village over which her sway extended. In Canada, in Australia, in sorely-tried South Africa, in India, and in the islands of the main, all divisions caused by race or distance seemed to be obliterated, and we had the wonderful spectacle of an Empire united through all its millions as one man by a common feeling of love and loyalty.

No more signal proof of the fact that we have entered not merely upon a new reign, but a new era, could be wished for than that which is afforded by the ceremonies of the month. It is true that the first and greatest of these ceremonies, the Queen's funeral, belonged rather to the old reign than the new. But even in it

there was something more than the hint of change. The Queen, by her own desire, had a soldier's funeral, and her people, as they attended in countless hosts the passage of her coffin from Osborne to Frogmore, were witnesses of a naval and military pageant the like of which has never been seen before. It was fitting that the ruler of the greatest naval Empire the world has ever known should be carried across the Solent under the protecting shadow of the great warships that form the material bulwark of the State. But it was a novel spectacle that was offered in London when the funeral procession of an English Queen was formed almost exclusively of armed men, representing the flower of our army. But for one all-sufficing fact, this solemn and stately pageant might have conflicted with the popular conception of the Queen's life and character. That fact was the aspect of the people of London as the glittering procession passed through the streets. They had gathered in multitudes not to be numbered; terrible and almost sublime in their immensity, but infinitely more impressive in their silence and their grief. On the coffin which contained the beloved remains, the splendid regalia of the sovereignty of England lay exposed to view, but no one had eyes for the glittering crowns with their jewels of fabulous price, or for orb and sceptre with their mystic significance. The one thought of the men and women who formed that wonderful crowd seemed to be for that which was contained within the coffin. The Queen was passing through her capital for the last time, and it was of her, not of the martial hosts by whom she was attended, not of the panoply of royal magnificence that covered her bier, hardly even of the King and the company of monarchs and princes who surrounded him, that all men thought. The greatness of a nation's grief absorbed even the grandeur of the military spectacle and the brilliancy of that unparalleled band of mourners. It was the Queen, the Queen alone, who on this last sad day commanded the homage of every heart.

But since then London, at all events, has been living in a whirl of regal ceremonies that has opened the eyes of many, for the first time in their lives, not only to the antiquity, but to the significance of the monarchy. The Proclamation of King Edward the Seventh came too quickly after the severe blow of the Queen's death to be

fully appreciated even by those who saw the ceremony, with its paraphernalia of quaintly bedizened heralds and pursuivants. Judging from the Press, I should say that this particular ceremonial made a deeper impression abroad than at home. The Continental and American illustrated newspapers were full of it, and of the symbolism of the ancient procedure. The opening of Parliament by the King in person was, however, another matter. It was something the full significance of which every Englishman could grasp. It was, at the same time, conclusive proof of the fact that the Court, so long practically invisible, is once more amongst us with all its ancient splendour restored. For many years past London has known practically nothing of the pageantry of a Court. The two Jubilee processions were really the only spectacles in which the full resources of the English Court, so far as ceremonial is concerned, had been revealed to this generation. For the rest, they read in the Court Circular the sober chronicle of the Queen's doings, and though they . learned from it something of the dignified state in which the Sovereign spent her days, they saw nothing of it for themselves. All this has been changed in a day by the event of the 22nd of January. The Court has suddenly become a reality, and the outward magnificence of the English Crown has been made visible to everybody. For the moment the effect of the transformation is slightly bewildering-as that of transformation scenes generally is. We had been so long accustomed to the subdued tones of Windsor and Osborne in the old reign that the sudden blaze of light and colour which has ushered in the new is more than a little dazzling. No one can predict what may be the ultimate effect of the changed order. If we cannot forget that the influence and popularity of the Crown were never so great as during the years of Queen Victoria's widowhood, we cannot, on the other hand, shut our eyes to the fact that the nation loves a spectacle when it is one of solid magnificence and when it represents an institution that is great in reality as well as in outward form. From time immemorial men have agreed to regard the trappings of royalty as being inseparable from royalty itself. That they are not an essential part of the institution to which they belong our experience during the past forty years has proved. But it may well be doubted whether the Crown could afford for more than one generation to conceal its external splendours from the public eye. In any case, it will be admitted that Edward the Seventh has merely been faithful to the duty which his great office imposes upon him by restoring to us the full ceremonial of a Court. For the present, of course, that ceremonial is affected by the national mourning, but even now it is clear that no 'maimed rites will be tolerated in the performance of the external duties of the sovereignty. The fine pageant which the people of London witnessed on the day when the new Session of Parliament was opened

was startling in its novelty to those who beheld it for the first time. Yet we have to recognise the fact that in future such pageants will be the ordinary accompaniment of the movements of the Sovereign on all State occasions. In this respect at all events we are already separated by an immeasurable gulf from the old century and the old era.

By universal consent King Edward, in the discharge of the serious duties of the kingly office, has shown brilliant tact, great dignity and a strong sense of the gravity of the responsibilities now laid upon him. His first speech, at the Accession Council, on the morrow of the Queen's death, won the sympathy and admiration not only of those who heard it, but of all who afterwards became acquainted with it. The sincerity of the speaker was manifest to everybody, and it was a sincerity which revealed at the same moment deep personal feeling, a full recognition of the great duties and responsibilities of the position to which he had been called, and a touching personal modesty that threw into yet higher relief the splendour and loneliness of the monarchy. Since then in his messages to his people within the limits of the three kingdoms and beyond the seas, to his Indian subjects, and to the Navy and Army, he has consistently maintained the key-note thus struck in his first speech after coming to the throne. All the world knows that his expressions of grief for the loss of his revered mother sprang from his heart, and no one doubts that his repeated declaration of his resolve to follow in her footsteps as a constitutional monarch—‘a sound constitutional Sovereign' is said to have been the phrase he used in his first speech to the Privy Council-comes from the heart also. That he understands and appreciates the greatness of the position to which he has been called has been made clear from his statements in the past as well as from his actions during the last month. The monarch is no lay figure, even in a country in which the constitution commands universal respect. A great part in the national life lies before King Edward, and if he is to be judged by his utterances since he came to the throne, and by the testimony of those who know him, it is evident that he means to fill it worthily— as his mother did before him. We have not enjoyed as many days. of his reign as we had years of the Queen's; but already the country is beginning to feel that he is entitled not merely to the respect which is the due of his august position, but to the affectionate confidence of the people over whom he rules.

One of the first duties of the House of Commons in the present Session will be to make adequate provision for the Civil List of the Crown. It is part of the inestimable legacy which Queen Victoria has left to her successor that this question will not now excite the feeling that it would certainly have caused in days not very far distant. The cheeseparing policy which twenty years ago a

considerable section of the electors were anxious to apply even to the revenues of the Crown no longer finds favour with the public. Those of us who remember how stoutly Mr. Gladstone had to fight to bring his followers into line on the question of the royal grants must feel that the times are changed indeed when not a murmur of discontent is heard in connection with the approaching re-settlement of the personal revenues of the Crown. The common-sense of the nation enables it to recognise the fairness of the demand that full provision shall be made for the proper maintenance of the monarchy. Men of all parties now agree that it would be insufferable if the greatest of the world's Empires were to deal in a grudging and parsimonious spirit with the Sovereign who is its supreme representative and chief. Most also recognise the fact that even in palaces the cost of living has become greater since Queen Victoria's reign began, and that the incomes of private persons have advanced, whilst that of the Sovereign has been standing still. All these considerations have had the effect of preparing the public mind for the discussion of the question of the Civil List. That it will not pass without some discussion is certain; but so far as appears at present the discussion will turn upon the amount by which the Civil List of the last reign must be augmented to meet the necessities of the new régime. Yet whilst there is every disposition to deal fairly and liberally with the new Sovereign there is a strong feeling in many quarters that advantage should be taken of the re-settlement of the revenues of the Crown in order to put an end to any expenses that are not merely extravagant in themselves, but useless and even mischievous in their character. Much was done in the early years of the Queen's reign to reform the abuses which grow up in every Court, and all that was done was for the benefit of the Queen herself. It is probable that the process of reform will now be carried further, and that some of those encumbrances of the Court which are neither useful nor ornamental will be swept away. For the moment all parties in the House of Commons seem to be united as to one quarter in which the hand of reform should make itself felt. It was unfortunate on many grounds that when the King commanded the attendance of his faithful Commons to hear the Speech from the Throne, the accommodation provided in the House of Lords for the members of the other Chamber should have been hopelessly and ludicrously inadequate. It may be though this is doubtful that precedent was strictly followed in the steps taken by the responsible authorities with regard to the admission of the members of the House of Commons to the King's presence. But even that fact did not soften the indignation of men who, having filled some of the highest offices in the service of the State, found themselves roughly hustled and crushed in a vain attempt to obey the royal command. The King himself has been moved by the

knowledge of what happened, and by his command a Joint Committee of the two Houses will be formed to consider in what way scandals of the same kind may be avoided in the future. It is not improbable that the suggestion that Westminster Hall, the scene of so many gatherings of historic interest, shall be used when Parliament is opened by the Sovereign will be adopted. But the question of the maintenance of great hereditary offices in connection with the Court, the holders of which are almost necessarily unequal to the duties they have at rare intervals to perform, will possibly obtrude itself into the discussion of the Civil List.

The opening night of debate in Parliament showed that the main topic of political interest is still the war in South Africa. The news from the scene of operations during the past month has been very scanty. Indeed, for several days after the Queen's death, hardly a word was transmitted either from official or unofficial sources, and dark rumours of disaster in consequence became general. These rumours were happily unconfirmed; but it is clear that Lord Kitchener is resolved not to raise any hopes in the minds of the people at home that events may falsify. He confines himself to the bare recital of actual facts, and the story is often told so briefly as to be almost unintelligible. We know, however, that the guerilla warfare is still being kept up under the leadership of Commandants Botha and De Wet, and that Cape Colony has not yet been cleared of the enemy. The adroitness of De Wet in avoiding any pitched battle with our troops, whilst inflicting almost continuous damage upon our lines of communication and the property of loyal farmers and citizens, is as extraordinary as ever. But in spite of this discouraging fact it is clear that the steady pressure which is being applied to the guerilla forces by Lord Kitchener and General French is gradually weakening the enemy both in men and ammunition. In the Transvaal the country is being cleared by our troops over a wide area, so that the Boers must be increasingly hampered in their movements by want of supplies. But this process of clearing the country is carried on at a cost which can hardly be calculated. It means the ruin of a vast territory where two years ago comparative wealth and prosperity were universal. That the process is inevitable if the war is to be brought to a successful close hardly makes it less hateful and painful. In the meantime, the reinforcements which ought to have been sent out to South Africa at least three months ago are being at last sent forward. The response of the Yeomanry and the Volunteers to the appeal of the Government, if not up to the high pitch of January 1900, has still been remarkable all the more remarkable because the private letters from soldiers at the front have dispelled any illusions as to the nature of the task entrusted to them. But the work of preparing the new levies for their duties in the field takes time, and it will be many weeks before Lord Kitchener

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