward the Confessor. THE LEGEND OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.

The earliest church on what was Thorney ; Island was founded in the seventh century l>y Seberfc, the first Gltristian King of the East Saxons. A day was appointed for the consecration of the building by the Bishop of London, but on the Sunday night previous a stranger asked a poor fisherman to feiTy him from Lambeth shore to the inland. The fisherman did so, and while waiting for the stranger's return saw the , church illuminated and heard angelic singing. After some time he saw the vision of a ladder stretching up to the heavens, with the angels ascending and descending. The stranger, on returning, s-iid ho was St. Pc-ter, and that he had come to consecrate the church. As Edric — that was the fisherman's name — had caught nothing during tho night, St. Peter toid him* to cast his nets, for if he did he would get a good haul. Ho did .so, and the fisherman, as a reward, had to take a choice salmon to the bishop and to relate what; had taken place ; further, in fixture h& was to present % tithe of his catch to the church and to give up fishing on Sundays. The fisherman met the bishop and King, related what he had seen and heard, and as proofs ihat the church had actually been consecrated there were tho moL«tnro of the holy water, the crosses on the walls, the marled of the consecrated oH, tli3 fJteek alphabet tiaced on th» sand, and tho remains of tho candles uhJch had supplied the miraculous illumi-

If you wi^h for fuller particulars concerning these legends, and for fairly full parLiciuars of fh-'H Regalia — not legalh's, as the cables give the word — I refer you to the Record Number of the Illustrated London News. This volume, tho last week' 3 WitliCsh. and a couple of illustrated papers — the Sphere for preference, perhapv— illustrating the actual ceremony, will make interesting racmemos of an in' erecting events.

INTERESTING EVENTS IN OUR LIVES.

Thi« i<? the heading used b}' one of our Dunedin teachers when he was stuving to sLow children that they are living in an epoch as fuJl of historic incident as perhaps any equal space of time gone before. All children in the Sixth Standard ought to remember all the incidents and events mentiCned, and indeed iruvr.y more. I append the list, just to .show how a .school .subject ca.n be connected with everyday life : — 1. Diamond Jubilee (longest reign in Britisn history). 2 Jubilee of Otago and of Presbyterian Church. 3. Reconquest of the Soudan ; and Fashoda. 4. The "War in China.

5 The Soutli African War. 6. Colonial forces help the Mother Countr> ioi the first time. (The Soudan* Contii>

gent from iCew South "Wales being repre* sentative of one colony only.) 7. Visit of the Duko of York (now Prince- ol Wales). S. Visit of Imperial and Ind"an troops. 9. The inauguration o£ the Australian, Commonwealth. (Another step towards tha unity of the Empire.) 16. The Millenary of Alfred the Grpat. 11. The annexation o"f some of the Islands oi the South Seas. — 12. The expedition to the South Pole. 13. Death of Statesmen: — Sir John M'Kenzie, Cecil Rhodes, Mr Gladstone. 14. Death of Queen, and Access on of Kino Edward VII. 15. Assassination of the King of Italy, the Presidents of France and of the United States (Carnot and M'Kinley), and the Empress of Austria. 16. The Spanish-American Var, with its re* suits. 17. Conference of Colonial Premiers in' London. »

18. Our frontier campaigns.

This list can be added to ; but ' even without additions it is quite a respectabla one, and doesn't go back more than threa or four years. If one were to take the trouble, it would bo surprising what changes geographically a well -worked -out list would show to have tak^n place within the same time. I think it is a matter for regret that we have so much of the dry bones oJ history and geography wh*n current events and the newspapers would, if properly used, teach history and geography, past and present, easier and to more purpose than at present.

I did think of writing a line or two on the Coronation Service in Dunedin, but I suppose that by this you have had enough, of Coronation, loyal though you may be, so I'll not inflict- you with any more on the subject. T THE EIGHTH CONTINGENT WEEKLY •PRESS.

I havtf received a letter from a girl corrcs* pondent in Felton, Cambooya, Queensland, asking me if I can procure her a copy of the Eighth Contingent Weekly Press. Can and will anyone possessing a copy oblige her? Let me know the price, and Til forward address. My correspondent thinks my column is getting shorter. I hadn't noticed thai ; but it must be remembered that the editor can spare me the column only, and that I trespass on his good nature when I go beyond that limit.

—In the city of Hot Springs, Ark., running' is a misdemeanour. Any person, going faster than ti walk is arrested and fined. This law is in the interest of invalids; who throng the streets and suffer relapses from the excitement caused by the iindue- haste of a stranger. One who runs is supposed to bo a thief, murderer, or escaped lunatic.

— The following rules "ar* enforced upon and observed by tho work-people of an American bread company, with the result that practically the bread is not v handled from tho time it is flour until it comes out of the ovens, when it is wrapped im by women and is ready for tho bakeshop. Every man must submit to a medical examination, paid for by the company. When ho cornea to work he takes a bath, and then dresses for his wort in a suit provided by tli© company, the laund^ing of which is dono at its expense. Evexy loaf is wrapped in glaz<?d paper, co that the grocer or driver does not handle the bread. AJI the flour is sifted, mixed, and kneaded by machinery, tho water used be-in? filtered and deodorised by thf« Buhring- filtering system. The kneading ia dono by a systoni of plunders. An Archimedean screw constantly throws tho dough under them.