with the trooping of the colour by com-'The day's proceedings pened officially Lined force of Volunteers, and Bluejackets and Marines from H.M.S. Daphne. The parade of the Volunteer Corps had been ordered for 7 o'clock, but some time previous to that hour the naval party had already landed and fallen-in on the Bund foreshore, between Nanking and Kiukiang
fell-in at the Custom House, and after Ronds, Shorty after seven the infantry being told-off and a few preliminary details having been settled, Major Mackenzie gave the order to advance, and the corps was marched on to the foreshore where the cere-many was to take place. The Light Horse were drawn up at right angles to the line, on the extreme right. The right of the line was formed by a party of bluejackets, about 50 strong; then came the marines, who locked extremely well with red tunics and white trousers, and then the four infantry companies 4," "B," "CE," and the German company, all of whom turned out in fairly good force. Hundreds of spectators were assembled and watched all with the keenest interest. Panctually at the appointed time Sir Nicholas Hannen arrived on the ground and was received with a general salute by the whole line, after which accompanied by Mr. A. Burkill, Chairman ofthe Municipal Council, Colonel Browne, Commanders Galloway, Farenholt, and Merry, and several of the Consular Body and officers of the men-of-war in port, he proceeded down the line and inspected: the men. This completed, the took their position at the saluting and.the ceremony of trooping' the colour commenced. Owing to various local circumstances, amongst which were want of room and the impossibility of giving the men the requisite amount of practice, the elaborate ceremony which obtains in the regular army had had to considerably modified and abridged; but Major Mackenzie, who arranged the details, certainly deserves to be congratulated on the result of his labours. The colour escort was formed by the left half of "A" Ca. under Lieut. Gumpert, with Lieut. Whittall of "CE" Ca. as "Tieutenant for the colour." On the command being given by the officer commanding, the escort, which was in the centre of the line, moved out, and forming tw the left, marched down the ground and received the colour, and after having saluted it by presenting arms, were marched back, headed by the drums and files, and halted facing the centre of the line. when a general salute was given. This done, the colour and escort moved to. the' extreme right and, the band playing a "Troop," filed down the whole length of the line in slow time.
Modified as it was, it formed an imposing spectacle, and it speaks volumes. for the Volunteers themselves and for their officers that they were able to good a showing at such a purely ceremonial parade, after having only practised it once.
After the colour and escort had been marched back to their posts in the centre of the line, a delay of some ten minutes was experienced, and the time was enlivened by the strains of the town band. In the meantime the Volunteer Artillery had placed their guns in position in the Public Garden, and as eight o'clock struck the first gun was fired. Twenty guns were fired, and then a very effective feu-de-join was given by the naval contingent and the infantry. This was repeated until sixty guns had been fired, and then a royal salute was given by the infantry, after which Major Mackenzie called for three cheers for the Queen, which were enthusiastically given. The colour was then marched off the ground and the men were dismissed.
This ceremony duly performed, a favourable opportunity presented itself for sightseers to get a good idea of the ornamentation to which the Settlement had been subjected, before the natives began to flock the streets, as they did liter in their thousands. The Settlement undoubtedly looked extremely pretty, although there were no pretentious attempts at dressing. The craft on the river were fully dressed, with one remarkable exception, the M. M. str. Caldonien, which displayed not one inch of bunting in honour of the day, nor one lantern at night, and offered a marked contrast to the taste and beauty with which the French man-of-war Descartes was decorated, and illuminated at night. Tae Bund, from the Garden Bridge to the Yangkingpang Creek, was gay with lanterns, flags, and streamers, suspended from Venetian masts, whilst the French Bund had been decorated with Japanese lanterns in thousands. All the hongs along our principal thoroughfare were set off with gas devices, lanterns, and flags, whilst in the Nanking Road the stores were not one bit behind in adding to jthe effectiveness of the street spectacle. Thefull effect of many of the decorations was not appreciable until lighting-up time, but there was still much to astaire and be pleased with. Without giving a detailed account [ofthe bedecked buildings, many of which necessarily had much in common, we may particularise a few cases of more than {average merit. The Custom House looked extremely pretty at night with strings of lanterns reaching from the ground to the "top of the tower and roof, and the com-, manding building on the Bund in which the Equitable Life Assurance Society has its offices was a striking object. In the centre was a portrait of the Queen, and a gas device measuring 12 it. x' 8 ft. 1837-1897. God Save the Queen." Between the eight windows was a Chinese sentence expressing with Oriental exaggeration a hope that her Majesty might live a million years. Chinese lanterns there were too in profusion, and with flags and evergreens the effect.' was undeniable. The Equitable generously undertook the illumination of the whole front of the block, although it is not the sole tenant. The interest of the Imperial Bank of China in the day's rejoicings was expressed by a couple of paper dragons in the portico, Another conspicuous building was that tenanted by Brand Bros., where two huge Chinese dragons, of due ferocity, undulated along the top of the wall enclosing the compound, and being illuminated at night looked very well. The portion of the Bund near the Garden was another striking view,.the Masonic Club with many Japanese lanterns being the contre of an effective bit. In the Nanking Road the Engineers! In-tute, with lanterns arranged around the windows somewhat differently from the prevailing mode, and evergreens looked Particularly well: Messrs, Bemnott & Ca, had the word "Jubilee" in large letters of evergreens across the building, with any number of American flags in evidence; and Hall & Holtz, Ld., had made good usw of the prominent Corner they command. The ornamentation of this building was entirely successful, reflecting much credit upon its designer. When lighting-up time arrived many other successes in decoration came into view. The International Cotton Mill at Pootung showed the devices "LC.M." and "V.R." in. incandescent lamps; Boyd's Dock and the Associated Wharves further down the river were effectively prominent and the Daphne, Machias, Tsukushi, and the P. & O. str. Rosetta were illuminated. The tower of the Shanghai Waterworks Ca. was surmounted with a cluster of re lights, and the structure|outlined with lanterns, to a certain extent there was no little interest in watching the. behaviour of the native crowd. Two features were prominent, order and odour, and neither declined as the evening wore on. Daring the afternoon sightseers sat as much as possible in the shade on the Bund grassplot, whilst hucksters and dealers in most mysterious looking sweetmeats, cakes, and cool drinks drove a thriving business. It was evidently as much a native as a foreign holiday, and though astonishment at the whole proceedings appeared to predominate, there were instances of intelligent friendliness, one Chinese hong in the Nanking Road displaying Her Majesty's portent with the legend Victoria, "true. friend of the Chinese nation." We have rapid survey of the illuminations, but dealing with the day's events in the order in which they occurred, we come to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.