Sixty Years a Queen Part 40

Born 1827. Discovered the antiseptic method in surgery. Created a Baronet in 1883, and a Baron in 1897.]

Although it is the name of a Frenchman, the late M. Pasteur, which is most conspicuously a.s.sociated with recent progress in pathology, it was Sir Joseph (now Lord) Lister who was led by Pasteur's researches into the theory of fermentation to discover the antiseptic system of surgery.

He employed carbolic acid, previously known as little more than a laboratory product, in destroying microbes which had found access to a wound, and thereby first made surgery scientific. But Lister did more than that; the antiseptic treatment was superseded in turn by the aseptic, in which, by sterilising everything that might come in contact with wounds, access was refused altogether to microbes, and henceforward operations surpa.s.sing the most ambitious dreams of the old school of surgery were rendered possible. From the work of Pasteur and Lister has arisen the science of bacteriology, which, in the hands of Professor Koch, of Berlin, and others, is being developed into the systematic "cultivation" of the germs of specific diseases.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by W. & D. Downey._

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN, 1897.

The authorized Diamond Jubilee Portrait.]

British surgeons have not been slow to avail themselves of the discovery, by Professor Rontgen, of certain non-luminous rays beyond the spectrum, which are capable of penetrating substances. .h.i.therto considered impermeable. By laying such a structure as a human limb upon a properly sensitised surface, and exposing it to these rays thrown from a tube excited by electricity, a permanent image is obtained of the bones and denser portions of the structure. By this means the exact position of any foreign substance, such as a bullet or needle, or the nature of a dislocation or fracture, may be ascertained with precision; and already it has been found possible to examine the condition of the internal organs of a living person.

[Sidenote: Sanitary Legislation.]

Mr. Disraeli was once greatly laughed at for announcing that the policy of his Administration was _Sanitas sanitatum, omnia sanitas_. Since then the two great political parties have vied with each other in framing legislation for the sanitation of cities and all human dwellings. It may be difficult to decide which has had most hand in the good result already shown in the mortality returns, legislators or men of science; at all events, they are worthy rivals. The annual death-rate in England during the first ten years of the present reign was 224 per 1,000; it was a shade higher in the decade from 1861-70, standing at 225 per 1,000. Then came the age of sanitation and the dawn of bacteriology; the death-rate sank in 1871-80 to 214 per 1,000, and in 1881-90 to 191 per 1,000.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _By permission of_} {_G. Houghton & Son, High Holborn._

RADIOGRAPH OF THE HAND OF H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES.]

In bringing to a close this brief survey of the reign of twelve l.u.s.tres--the longest reign in the history of Great Britain--we may note with grat.i.tude that not one of the many influences that have contributed to the moral or material well-being of the subjects of the empire shows any sign of abating in force. It is a task of no little difficulty and complexity to reconcile the rival, and sometimes conflicting, interests arising in a vast population, and, at the same time, to maintain our lead in the compet.i.tive industry of nations; yet it is one which the personal character of the Monarch, in conjunction with the const.i.tutional development of the last sixty years justify the Legislature in undertaking with courage and good hope.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by H. N. King._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE: THE GARDEN FRONT AND THE LAKE.]

SIXTY YEARS A QUEEN.

THE DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS.

By ALFRED C. HARMSWORTH.

CHAPTER I.

The Central Idea of the Celebrations--The Imperial Character of the Pageant--The Colonial Premiers Invited--The Decorations--Influx of Visitors--Grand Stands--Precautions against Accidents--Thanksgiving Services on Accession Day--The Queen's Arrival in London--Night in the Streets.

We have traced the history of our great Queen down to the point where her Record Reign reaches its culmination in the festivities of June, 1897. Nothing now remains but to give some account of these Imperial celebrations--Imperial in the truest sense of the word, because faithful subjects of Her Majesty, of every colour and every creed, came from the four corners of the most majestic Empire that has ever existed to pay homage to the Lady Ruler over all. Pen and pencil must necessarily fail to do justice to so unique a demonstration of an Empire's love and devotion, but the reader of these words may rely upon it that our account is true in every detail. Such a record will be found useful not only by those who actually took part in the Diamond Jubilee festivities and who wish to refresh their memories, but also by those to whom they will be matter of history.

The possibilities of a great celebration in 1897 were first discussed after the Jubilee of 1887, although it was not until 1896 that public interest was thoroughly aroused in the great event. Men felt vaguely that the sixtieth anniversary of the reign of the best-beloved of all British Sovereigns demanded an especial effort on the part of all loyal subjects; but as to the manner in which the event should be celebrated, opinions were as various as the men who gave utterance to them. One only definite desire was in everybody's heart--that the Queen should come down among her people and receive their congratulations in person.

This was the central idea round which all schemes cl.u.s.tered, and this was the idea to which the Queen gave her sanction. In March of 1897 it was officially proclaimed that Her Majesty would go in procession to St.

Paul's to offer up her thanks to the Supreme Being for all the blessings of her long reign.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Russell & Sons._

THE RIGHT HON. JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN.

Born in London in 1836. He was educated at University College School, and afterwards joined his father, who was a member of the firm of Nettlefold and Chamberlain, screw manufacturers, of Birmingham. He was elected Chairman of the Birmingham Education League in 1868, member of the Town Council in the same year, and of the School Board in 1870; of the last he became Chairman in 1873. He was Mayor of Birmingham during the years 1874-75-76, and has represented that town in Parliament since 1876. He accepted the Presidency of the Board of Trade with a seat in Mr. Gladstone's Cabinet in 1880, and in 1886 the Presidency of the Local Government Board, but resigned in March of that year when his political chief declared in favour of Home Rule for Ireland. After the general election of 1895 he became Secretary of State for the Colonies in Lord Salisbury's Administration. He is the Leader in the House of Commons of the Liberal wing of the Unionist Party. He married (as his third wife) Miss Endicott, an American lady, in 1888.]

[Sidenote: Colonial Premiers Invited.]

And here let honour be rendered to whom honour is due. From the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Chamberlain, emanated the action which gave the event its Imperial character--the invitation of the Colonial Premiers and the representative detachments of men from the various forces of Colonial and other troops serving under her throughout our world-wide Empire. A brilliant military pageant might have been effected by the employment only of the troops of our regular army; but we have other forces across the seas, small it may be in numbers, but magnificent in physique and all that const.i.tutes martial efficiency, whose presence on such an occasion would add l.u.s.tre and a peculiar significance to the great function.

Meanwhile our grey old London set about adorning itself for the great event. To transform a working city like London into a temporary fairyland is a task of herculean proportions, but it was done! The Corporation voted 25,000 to a decoration fund, and the most moderate estimate fixes the cost of London's holiday garb at 250,000. Venetian masts appeared suddenly in all the streets along which the procession was to make its way; and as the fateful day drew near, festoons of flowers and loyal inscriptions were suspended from these. Cunningly concealed in the hanging bouquets of flowers were electric lamps destined to make the streets even more brilliant at night than they were in the daytime.

[Sidenote: The Decorations.]

The actual route literally blazed with colour. Flags were at a premium and so were coloured stuffs and flowers, for the Jubilee had asked more than the supply, and in many cases the North country mills were working day and night to make good the deficiency. When at last the great city had finished her toilet, not even her own children recognized her.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by York & Son._

THE DECORATIONS IN ST. JAMES'S STREET.]

St. James's Street sat at the head of all, a perfect poem of decorative beauty. There were two ma.s.sive Corinthian pillars at either end, their capitals of gold surmounted by large globes, their bases adorned with choice growing palms and flowers. Forty venetian masts capped with the Imperial crown stood on each side of the street, and from mast to mast were laced festoons of evergreens, from which hung baskets of rare flowers, birds in flight, and globes of red, white, and blue gla.s.s, which sparkled in the sunlight and turned the roadway into a pathway of quivering light.

Other thoroughfares vied with St. James's Street. In the Strand the omnibuses ran under swaying lines of many-coloured globes hanging across the roadway from one flower-bedecked venetian mast to another. Round the pillars of the Mansion House and the Royal Exchange were serpentine trails of tiny gas jets winding far up under the dark eaves of the roof, and from Buckingham Palace to St. Paul's vast buildings were literally outlined with tiny gas and electric light lamps. The Fire Monument and other public monuments came in for special decorative attention, and in some cases hundreds of pounds were spent in beautifying them for the great show.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE DECORATIONS AT THE CARLTON CLUB.]

In Victoria Street the offices of the various Colonies were alive with colour, and even the south side of the river, where loyalty is more abundant than money, was gay with its decorations, in the form of golden eagles with outstretched wings, and lines of real flowers stretched across the thoroughfares on invisible wires.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_By York & Son._

THE DECORATIONS IN THE WEST STRAND. Showing on the right a portion of the Grand Stand at Charing Cross Station.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by York & Son._

THE DECORATIONS AT THE BANK OF ENGLAND.]

But the generous efforts of Civic and Parish authorities were not a whit more remarkable than those of private individuals. Many of the houses along the route of the procession were covered with decorations from cellar to attic. The colour generally chosen was red, but in some instances costly materials of delicate shades were used. Draperies of brilliant hues were hung from almost every window, so that some of the streets resembled theatres rather than the busy thoroughfares of a busy city.

Nor were the decorations confined to the streets. Every errand boy wore his Jubilee favour days before the event. From every whip fluttered a little pennant of the national colour. Scarcely a bicycle pa.s.sed that had not on its handle-bar gay streamers of red, white, and blue, and even the practical top-hatted city man sported in his b.u.t.ton-hole the colours which rule the world.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Lafayette._

THE RT. HON. SIR WILFRID LAURIER, PREMIER OF CANADA.

Born at St. Lin, Quebec, 1841. Educated for the Law, and called to the Bar at Montreal in 1861. In 1871 he entered the Legislature of Quebec, and, three years later, the Dominion Parliament. Up to this time his speeches had been delivered in French; he now spoke in English with equal eloquence. He became Minister of Inland Revenue in 1877, and Premier in July 1896. He is of French descent, a Roman Catholic, and a strong supporter of Imperial unity.]