第24章

AsIsatdowntoapoorly—equippedluncheon—tableonboardtheAustro—OrientlinerFranzJoseph，Imournedinmyheart（andImaysayincidentallyinotherportionsofmyinternaleconomy）thecomfortandgastronomicluxuryoftheKingandEmperorHotelatTrieste。Abriefcomparisonbetweenthemenusofto—day’slunchandyesterday’swillaffordtothereaderastrikingobject—lesson：

Trieste。Steamer。

Eggsalacocotte。Scrambledeggsontoast。

Stewedchicken，withpaprika。jColdchicken。

DevilledslicesofWestphalianhamColdham。

（boiledinwine）。Bismarckherrings。

Tunnyfish，pickled。Stewedapples。

Rice，burstincream。Swisscheese。

Guavajelly。

Consequence：YesterdayIwaswellandhappy，andlookedforwardtoagoodnight’ssleep，whichcameoff。To—dayIamdullandheavy，alsorestless，andIamconvincedthatatsleeping—timemyliverwillhaveitallitsownway。

ThejourneytoRagusa，andthencetoPlazac，iswritlargewithapigmentofmiseryonatleastonehumanheart。Letasilencefalluponit！InsuchwiseonlycanJusticeandMercyjoinhands。

Plazacisamiserableplace。Thereisnotadecenthotelinit。ItwasperhapsonthisaccountthatthenewKing，Rupert，haderectedfortheallegedconvenienceofhisguestsofthePressaseriesoflargetemporaryhotels，suchaswereinevidenceattheSt。LouisExposition。Hereeachguestwasgivenaroomtohimself，somewhatafterthenatureofthecribsinaRowtonhouse。FrommyfirstnightinitIamabletospeakfromexperienceofthesufferingsofaprisonerofthethirdclass。Iam，however，boundtosaythatthediningandreceptionroomswere，thoughuncomfortablyplain，adequatefortemporaryuse。Happilyweshallnothavetoenduremanymoremealshere，asto—morrowwealldinewiththeKingintheStateHouse；andasthecuisineisunderthecontrolofthatcordonbleu，GastondeFauxPas，whosolongcontrolledthegastronomic（wemightalmostsayGastonomic）destiniesoftheRoisdesDiamantsinthePlaceVendome，wemay，Ithink，lookforwardtonotgoingtobedhungry。Indeed，theanticipationsformedfromasurveyofourmeagresleepingaccommodationwerenotrealizedatdinnertimeto—night。Toourintenseastonishment，anexcellentdinnerwasserved，though，tobesure，thecolddishespredominated（athingIalwaysfindbadforone’sliver）。Justaswewerefinishing，theKing（nominated）cameamongstusinquiteaninformalway，and，havingbiddenusaheartywelcome，askedthatweshoulddrinkaglassofwinetogether。Thiswedidinanexcellent（ifrathersweet）glassofCliquot’93。KingRupert（nominated）thenaskedustoresumeourseats。Hewalkedbetweenthetables，nowandagainrecognizingsomejournalisticfriendwhomhehadmetearlyinlifeinhisdaysofadventure。Themenspokentoseemedvastlypleased——withthemselvesprobably。

Prettybadformofthem，Icallit！Formyself，IwasgladIhadnotpreviouslymethiminthesamecasualway，asitsavedmefromwhatI

shouldhavefeltahumiliation——thebeingpatronizedinthatpublicwaybyaprospectiveKingwhohadnot（inaCourtsense）beenborn。

Thewriter，whoisbyprofessionabarrister—at—law，issatisfiedatbeinghimselfacountygentlemanandheirtoanhistoricestateintheancientcountyofSalop，whichcanboastalargerpopulationthantheLandoftheBlueMountains。

EDITORIALNOTE。——Wemustaskourreaderstopardonthereportinyesterday’spapersentfromPlazac。Thewriterwasnotonourregularstaff，butaskedtobeallowedtowritethereport，ashewasakinsmanofKingRupertoftheBlueMountains，andwouldthereforebeinapositiontoobtainspecialinformationandfacilitiesofdescription"frominside，"asheputsit。Onreadingthepaper，wecabledhisrecall；wecabledalso，incasehedidnotobey，tohavehisejectmenteffectedforthwith。

WehavealsocabledMr。MordredBooth，thewell—knowncorrespondent，whowas，toourknowledge，inPlazacforhisownpurposes，tosendusfull（andproper）details。Wetakeitourreaderswillpreferagraphicaccountoftheceremonytoafarragoofcheapmenus，commentsonhisownliver，andabelittlingofanEnglishmanofsuchnoblecharacterandachievementsthatarisingnationhaschosenhimfortheirKing，andonewhomourownnationlovestohonour。Weshallnot，ofcourse，mentionourabortivecorrespondent’sname，unlesscompelledtheretobyanyfutureutteranceofhis。

FROM"TheLondonMessenger。"

THECORONATIONOFKINGRUPERTOFTHEBLUEMOUNTAINS。

（ByourSpecialCorrespondent，MordredBooth。）

PLAZAC，October17，1907。

Plazacdoesnotboastofacathedraloranychurchofsufficientdimensionsforacoronationceremonyonanadequatescale。ItwasthereforedecidedbytheNationalCouncil，withtheconsentoftheKing，thatitshouldbeheldattheoldchurchofSt。SavaatVissarion——theformerhomeoftheQueen。Accordingly，arrangementshadbeenmadetobringthitheronthewarshipsonthemorningofthecoronationthewholeofthenation’sguests。InSt。Sava’sthereligiousceremonywouldtakeplace，afterwhichtherewouldbeabanquetintheCastleofVissarion。TheguestswouldthenreturnonthewarshipstoPlazac，wherewouldbeheldwhatiscalledherethe"NationalCoronation。"

IntheLandoftheBlueMountainsitwascustomaryintheolddays，whentherewereKings，tohavetwoceremonies——onecarriedoutbytheofficialheadofthenationalChurch，theGreekChurch；theotherbythepeopleinaritualadoptedbythemselves，onmuchthesamebasisastheGermanicFolk—Moot。TheBlueMountainsisanationofstrangelyloyaltendencies。Whatwasathousandyearsagoistobeto—day——sofar，ofcourse，asispossibleunderthealteredconditionofthings。

ThechurchofSt。Savaisveryoldandverybeautiful，builtinthemannerofoldGreekchurches，fullofmonumentsofbygoneworthiesoftheBlueMountains。But，ofcourse，neitheritnortheceremonyheldinitto—daycancompareinsplendourwithcertainotherceremonials—

—forinstance，thecoronationofthepenultimateCzarinMoscow，ofAlfonsoXII。inMadrid，ofCarlosI。inLisbon。

ThechurchwasarrangedmuchafterthefashionofWestminsterAbbeyforthecoronationofKingEdwardVII。，though，ofcourse，notsomanypersonspresent，norsomuchindividualsplendour。Indeed，thenumberofthosepresent，outsidethoseofficiallyconcernedandthePressoftheworld，wasveryfew。

Themoststrikingfigurepresent——nexttoKingRupert，whoissevenfeethighandamagnificentman——wastheQueenConsort，Teuta。Shesatinfrontofasmallgalleryerectedforthepurposejustoppositethethrone。Sheisastrikinglybeautifulwoman，tallandfinely—

formed，withjet—blackhairandeyeslikeblackdiamonds，butwiththeuniquequalitythattherearestarsinthemwhichseemtotakevariedcolouraccordingtoeachstrongemotion。Butitwasnotevenherbeautyorthestarsinhereyeswhichdrewthefirstglanceofall。Thesedetailsshowedonscrutiny，butfromafarofftheattractivepointwasherdress。Surelyneverbeforedidwoman，besheQueenorpeasant，wearsuchacostumeonafestiveoccasion。

ShewasdressedinawhiteShroud，andinthatonly。Ihadheardsomethingofthestorywhichgoesbehindthatstrangecostume，andshalllateronsendittoyou。{2}

Whentheprocessionenteredthechurchthroughthegreatwesterndoor，thenationalsongoftheBlueMountains，"Guideourfeetthroughdarkness，OJehovah，"wassungbyanunseenchoir，inwhichtheorgan，supplementedbymartialinstruments，joined。TheArchbishopwasrobedinreadinessbeforethealtar，andclosearoundhimstoodtheArchimandritesofthefourgreatmonasteries。TheVladikastoodinfrontoftheMembersoftheNationalCouncil。A

littletoonesideofthisbodywasagroupofhighofficials，PresidentsoftheCouncilsofNationalLawandJustice，theChancellor，etc。——allinsplendidrobesofgreatantiquity——theHighMarshalloftheForcesandtheLordhighAdmiral。

Whenallwasreadyfortheceremonialactofcoronation，theArchbishopraisedhishand，whereuponthemusicceased。Turningaround，sothathefacedtheQueen，whothereonstoodup，theKingdrewhishandjarandsalutedherinBlueMountainfashion——thepointraisedashighpossible，andthendroppeddowntillitalmosttouchestheground。Everymaninthechurch，ecclesiasticsandall，wearthehandjar，an

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