THE CHIDREN'S JUBILEE. A Happy Day in Hyde Park. SALA'S DESCRIPTION OF THE FETE. London, June 24.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 215, 13 August 1887, Page 4

THE CHIDREN'S JUBILEE. A Happy Day in Hyde Park. SALA 'S DESCRIPTION OF THE FETE. London, June 24.

Tiif most successful of all the Jubilee festivities so far has been the Children's Fete in Hyde Park. This is particularly satisfactory because prognostications of disaster were numerous. The " Pall Mall Gazette," more especially, foretold endless misfortunes, even going so far as to prophesy that when all was over, Mr Lawson would be classed with King Herod and other infant slaughterers. Still, other and more dispassionate judges averred it would be impossible,at such a time as the Jubilee, to engineer 30,000 little ones, living mostly at the East End, to and from Hyde Park. It therefore speaks volumes for the good management and organisation of the Committee that the whole affair should have passed off without a hitch, and not a single -child been missing when the final roll-calls were run over. The following concluding extract from the account of the fete* written by the veteran journalist, G. A. Sala, who was a prominent figure flitting .here, there, and everywhere amongst the children throughout the day, will give you some conception of the scene :—: — But by this time, in the immortal words of Homer, " they had put away from them the desire of eating and drinking," and the time for other pleasures was arrived. Like youthful giants refreshed the groups of boys and girls rose from the grass to find a perfect embarrassment of fun and frolic awaiting them. They gathered in large audiences round the open-air theatres, and watched the fantoccini, which were so comically life-like, except that the too candid sun would cast the shadow of the managers' hands upon the proscenium* They clustered like swarming bees round the Punch and Judy shows, which were in full force of that deathless and delightfully immoral tragical-comedy on every side- They watched the learned pigs and dogs and goats go through their lessons with a more than Board School docility. They raced and romped and fought for the air-balls, which were sent dancing and glistening over their heads in wildly lavish profusion — some floating far .overhead in gaily-tinted coveys, some sailing tantalisingly close to the earth, but ever rising anew when nearly grasped. Then there were the Aunt Sallies— which were not merely attacked but demolished, smashed, pulverised, massacred by the shower of sticks which the enchanted boys hurled at their devoted heads. There was a ki&s in the ring— the boys too shy to kiss just at first, but coon put up to that daring duty by the demure little damsels. There were races, leap-frog, ball play, football, touch and cross, follow my leader, and all sorts of ether improvised pastimes, with dances whenever the music struck up, and peep-shows full of such surprising visions that the boys and girls who got their noses against the glasses could not and would not take them away until the boys and girls waiting behind, in delirious impatience at the descriptions ejaculated, pulled the first comers bodily away from their place of vantage. Does anybody dream that was about all in the way of amusement ? All ? It was not even a half or a quarter. "Oh dear, oh dear," a small hing in white mob-cap and yellow gloves from Archbishop Tenison's school was heard to sigh, *' I wish it would never be night. I shan't be able to play at half the things here." And there were, indeed, a thousand skipping-ropes served out of waggons, forty-two thousand separate prize to be scrambled for, and, beyond all, wonderfully exciting " lucky-dip barrels," of which here is an official list of the contents : Japanese balls, walking sticks, folding ians, pop guns, dressed dolls, china head dolls, Japanese figures, monkeys on sticks, fancy mounted money boxes, china head walking sticks, Japanese figures, Jubilee Queen's portraits, Pan's pipes, toy butterflies, cornets, large boxes of paints, scholars' companions with pens, paper and blotter, &c.» new drawing slates, boxes of coloured crayons, fancy French kaleidoscopes, fancy wood money boxes, carved animals, coloured bookcases, snakes, musical pears, whistle mallots, horse and carts, polished wood pencil cases, mechanical walking figures, bird games, expanding figures, dolls in cradles, tin whistles, flageolets, tramcar whistles, fifteen puzzles, lotto games, Jubilee watches, pin-cushions, assorted boxes of toys, skipping-ropes, sailing boats, &c. Imagine these glories all shot out at once from the top of a fairy-firkin with saw-dust to veil and mystify them, and then imagine a horde of joyous lads and lasses plunging into the delicious debris and joyously fighting for the mass of mixed treasures, covered with saw-dust, gladness and perspiration. But it could not be imagined ! One must behold a Board School class turned loose at barrels of boundless wealth like these before the feeble and unassisted fancy can rise to the shrieks of laughter, the tangled hair, the tumbled frocks and pinaiores, the general frenzied glory and pleasure of the whole lawless proceeding. Tims wore off the golden afternoon, while the balloon " Victoria " waved bigger and bigger in the rear, and the paper bags drifted wildly westward, and e\en the toughest-fibred of the little Londoners began to show signs at last of having had almost enough of pleasure. At 5.15 p.m., however, the most thrilling moment of the day was to arrive, for then they would

see with their own eyes, and close afc hand -the Queen— the Queen herself, coming to visit her metropolitan children, and to smile upon them and actually to present one of the Memorial cups to « one of their own numb.r. They had feasted their small eyes on the Guardsmen, foot and horse ; the grand officers and soldiers posted all round on splendid chargers and in shining armour to guard their playground. They had beheld walking among them a most brilliant posse of fashionable people ; for, besides the duchesses, countetses, and highbred ladies acting inside the tents as general servants, there was the following company outside and among the children : Mrs Gladstone and Mr W. H. Gladstone, Duke and Duchess of Westminsler,Earl and Countess Spencer, Earl of Derby, Marquis and Marchioness of Ormonde, JVIrH. W. Lawson, M.P., Maria, Marchioness of Ailesbury, Marquis and Marchionoss of Londonderry, Duko of Portland, Marquis of Hartington, Marchioness of Salisbury, Lord and Lady Rothschild, Duke and Duchess of Abercorn, Siv Albert Sassoon, Sir Charles Warren, and many othors. Hut soon Her Majesty herself was to be there, and all the children would tee her face to face, when the Royal standard would go up to the llagstaff-head, and the Royal trumpeters would blow the .signal for the " Old Hundredth ' and "God .Save the Queen. " In preparation and anticipation of thiscrowning occurrence the Memorial Cups were now delivered, every " manJack " and every " woman-Jill " ot the boys and girls getting the pretty souvenir— a glazed goblet, with two portraits of her Majesty of a soft cream colour and graceful form. Then the distinguished persons gathered at the Committee Tent, the Guards' band struck up martial and patriotic strains, and the columns of little ones drew up along the line of the Royal route. At this juncture the great balloon soared aloft in the air with thee voyagers it its car, sailing serenely away for Surrey, where it descended safely last evening. Soon after iive o'clock members of the Royal tainily passed up Constitution Hill, and were received with an amount of enthusiasm which left nothing to be desired Upon the Queen's appeai*ance, in a dress of violet and black lace, and looking well, and highly pleased with the scene around her, Miss Lawson had the honour of offering Her Majesty a splendid bouquet of the loveliest orchids wrapped round with a silvered satin holder, bearing the inscription of the gateway — "Not Queen alone; but Mother, Queen, and Friend in one S" Other presentations followed, and then the Prince of Wales led to the Royal carriage a proud but trembling little maid of twelve years old, Florence Dunn by name, wearing many .school medals and possessing a perfectly blameless record of attendance and good conduct. In her little hands the Queen graciously and sweetly placed the cup, saying, "I urn pleased to give you this memorial of my Jubilee, dear child." A? soon as the too happy and too honoured girls had received the cup, the Union Jack went up to the ilag.staff under the Royal standard, and the bands struck up the first bar of the Old Hundredth, in which the little voices joined. " God bless the Prince of Wales " was next played, and, la-t of all, " God save tho Queen," and the Royal carriage rolled away towards. Paddington, on the way to Windsor.