Chapter XII

Coronation Day

>>>>O thou that sea-walls sever
>>>>From lands unwalled by seas !
>>>>Wilt thou endure forever,
>>>>O Milton s England, these?
>>>>Thou that wast his Republic,
>>>>Wilt thou clasp their knees?
>>>>These royalties rust-eaten,
>>>>These worm-corroded lies
>>>>That keep thy head storm-beaten,
>>>>And sun-like strength of eyes
>>>>From the open air and heaven
>>>>Of intercepted skies !
>>>>-- Swinburne

Vivat Rex Eduardus ! They crowned a king this
day, and there has been great rejoicing and elabo
rate tomfoolery, and I am perplexed and saddened.
I never saw anything to compare with the pageant,
except Yankee circuses and Alhambra ballets; nor
did I ever see anything so hopeless and so tragic.

To have enjoyed the Coronation procession, I
should have come straight from America to the
Hotel Cecil, and straight from the Hotel Cecil to a
five-guinea seat among the washed. My mistake
was in coming from the unwashed of the East End.

[[138]]

p137 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p138w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p139

v?