In London Barnum had contracted with Sanger Brothers for duplicates of their costumes and properties belonging to the Sanger show, known as the Great Congress of Nations. In December, 1874, the show returned to New York and again filled Madison Square Garden with an enthusiastic audience. King Kalakaua, the first King of the Hawaiian Islands to visit this country, and one of the first reigning sovereigns ever entertained here, visited Barnum’s show and enjoyed himself. King Kalakaua had been received with great enthusiasm by the newspapers and the public on his tour, which began at San Francisco and ended in New York. Kalakaua’s predecessor on the Hawaiian throne, King Kamehameha V, had visited this country when he was Prince Lot, before the American Civil War. He was thrown out of a New York street car because he was considered “nothing but a dressed-up nigger.” Barnum sent King Kalakaua an invitation to watch the Greatest Show on Earth, and when the King arrived at Madison Square Garden, P. T. Barnum was in the arena, ready to conduct his guests to the royal box, decorated tastefully with the United States and Hawaiian flags. There was a capacity audience in Madison Square Garden to greet Barnum and the King. A great display of fireworks, which formed the word “Kalakaua” in letters of blue and red, followed the entry of the King, and His Majesty was much pleased. The King was particularly impressed by the horse race between lady jockeys, and he handed the winner a white rose. He was also interested in Admiral Dot, the Eldorado Elf, who presented his portrait free of charge. During an intermission the cry went up from the audience, “King Kalakaua! King Kalakaua!” Barnum invited the King to answer the call by riding around the arena with him in an open carriage. There was much cheering and waving of hats and handkerchiefs for Barnum and His Majesty, while the band played “Hail to the Chief.” After the performance King Kalakaua visited behind the scenes, where he was introduced to the “gauzy ballet girls.” Barnum then gave him a Christmas present of a handsomely bound copy of the _Life of P. T. Barnum Written by Himself_. A New York newspaper remarked editorially on this reception: “They [Europeans] will be astonished that any man on earth would have had the presumption to propose making a show of a living monarch, albeit his kingdom may not be the most extensive in the world, and we confess that, in our opinion, the only human being on the footstool who would have the temerity to show up a King is our worthy countryman, Phineas T. Barnum.” The King seemed to realize that he was being made part of the Greatest Show on Earth, for as he and Barnum stepped into Barnum’s carriage he murmured philosophically, “We are all actors.”