On the fifteenth of November the Prince of Wales arrived at Windsor Castle, and his account of the honor that had been shown him in the United States and Canada rejoiced the hearts of his parents. Enormous crowds had assembled at every city, from Chicago to Washington, to greet "Baron Renfrew," as the prince was styled while travelling, and everywhere he was so much admired, and made himself so popular, that somebody said of him: "He may consider himself a lucky lad if he escapes a nomination for president before he reaches his homeward-bound fleet." The most interesting incident of the prince's visit at Washington was an excursion to Mount Vernon, the home and burial-place of our first president. There the prince, Mr. Buchanan, and the entire party stood {456}before the humble tomb of George Washington, uncovered, and then the prince planted a chestnut beside the grave. An ovation, such as has seldom been accorded to any monarch, awaited the prince both in New York and Boston; and, after his departure, the President wrote to Queen Victoria, expressing the gratification that he and the whole nation had derived from her son's visit. The letter was cordially answered by the queen herself, who expressed the warmest friendship for the United States. The Duke of Newcastle, to whose care the prince had been confided, had performed his delicate task so well and with so much discretion and tact, that he was publicly invested with the Order of the Garter, as a mark of gratitude from her majesty. In November Prince Louis of Hesse was betrothed to the Princess Alice, and this event gave much pleasure to the royal parents. The queen writes in her diary, November 30: "After dinner, while talking to the gentlemen, I perceived Alice and Louis talking before the fireplace more earnestly than usual, and when I passed to go to the other room, both came up to me, and Alice, in much agitation, said he had proposed to her, and he begged for my blessing. I could only squeeze his hand, and say 'certainly,' and that we would see him later in our room. Alice came to our room; Albert sent for Louis to his room,--went first to him, and then called Alice and me in. Louis has a warm, noble heart. We embraced our dear Alice, and praised her much to him. After talking a little, we parted; a most touching, and to me, most sacred moment." [[A.D. 1861.]] Before leaving Windsor on the second of January for a visit to Osborne, news reached the queen of the death of the King of Prussia. His brother had long been regent, in consequence of the king's impaired mental powers, and he is the present Emperor of Germany. The {457}queen's daughter "Vicky" then became, and still remains, crown princess.