Edinburgh, July 7.
"The King holds Court in Holyrood," as the old ballad has it. His Majesty, accompanied by the Queen and Princes Mary, is at present in "the old house of Scottish Royalty," and at the end of the week will leave for the lower reaches of the Clyde and take part in a yachting carnival and a flight of sea swallows."
In accordance with the express desire of His Majesty, the visit is of a semi-private character, the whole purpose being that for a time the Court shall be in residence at Holyrood. To meet His Majesty's wishes, therefore, the programme arranged contains no regular State functions which require pomp or stiffness. There is no lining of the streets, no military display, no cavalry escort. Almost the only outward sign of the Royal presence is the occasional glimpse of some Scots Guards in their traditional and pre-war bearskins and scarlet tunics. Ease and intimacy—distinguish this visit from Royal visits of the past, and there are many pleasant indications that Their Majesties and the citizens of Edinburgh alike regard the passings to and fro from a kindly and quite personal standpoint. Before. the war it was intended that the Court should once a year be in residence in Edinburgh. and it is is hoped and expected that this arrangement will be carried out in the future.
A Prats Presaytertan Service.
The first public appearance of Their Majesties was at St. Giles,' where they took part in the usual simple Presbyterian service, in keeping with the religious traditions of the Capital of Scotland in the auld kirk of John Knox. The only detail that marked the proceedings out from that of an ordinary Sunday was that the King. with the Knights of the Order of the Thistle, waa present at a short service in the Thistle Chapel.
Ay Orex-ain IyvestiTcne, The biggest event of the week was an Investiture held in the open air in the great open courtyard in front of the Palace. In past times honours have been presented within the walls of the Palace, but never before in Scotland has a King decorated his subjects under con ditions of almost unrestricted publicity. This, of course, is a reflex of the democratic character of the Great War—a people's. war, at least on our side, not a dynastic one.
The great assembly was full of colour and variety. Perhaps its most effective group was that of the guard round the King's pavilion, composed of the Royal Company of Archers, all of whose members belong to the Scottish nobility. They wear quaint old-time uniforms of dark green, and carry long bows and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.