On March 14th, King Edward and Queen Alexandra held their first Court, and it was expected that the occasion would be the most stately and splendid in the modern social history of the nation. It fully equalled these anticipations, and the scene in the ball-room of Buckingham Palace eclipsed even the traditions of the French Imperial Court in the days of Napoleon III. It was well managed, it was attended by the greatest and best representatives of English public and social life, it was unusually brilliant in jewelry, in dresses and in uniforms, it was stately in its setting and more animated and brighter in character than any similar function of the late Sovereign's reign--since its early years at least. The same success attended succeeding and similar occasions, and it might be distinctly appropriate to quote here views expressed by the _Daily News_ of February 15th, 1901, when it spoke of the new reign as opening with splendid promise for the highest interests of the country and with component elements in its Court for a period of extraordinary social brilliancy. "King Edward," observed this Radical organ, "is one of the most popular of Sovereigns, and his beautiful Queen sheds a lustre upon his Court for which it would be difficult to find a parallel. Amiable, tender-hearted, actively philanthropic, and possessing exquisite taste, the Queen Consort is eminently qualified to be the bright particular star in the shining galaxy of our Court. The Royal Princesses are most highly accomplished and amiable ladies, each one of whom has achieved for herself a high place in the affections of the nation." CHAPTER XIX. The Empire Tour of the New Heir to the Throne If Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, had been enabled at different times in his career to visit various portions of his future realms and to create influences and receive impulses which have told for good in the upbuilding of the British Empire, his son and heir was destined to make a tour in 1901 which was still more impressive in character and influential in import. The single visits of the Prince of Wales to India and Canada were made in days when they partook of an almost pioneer character, and they were chiefly important in moulding crude opinions into a more matured and organized form. The tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York was, on the other hand, a result of clearly developed conditions of Colonial power; an embodiment of existing aspirations toward Empire unity; an expression of the loyalty existing between Mother Country and the Colonies and toward the Crown and British institutions. ORIGIN OF THE TOUR