13. The union of the empire has now been cemented by the blood so freely shed by our kinsmen in South Africa. In confirmation of the hope that the bonds of that union will only grow stronger with the increasing years, we may mention the impressions that the Prince of Wales has brought home with him from his tour round the empire. "If asked," he says, "to specify any particular impressions derived from our journey, I should unhesitatingly place before all others that of loyalty to the Crown, and of attachment to the old country, which they invariably referred to as _Home_. And with this loyalty was unmistakable evidence of the consciousness of strength, of a true and living membership in the empire, and of power and readiness to share the burden and responsibility of that membership." 14. Everywhere the prince had evidence of that pride of race, that unity of sentiment and purpose, that feeling of common loyalty and obligation, that eager desire to claim their share in the glories of a great empire with a great past and, perchance, a greater future--in a word, that imperial patriotism, which keeps in view the welfare of the whole empire,-- "One with Britain, heart and soul! One life, one flag, one fleet, one throne!" (3) THE SOVEREIGN IN RELATION TO THE EMPIRE. 1. Our sovereign serves the same purpose in the empire that a keystone does in an arch, and that is to lock the whole fabric together. The recognition of this fact has led King Edward in assuming his title to call himself king, not only of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, but also of the British Dominions beyond the seas. It has led him also to send his son the Prince of Wales, round the empire to carry his message of sympathy with his subjects on the loss of their beloved queen, and of thanks for the splendid way in which they had rallied round the old flag in South Africa. 2. It is by the interchange of such kind offices and services that the various parts of the empire are knit together; and it is the sovereign who has in his keeping the chief power of drawing them all more closely together by a common attachment to his person and loyalty to his throne. That the spirit of unity in the empire has for many years been steadily growing in strength is largely due to the character and example of our great Queen Victoria. 3. When Her Majesty celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, the demonstrations of love and loyalty, on the part of her people, in all parts of her empire, were so striking that it seemed impossible for that love and loyalty to be surpassed; yet it is certain that the noble part the queen played in the course of the Boer war intensified those feelings of devotion, and placed her on a still higher pinnacle of glory, not only in the eyes of her subjects, but of the civilised world.