THE WONDROUS PAGEANI AT COLCHESTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 75

THE WONDROUS PAGEANI AT COLCHESTER.

Bt E. P. Pkextys.

(Special to the Witness.) 11. Scene succeeds scene in quick succession in this wondrous pageant at Colchester. Some are grave, some gay. &on:e rich in gorgeous rites, some sylvan, in their delicacy. Constantius comes for tribute, and is conquered by the beauty of St. Helena, daughter of Old King Cool. " The godii be praised that he withheld his tribute ! " cries the Emperor as he beholds tho girl. . . Wilt thcu be Empress, Helena,? I have no time for dallia'ncs 1 Ay or no? If it be ay, 'tis well. If i o— fa/ewell! I saw thee — either way th* tribute's paid. And the two were lifted high en the shields of the soldiers, and carried into the temple for the maniag-3 ceremony. One other love story must hive mention — that of Kccgwjn with King Edward the Klder, " good King Alfred's glorious .'•or!." He finds her leading sheep among h-r nrudeiv- — ho hone: with garland', galh decked with flow"eis! Some skip th-n lope of roses, same to*s cowslip ball-. In :i few brief pantenccs tho dantk.-t of love stoi.es has b?en played, and ;t sh&phei J maiden becomes a queen. The years fluw by ir minutes, and Colcheater ■-aw the coming of Kings and Que-n-s in royal progress : King Henry and go"d Qae^n Eleanor; Kdwaid 111 and Philippa of Hainault: with them the Black Prince, a slim, little figure in yellow, a golden circlet among his daik cuiN, and liny Pm.ce.-d Joanna, a laughin/ two-year-old on a doakej — a lovely, fafr haired English child, the gold of her tro-v. n-!ike band ai-d daisy-decked curls minjjliiig. K.ich piocessxcn seemed more gorgeous than the la.*-! as it pa.s'-ed hi the sparklmg sunlight, a piigeaiytry of costume pio-grc--ing through the aze?. Got* us stiff C. ith \\o\en silver a'-d gold, waving plumes. glittsiing armour, brilliant downs and jewel"-, mounted letinue of Lidi^ and attendant squires, white horses, aid goigeous trapping?. Beyond, the dancing river and the slow passing of timbre groups of nuns in the semi-dis-(aiK?. Above all, the sound of triumphant munie. ai d the narrative chant of the Ihu'chc-tl e ho itis chronicling the progress of events. Then, amid th.e?e glories, the trials and tragedies of life — the passing of a leper through the brutal crowds ; the treacheries of kings who would wrest property from the people with which i-o reward favourites ; the capture of a pirato

barge from the river. Then, again, the pageantry — the coming of mom kings — Heary VI and Margaret of Anjou, Catherine of Arragon, and the great Elizabeth with Leicester in pink and silvei as her attendant squire, her dark blue, silveredged train flowing yards behind her. Oh, the glitter of it all! Surely one of the orettiest of the multiplicity of charming scenes was the mimic Court of little King Cool,' arranged for the entertainment of Elizabeth. The tiny King, in royal scarlet and gold, gravely dignified among his riotous court of children little older than himself, watched with his queenly "cousin" one of the most gorgeous of all the splendid dances for which this pageant was noteworthy. Such a dance as could only be arranged upon the green sward, under the wide canopy of the blue heavens. Myriads of dancers in groups of colours — here, cream and rose and lavender ; there, the faintest blues and greens and yellows. Up and 1 down, in and out, flew the dancere, turning, twisting, swaying, curtseying, as they, passed with waving ribbons, till the marvellous scene ended in the wild flight of the hundreds to fling themselves before the Queen, throned with her back ij the audience, her courtiers about her. It was a glorious semi-finale, for after this the whole character of the pageant suddenly changed. The peaceful landscape, i=o lately the setting or ' idyllio pictures and the glories of swiftly-passing courts, became a camping ground for soldiers. Colchester was under eijge. Guns filed, trumpets blared. u<jop<-.rs hurried hither and thither, .vhile to "the little group in the centre came nwssiYi.iex pfter messenger with yet worse news. The burgesses of Colchester were mainly for Parliament, out they were weak, and the Royalists, under Lord Goring and Sir Charles Lucas, forced an entrance while debate raged, raised their standard, and' quartered the troops upon the city. Hardly, was this accomplished before the Parliamentary force? " thundered at tlie gates, threatening to plunder the town unless tha Royalists made surrender. Matters. go from bad to worse, and the firing of guns is almost perpetual. Beyond the river, mounted and unmounted men march andf countermarch. The wounded ire brought to where tl*e women have established an ambulance, spies are caught an/1 driven forth with scornful messages. Colchester has become a "starved, empty snell of a ruined town, with only half x barrel of gunpowder left in it, but plenty of bhe enemy's great shot." The citizens, well nigh desperate, cry : "Yield the town! Yield the town!" At length a parley is p.&tempted, but Lord Fairfax refuses to trea* until the captive committee is freed, and to this Goring agrees, amid the clamour of the starring populace, when an arrow with letter attached brings word of y ( t further disaster to the Royalist forces* So the little band of Parliamentarians go forth to make what te»ms they -can tor their erstwhile conquerors. Then in ride a. group of Ironsides bearing the treaty. Ordnance, arms, ammunition, and drums are to ba given up. All private soldiers and officers under the rank of captains are to receive quarter. . . "Read fearlessly, men ; we expect the worst," said Goring, his velvet cloak and the plumes in his nat waving in t : .e breeze. "The lords, captains, and superior officers shall render themselves to the mercy of the Lord-general." '"Is it signed?" "It is signed my lord." Gradually the bands of grim, aUciplined, leather-clad soldiery had been 'thronging in. The brilliancy of the Royalists looked curiously out of place among ♦hem. They slipped to the background w'nile the leaders of the opposition forces ciseussed their fate. Ireton was fcr the death of the traitors, Fairfax for clemency. "Peace, gentlemen*!" ha n-ied as angry voices rose. 'Confer together, ?nd make up your written vote — death, or respite !" Hastily the men scribbled and tossed the scraps of paper into tha helmet of an Ironside. Fairfax opened and read : "The sentence i? — death! May God l-ave mercy upon your souls." Arrangements were speedily *~iarle. A chaplain went froir one to another of the conilcjmned men. Firing » arties were detached, and in a dramatically .-till moment Lucas stood forth. '"See, T am ready for you,'' he cried. "Now reoels, do your worst !"' The word of command was ;»iven. the soldiers fired, and a curious cry, LaJf shout, half groan, went up from me people as Bir Charles fell forward npon Ms fa<^e and lay a p.ithetic figure in its motion'ess-nes-s. Lisle advanced, knelt for a moment reside his dead friend, then filing his gauntlet defiantly towards the Parliamentarians as he called them to come forward lest they mist, their mark. It was over, except for the glory and pageantry of the final tableau, v.h°n band after band came forward until all the thousands were a«>embled, while the chorus chanted, the trumpet, blared, and the sun shone upon the glittering throng and the sparkling river. . Kings aid queen? and noble*, warriors amd citizens, acolytes and grizzled giey-beards, dancing g'rls and children scattering loses nuns and priests, Royalists and Roundheads — all inarching in endless lines find surging around the gorgeoiis standaid*. white and *.car!et, green and gold, ciinvon and purple — -* riot of", colour, sunlight, and joy, ending with three great hurrahs, as with raised ;.rms the whole multitude burst into «he National Anthem.

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