The Opera House presented a wonderful appearance; from foyer to ceiling it was decorated with red and white carnations, the outsides of all the loges being turned into great banks of these flowers. Sir John and Lady Jellicoe occupied one of the loges near the stage, where the ambassadors, ministers and distinguished officers were seated. The royal party not only filled the vast court box but overflowed into the boxes at the back of the dress circle. There was, of course, a brilliant display of uniforms and decorations, and against the background of red and white carnations the colour scheme was extraordinarily effective. Earlier in the day King George and Queen Mary entertained the English Colony in Berlin, and the King made a short speech which is worth quoting: "We are exceedingly happy to be the guests of the Sovereign of this great nation in order to celebrate the marriage of two young people which we pray may be fraught with every blessing. Fostering and maintaining friendly relations between yourselves and the people of this your adopted home you will help to insure the peace of the world, the preservation of which is my ardent desire as it was the principal aim of my dear father's life." Sir John Jellicoe spent some little time in Berlin, where he made himself exceedingly popular, being entertained by all the great officers of State, the Army and Navy, including Admiral Von Tirpitz--fated just a year later to be his great rival. But the meeting between these two great men must have been interesting as we may rest assured it was friendly. Jellicoe had the honour of dining with the Emperor at Potsdam, and on May 20th he cruised for two hours in the Zeppelin airship _Hansa_ accompanied by Captain Watson, the British Naval Attaché in Berlin. Jellicoe returned to England in time to prepare for the naval manoeuvres which commenced early in July. No manoeuvres which the British Fleet has undertaken attracted so much attention or were fraught with such vital issues as those of 1913. At the same time there has never been so much mystery attached to the movements of the ships or to the result of the mimic warfare which took place. There were six squadrons of battleships involved, two of them, the Fourth and Sixth squadrons, being much below strength. There were ten squadrons of cruisers and torpedo destroyers and submarine flotillas. There were also mine layers and mine sweepers, and three aeroplanes actively employed. Tests of fuel and its conveyance to any point necessary and its quick transference to ships in action were carried out. By far the most important part of the manoeuvres was an attempt to invade these shores and land a large force of men on them. For this purpose the Fleet was divided into two parts. The Red or hostile Fleet being under the command of Jellicoe and the Blue or defending Fleet under Callaghan.