This magnificent ceremonial, in which was exemplified the lamentation of an Empire, lasted from Friday, 1st February, to Monday, 4th February. It was both naval and military in character, as befitted the funeral of the Sovereign who set so much store by her position as head of the services. The Royal Yacht _Alberta_, bearing her precious burden, passed from Cowes to Portsmouth along a line of warships which, reinforced as they were by foreign vessels sent by friendly Powers, seemed typical of the firm yet peaceful policy of the great ruler who was being borne to her last resting-place. The pageant through London, distinguished as it was by the presence of four reigning Sovereigns, the German Emperor, the King of the Belgians, the King of the Hellenes, and the King of Portugal, as well as numerous other representatives of foreign States, will never be forgotten by the vast crowds who saw it pass along its appointed way. It is perhaps worthy of mention that the Countess of Ranfurly represented New Zealand, her husband being Governor of that Colony, and thus the funeral of the great woman Sovereign is believed to have been the first public occasion on which a State of the Empire has been represented by a woman. The stately and yet simple dignity of the whole ceremonial was marred by only one mishap, which is recorded here because a number of incorrect versions of what happened were current at the time. The funeral _cortège_ did not arrive at the Great Western Railway Station at Windsor till some time after it was expected, the result being that the artillery horses, which were in waiting to draw the gun-carriage bearing the coffin to St. George’s Chapel, became chilled. Just as the procession was about to start one of the horses on the off-side--that is, one of those that had no rider--reared and plunged, and eventually stood up on its hind legs. This started the next pair, and they also began to kick, and the situation became both dangerous and painful. So restive, in fact, were the horses that an officer on the Staff approached the King and received permission to remove them from the gun-carriage. It was at this juncture that Prince Louis of Battenberg respectfully called the attention of His Majesty to the naval guard of honour drawn up close by, and suggested that the seamen should draw the coffin to the chapel. The King at once ordered that this should be done, and Prince Louis, sending for Lieutenant Boyle, who commanded the guard of honour, gave instructions to that effect. The traces, made of chain covered with leather with a hook at each end, were taken from the horses and were easily connected up by the seamen into two long drag ropes. There was a brake on the gun-carriage, but in descending the hill this was found to be insufficient for the weight--upwards of two tons--and a party of selected petty officers manned the wheels and eased the carriage down the declivity spoke by spoke.