guns, and shot and shell fell thick
and fast, but on through all rode the brave horsemen, on till they
reached the cannon at the end of the valley. The smoke of the enemy's
fire closed round and hid them from their watching comrades, but now and
again the scarlet lines could be seen cutting down those who tried to
stop their charge.

"Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd."

[Illustration: AFTERMATH OF BATTLE deg.]

And then only, when the strange order had been obeyed, when their duty
had been nobly done in the face of death, did the Light Brigade--all
that was left of it--turn to ride back. Alas! there were not then six
hundred. Barely two hundred brave men, wounded, and blackened by smoke
and powder, reached the British camp. The rest of the noble band lay
dead or dying in the valley of Death.

"When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!"

=The Coronation of King Edward VII=

Never had a country a more popular king than King Edward VII, nor a more
gracious queen than Queen Alexandra, and never was a happier day for the
English people than that on which King Edward was crowned. A few days
before the date fixed for the Coronation the king suddenly became ill,
and a great gloom fell over the country, for it was feared that he might
never be crowned. But though his illness was severe he soon began to get
better, and when he was out of danger the hearts of his subjects were
filled with joy and thankfulness. Guns were fired, church-bells pealed,
and glad shouts and cheers rang out from the happy crowds which lined
the streets of London, through which the king and queen, in the midst of
their gay procession, drove to Westminster Abbey.

Inside the gray old Abbey was one of the most brilliant gatherings the
world has ever seen. Princes and princesses from other lands were there,
in their robes of state; peers and peeresses, in velvet, and ermine, and
glittering diamonds; grave statesmen; and soldiers in their gay
uniforms.

It was a grand and solemn scene when, before them all, the aged
Archbishop of Canterbury drew near to the King, and with trembling hands
placed the crown upon his head.

"The Lord give you a fruitful country, and healthful seasons, victorious
fl