THE KING AND THE TSAR.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 616, 20 September 1909, Page 8

THE KING AND THE TSAR.

TWO, GREAT NAVAL REVIEWS. .What can only bo described as a great Naval a pageant opened last Saturday, July 31, when" the King inspected the Fleet, as it lay in four , long linos, some eighteen niilos in total extent, between Spithead and !, Cowes., " The Royal- ■.- : • yacht, Victoria and/Albert,, on which the King and Queen were aboard,' steamed siowiy along: tho streets of floating ■fortresses of steely grey. As they passed, each warship,,gay with flutter, ing bunting, roared out a salute, till the. yacht i cdme to just opposite the Dreadnought, where she lay 'at the head of a line of the most powerful warships in the world. After the Royal demonstration of the submarines was given, and a long line of destroyers delivered a torpedo attack on the. Dreadnought.' Later the'flag officers of the Fleet )woro received bytho King on the Royal yacht, and in the evening the whole Fleet .was illuminated in honour of the occasion. ' ", ./ • ■ The Advent of the Royal Guett .'■''■ The arrival of. , the Russian Imperial yacht Standart, with the.Tsar on board, is described' by the special correspondent of "The Stan,dard" as follows: "Wehad passed.the Bollerophon so close that one,might.hare tossed a (biscuit aboard, when there aroso from the sea a terrifying, ' Get ont of. this line quick.' •' Over the side you saw the owner of the ,, voice, resplendent in lace and cocked hat. He stood on a tiny picket boat with a megaphone in hia hand.' 'Take no notice,'-advised somebody, but thero came Bncaking round the side of the Superb a loan, hungry-looking torpedo. boat : that looked as. if it had not eaten a motor- ■ boat for a week. So wo moved out, and asm did the whole Fleet fired at us. Or so it 6oemed' to adventurers with guilty consciences; bat tho firing proved later to be nothing more; pugnacious than a Royal salute. ' With two destroyors leading, tlie Royal yacht mored swiftly through.the long street of..warships, and,.passing clear of the last crnisor, she came to auclior'betweeni No: Fort—{hat UtUoi island fortress .which guards the of tho Solent—and the. mainland: Far away on tho . horizon the:hazy, .shapes, of the Indomitable, ". InflexiMo, and Invinciblo, the , three Dreadnought cruisers, were coming slowly into view, ' - moving in line ahead; and-; behind them, flanked by Russian destrovers, the high-hiiUed . yacht .conveying the Russian Imperial party. ■ Black, with white fonhels,'and onmto with g'old scroll.work, she slowed. down as the King*e . yacht came measurable distance. : ; '. ■ Nicholas,' Tsar of All tljei Russiai. •-..'..,'• "Police precautions there may have. been, but as wo.looked a white-winged yacht'came , swoopiag down on her, passed under her stern, •' and tacked back'on the other quarter. Amotor:. launch—not ours—came skimming 'up, steering si) close that it"seemed as'if the littletliint! would become entangled in the companion tackles! A,big, red lugger , swooped down on ■herj gratified her selfish curiosity, and ■ departed. 1. Emboldened' by' these" happenings, wo eteered close to the Tsar's vessel,, just as the' Brodick Castle, her decks crowded with holiday makers,-came abreast.i'Tbero was-a-group of officers in naval uniform below the forebridge, and/as a roar of cheering .the pleasure eteamcr,, an.officer moved forward from the group, raising his hand to his cocked hat with a-smile. There, was no'need'! to , point him out. ,'Hc stood conspicuous from the othors, his breast ablaze with decorations, the broad riband of, an order-about his ehoalder, with trim beard,,a curious pallor, of face,.withV gentle eyes,that looked down with smiling enri-- ' osity upon the-cheering'excursionists. This wi3 Nicholas, Tsar of All the Russias.' -He turned■•'- : as the steamer-passed, and was,evidently ques-,•■,,'• tidning a British naval officer who stood by hie ' side as to the meaning;of,a demonstration:ns pleasing, as .it ..was unexpeotod.; Then'-the , - glittering group\closed.'about him, and; the one '■ glimpse wemay expect to havebf the-isadface . ,of. thie.aotocrat'was'over.""/.>,, ' "< / Meejina of, King and;Ttar. ,--/., ; ,: ,' Off Hbrce Fort; the Royal, barge,-,with. Bμ- \ King, the Queen,'andj.the Prince and Princess . of W'aies, came alongside the Standart. -The, . Tsar-came outthe King, and the two, monarohsi exchanged /. greetings, .'Oneen Alexandra's'welcome to nor nephew being an' affectionate one,-: For a.con« isiderablo timo-the ;Roval party, stood grouped in the shelter of the deck conversing, and then the King returned to the Victoria and Albert, to be followed after an interval by the ;Tsar. arid his suite.' After,luncheon began the second * royiew.icthe .-Tear thfcj Fleet ~, the .bridge of,'thu'. I l l lictoHa.and''Albert.v Se'-ia ■■'■.: said to have romarked to one of ; his'staff dur- ' ■ ing the inspection, that "this is.one of the most impressive -and ~': naval strength.,tliat the 'world': has 'evdr sees." , !' As the Royalyachts with the' Russian, warships passed through, the linos'.the British .sailors ' : .: oheered-the'Tsar.the.Russians on';the.warships, responding..' After the.yachts-had'anchored, ofl- ; Cowes.family tea ; was served in the saloon.of - the Victoria and -Albert, at. Which: none. but. members of the Royal: Family, were present,, la the evening thelSing; gave 1 d , dinner. , to .th«. . "■ Tsar..■.•■■',■•. : ■>..-' '.:.: ':■. ■ ; ■■•:. :,. : --- '' "'

Royal' Children.'in,Cowes.v ■ . . . ..;. , ; . ■ The following morning the King and Qneeal ,'. we're joined by the T6ar v and Tsarina, and ; went . on board'the Kihrs f&mous: old racing'cutter, Britannia,, and had a> mest enjoyable ormeoin the Sojent,- -watching , , the yachts <raee cforshis,' - Majesty's■ Cup. .While" the Tsar was on the . Britannia,'four of h'isVchildren were delighting . ' in a seaside frolic at Osborne,Bay., They, came . ashore to the ..public landing; stage -ati East , . Cowesin the forenoon,.with thoir attendants, and drove to OsborneJ where.the Princess of; I Wales, with Princess Mary and PrmceHenry, ' I was waiting to Receive them. A, little; later • Princes' Olga and. Princess Tatiana. landed x again at EastCowes, and w«ro received by the ' Chief Constable, who, kept, watch over them..; [ The", children, with, a lady and gentleman vof the suite, paid .lieir. pence and crossed on the '■'... floating bridge ,to : West Cowes. Tliot landed '■ ' unnoticed, and wandered up the High Street ,< like an ordinary, family party. They boughtpicture postcards' of their father and. mother,' and, a, golliwog in. a; toyshop;' Suddenly, some :' : one 1 recognised them,,.and the next.minute they wero literally mobbed. !'Crowds', surged roftid them,' and they, fled into a- jeweller's* Bubp. ..' The crowd fallowed. By this time;the epecial ■■ detectives, led by Sir Edward Henry, 'were ofl • the spot. They made a pathway through th< orowd, and escorted the children back-to .th* , pontoon. r The Royal paid their pen- v nies and crossed again, to. Cowes, wner* they,insisted, as an hour of their.outing.tim« atill femained.von being taken somewhere. The attendants hired a wagonette,'and off they, went to IVhippingham Church, afterwards re* ~, turning to the Standart. ', ■>•■'■■ ■. In the evening the Tear gave a State din-. ' . ncr on the Standart, at'which the Kincand- • Qileen, Princess ..Victoria, the Prince onVales, and.other membersof the Roy&lFaniily were, present. ■ ' ■ ,- V- ,©' The following: afternoon the Lord Mayor'of ■■ London and a deputatiott from .the city corporation presented an address' of welcome in a . gold,casket to.the Tsar on board the- Stan« >■ . . dart.. A.deputation from the London Chamber i of Commerce also presented an address of W(sl», conie to the Tsar. , ."■' •■. ; '. „', .-u■ ■ : ; - v '; '