EDITORIAL NOTE.--We must ask our readers to pardon the report in

yesterday's paper sent from Plazac. The writer was not on our regular

staff, but asked to be allowed to write the report, as he was a kinsman

of King Rupert of the Blue Mountains, and would therefore be in a

position to obtain special information and facilities of description

"from inside," as he puts it. On reading the paper, we cabled his

recall; we cabled also, in case he did not obey, to have his ejectment

effected forthwith.

We have also cabled Mr. Mordred Booth, the well-known correspondent, who

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was, to our knowledge, in Plazac for his own purposes, to send us full

(and proper) details. We take it our readers will prefer a graphic

account of the ceremony to a farrago of cheap menus, comments on his own

liver, and a belittling of an Englishman of such noble character and

achievements that a rising nation has chosen him for their King, and one

whom our own nation loves to honour. We shall not, of course, mention

our abortive correspondent's name, unless compelled thereto by any future

utterance of his.

FROM "The London Messenger."

THE CORONATION OF KING RUPERT OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.

(By our Special Correspondent, Mordred Booth.)

PLAZAC,

October 17, 1907.

Plazac does not boast of a cathedral or any church of sufficient

dimensions for a coronation ceremony on an adequate scale. It was

therefore decided by the National Council, with the consent of the King,

that it should be held at the old church of St. Sava at Vissarion--the

former home of the Queen. Accordingly, arrangements had been made to

bring thither on the warships on the morning of the coronation the whole

of the nation's guests. In St. Sava's the religious ceremony would take

place, after which there would be a banquet in the Castle of Vissarion.

The guests would then return on the warships to Plazac, where would be

held what is called here the "National Coronation."

In the Land of the Blue Mountains it was customary in the old days, when

there were Kings, to have two ceremonies--one carried out by the official

head of the national Church, the Greek Church; the other by the people in

a ritual adopted by themselves, on much the same basis as the Germanic

Folk-Moot. The Blue Mountains is a nation of strangely loyal tendencies.

What was a thousand years ago is to be to-day--so far, of course, as is

possible under the altered condition of things.

The church of St. Sava is very old and very beautiful, built in the

manner of old Greek churches, full of monuments of bygone worthies of the

Blue Mountains. But, of course, neither it nor the ceremony held in it

to-day can compare in splendour with certain other ceremonials--for

instance, the coronation of the penultimate Czar in Moscow, of Alfonso

XII. in Madrid, of Carlos I. in Lisbon.

The church was arranged much after the fashion of Westminster Abbey for

the coronation of King Edward VII., though, of course, not so many

persons present, nor so much individual splendour. Indeed, the number of

those present, outside those officially concerned and the Press of the

world, was very few.

The most striking figure present--next to King Rupert, who is seven feet

high and a magnificent man--was the Queen Consort, Teuta. She sat in

front of a small gallery erected for the purpose just opposite the

throne. She is a strikingly beautiful woman, tall and finely-formed,

with jet-black hair and eyes like black diamonds, but with the unique

quality that there are stars in them which seem to take varied colour

according to each strong emotion. But it was not even her beauty or the

stars in her eyes which drew the first glance of all. These details

showed on scrutiny, but from afar off the attractive point was her dress.

Surely never before did woman, be she Queen or peasant, wear such a

costume on a festive occasion.

She was dressed in a white Shroud, and in that only. I had heard

something of the story which goes behind that strange costume, and shall

later on send it to you. {2}

When the procession entered the church through the great western door,

the national song of the Blue Mountains, "Guide our feet through

darkness, O Jehovah," was sung by an unseen choir, in which the organ,

supplemented by martial instruments, joined. The Archbishop was robed in

readiness before the altar, and close around him stood the Archimandrites

of the four great monasteries. The Vladika stood in front of the Members

of the National Council. A little to one side of this body was a group

of high officials, Presidents of the Councils of National Law and

Justice, the Chancellor, etc.--all in splendid robes of great

antiquity--the High Marshall of the Forces and the Lord high Admiral.

When all was ready for the ceremonial act of coronation, the Archbishop

raised his hand, whereupon the music ceased. Turning around, so that he

faced the Queen, who thereon stood up, the King drew his handjar and

saluted her in Blue Mountain fashion--the point raised as high possible,

and then dropped down till it almost touches the ground. Every man in

the church, ecclesiastics and all, wear the handjar, and, following the

King by the interval of a second, their weapons flashed out. There was

something symbolic, as well as touching, in this truly royal salute, led

by the King. His handjar is a mighty blade, and held high in the hands

of a man of his stature, it overtowered everything in the church. It was

an inspiriting sight. No one who saw will ever forget that noble

flashing of blades in the thousand-year-old salute . . .

The coronation was short, simple, and impressive. Rupert knelt whilst

the Archbishop, after a short, fervent prayer, placed on his head the

bronze crown of the first King of the Blue Mountains, Peter. This was

handed to him by the Vladika, to whom it was brought from the National

Treasury by a procession of the high officers. A blessing of the new

King and his Queen Teuta concluded the ceremony. Rupert's first act on

rising from his knees was to draw his handjar and salute his people.

After the ceremony in St. Sava, the procession was reformed, and took its

way to the Castle of Vissarion, which is some distance off across a

picturesque creek, bounded on either side by noble cliffs of vast height.

The King led the way, the Queen walking with him and holding his hand . .

. The Castle of Vissarion is of great antiquity, and picturesque beyond

belief. I am sending later on, as a special article, a description of it

. . .

The "Coronation Feast," as it was called on the menu, was held in the

Great Hall, which is of noble proportions. I enclose copy of the menu,

as our readers may wish to know something of the details of such a feast

in this part of the world.

One feature of the banquet was specially noticeable. As the National

Officials were guests of the King and Queen, they were waited on and

served by the King and Queen in person. The rest of the guests,

including us of the Press, were served by the King's household, not the

servants--none of that cult were visible--but by the ladies and gentlemen

of the Court.

There was only one toast, and that was given by the King, all standing:

"The Land of the Blue Mountains, and may we all do our duty to the Land

we love!" Before drinking, his mighty handjar flashed out again, and in

an instant every table at which the Blue Mountaineers sat was ringed with

flashing steel. I may add parenthetically that the handjar is

essentially the national weapon. I do not know if the Blue Mountaineers

take it to bed with them, but they certainly wear it everywhere else.

Its drawing seems to emphasize everything in national life . . .

We embarked again on the warships--one a huge, steel-plated Dreadnought,

up to date in every particular, the other an armoured yacht most complete

in every way, and of unique speed. The King and Queen, the Lords of the

Council, together with the various high ecclesiastics and great

officials, went on the yacht, which the Lord High Admiral, a man of

remarkably masterful physiognomy, himself steered. The rest of those

present at the Coronation came on the warship. The latter went fast, but

the yacht showed her heels all the way. However, the King's party waited

in the dock in the Blue Mouth. From this a new cable-line took us all to

the State House at Plazac. Here the procession was reformed, and wound

its way to a bare hill in the immediate vicinity. The King and

Queen--the King still wearing the ancient bronze crown with which the

Archbishop had invested him at St. Sava's--the Archbishop, the Vladika,

and the four Archimandrites stood together at the top of the hill, the

King and Queen being, of course, in the front. A courteous young

gentleman, to whom I had been accredited at the beginning of the day--all

guests were so attended--explained to me that, as this was the national

as opposed to the religious ceremony, the Vladika, who is the official

representative of the laity, took command here. The ecclesiastics were

put prominently forward, simply out of courtesy, in obedience to the wish

of the people, by whom they were all greatly beloved.

Then commenced another unique ceremony, which, indeed, might well find a

place in our Western countries. As far as ever we could see were masses

of men roughly grouped, not in any uniform, but all in national costume,

and armed only with the handjar. In the front of each of these groups or

bodies stood the National Councillor for that district, distinguishable

by his official robe and chain. There were in all seventeen of these

bodies. These were unequal in numbers, some of them predominating

enormously over others, as, indeed, might be expected in so mountainous a

country. In all there were present, I was told, over a hundred thousand

men. So far as I can judge from long experience of looking at great

bodies of men, the estimate was a just one. I was a little surprised to

see so many, for the population of the Blue Mountains is never accredited

in books of geography as a large one. When I made inquiry as to how the

frontier guard was being for the time maintained, I was told:

"By the women mainly. But, all the same, we have also a male guard which

covers the whole frontier except that to seaward. Each man has with him

six women, so that the whole line is unbroken. Moreover, sir, you must

bear in mind that in the Blue Mountains our women are trained to arms as

well as our men--ay, and they could give a good account of themselves,

too, against any foe that should assail us. Our history shows what women

can do in defence. I tell you, the Turkish population would be bigger

to-day but for the women who on our frontier fought of old for defence of

their homes!"

"No wonder this nation has kept her freedom for a thousand years!" I

said.

At a signal given by the President of the National Council one of the

Divisions moved forwards. It was not an ordinary movement, but an

intense rush made with all the elan and vigour of hardy and

highly-trained men. They came on, not merely at the double, but as if

delivering an attack. Handjar in hand, they rushed forward. I can only

compare their rush to an artillery charge or to an attack of massed

cavalry battalions. It was my fortune to see the former at Magenta and

the latter at Sadowa, so that I know what such illustration means. I may

also say that I saw the relief column which Roberts organized rush

through a town on its way to relieve Mafeking; and no one who had the

delight of seeing that inspiring progress of a flying army on their way

to relieve their comrades needs to be told what a rush of armed men can

be. With speed which was simply desperate they ran up the hill, and,

circling to the left, made a ring round the topmost plateau, where stood

the King. When the ring was complete, the stream went on lapping round

and round till the whole tally was exhausted. In the meantime another

Division had followed, its leader joining close behind the end of the

first. Then came another and another. An unbroken line circled and

circled round the hill in seeming endless array, till the whole slopes

were massed with moving men, dark in colour, and with countless

glittering points everywhere. When the whole of the Divisions had thus

surrounded the King, there was a moment's hush--a silence so still that

it almost seemed as if Nature stood still also. We who looked on were

almost afraid to breathe.

Then suddenly, without, so far as I could see, any fugleman or word of

command, the handjars of all that mighty array of men flashed upward as

one, and like thunder pealed the National cry:

"The Blue Mountains and Duty!"

After the cry there was a strange subsidence which made the onlooker rub

his eyes. It seemed as though the whole mass of fighting men had

partially sunk into the ground. Then the splendid truth burst upon

us--the whole nation was kneeling at the feet of their chosen King, who

stood upright.

Another moment of silence, as King Rupert, taking off his crown, held it

up in his left hand, and, holding his great handjar high in his right,

cried in a voice so strong that it came ringing over that serried mass

like a trumpet:

"To Freedom of our Nation, and to Freedom within it, I dedicate these and

myself. I swear!"

So saying, he, too, sank on his knees, whilst we all instinctively

uncovered.

The silence which followed lasted several seconds; then, without a sign,

as though one and all acted instinctively, the whole body stood up.

Thereupon was executed a movement which, with all my experience of

soldiers and war, I never saw equalled--not with the Russian Royal Guard

saluting the Czar at his Coronation, not with an impi of Cetewayo's Zulus

whirling through the opening of a kraal.

For a second or two the whole mass seemed to writhe or shudder, and then,

lo! the whole District Divisions were massed again in completeness, its

Councillors next the King, and the Divisions radiating outwards down the

hill like wedges.

This completed the ceremony, and everything broke up into units. Later,

I was told by my official friend that the King's last movement--the oath

as he sank to his knees--was an innovation of his own. All I can say is,

if, in the future, and for all time, it is not taken for a precedent, and

made an important part of the Patriotic Coronation ceremony, the Blue

Mountaineers will prove themselves to be a much more stupid people than

they seem at present to be.

The conclusion of the Coronation festivities was a time of unalloyed joy.

It was the banquet given to the King and Queen by the nation; the guests

of the nation were included in the royal party. It was a unique

ceremony. Fancy a picnic-party of a hundred thousand persons, nearly all

men. There must have been made beforehand vast and elaborate

preparations, ramifying through the whole nation. Each section had

brought provisions sufficient for their own consumption in addition to

several special dishes for the guest-tables; but the contribution of each

section was not consumed by its own members.

It was evidently a part of the scheme that all should derive from a

common stock, so that the feeling of brotherhood and common property

should be preserved in this monumental fashion.

The guest-tables were the only tables to be seen. The bulk of the

feasters sat on the ground. The tables were brought forward by the men

themselves--no such thing as domestic service was known on this day--from

a wood close at hand, where they and the chairs had been placed in

readiness. The linen and crockery used had been sent for the purpose

from the households of every town and village. The flowers were plucked

in the mountains early that morning by the children, and the gold and

silver plate used for adornment were supplied from the churches. Each

dish at the guest-tables was served by the men of each section in turn.

Over the whole array seemed to be spread an atmosphere of joyousness, of

peace, of brotherhood. It would be impossible to adequately describe

that amazing scene, a whole nation of splendid men surrounding their new

King and Queen, loving to honour and serve them. Scattered about through

that vast crowd were groups of musicians, chosen from amongst themselves.

The space covered by this titanic picnic was so vast that there were few

spots from which you could hear music proceeding from different quarters.

After dinner we all sat and smoked; the music became rather vocal than

instrumental--indeed, presently we did not hear the sound of any

instrument at all. Only knowing a few words of Balkan, I could not

follow the meanings of the songs, but I gathered that they were all

legendary or historical. To those who could understand, as I was

informed by my tutelary young friend, who stayed beside me the whole of

this memorable day, we were listening to the history of the Land of the

Blue Mountains in ballad form. Somewhere or other throughout that vast

concourse each notable record of ten centuries was being told to eager

ears.

It was now late in the day. Slowly the sun had been dropping down over

the Calabrian Mountains, and the glamorous twilight was stealing over the

immediate scene. No one seemed to notice the coming of the dark, which

stole down on us with an unspeakable mystery. For long we sat still, the

clatter of many tongues becoming stilled into the witchery of the scene.

Lower the sun sank, till only the ruddiness of the afterglow lit the

expanse with rosy light; then this failed in turn, and the night shut

down quickly.

At last, when we could just discern the faces close to us, a simultaneous

movement began. Lights began to flash out in places all over the

hillside. At first these seemed as tiny as glow-worms seen in a summer

wood, but by degrees they grew till the space was set with little circles

of light. These in turn grew and grew in both number and strength.

Flames began to leap out from piles of wood, torches were lighted and

held high. Then the music began again, softly at first, but then louder

as the musicians began to gather to the centre, where sat the King and

Queen. The music was wild and semi-barbaric, but full of sweet melody.

It somehow seemed to bring before us a distant past; one and all,

according to the strength of our imagination and the volume of our

knowledge, saw episodes and phases of bygone history come before us.

There was a wonderful rhythmic, almost choric, force in the time kept,

which made it almost impossible to sit still. It was an invitation to

the dance such as I had never before heard in any nation or at any time.

Then the lights began to gather round. Once more the mountaineers took

something of the same formation as at the crowning. Where the royal

party sat was a level mead, with crisp, short grass, and round it what

one might well call the Ring of the Nation was formed.

The music grew louder. Each mountaineer who had not a lit torch already

lighted one, and the whole rising hillside was a glory of light. The

Queen rose, and the King an instant after. As they rose men stepped

forward and carried away their chairs, or rather thrones. The Queen gave

the King her hand--this is, it seems, the privilege of the wife as

distinguished from any other woman. Their feet took the time of the

music, and they moved into the centre of the ring.

That dance was another thing to remember, won from the haunting memories

of that strange day. At first the King and Queen danced all alone. They

began with stately movement, but as the music quickened their feet kept

time, and the swing of their bodies with movements kept growing more and

more ecstatic at every beat till, in true Balkan fashion, the dance

became a very agony of passionate movement.

At this point the music slowed down again, and the mountaineers began to

join in the dance. At first slowly, one by one, they joined in, the

Vladika and the higher priests leading; then everywhere the whole vast

crowd began to dance, till the earth around us seemed to shake. The

lights quivered, flickered, blazed out again, and rose and fell as that

hundred thousand men, each holding a torch, rose and fell with the rhythm

of the dance. Quicker, quicker grew the music, faster grew the rushing

and pounding of the feet, till the whole nation seemed now in an ecstasy.

I stood near the Vladika, and in the midst of this final wildness I saw

him draw from his belt a short, thin flute; then he put it to his lips

and blew a single note--a fierce, sharp note, which pierced the volume of

sound more surely than would the thunder of a cannon-shot. On the

instant everywhere each man put his torch under his foot.

There was complete and immediate darkness, for the fires, which had by

now fallen low, had evidently been trodden out in the measure of the

dance. The music still kept in its rhythmic beat, but slower than it had

yet been. Little by little this beat was pointed and emphasized by the

clapping of hands--at first only a few, but spreading till everyone

present was beating hands to the slow music in the darkness. This lasted

a little while, during which, looking round, I noticed a faint light

beginning to steal up behind the hills. The moon was rising.

Again there came a note from the Vladika's flute--a single note, sweet

and subtle, which I can only compare with a note from a nightingale,

vastly increased in powers. It, too, won through the thunder of the

hand-claps, and on the second the sound ceased. The sudden stillness,

together with the darkness, was so impressive that we could almost hear

our hearts beating. And then came through the darkness the most

beautiful and impressive sound heard yet. That mighty concourse, without

fugleman of any sort, began, in low, fervent voice, to sing the National

Anthem. At first it was of so low tone as to convey the idea of a mighty

assembly of violinists playing with the mutes on. But it gradually rose

till the air above us seemed to throb and quiver. Each syllable--each

word--spoken in unison by the vast throng was as clearly enunciated as

though spoken by a single voice:

"Guide our feet through darkness, O Jehovah."

This anthem, sung out of full hearts, remains on our minds as the last

perfection of a perfect day. For myself, I am not ashamed to own that it

made me weep like a child. Indeed, I cannot write of it now as I would;

it unmans me so!

* * * * *

In the early morning, whilst the mountains were still rather grey than

blue, the cable-line took us to the Blue Mouth, where we embarked in the

King's yacht, The Lady, which took us across the Adriatic at a pace

which I had hitherto considered impossible. The King and Queen came to

the landing to see us off. They stood together at the right-hand side of

the red-carpeted gangway, and shook hands with each guest as he went on

board. The instant the last passenger had stepped on deck the gangway

was withdrawn. The Lord High Admiral, who stood on the bridge, raised

his hand, and we swept towards the mouth of the gulf. Of course, all

hats were off, and we cheered frantically. I can truly say that if King

Rupert and Queen Teuta should ever wish to found in the Blue Mountains a

colony of diplomatists and journalists, those who were their guests on

this great occasion will volunteer to a man. I think old Hempetch, who

is the doyen of English-speaking journalists, voiced our sentiments when

he said:

"May God bless them and theirs with every grace and happiness, and send

prosperity to the Land and the rule!" I think the King and Queen heard

us cheer, they turned to look at our flying ship again.




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