Westward with the Prince of WalesNewton, W. Douglas (Wilfrid Douglas)
History
Westward with the Prince of Wales
Newton, W. Douglas (Wilfrid Douglas)
Canada -- Description and travel; Windsor, Edward, Duke of, 1894-1972
It was an astonishing display in the street. The throng was so dense,
the shouting so great that the sound of it drove into the silent houses
of other theatres. And the audiences in those other theatres caught
the thrill of it. They "cut" their plays, came pouring out into the
street to join the throng and the cheering; it was through this
carnival of affection that the Prince drove along the streets to a
reception, and a brilliant one, given by Mr. Wanamaker, whose ability
as Chairman of the Reception Committee had largely helped to make the
Prince's visit to New York so startling a success.
VIII
On that note of splendid friendliness the Prince's too short stay in
America ended. On Saturday, November 22nd, he held a reception on
_Renown_, saying good-bye to endless lines of friendly people of all
classes and races who thronged the great war vessel.
All these people crowded about the Prince and seemed loth to part with
him, and he seemed just as unwilling to break off an intimacy only just
begun. Only inexorable time and the Admiralty ended the scene, and the
great ship with its escort of small, lean war-craft moved seaward along
the cheering shore.
Crowds massed on the grass slope under Riverside Drive, and on the
esplanade itself. The skyscrapers were cheering grandstands, as the
ships steamed along the impressive length of Manhattan. They passed
the Battery, where he had landed, and the Narrows, where the escorting
boats left him. Then _Renown_ headed for Halifax, where his tour ended.
Certainly America and the Prince made the best of impressions on each
other. There is much in his quick and modern personality that finds
immediate satisfaction in the American spirit; much in himself that the
American responds to at once. When he declared, as he did time and
time again, that he had had a wonderful time, he meant it with
sincerity. And of his eagerness to return one day there can be no
doubt.
Of all the happy moments on this long and happy tour, this visit to
America, brief as it was, was one of the happiest. It was a brilliant
finale to the brilliant Canadian days.
THE END
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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