Travels in the East

Before he came to the Throne the Prince of Wales had long been the most travelled man in Europe. He had visited every Court and capital and centre upon that Continent; he had toured the North American Continent from the capital of Canada to the capital of the United States and from the historic heights of Quebec to the great western centre at Chicago; he had visited the most noted lands of the distant East.

FROM EUROPE TO AFRICA

In 1862, his first visit to Egypt and the Holy Land had taken place, and now, six years later, he was to make a more imposing and important tour of those and other countries in the company of his wife. On November 17th, 1868, the Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied by their three eldest children and by Lady Carmarthen, General Sir W. Knollys, Lieut.-Col. Keppel and Dr. Minter, left for the Continent and reached CompiÈgne on the morning of the 20th inst., in order to pay a visit to the Emperor and Empress of the French. An incident of the hunt which took place that afternoon was the rush of a stag at the Prince who, with his horse, was completely knocked over. Amongst the shooting party were Marshal Bazaine, the Baron Von Moltke, the Marquess of Lansdowne and other well-known men of the day. After a stay of a few days here and at Paris the Royal party proceeded on their journey and reached Copenhagen on November 29th. The birthday of the Princess was celebrated two days later in her old home.

Stockholm was reached on December 16th, and a visit of some days' duration paid to the King of Sweden. On December 28th the Prince and Princess were back again with the Royal family of Denmark and attended a State Ball at the Christianborg Palace. In the middle of January they embarked in the yacht Freya, and at Hamburg the Royal children were sent home in charge of Lady Carmarthen, Sir William Knollys and Colonel Keppel. At Berlin, on January 17th, they were welcomed by the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia—the Princess Royal of England—and by Lord Augustus Loftus, the British Ambassador. On the following day His Royal Highness was invested with the famous order of the Black Eagle by the King of Prussia. Amongst the limited number of Knights Grand Cross who were present at the Chapter were the Baron Von Moltke, General Von Roon, Count Von Waldersee, and Count Von Wrangel. From Berlin, where the Prince and Princess were joined by those who were to accompany them on their further journey and including Colonel Teesdale, V.C., Captain Ellis, Lord Carington, Mr. Oliver Montague, Dr. Minter and the Hon. Mrs. William Grey, the Royal party went to Vienna which was reached on January 21st. At the station they were received by the Emperor Francis Joseph and various members of the Austrian Royal family together with Prince Von Hohenlohe and Lord Bloomfield, the British Ambassador. State visits, dinners, the theatre, skating and a private visit to the King and Queen of Hanover in their retirement at Hietsing, constituted the programme of the next few days. Vienna was left on January 27th, and from Trieste, on the following day, sail was made on board H.M.S. Ariadne and Alexandria reached on February 3rd.

TRIP UP THE NILE

After their formal reception at Alexandria by Mehemet Tewfik Pasha, Shereef Pasha, Mourad Pasha, Sir Samuel Baker and others, the Prince and Princess proceeded to Cairo where they were warmly welcomed by the Khedive, and met by the Duke of Sutherland and his son, Lord Stafford, Professor Owen, Colonel Marshall and the special correspondent, Dr. W. H. Russell. The latter gentlemen joined the Royal party and were to proceed with them on the journey up the Nile together with Prince Louis of Battenberg and Lord Albert Gower. Before starting on this voyage, however, the Prince and Princess were privileged in witnessing the curious Procession of the Holy Carpet and the departure of a portion of the annual stream of pilgrims for Mecca. The Princess and Mrs. Grey were also invited, on February 5th, to dine at the Harem with the Khedive's mother and the ceremonies, as described by Mrs. Grey in her Diary of the tour, were exceedingly interesting. A multitude of smartly dressed female slaves in coloured satin and gold; services of silver and gold; dishes of the most peculiar and varied composition and taste; music by bands of girls and dances by other bands of women—some of whose motions were described by Mrs. Grey as graceful and others as "simply frightful;" drinks of curious character and pipes and cigarettes with holders ornamented by masses of precious gems; costumes which partook of both the Eastern and Western character; jewels and gold in every direction and upon every possible kind of object—such were some of the things seen during the visit. In the evening of the same day the Royal couple and suite went to the theatre, and afterwards the Prince had supper with the Khedive at the Palace of Gizerek, accompanied with elaborate ceremonies and a succession of dancing spectacles.

Meanwhile, every care had been exercised by the Khedive in preparing comforts for the Royal guests up the Nile. The chief barge was occupied by the Prince and Princess and the Hon. Mrs. Grey, who was in attendance upon the latter; a second was occupied by the Suite; a third by the Duke of Sutherland's party; a fourth was used as a store-boat and contained 3,000 bottles of champagne, 20,000 bottles of soda-water, 4,000 bottles of claret and plenty of ale, liquors and light wines. Sir Samuel Baker, who was at this time Governor of the Soudan region, accompanied the Prince and had with him an abundance of guns and nets for capturing crocodiles, etc. During the slow progress up the river there was plenty of sport, and His Royal Highness won fine specimens of spoonbills, flamingoes, herons, cranes, cormorants, doves, etc.

THEY VISIT SITES OF ANCIENT CITIES

During the early part of the trip there was not much that was interesting; apart from the shooting expeditions which were undertaken from time to time. The sight of frightened children, timid women, labouring slaves, mosques and villages of huts and occasional ruins of more or less interest were all that was visible along the low banks of the river as they passed. The caves, or grottoes, of Beni Hassan were visited on February 10, and the life of ancient peoples seen in a panorama of carved monuments. Then came a more beautiful, cultivated and populous part of the region watered by the Nile. Thebes, Luxor, Karnak, however, were names and places which made up for much. For two days, ending February 19th, the heir to a thousand years of English sovereignty wandered amidst these tombs and monuments of the rulers of an African empire which had wielded vast power and created works of wonderful skill and genius three, and five thousand years before. The great hall and collonades and pillars of Karnac, the obelisk of Luxor, the famous tombs of the Kings, the Temples of Rameses, the colossal statues of Egyptian rulers, were visited by daylight, and, in some cases, the wondrous effect of Oriental moonlight upon these massive shapes and memorials of a mighty past was also witnessed.

PhilÆ with its interesting ruins, Assouan with its modern history, Korosko, DerÉ, the early capital of Nubia, the great Temple at Aboo Simbel, were seen, and, finally, after the Prince had killed his first crocodile, on February 28th, and the party had made an uncomfortable trip across a hot waste of desert, Wady Halfah was reached on March 2nd, and the journey back was commenced. On their return a special trip was made by the Prince and Princess to the Pyramids of Ghizeh, accompanied by Mehemet Tewfik, the Khedive's son, with an escort from Cairo. The Prince ascended the biggest of the Pyramids and the party was royally entertained afterwards in a pavilion specially erected for the purpose.

INTERESTING RUINS ARE VISITED

The Prince and Princess also visited the Royal chambers in the great Pyramid. A delightful drive to Cairo followed, and the party soon found themselves comfortably installed in the Esbekiah Palace. On the following day a visit was paid to the great Mosque where lie the revered bones of Mehemet Ali, under an embroidered velvet catafalque. One of the graceful minarets was ascended and a splendid panorama of the city seen. On March 18 the Tombs of the Caliphs, with their picturesque but ruined mosques, were visited, and in the evening the theatre was attended, in company with His Highness, the Khedive. A visit to the Baulak Museum followed and was rendered thoroughly interesting by the presence of the learned Orientalist, Marriette Bey, who showed the Prince and Princess a bust of the Pharaoh "who would not let the children of Israel go," and one of the other Pharaohs, who was a friend of Moses. Sir W. H. Russell is authority for the statement that the slightly incredulous smile of the Princess brought out a most concise, learned and convincing explanation of history and hieroglyphics in this connection.

On the evening of March 19th the Khedive gave a State Dinner in honour of his Royal guests at the Garden Kiosk of the new Palace of Gizeh. The grounds were brilliantly illuminated, those present included all that was eminent in the life of Egypt, the viands were served upon the richest plate, the native fireworks sent up afterwards were most attractive. The Hon. Mrs. Grey, in her Diary, says that "standing in the outer marble court, with its beautiful Moorish arches and its pillars of rich brown colour, their bases and capitals profusely and brilliantly decorated, and looking on every side at the tastefully illuminated gardens, the effect produced was indeed most splendid and carried one at once back in imagination to one of the scenes you read of in the Arabian Nights. It is quite impossible to describe it, but I shall never forget this beautiful sight." The writer then goes on to describe the splendid architecture and tasteful furniture of the building and rooms. Most of the latter were decorated in white and gold, with myriads of mirrors, rich silk curtains and furniture with all the soft and brilliant colourings of the old Arabesque style. There were fountains everywhere, and the floors were inlaid marble, porphery and alabaster.

Following this function came a visit to the British Mission School, where the Princess greatly charmed the children; a state visit to the races in a carriage drawn by six horses, and with coachmen and postilions wearing most gorgeous liveries of scarlet and gold. The Suite were also splendidly equipped in regard to carriages and outriders, and the streets were lined with troops. The races were well conducted and the general ceremonies of the occasion worthy of Ismail, the Khedive. This was to have been the last function prior to departure for the Suez Canal, but it was now decided to accept the pressing invitation of His Highness and stay three days longer. Following upon this decision came a series of visits paid by the Princess of Wales to the wives, or harems, of certain distinguished Egyptian gentlemen, and, finally, to the harem of the Khedive.

Amongst the places visited were the homes of Murad Pasha, Abd-el-Kader Bey and Achmet Bey. On March 23d the Princess, with a couple of attendant ladies, visited the Khedive's mother—the real ruler of his harem. It was a sort of Eastern drawing-room function, with slaves in brightly-coloured dresses everywhere about, and a number of Princesses, or daughters and relations of the Khedive, present, together with many other ladies of Egyptian rank and position. Mrs. Grey described them as mostly pretty—which was not, in her experience, the case as a rule—and as looking cheerful and happy. In the evening the Princess attended a State Dinner given by the four wives of the Khedive at the Palace of Gizerek. The presence of innumerable slaves, coffee and pipes, music and cherry jam served on a large gold tray with a gold service inlaid with diamonds and rubies, were the initial features of the entertainment. At dinner the guests sat on chairs instead of on the floor, as at a previous affair of the kind, but still had to pull the meat from the turkey with their fingers, while the odour of garlic and onions in many of the dishes was very unpleasant. There was some singing during the meal, with music and Oriental dancing after it. Meanwhile the bazars had been visited privately by the Princess; the people having no idea who the inquiring and interested European lady was.

THE PRINCE ATTENDS THE KHEDIVE'S RECEPTION

On the same day the Prince of Wales attended in state at a formal reception held by the Khedive, and thus conferred a somewhat marked compliment upon one who was not actually an independent Sovereign. He was accompanied by the Marquess of Huntly and the Earl of Gosford, who had just arrived from India on their way home, and proceeded through the streets in all the pomp of scarlet and gold outriders, troops in brilliant uniforms and a general environment of state which compelled unusual respect from the impassive Oriental onlookers. Royal honours were given to the Prince on his arrival, and he was met by some 5,000 troops and the strains of the British national anthem, while the Court itself was brilliant in blue and gold uniforms and rich in the luxuriance of gold and gems upon every possible article of service or personal use. In the evening the Prince dined with his Vice-regal host on a yacht in the river, and the Minister of Finance gave a brilliant banquet, at which were present the great officers of state, such as Shereef Pasha, Zulfikar Pasha, Abdallah Pasha and others, together with British visitors or members of the Royal suite, such as Lord Carington, Lord Huntly, Lord Gosford, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Sir Samuel Baker and Colonel Teesdale, V.C.

This event closed the visit to Cairo and, after formal farewells on the following morning, the train was taken for Suez, where the Royal visitors were received by the Governor and M. de Lesseps. In the morning they left for Ismaila amidst all possible honours, and accompanied by the great canal promoter. There a triumphal arch had been erected and a crowd of people and troops were found lining the route through the city. They were driven out to the Khedive's chalet on Lake Timsah, where dinner was served and the night spent, and thence back to Ismaila, and, in a steamer, down the Suez Canal to Port Said. The great enterprise was not then completed, and, in fact, the opening of the canal did not take place for many months, but the Royal tourists were fortunate in seeing the pioneer activities of creation in full operation and of being able to understand something of the immense initial difficulties which had been overcome by the genius and energy of De Lesseps.

Alexandria was reached on March 27th, and visits were paid to Ras-el-Teen, the old palace of Mehemet Ali, to Cleopatra's Needle and Pompey's Pillar. Then the Ariadne was boarded once more and a farewell dinner given to Mourad Pasha, the representative of the Egyptian Government, who had done so much for the comfort of the Royal guests; the health of the Khedive was drunk and the last word said to the ancient land of the Nile and the Pyramids. The impressions left by this visit to Egypt were pleasant to the Prince of Wales and useful to his country. Ismail, the Khedive, was at this time a most enterprising ruler but the predominant influence in the country was French and there can be no doubt that the stately reception given the Heir to the British Crown proved a substantial service to the present and future residents of his nationality in that part of the world. The Prince, himself, must have benefited greatly by the insight into Oriental methods of government which he obtained and by the curious efforts at an adaptation of western ideas which were going on all around him; while the picture left upon his mind of ancient traditions and the history of a mighty past could not but have been impressive and interesting.

On boarding the Ariadne, off Alexandria, and starting for Constantinople the Royal party lost Sir Samuel Baker, Lord Gosford, Sir Henry Pelly and Lord Huntly, who were leaving for other points of destination. During the next few days the vessel passed through the "Isles of Greece" and by various famous or historic spots. Patmos and Chios were seen for a time in the distance and, on March 31st, the Dardanelles were reached and salutes fired from shore to shore—from Europe to Asia—as the Royal yacht steamed between the Turkish forts. Upon anchoring, the British Ambassador, the Hon. Henry Elliot, came on board, together with Raouf Pasha, who attended to offer the earliest compliments of his Imperial master the Sultan. At the next landing, off Chanak, the Prince was formally welcomed by Eyoub Pasha, Military Governor of the Dardanelles, and his staff and guard of honour. Salutes from the Forts followed and the Prince returned to his vessel which steamed up to Gallipoli, where another stop was made and a visit paid to the French and British cemeteries of the Crimean War. Early on the morning of April 1st the towers and minarets of Constantinople were sighted and various tugs and boats containing British residents and others surrounded the Royal vessel and joined in singing "God Save the Queen" as the Prince and Princess appeared on deck. Their stepping into a barge to row ashore was the signal for a general salute from the Turkish iron-clads and, amidst flying colours, fully-manned yards and swarming caiques and steam-boats the journey to the shore was made—with some private speculation as to what would happen to the Life Guardsmen of the Prince's suite if they should be upset in the water with all their cumbrous "toggery" on.

When abreast of the Palace of Saleh Bazar the Royal barge was met by the state caique of the Sultan, followed by other gorgeously decorated and equipped vessels, containing the Grand Vizier, Aali Pasha, and other officials dressed in blue and gold and wearing numerous ribands, stars and crosses of knightly orders. Amidst cheers from crowded tugs and boats and ships the Royal visitors were transferred to the caique and thence to the landing place of the Palace where a guard of honour, a crowd of officers and a gorgeous staff surrounded the Sultan who, like the Prince of Wales, was in full uniform. His Majesty, after various gracious greetings, which were translated by the Grand Vizier, led his guests up the staircase of the Palace and then retired. Shortly afterwards the Prince and his suite were driven to the Dolmabakshi Palace where they were received by the Sultan with much state and, after a brief visit, returned to Saleh Bazar. Luncheon followed and the Prince and Princess called at the British Embassy. On their way back in the Sultan's carriages the streets were lined with impassive people who saluted in silent respect. At the Palace an admirable dinner was served on gold and silver plate. During the entire stay of the Royal visitors here they were supplied with every luxury and requirement—guards of honour, carriages, saddle-horses, caiques, a band of eighty-four splendid musicians and an immense staff always on duty and clad in gorgeous uniforms of green and gold.

Every morning there were presents from the Sultan of most exquisite flowers and the finest fruit. Mr. W. H. Russell thus described the surroundings in one of his letters to the London Times: "The valetaille, in liveries of green and gold, with white cuffs and collars, throng the passages and corridors, and black-coated Chibouquejees are ready at a clap of the hands to bring in pipes with amber mouth-pieces of fabulous value, crested with hundreds of diamonds and rubies, and coffee in tiny cups which fit into stands blazing with similar jewels. The cuisine cannot be surpassed and the wines are of the most celebrated vintage. All the persons attached to the Palace speak French or English. There are Turkish baths inside ready at a moment's notice. Equerries, aides-de-camp, officers of the Body-Guard, radiant in gold lace and scarlet, in blue and in silver lace, flit about the saloons and corridors. Human nature can scarce sustain the load of obligations imposed on it by such attention. If the Prince is seen on the water guards are turned out along all the batteries and the strains of music are borne on every breeze that blows. Yards are manned and crews turned out on the slightest provocation. The least wish is an order."

On April 2nd the Sultan went in state to the Mosque in honour of his Royal guests. The streets were lined with five thousand troops and the Prince and Princess, with their suite, were driven to the Palace of Beshik Jool, from a beautiful room in which they could see the Imperial procession pass by. The sloping ground on the opposite side of the road was filled by groups of women clad in varied colours and looking from a distance like animated flowers. The Sultan came, presently, preceded by brilliantly garbed Circassian troops, announced by the blast of a trumpet and the acclaim of the Turkish populace and riding a magnificent horse, which an English spectator described as a "marvel of beauty." He wore a splendid military uniform and his jewelled orders and sabre-hilt shone brightly in the rays of the sun, while immediately before and behind him were the officers of state. After the pageant had passed, little Prince Izzedin—the eldest son of the Sultan and a delicate, intelligent-looking child—came over to visit the Prince and Princess. The troops then filed past the Palace windows. Later in the day a deputation of British residents was received by the Prince and in the evening a special performance at the Theatre was attended and witnessed from the Sultan's box.

Early in the morning of April 3rd, the various foreign Ambassadors and Ministers called on the Prince of Wales and were presented by Mr. Elliot. Amongst them was General Ignatieff, of Russia. A visit to Seraglio Point followed, and from its heights was seen that most exquisite view which embraces the Sweet Waters, the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmora and its islands, the shores of Scutari, the minarets of the city and a general mingling of sea and shore, of light and shade, of softness and Eastern charm which is hardly equalled in the world. The great mosque of St. Sophia was then visited. In the evening a state dinner was given by the Sultan at Dolmabakshi Palace—the first ever given by His Ottoman Majesty to Christian guests. The Prince and Princess were received in the grand drawing-room by the Sultan and all his Ministers. The Princess was taken in by His Majesty and Madame Ignatieff by the Prince. The dinner-room was already renowned for its exquisite candelabra and lustres in rock-crystal; and its other decorations, combined with plate and flowers of the most beautiful kind, made up a scene well worth remembering. Aside from this, however, it was not very interesting, as none of the Sultan's Ministers—except the Grand Vizier—had ever sat in his presence before and were apparently too much astonished and afraid to speak a word to each other or to any of the twenty-four guests who made up the banquet. After dinner the Princess and Mrs. Grey visited the Harem, or rather the Sultan's wife and mother. Mrs. Grey, in her Diary, declares the dullness and stiffness of the occasion to have been indescribable. There were innumerable slaves, but they were all "hideous," though loaded down with jewels, while other incidents and surroundings were not very unlike a similar reception at a European Court. The whole affair broke up at 10.30.

A VARIETY OF INCIDENTS

On the following day the Royal party attended service in the church of the British Embassy, driving through silent and crowded streets. In the afternoon they inspected the Cemetary at Scutari. On the following day the Prince and Princess, attended by Mrs. Grey, and all garbed in the humblest English clothes they could find, visited the Bazaar. "Mr. and Mrs. Williams" seemed to enjoy themselves greatly, the former smoking a long pipe; the latter buying quantities of curios and, as the merchants soon found out, driving an occasional bargain with earnestness. They took in all the entertainments, sipped sherbets and the various unnamable drinks which are sold in such places, and revelled in a few hours of freedom. Later in the day the Prince paid some formal visits and in the evening they again attended the theatre. Meanwhile Sir Andrew Buchanan, British Ambassador at St. Petersburg, had arrived with his wife, on their way home to England, and were welcomed at the Palace. The following day a visit was paid to Belyar Beg, some distance up the Bosphorus, which has been described as "the most beautiful place in the most beautiful situation in the world." Guards of honour were seen in all directions as the Royal party passed in caiques up the river. The luxury and elegance of the furniture at the Palace and the beauty of both buildings and surroundings evoked expressions of admiration from the Prince and Princess and, perhaps, they even regretted their refusal to stay here in preference for the other and more accessible residence. Tchamlidja, not far away, the summer residence of Mustapha Fazil Pasha, brother of the Viceroy of Egypt, was then visited and a "luncheon" served which proved to be almost wanton in its luxury—the choicest fruits that Paris could produce and the finest wines of the east or the west being served in profusion. Afterwards, the Princess and Mrs. Grey visited the Harem, while the men smoked exquisite cigars and drank the finest obtainable coffee.

The following day included a trip across the Bosphorus in the Sultan's yacht and a state ball at the British Embassy in the evening, which was, for a short time, attended by the Padishah himself. The Royal party did not retire from the gathering until daylight. During the next three days one function continued to follow another. A visit to the British Memorial Church; attendance with the Sultan at a great special performance in the Theatre through densely-crowded streets; a visit to a cricket match in the suburbs; attendance at a state banquet given by the British Ambassador; inspection by the Prince of a Turkish ironclad—Hobart Pasha's flagship; a dinner at the country home of the Grand Vizier. The day of departure fixed upon was April 10th, and, after a stately breakfast with the Sultan at Dolmabakshi, and farewells exchanged amidst all possible pomp and Oriental pageantry, the Ariadne was boarded and slowly steamed away from the Moslem capital to the sound of cheers and thundering guns from fleet and fort. They were soon in the gloomy waters of the Black Sea on the way to the Czar's dominions.

Arrangements had been under discussion for some time in connection with this visit to the Crimea and Sir Andrew Buchanan's opportune arrival had, no doubt, a good deal to do with the matter. On April 12th Sebastopol was sighted, crowned with its ruined bastions and replete to the Royal tourists with memories of the Redan, the Malakoff, and the Mamelon. Neither flags nor men were visible, however, upon the ramparts as the yacht came to its moorings although elsewhere Russian soldiers could be occasionally seen. Presently, General de Kotzebue, Governor of New Russia and Bessarabia, came on board with his suite—a decorated and energetic survivor of the great siege at which he had been Chief of Staff to Prince Gortschakoff. After the four days programme for the Crimea had been settled the Prince and Princess landed and went first to inspect the Memorial Chapel and then to visit the great cemetery. A drive to some of the scenes of battle during the Crimean conflict followed, with an escort of Tartars and with carriage horses which at times seemed to fly over the ground. General de Kotzebue knew every foot of the soil and was, of course, a splendid host on such an occasion. On this first day the field of the desperate Alma fight was gone over carefully and on the succeeding morning the ruined ramparts and redoubts of the once great Fortress of Sebastopol—not as yet restored—were visited and studied. The Cemetery of Cathcart's Hill was visited and here there were few in the party who did not find the names of friends or relatives in this city of silent streets while the Princess found very many around which associations of some kind were twined. In a small farmhouse, close to the windmill which was almost a centre of battle on the day of Inkerman, the Royal party took lunch.

Afterwards the Prince and some of the gentlemen rode over the ridge around which the famous fight occurred and General de Kotzebue explained the technical character of the struggle. The Malakoff was next seen as well as the colossal statue of Lazareff—the father of the Black Sea fleet and of that conception of Russian power which was shattered for a time by the success of the Allies. On the 14th the French Cemetery was visited and thence they went across country to the famous British Headquarters—the home for so long of Lord Raglan, General Simpson and Sir W. Codrington. The house was in perfect order and the Prince was shown with care one of the rooms on the wall of which was a tablet with the simple words: "Lord Raglan died." Balaclava was next visited and the scene of the famous charge carefully studied by the Prince. A drive followed through a country of varied and striking beauty to the Imperial Palace of Livadia where the Czar's Master of Ceremonies, Count Jules Stenbock, was waiting to receive the Royal visitors. A ceremonious entertainment was given here in the highest style of refinement and with the somewhat unexpected accompaniments of chamberlains in green and gold and a mass of servants from St. Petersburg, together with every sort of luxury. Here the Czar Nicholas had stayed in 1855 when he went to reconnoitre the position of the Allies. A visit followed to Alupka, the palace of Prince Woronzow and thence, after an exchange of telegrams with the Czar, they went on board the Ariadne once more.

April the 16th saw the Royal party once more in the Bosphorus with blue lights burning along the shores and bands playing a courteous welcome. On the following day the Prince, attended by Colonel Teesdale and Captain Ellis, paid a last formal visit to the Sultan and this was promptly returned by His Majesty amidst much ceremony. Meanwhile, the Princess had taken a last fond "incognito" look at the Bazaars attended by Mrs. Grey and Mr. Moore of the Embassy. The Ambassador came to the yacht to luncheon and soon afterwards Sir Andrew and Lady Buchanan bade farewell. Then, in the evening, came the second departure from Constantinople, the Ariadne passing through the lately increased Turkish fleet, under Hobart Pasha, amidst a brilliant display of rockets, coloured lanterns and blue lights.

A VISIT TO HISTORIC ATHENS

The Port of Athens was reached on April the 20th and here Sir A. Buchanan once more rejoined the party, followed very soon by various Russian, French and Italian officers and diplomatists. Next came the King of Greece—George I., brother of the Princess of Wales—accompanied by a suite and with sounds of distant cheering and the roar of guns echoing around the vessel. After luncheon Athens was visited and found to be gaily decorated and thence the Royal party passed by train to the King's Palace in the country, a beautiful place surrounded by beautiful scenery. In the distance were to be seen the green fields and olive forests of the Attic plain, the PirÆus and the Bay of Salamis, the groves of Academus, the ancient Acropolis and Ilissus, and the modern City of Athens. On the following day the Acropolis was visited and the glories of that scene of historic greatness revived in the memories of the Royal travellers. A state banquet followed in the evening and on the next day a number of memorable sights and scenes were visited while the evening was the occasion for a coloured and very striking illumination of the mighty ruins of the Acropolis. Athens was left behind on the 23rd of April and the Royal party, including the King and Queen of Greece, proceeded to Corfu, which was reached on the following day and a more kindly greeting accorded to the visitors. The stay here was a very quiet one enlivened, so far as the Prince of Wales was concerned, by a hunting party on the somewhat wild coast of Albania. May 1st saw a formal leave-taking from the King and Queen of the Hellenes and a departure from this pleasant old-world Island.

On the following day Brindisi was reached, and Turin on the 3rd. Accompanied by Sir Augustus Paget, the Minister at Rome, the Royal party crossed the mountains by the Mont Cenis Railway and reached Paris two days afterwards. Here, until May the 11th, they remained in a succession of visits, dinners, reviews and entertainments provided by the Emperor and Empress, and on the following day arrived at Marlborough House after a six months' absence from England. It had been a round of arduous duty mixed with every form of honour and compliment, and including much of genuine pleasure and useful experience, together with the acquisition of practical and valuable knowledge. To the Heir Apparent it was one more step in the training and education necessary for any Prince who is destined to reign over the destinies of an infinitely varied and scattered people.