Ladies.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 22, 26 August 1893, Page 7

Ladies.

THE ROf. L WEDDING.

(By W. H. Mathieson.) The marriage of the Duke of York and Princess May took place on the 6th July, and I was one of the thousands who witnessed the great procession which formed part of the ceremonies. Prom a very early hour, in fact, from the night before, the streets were simply impassable by reason of the crowds of persons who were out to see the decorations. Seats to view the procession brought fabulous prices—anything from 10s to 30 guineas, according- to the position and situation of the coign of vantage. The scene, as viewed from Ludgate Hill, looking towards the Strand, was magnificent. As fax’ as the eye could reach across the streets ax-ches, garlands of flowers, and x’ows of flags made up a picture of almost fairy splendoui’, evei’y tx'adesman seeming to vie with his neigh - boux’ ixx the px’ofusion of his display. The seats were filling fi’om 12 o’clock, although the procession w r as not expected to pass until half-past five. London w*as evidently out fox’ a holibest attire, and the stx*eets were thionged -with a well-dx’essed, wellbehaved crowd. Evex’y point from which a glimpse conld be seen of the pi-ocession was crammed with an eagerly expectant thx-ong - . The weather, as if in sympathy with the joyful occasioxx, was at its vex’y best — brilliant suxxshine and very hot. The shops were all closed fx’onx noon — those with large windows having a stout barricade of boards to protect them from the expected crush. Ladies, many of them beautifully costumed, moved ixx and out among the crowd, and gave additional animation to the scexxe. Standing at any point, a constant chaxxge of faces was presented to the onlooker —a movingpanorama of x-eal life. The buses, cabs, etc., with the evident intention of making- hay while the sun shone, had ixxcreased their fares from Id to a shilling and upwards. The cabs would not do much under a pound, but at 12.30 they had to cease work axxd give way to the great pi’ocessioxx. I was coxxversing- with several gentlemen who were present at the Jubilee festivities, and they said that there was no doubt the decorations at the royal marriage considerably exceeded, ixx point of magnificence, those at the Jubilee. The season of the year axxd the brilliant sunshine were pleasaxxt features, and everything seemed to conspii’e to gye the future King and Qxxeexx of Britain an auspicious and joyful marriage day. Of coui’se I had never seen such a lax-ge crowd before, and am never likely to again under such circumstances, and what particularly sti-uck

me was its orderly nature and the evident good-humour of everybody present. The London rough, who is supposed to be an incorrigible black-guax-d, I did not see —at least-not in that stage of the proceedings. .Boys and girls were singing and dancing along the stx-eets, and the popular music hall soxxgs were sung by crowd after crowd, bxxt no larx-ikinism did I see. About three o’clock a detachment of the police filed past. These were followed by some cavalry, after- which came the Bx-itish Grenadier Guards’ Band, followed by the British Grenadier Ixxfantxy (considered to be the finest infantry regixnent in the world) Here a little break in the proeeedixxgs occxxxred when the fire brigades dashed through the crowd towards the scene of some fire in the outskirts of the city. The cx-owd which had been gradually gathering from 2 o’clock, now assuxxxed vast propox'tions, each side of the streets being lined with one mass of moving humanity. From my vantage ground at Ludgate Hill, at the top of one of the highest buildings (where, by the way, I dictated my impressions to a shox’thand writer- as the events occurred) I had a good opportunity of reviewing the proceedings. After the soldiers, passed a gorgeously dressed officer of the Life Guards, with a dispatch in hand. Then came the band of the Horse Guards, all mouxxted—supposed to be the bestdressed military band in the world — ixx fact the unifox-ms were one mass of gold lace. After the band, came H.M.’s Life Guards, dressed in a magnificent uniform with silver* bx’east-plates and helmets, with their white tassels glittering in the sxxn. These men, I need hardly remark, rode jet black horses. They were the finest cavalry regiment I have ever seexx, axxd their* brilliant uniforms formed a pleasing contx*ast to the more sedate dresses of the citizens. Some time before the royal precession was expected a cart came along the street scattering sand. At 4.20 p.xn. the mouxxted police came down ixx a body with a detachment of the Life Guards and xmshed their horses right ixxto the crowd, then turned round and made way for the Royal Party, who were now expected ; but despite the most persistent efforts on their part, the crowd would xxot be pushed back. It took thexxx a considerable time to clear anything like a respectable roadway, and the people had to be jammed like sardines on each side of the street — they stood fully 20 deep on each side of the pavements. Every kind of corner, every window, every balcony, every place where a view of the precession could be seen, was packed with people; even the very roofs of the houses all along were thronged. Such a scene as Ludgate Hill presented at this time,

I suppose has never Been equalled. The first that was seen of the Royal Procession was a large detatchment of police. Then followed a hand of the 17th Lancers, a perfect picture in themselves, and popularly known as “ Death and Glory Boys.” The Masters of the Horse followed next in solemn black. The Lifeguards (blue) next made, them appearance with red plumes instead of white as in the other and blue uniforms, seven abreast. A full military escort, four, of these magnificently dressed detachments, filed past in rapid succession. These 'were followed by the carriage, drawn by four horses, bearing the Royal Pair, who bowed on each side to the assembled multitude, amid tremendous cheering-. They were followed by four detachments ag-ain of the Life Guards with white plumes, forming- a scene of military splendour mpossible to convey in words. The impression made by that brief glimpse of the pageant can never be effaced from my memory. The Duchess of York was dressed in cream and white with a bonnet to match, and looked, as she ought to look, the very perfection of feminine loveliness. The crowd which had hitherto been kept within bounds, now broke loose from all restrictions, and the marriage, so far as the public w-ere concerned, w-as over. Althoug-h the Southern Cross is one of the youngest journals in New Zealand, I flattered myself with the idea that it is the only one in the colony which had a special correspondent on the ground. As I was making- my way to my hotel after the ceremony, I saw a large crowd rushing back. I thought there w r as a fire, but I heard the sound of music and, of course, made my way for it, when I had the pleasure of seeing the band of the Life Guards and them playing- on horseback. They were playing a lively popular tune. Immediately behind them were the Life Guards in double file, reaching fully half a mile long. I -would not have missed this scene for a good deal. The band’s uniform is credited with being the richest in the world, each uniform costing over £BS —so it can well be imagined what a g-orgeous spectacle was then presented. I was in Glasgow the night before, and travelled all night by the midnight exjn-ess, a distance of 405 miles in 10 hours, on purpose to see the festivities, and I am very pleased that I was present, as it is an event that will live in history. At night London presented a wonderful appearance. The decorations of the teleg-raph office, which is opposite the post office, although plain, showed up very well from the immense size of the building, one device, Her Majesty’s Crown, in particular being- very pretty. At the corner, the initials of the Prince and Princess were nicely worked in a monogram, surrounded by a scroll. All vehicular traffic was completely suspended, and the people were out

in great numbers viewing the illunw inations. The decorations of th© Mansion House were unique. There were differently coloured globes, working’ in the words “ God bless them,’* with the letters “ G.M.” underneath, with Her Majesty’s crown on a velvet canopy, with rose, shamrock, and thistle worked in below. The Corinthian columns were entwined with different coloured gas jets, while the free side of the street was lit up with green lights along - the parapets, bringout the configuration of the building. On the top of all was a fringe of lights were seven large torches. The old Bank of England, the premierfinancial institution of the world, had evidently for once come out of her shell. The coloured lights were hanging festoons of white and red alternatively, with a diainond in the centre of each. Along the front of the building was a massive shield emblematic of the royal marriage, with the coat of arms on the top. Along the top of the building were white and red lights alternatively. The middle part of the building and windows, and along the top parapet, were worked in with a beautiful stone work of fairy lamps, red and white alternately, with a shield in the centre. The letters G.M. were very prominently brought forward by crystal lights, white and red —white in the body, and red along the borders. The crowd we first went into was in two streams one going up the right and the other down the left—• just exactly 20 abreast, in all about 40 abreast going along the street. This gives one a fair idea of the crowd as seen by me. As we got nearer the Bank of England the crowd became denser and denser, until it got quite unmanageable. Several crowds attempted to pass through and so break the stream of traffic, and the conseqtiences were at once disastrous. Many ladies screamed and a great number fainted. I got into one of the worst of these crushes and had actually to fight my way out. I have never been in such a crowd before, and do not care to repeat the experiment. I must say that the police did their very best to maintain order, but all will admit that the occasion was one on which a g-ood deal of latitude had to be allowed. r~