The Pageant of British History

LOOK upon the scene which now unfolds itself. You are gazing into the depths of that Hampshire forest which the Conqueror set apart for his kingly sport. It is cursed to his lin...

AND now “gallant little Wales” shall supply a scene to our pageant. History may not sanction the subject of it, but it may not be omitted. You are spectators within the gray wal...

“_He nothing common did or mean_ _Upon that memorable scene,_ _But with his keener eye_ _The axe’s edge did try;_ _Nor called the gods with vulgar spite_ _To vindicate his helpl...

YOU are now permitted to peep into the citadel of Arcot, the old capital of the Carnatic. Its walls are ruinous, its ramparts unfitted for guns, its battlements too low to prote...

IT is the 29th of May, 1660, and London is a gala city. The streets are hung with tapestry; flags and banners wave from the housetops; the citizens in their best attire throng t...

NOW a remarkable scene diversifies our pageant. You see before you the great hall of the Norman castle of Bayeux. Baron, knight, bishop, and priest fill up the background, and y...

“_Attend, all ye who list to hear our noble England’s praise;_ _I tell of the thrice famous deeds she wrought in ancient days,_ _When the great fleet invincible against her bore...

A PRINCE now passes by on horseback. He is small, almost diminutive, but by no means insignificant. His figure is slender and apparently feeble, but few men have borne such hard...

IT is a gray, melancholy spring day in the year 1771. You are at Chatham, looking on to the deck of his Majesty’s ship _Raisonnable_, commanded by Captain Maurice Suckling. The...

THE procession advances. Who, you ask, are these swarthy, Jewish-looking men leading the way? They are Phœnicians, the first visitors from civilized shores to our island. These...

ROOM for the Vikings! the sons of the creek, the bluff, stalwart rovers who love the salt sea with a consuming passion, and shout with glee as the waves foam beneath them and te...

YOU are gazing upon the death-chamber of a king. He lies upon his bed in the silent, darkened room, and sleep comes and goes from his troubled pillow. Conscience smites him and...

THE light burns low on our pageant, and the scene grows dim and confused; yet we know only too well that a desperate struggle is going on. The battle-cries of warriors and the s...

A DARK and murderous scene now awaits your eyes. It is about seven o’clock on a Saturday evening in March 1566. A beautiful queen is supping with her friends in the inner boudoi...

NOW the procession halts, while a momentous scene is enacted before our eyes. We are in the old seaport of Bristol, on a May morning in the year 1497, treading the rough cobbles...

THE scene shifts to the shores of a remote loch in the Western Highlands of Scotland. Great, gloomy hills rise from the water’s edge; the whole aspect of the place is wild and s...

THE real conqueror of Britain now approaches. We know that British “kings” in distress more than once appealed to Augustus, and that he seriously thought of invading the island....

“_Lead out the pageant: sad and slow,_ _As fits an universal woe,_ _Let the long long procession go,_ _And let the sorrowing crowd about it grow,_ _And let the mournful martial...

A GREAT noble now rides by on a magnificent coal-black steed. At once your eye is attracted by him, and you feel that here is a Paladin worthy of the pen of poet and romancer. M...

IT is five o’clock on a June morning in the year 1837. London is not yet awake, nevertheless four high officers of state are knocking lustily and ringing loudly at the outer gat...

AND now let our pageant draw to a close with the figure of our present gracious and genial king. Long may he reign! He has laid his subjects under a deep debt of gratitude. Ever...