"Tt is our mournful duty to record" or, "it is our painful duty to announce" or, we are grieved to have to inform our readers!" So daily papers broke to the world the sad nows of the death of one who it is safe to say, next to Her Majesty herself, will be more missed than any woman of our day. To say that England mourns as though it had lost a dear persed. friend is not using language in any degree too strong. She was the friend of wil, high and low, rich and poor; from the early days when as the genial Princess Mary she won all hearts, till last week when at the time of her death the passages at White Lodge were filled with packages ready to be sent off to the Imperial Institute for the sale of work (which was opened yesterday) in which she took such deep interest, for the relief of the poor women left destit in the famine-stricken districts of Delhi, Ludhiana, and Lucknow. Herlife has been one long act of love and charity. Those who knew her best tell us she was never idle; even when entertaining her guests she generally some small piece: of charity work in her hands, sewing industriously while she talked, and truly Londoners during these past ten days have showed how they appreciate the loss they have sustained. I was in the West End about three hours after the news was firet known. Even then in Bond street and Regent Street the majority of the shops hat black shutters up, and even before the order for general mourning was issued nearly half the people one met were dressed in black. I went into Regent Street on Monday to see some of the wreaths that were ordered to be sent to Windsor. One of the most beautiful was a heart of enormous size, composed entirely of Neapolitan violets, the outer hand being about nine inches wide. Inside there was a coronet and the initials of the Duchess, likewise in violets, and all exactly matelii tint. There must have been many thousands of blossoms as there was no fern used. The effect was lovely. On the day of the funeral I was present. at the memorial services held in & Paul's and Westminster Abbey.. The former was at one o'clock and was most-impressive. The Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Sheriffs were present in their robes of office; also most of their wives, who had a special place allotted '0 them. The Cathedral. was filled to the very doors, and hundreds were unable to gain admission. Twas much struck by the quiet reverence of the vast assemblage, Almost everybody wore black, and the interior of the cathedral
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.