ROSE SHOW AND CONFERENCE HELD AT HOLLAND HOUSE. 431 



ROSE SHOW AND CONFERENCE HELD AT HOLLAND 

 HOUSE, KENSINGTON. 



June 24 and 25, 1902. . 



The Earl and Countess of Ilchester had most kindly offered their 

 beautiful gardens and park at Kensington High Street to the Society for 

 a Rose Show, to be held on the two days immediately preceding the 

 Coronation, and on the morning of Tuesday, June 24, everything promised 

 a most successful gathering. The weather was simply perfect, and though 

 it was a little early for the Roses, and the spring had been unfavourable, 

 still there was no lack of the Queen of Flowers ; and the, other depart- 

 ments of the Show, which included everything besides Roses, were full 

 to overflowing with masses of glorious blooms, equalling, if not surpassing, 

 those seen annually at the Society's Show in the Inner Temple Gardens. 

 The judging was carried through most smoothly and expeditiously. At 

 1.30 one hundred and ninety of the Council and Committees of the 

 Society and the invited guests sat down to luncheon, and all was going 

 merrily as a marriage bell, when, suddenly, a sort of chill swept through 

 the whole assembly, and the sad news passed rapidly from mouth to 

 mouth : " The King is dangerously ill, and the Coronation is indefinitely 

 postponed." It is impossible to describe the effect produced. It is true 

 the sun still shone gloriously, and the flags still floated in the gentle 

 breeze, but it seemed as if a sudden darkness and blight had fallen upon 

 everything. People spoke with bated breath ; many hurried off immediately, 

 being unwilling to join in anything partaking of a pleasure gathering, 

 whilst they knew not from minute to minute whether the King were yet 

 living or had passed away ; for the announcement of the serious operation 

 necessary was quickly followed by a rumour that it had ended fatally, and 

 everyone was sorrowing for and with the Queen our Patron. Happily, 

 authentic word was soon brought from the Duke of Connaught, who was 

 lunching at Holland House, that the worst reports were far from true, and 

 that the King, although of necessity in imminent danger for some days to 

 come, had passed through the operation even better than any had dared 

 to hope, and was going on from hour to hour as well as the surgeons in 

 attendance could desire. 



On receipt of this better news it was decided to go on with the Confer- 

 ence and Show, but the whole life and enjoyment was gone from it, and it was 

 impossible to prevent the Conference falling very flat, everyone's hopes and 

 fears and thoughts being centred in the suffering King. The attendance of 

 visitors to the Show in the afternoon was of course very small, as it was 

 also on the second day, notwithstanding that the more hopeful news was 

 again confirmed in the early bulletins posted at the Palace. It was felt 

 that when the head of the nation lay in such a critical condition it was 

 not a time for revelling of any sort, even though it were but the innocent 

 enjoyment of revelling in flowers. 



