NEWS OF THE WEEK
A. LL round the world excitement is mounting as the preparations go forward for the reception of the Queen in her first great tour of the Commonwealth. Already, in a mere four days since she flew away from London, she has duly kept her first appointments in Bermuda and Jamaica, and her visit is already a memory to her subjects there. But it must be a bright memory, comparable to the impression left on the minds and imaginations of Londoners by the Coronation and her progress through the streets in the days immediately following it. That is the light in which the Commonwealth tour should be viewed. In the rejoicing that accompanies the progress of the Queen on her tour are the echoes of the cheering that filled the London streets six months ago, when the newly crowned Sovereign passed by.
Gratefully absent from the long tour round the world is the intense strain borne by the Queen herself last June. There is at least something of a holiday spirit about her present journey—enough to enjoin silence on those whose constant solicitude lest she should try to do too much adds nothing to the gaiety of nations. The Queen is young. She, with her husband, has shown a capacity for enjoying herself which is not least among the things that make her charming. Surely that capacity will carry her through her long round of visits and official engagements in lands which are, after all, gay, beautiful and sunny, mostly new to her, and filled with people anxious to demonstrate their loyalty and love. The best parting word is the natural one to address to any young woman off on a journey round the world—" Enjoy yourself."
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