On the 14th of June the Prince of Wales, who had completed the Eastern tour that had been planned for him by his father, returned to England. He had left Osborne on the 6th of February with General Bruce and a carefully selected suite, of whom Dr. A. P. Stanley (afterwards Dean of Westminster), who joined him at Alexandria, was a member. On the 1st of March he landed at Alexandria, where, despite his _incognito_ as Baron Renfrew, he was saluted with Royal honours. At Cairo he enjoyed the hospitality of the Viceroy of Egypt, and on the 4th of March left the city for the Pyramids, which were reached just as the mysterious outline of the Sphinx was vanishing in the fading light of sunset. At dawn the Prince ascended the Great Pyramid without assistance, much to the amazement of the Bedouins, who asked, sceptically, “Is that the Governor? If so, why does he go alone?” The party then went up the Nile as far as the First Cataract, viewing the Temple at Esneh by torchlight. After Assouan and its antiquities were explored, the Prince returned down the river, halting three days at Thebes, where he met the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg. On the 21st of March a tournament between some Arnauts and Arab chiefs was held; then Memphis was visited, and Cairo again reached on the 23rd. After some other excursions the Prince proceeded to Jerusalem, which he entered on the 31st of March. He was received by the [Illustration: THE PRINCE OF WALES AT THE PYRAMIDS.] Pacha and a picturesque escort of wild horsemen, who kept circling round the party, brandishing their spears and firing their guns in mimic combat. His Royal Highness pitched his tent on the northern side of the city, near the Damascus Gate, and visited all the sacred places--even those from which Christians are excluded being opened to him.[137] He left Jerusalem on the 10th of April, and next day arrived at Nablûs, on the eve of the Samaritan Passover. He ascended Mount Gerizim, and saw this last vestige of the old Jewish ritual performed, the sun sinking behind the western hills as the Paschal sheep were sacrificed. On the 15th he encamped at the foot of Mount Carmel, and on Easter eve saw the sun set on the Sea of Galilee. At Damascus he received but a churlish welcome from the sullen, fanatical population, and on the 6th of May he visited Beyrout. On the 10th he landed at Tripoli, and on the 12th explored the cedar groves of Lebanon. On the 15th the Royal yacht touched at Rhodes, on the 17th at Patmos, and--after visiting Smyrna, Constantinople, Athens, Cephalonia, and Malta--the tour ended at Marseilles. A brief visit was paid to the French Emperor at Fontainebleau, and on the 14th of June the travellers reached Windsor. Three days afterwards the Queen heard, to her deep regret, that General Bruce--long a trusted friend of her family--had died from Syrian fever, contracted during his journey. He had sacrificed his life to the chivalrous discharge of his duties as the Prince’s Governor, and the