When the Minister (Baron de Carlowitz) had read the proclamation, the Duke embraced his son, and the Duchess next imprinted a kiss upon his forehead, while in every eye might be read the heartfelt wish that all the parents' fondest, proudest hopes might be fully realised. More than one hundred and sixty persons partook of the hospitalities of the Duke's table, in the "Riesen Saal," or "Giant's Hall," and a more sumptuous or splendid entertainment could not be imagined. The loud and cordial cheers which the health of England's Queen called forth, and which burst out with an enthusiasm which all the forms of etiquette and courtly ceremony could not restrain, were almost too affecting; and when the band struck up "God save the Queen," the tears of joy flowed freely. I must not omit to mention a circumstance characteristic of the Prince. By his order, the people were admitted into the "Riesen Saal," to see the assembled company. Peasants from the hills, old and young, walked about without the smallest restraint, to their evident enjoyment; and their hearty exclamations--the blessings they invoked on their beloved Prince and his august parents--were a more eloquent and stirring panegyric than volumes could express. To describe the universal attachment of all classes to the Prince were impossible. I have never heard other than the most enthusiastic praise--not one dissenting voice from one end of Thuringia to the other. If I have remarked the personal beauty of the Prince, the general reply has been, "Ah! yes, he is certainly handsome, but so good; he is truly a most amiable prince, as good as he is handsome." Persons attached to his suite, and the older members of the Court, cannot speak of him without tears, and are quite distressed at the thought of his leaving his native land.... On the 28th of December the Prince, accompanied by his father, quitted his paternal residence for a short sojourn at Gotha; and as he bade a last adieu to the stately castle of Ehrenberg, the abode of his fathers, and the happy scene of his infancy, the tenderest emotions of his nature for a moment almost overwhelmed him. A few days prior to his departure, a ball was given him by the nobles, at which he was received by twelve young ladies, attired in white, and wearing fresh-gathered roses; the Philosophic Society gave him a serenade, and all classes joined in affectionate expression of sympathy in their young Prince's feelings on this momentous occasion.