The papers for the week ending 28th June, received by the French mail, have room for little else than expressions of regret and disappointment at the illness of the King and the consequent postponement. of the Coronation festivities. Grave apprehensions existed in many quarters as to the possibility or even probability of a fatal termination of the King's ness, apprehensions which we know have happily not been realised. Th full tele graphic news that we have published of what has been going on renders it unnecessary to devote much space to this untoward incident. The "Times," dis-cribing the reception of the news by the people, says "There is, it is needless to say the utmost bewilderment and, indeed, consternation at a contingency without parallel in our national history." We give the following extract from the leading article of the same paper:
Seldom has the painful lesson of the mutability of human affairs been more sternly enforced than in the announcé- ment yesterday morning of the grave illness of the King. The preparations for the splendid ceremonial which was appointed for to-morrow, and which had drawn together an unexampled concourse of people of all orders and nationalities, were nearing completion when the official statement was issued that the King was suffering from perityphlitis and that immediate operation was necessary. The consternation with which the nows was received by the congregated masses in the streets can hardly be realised by any one sth did not seo the instantaneous change thab made itself felt as the truth came, with the suddenness of 2 thunder-clap, on mea, women, and children 4 moment earlier good humouredly thronging the thoroughfares and making them lively with harmless merriment. and demonstrations of patriotic loyalty. At once profound grief and heart-wringing anxiety took the place of overflowing enthusiasm and joy. A hush fell everywhere, and deepened from hour to hour as the gravity of the danger came to be understood, and jit was possible to measure some, at least, of the consequences and contingencies of the King's peril. The official bulletins were eagerly watched for, and a thousand unauthenticated rumours were hotly discussed. It was known from the first, of course, that the Coronation could not take place, and intelligent men had no difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that, the other ceremonials of which the Coronation was the centre must also be suspended, at any rate in London. As the day wore on, and it was announced, first, that the operation had been successful, then that the Royal patient bad borne it well, and still later that he bad been much relieved and was making satisfactory progress, the tension of public feeling was somewhat lessened. Still the prevailing sentiment as night closed was one of sober reflection dominated by an carnest- hope that the Monarch whose life is so dear to the people of his Empire might come soothless through his cruel ordeal.
The "St. James's Budget" refers to the subject in the following sympathetic terms Needless to say the topic that has engrossed our thoughts for the last two days has startled the whole civilised world. The intensely dramatic sudden with which all preparations for festivity gave place to grievous anxiety, and the apparently careless irony with which Destins Upset in a moment all calculations of men and made a puppet of the life which at the moment—it is no exaggeration to say—is the pivot round which the interest of the whole globe is concentrated have struck consternation into the hearts of people in every corner of the world. "Consternation " is the word that every correspondent abroad uses to describe the feeling produced by the news of King Edward's sudden illness and the consequent postponement of the ceremony which representatives of every foreign State had come to London to attend. One and all express the deep sympathy which is everywhere felt with the Britis nation; and in this moment of grave anxiety and bitter disappointment we must snatch such consolation as we may from the reflection that all the world shares in some measure the sentiments of our own people. It is assuredly a case, if ever there was one of Sunt lacrynur rerum et montem mortalia tangent.
One other extract from the " Spectator" will suffice "What shadows we are and what shadows we pursue." The feeling that inspired Burke's thrilling words when his antagonist in a heated election contest was suddenly struck down must have come over thousands of men and women as they heard the terrible news of Tue day. The scene in the London streets is one which will never be forgotten by those who saw it. The streets were filled with a holiday crowd intent on viewing the decorations, and on the stands the workmen were everywhere busy with their preparations. And then, and with a suddenness which was dramatic beyond expression, came the news that the Coronation was postponed, and that at the very moment the King was being operated on for a disease of the utmost gravity. But though the impulse that worked the great machine of the Coronation ceremonial had stopped the wheels still continued to re yore, and everywhere the hammers fell as briskly as before on the woodwork. The knocking sounded as loudly as before, and yet every one, workmen and crowd, knew that, for the time at least, the work was useless, and that. the platforms and seats in windows and on_ vacant. spaces and the huge street barriers would not be used. The reception of the news was characteristically English. There _was nothing sensational or passionate about the demeanour of the crowd in the streets of London. People went. on with the business of the moment, whatever it Those who had come to see the decoration quietly continued the drive or walk that had been planned, and the workmen who had been engaged to build the stands or stretch the wreaths or hang the decor tions fulfilled their contract that we like that orderly the matter in hand better than if the crowd had given way to an impulse of regret and disappointment. or the workmen thrown down their tools and indulged in any display of theatrical emotion. The calmness and reserve of the crowd was. in our opinion, something in regard to which the nation has a right: to be proud. Tt did not show heartlessness or indifference, but a just and reasonable appreciation' of the situation. Men felt that nothing could be gained by giving way to a feeling of dejection. They behaved just as they would have done if they had heard that some relation or friend had been suddenly obliged to undergo an operation and was in jeopardy. In a word, the national instinct to keep cool and not make an exhibition of fuss and flurry asserted itself.
Referring to the South African situa tion in general and to the departure from Africa of Lord Kitchener in particular, the "Times" speaks in the most eu" logistic manner of that great soldier's successful accomplishment of the arduous task committed to him:—
Yesterday Lord Kitchener bade farewell to the land where he has prosecuted to a successful end one of the most arduous tasks ever performed by a soldier. He has achieved it in such a fashion a> to raise his own great reputation to a yet higher plane and to increase the laurels of the British Army. He has shown that: ho possesses the British virtues of wnbonding firmness and dogged tenacity' in good and evil fortune, mingled with a breadth and a keenness of vision, resourcefulness, a readiness to take occasion by the hand, and a gift of organisation with which only the greatest of our generals have been endowed. To this rare combination of qualities he owes a success as a negotiator hardly less marked than his successes in the field. The letter from our Special Correspondent at Pretoria, written the day after the Boer surrender had been signed, while doing ample justice to the services of Lord Milner in bringing about a lasting peace, bears wit ness to the influence Lord Kitchener exorcised over the Boer chiefs. His insight into their character, his hearty apr: tion of their good points, and his gone tolerance of their weaknesses, doubtless helped to smooth for them the difficult path they had to tread. The speeches be made yesterday at Cape Town in reply to the addresses of the Mayor and Corpora tion and of the Irish Society, and at the subsequent Junchoon, are admirable examples of the tact, the good sense, and the broad human sympathy he has so often and so usefully displayed in his dealings with the Boers. Martial law has been a favourite subject for the rhetorical exereises of our pro-Boers. Lord Kitchener
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.