All this preparation had been made within the space of forty minutes. When the guests began to arrive a few minutes before half-past eleven, for which hour they had been bidden, all was in order. Some of them, who had been present at the play and had waited in the vestibule, could hardly believe their eyes when they saw the change.
Irving stood in the centre of the stage, for there were three doors of entry, one at the back of the stage, the private door O.P., and the stage door which was on the prompt side. Only one door, that at the back of the stage, had been arranged, but the guests came so fast—and so many of them were of a class so distinguished as not to be accustomed to wait—that we found it necessary to open the others as well. Servants trained to announce the names of guests had been put on duty, but their task was no easy one, and there were some strange mispronunciations. I give some of the names of the thousand guests, from which the difficulty may be inferred:
His Highness Maharaj Adhiraj Sir Madho Rao Scindia, Maharaja of Gwalior.
His Highness Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner.
His Highness Sir Pertab Singh, Maharaja of Idar.
His Highness Maharaj Adhiraj Sawai Sir Mahdo Singh, Maharaja of Jeypore.
His Highness the Maharaja of Kohlapur.
Maharaja Kunwar Dolat Singh.
His Highness the Maharaja of Kooch Bahar.
Maharaj Kunwar Prodyot Kumar Tagore.