of Pless, the Duchess of Westminster, Lady
Tweedmouth, Mrs. Harmsworth, the Countess of Bective, Mrs. Choate, the
Duchess of Somerset and Countess Carrington. The King's Dinner to the
Poor of London was planned upon an enormous scale and His Majesty stated
that he would spend L30,000 in thus entertaining half-a-million of his
poorer subjects. Sir Thomas Lipton, who had been in charge of a smaller
affair at the Diamond Jubilee, was given control of the details. Similar
preparations, upon a minor scale of course, were going on all over the
Empire and in New York a Coronation Ode was issued by Mr. Bliss
Carman--a Canadian by birth--which did the subject noble justice and
commenced with the following verse:

"There are joy-bells over England, there are flags in London town;
There is bunting on the Channel where the fleets go up and down;
There are bon-fires alight
In the pageant of the night;
There are bands that blare for splendour and guns that speak for might;
For another King of England is coming to the Crown."

Meanwhile, a Colonial Conference had also been arranged to take place
during these weeks of celebration and the delegates were to be special
Royal guests for the Coronation--Sir Francis W. Grenfell, Sir Wilfrid
Laurier, Mr. Seddon, Mr. Barton, Sir W. J. Sendall, Sir William
MacGregor, Sir Gordon Sprigg, Sir Albert Hime, Sir Robert Bond, and Sir
West Ridgeway--together with Mr. Chamberlain and the Earl of Onslow,
Under-Secretary of the Colonies. The official programme, published a few
days before the date set for the Coronation, gave the details of the
Royal procession on that and the following days. On June 26th, in
passing from Buckingham Abbey, there were to be eight carriages
containing the Royal visitors and members of the Royal family, the
Prince and Princess of Wales and then the state coach with the King and
Queen--having the Duke of Connaught riding to its right and a
considerable staff and brilliant escort of Life Guards behind.

The procession of the following day was to be essentially an Imperial
pageant and was to pass over a popular city route. The Colonial portion
came first on the programme, headed by Lieut.-General Sir A. Hunter, and
with detachments of Canadian artillery and cavalry and Australian
cavalry preceding a carriage containing Sir Wilfrid and Lady Laurier and
Mr. and Mrs. Barton. Then followed carriages with Sir R. Bond and Mr.
and Mrs. Seddon, Sir Gordon and