Presently the procession was without visible beginning or end, but
stretched to the limit of sight in both directions--bodies of soldiery
in blue, followed by a block of soldiers in buff, then a block of red, a
block of buff, a block of yellow, and so on, an interminable drift of
swaying and swinging splotches of strong color sparkling and flashing
with shifty light reflected from bayonets, lance heads, brazen helmets,
and burnished breastplates. For varied and beautiful uniforms and
unceasing surprises in the way of new and unexpected splendors, it much
surpassed any pageant that I have ever seen.
I was not dreaming of so stunning a show. All the nations seemed to be
filing by. They all seemed to be represented. It was a sort of
allegorical suggestion of the Last Day, and some who live to see that
day will probably recall this one if they are not too much disturbed in
mind at the time.
There were five bodies of Oriental soldiers of five different
nationalities, with complexions differentiated by five distinct shades
of yellow. There were about a dozen bodies of black soldiers from
various parts of Africa, whose complexions covered as many shades of
black, and some of these were the very blackest people I have ever seen
yet.
Then there was an exhaustive exhibition of the hundred separate brown
races of India, the most beautiful and satisfying of all the complexions
that have been vouchsafed to man, and the one which best sets off
colored clothes and best harmonizes with all tints.
The Chinese, the Japanese, the Koreans, the Africans, the Indians, the
Pacific Islanders--they were all there, and with them samples of all the
whites that inhabit the wide reach of the Queen’s dominions.
The procession was the human race on exhibition, a spectacle curious and
interesting and worth traveling far to see. The most splendid of the
costumes were those worn by the Indian princes, and they were also the
most beautiful and richest. They were men of stately build and princely
carriage, and wherever they passed the applause burst forth.
Soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, and still more and more soldiers and
cannon and muskets and lances--there seemed to be no end to this
feature. There are 50,000 soldiers in London, and they all seemed to be
on hand. I have not seen so many except in the theater, when thirty-five
privates and a general march across the stage and behind the scenes and
across the front again and keep it up till they have represented
300,000.
In the early part of the procession the colonial premiers drove by, and
by and by after a long time there was a grand output of foreign princes,
thirty-one in the invoice.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account