PAGEANT OF EIGHT CENIURIES.

Hokitika Guardian, 3 October 1923, Page 4

PAGEANT OF EIGHT CENIURIES.

(ll.iißltM 8 SCENES AT Alt I NDLL. ARUNDEL Sussex), Aug. 13. To iii--fv the longing which mosl o. us hate to' see dav Lug pad relived In*for s our eyes is. I take it apart iron! lho enriching of the funds ol the local liuspi; a 1 which will Imii*. lit hum the : ale ol t icket - l la* purpose "I 1 *’•' ,\ nun lei Historical I’miraut "Inch wth be performed in the lovely pain oi Al'umlel Castle mi Tuesday and tin* two following days. And, having jnsl w niched the dress rehearsal of the pageant, 1 can do no less than plead with all "ho know that the pß't and presonl arc all one texture, who tu.-dor-tand that we are what our latl.o.n have made us, and that we can only wisely rule our live, by studying Hu* Mon ol their lives In go to fee it. A BEAUT! IT!. SETTING. Arundel itself is hi lory. This little town, set mi the slopes of the hil l wln'*re reigns the castle, many ol whose walls contain work of .Normans who toiled under linger do Montgomery Soil years ago, has seen mi many conflicts, lias In the home of so many who snifered in the wars of eight centuries. Fifteen hundred people from miles around are taking part in the show It is the .-.tory of Arundel Castle which is unfolded in ihe eight episodes of Urn pag*; nt, ai d it covers the time from lhe coming oi the Norman cnuqtierui until the i.polling of the Barons Halt iust heiore Waterloo. Ha* theatre is a beautiful cricket ground, lying northwest of the on -tie. which can he dimly seen through the tall and ancient, trees. ||igh hanks, on which the spectators sit. make it a wonderful plate tor sound, and to-day tlu* words have emtio very clearly lo us who watched the progress ot the centuries. Mr. Patrick Kirwau, the master ol the pageant, skilful producer ol a great .spectacle as he is, found really little to complain about. Tue pertorniers, "ho range in station from the id-year-old Duke of Norfolk to farm labourers and tradesmen, who have so thrown their hearts into the business that ihc whole moved, even in these rehearsal hours, with wonderful smoothness. On either side of the ground are the screening trees. 1* rom behind them appear in their order the performers in the succeeding episodes, gallant processions of radiant colour in this green and happy place. Two trumpeters who with singular longevity.lasted from from the 11th to the .10th centuries, herald the appearance of each ot them in turn. At one time it is a lugutivo Saxon carl, at another a line of singing hoys from the ( ollege of Holy Trinity, Chichester, that Benedictine foundation which is now no more than a memory. There are the Roundheads who lay siege to the* Castle. And there is Elizabeth. .MUSIC FOR THE QUEEN. Especially Elizabeth. Whether or not she ever visited Arundel 1 do not know. Tt is certain that she treated the Howards most unkindly, with an axe and an executioner and similar trimmings. But the pageant says she came here.

>]io f,vui;' rilling delicately on a proud litilo horse. Instruments of music played her in with music written hy the "real William Byrd : who 1 ivotl and diil his mighty work in her reign. Maids of honour, chief of whom was the (Ink’s sister, Lady Rachel Howard, nttenod her and stood on either side of her throne on a dais, while I;nights in shining armour galloped against each other in the lists below. And then came what to many will be, I think, the most beautiful of all the scenes in this long procession of beauty. Two long lines of men and women, dressed many of them in old and wonderful materials, formed up on either

side of the dais. The players began a gentle, lilting tune, and they danced before the Queen, danced with slow and stately steps, advancing , retreating with a grave and gallant courtesy. And the world of ja 7;/. and the saxophone faded away, while one lived lor a little while in a more gracious habitation.