3T0 
THE STRAND MAGAZINE. 
occupied by the Crown Prince of Germany, 
Prince Albert Victor of Wales, Prince George 
of Wales, and Prince Christian Victor of 
Sc hie swig - H olste i n . 
Pausing before seating herself in the 
Coronation Chair, Queen Victoria bowed 
low, first to the Royal guests, and afterwards 
to the rest of the assembly. Her Majesty’s 
dress, I recall, showed a happy compromise 
between full State dress and plain morning 
dress, and, for the first time for a quarter of a 
century, she wore a white bonnet, which, if I 
may say so, struck me as becoming her par- 
ticularly well. 
The religious service consisted of thanks- 
giving and prayer, with appropriate choral 
music, and was read by the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, the Dean of Westminster, and 
the Bishop of London. Never, I think, has 
religious service been more impressive, every 
member of the brilliant assembly present 
being obviously moved by the solemnity of 
the occasion. 
At the conclusion of the initial thanks- 
giving, the Queen rose from the Coronation 
Chair and affectionately embraced the mem- 
bers of her family, beginning, of course, with 
the Prince of Wales. And, amidst the splen- 
did publicity of that superb assembly at once • 
the central spectacle became that of an i 
affectionate family party, which is surely 
far better than all the glory of all kingdoms . 
on earth. 
After a solemn prayer, uttered by the 
Archbishop of Canterbury, the strains of the 
Te Deum burst forth, filling every corner of 
the Abbey with their rich volume of sound. 
That moment, I think, impressed me more 
than any other I have lived through in my 
life. 
Surrounded by that vast assembly, whose 
gaze was riveted upon her, the Queen, repre- 
senting the glory and continuity of England’s 
history, sat alone in the middle of the great 
nave. And a wave of emotion passed over 
the gorgeously-dressed crowd as silent tears 
were seen to be dropping one by one upon the 
folded hands of this small, pathetic figure, 
for the Te Deum which was being played had 
been composed by the Prince Consort, and I. 
who knew this, saw at that moment, not the 
Empress-Queen of the most powerful nation 
in the world, but a sad, lonely woman sorrow- 
ing for her dead husband. 
V. 
The Signing of Peace Between Russia and Turkey at San Stefano. 
By LORD CHEYLESMORE. 
Illustrated by Jobn Cameron. 
I am inclined to think that 1 witnessed the 
most impressive sight of my life on Sunday, 
March 3rd, 1878 — the day on which the 
signatures were attached to the Treaty of 
Peace between Russia and Turkey at San 
Stefano. 
In order to arrange terms of peace an 
armistice had been declared on January 31st, 
and slowly the rumour spread that when on 
Sunday, March 3rd, a review was to take 
place in honour of the Czar's acceptance of 
the Throne, there was more than a possibility 
that peace might also lie concluded that day. 
In consequence, a large number of excur- 
sionists from Constantinople, arrived at San 
Stefano by steamboat shortly after dawn, 
and when, as early as six in the morning, the 
whole of the Imperial Guard — a magnificent 
body of some twenty-five thousand men 
paraded before the quarters of the Grand 
Duke Nicholas, even at that early hour a 
crowd of over twenty thousand spectators had 
assembled. 
Slowly the hours passed, and two o’clock 
in the afternoon came and went without any 
movement from the house, so that at last the 
dread fear began to pervade the expectant 
watchers that even now some difficulty might 
have arisen which would prevent the signing 
of the Articles of Peace. 
Happily, however, this fear proved un- 
founded. War, after all, was not to break out. 
The review was delayed owing to the fact 
that the Grand Duke was waiting for the 
signatures to be attached to the Treaty, which 
could not he done until the Russian and 
Turkish copies of that document were com- 
plete. 
Whether the delay was caused by the well- 
known dilatory tactics of the Turk 1 know 
not. The fact remains, however, that it was 
not till close on five in the afternoon that the 
Grand Duke rode up to the Diplomatic 
Chancery and asked at the door if the Treaty 
was ready. As he waited for a reply the 
agitation of the crowd grew so intense as to 
