“Though the children were not expected till nearly 1 o’clock, several members of the Committee were on the ground long before this, completing the necessary arrangements. Little, however, remained to be done; and when the guests of the day did arrive, everything was in perfect readiness. About 9 o’clock the police, whom, to the number of over 3000, Sir Charles Warren[57] had detailed for different duties in connection with the fête, commenced operations by clearing the enclosed ground of all unauthorized persons. During the day admission was strictly confined to those armed with invitation tickets, the issue of which had been by no means lavish, so that adults present bore but a very small proportion to the juveniles. The general public, numbering many thousands, took up positions upon the outskirts of the reserved space, which was, at points of the greatest pressure, fenced in with iron hurdles, to prevent the encroachments of the crowd. Among those who, in this somewhat disadvantageous position, patiently waited several hours were very many of the children’s parents, and these can have obtained only a passing glimpse of the Queen, and but a distant view of the doings with the privileged circle. “About 11 o’clock, a squadron of the 2nd Life Guards, and 200 men of the Foot Guards, arrived to assist in keeping the ground, and, later in the day, these were reinforced by two more troops of the 2nd Life Guards, to keep the roadway clear for the Queen. The presence of the military added greatly to the brightness of the scene. Soon after 1 o’clock all the children had safely passed into the Park, and reached their allotted playground. About 13,000, belonging to schools on the south side of London, assembled in St. James’s Park at 12 o’clock; and, having been marshalled by some 30 sergeants from Wellington Barracks, marched off, four abreast, headed by Mr. Bennet Burleigh, and Mr. J. T. Helby, of the London School Board. Proceeding past Buckingham Palace and up Constitution Hill, they entered Hyde Park by the Grosvenor Gate, and reached their destination, without mishap, and in capital order. A column almost as large, consisting of children from the northern districts of London, assembled in Regent’s Park soon after 11 o’clock, and were put in position by Mr. Howard Vincent, M.P., Mr. H. Lawson, M.P., Capt. E. Brodie, and Mr. W. Sheffield (drill instructor to the London School Board). This column also reached the Park in good time, and in good order. Smaller contingents that had assembled, the one in Battersea Park and the other in Kensington Gardens, also arrived.