This event closed the visit to Cairo and, after formal farewells on the following morning, the train was taken for Suez, where the Royal visitors were received by the Governor and M. de Lesseps. In the morning they left for Ismaila amidst all possible honours, and accompanied by the great canal promoter. There a triumphal arch had been erected and a crowd of people and troops were found lining the route through the city. They were driven out to the Khedive's chalet on Lake Timsah, where dinner was served and the night spent, and thence back to Ismaila, and, in a steamer, down the Suez Canal to Port Said. The great enterprise was not then completed, and, in fact, the opening of the canal did not take place for many months, but the Royal tourists were fortunate in seeing the pioneer activities of creation in full operation and of being able to understand something of the immense initial difficulties which had been overcome by the genius and energy of De Lesseps.

Alexandria was reached on March 27th, and visits were paid to Ras-el-Teen, the old palace of Mehemet Ali, to Cleopatra's Needle and Pompey's Pillar. Then the Ariadne was boarded once more and a farewell dinner given to Mourad Pasha, the representative of the Egyptian Government, who had done so much for the comfort of the Royal guests; the health of the Khedive was drunk and the last word said to the ancient land of the Nile and the Pyramids. The impressions left by this visit to Egypt were pleasant to the Prince of Wales and useful to his country. Ismail, the Khedive, was at this time a most enterprising ruler but the predominant influence in the country was French and there can be no doubt that the stately reception given the Heir to the British Crown proved a substantial service to the present and future residents of his nationality in that part of the world. The Prince, himself, must have benefited greatly by the insight into Oriental methods of government which he obtained and by the curious efforts at an adaptation of western ideas which were going on all around him; while the picture left upon his mind of ancient traditions and the history of a mighty past could not but have been impressive and interesting.

On boarding the Ariadne, off Alexandria, and starting for Constantinople the Royal party lost Sir Samuel Baker, Lord Gosford, Sir Henry Pelly and Lord Huntly, who were leaving for other points of destination. During the next few days the vessel passed through the "Isles of Greece" and by various famous or historic spots. Patmos and Chios were seen for a time in the distance and, on March 31st, the Dardanelles were reached and salutes fired from shore to shore—from Europe to Asia—as the Royal yacht steamed between the Turkish forts. Upon anchoring, the British Ambassador, the Hon. Henry Elliot, came on board, together with Raouf Pasha, who attended to offer the earliest compliments of his Imperial master the Sultan. At the next landing, off Chanak, the Prince was formally welcomed by Eyoub Pasha, Military Governor of the Dardanelles, and his staff and guard of honour. Salutes from the Forts followed and the Prince returned to his vessel which steamed up to Gallipoli, where another stop was made and a visit paid to the French and British cemeteries of the Crimean War. Early on the morning of April 1st the towers and minarets of Constantinople were sighted and various tugs and boats containing British residents and others surrounded the Royal vessel and joined in singing "God Save the Queen" as the Prince and Princess appeared on deck. Their stepping into a barge to row ashore was the signal for a general salute from the Turkish iron-clads and, amidst flying colours, fully-manned yards and swarming caiques and steam-boats the journey to the shore was made—with some private speculation as to what would happen to the Life Guardsmen of the Prince's suite if they should be upset in the water with all their cumbrous "toggery" on.

When abreast of the Palace of Saleh Bazar the Royal barge was met by the state caique of the Sultan, followed by other gorgeously decorated and equipped vessels, containing the Grand Vizier, Aali Pasha, and other officials dressed in blue and gold and wearing numerous ribands, stars and crosses of knightly orders. Amidst cheers from crowded tugs and boats and ships the Royal visitors were transferred to the caique and thence to the landing place of the Palace where a guard of honour, a crowd of officers and a gorgeous staff surrounded the Sultan who, like the Prince of Wales, was in full uniform. His Majesty, after various gracious greetings, which were translated by the Grand Vizier, led his guests up the staircase of the Palace and then retired. Shortly afterwards the Prince and his suite were driven to the Dolmabakshi Palace where they were received by the Sultan with much state and, after a brief visit, returned to Saleh Bazar. Luncheon followed and the Prince and Princess called at the British Embassy. On their way back in the Sultan's carriages the streets were lined with impassive people who saluted in silent respect. At the Palace an admirable dinner was served on gold and silver plate. During the entire stay of the Royal visitors here they were supplied with every luxury and requirement—guards of honour, carriages, saddle-horses, caiques, a band of eighty-four splendid musicians and an immense staff always on duty and clad in gorgeous uniforms of green and gold.

Every morning there were presents from the Sultan of most exquisite flowers and the finest fruit. Mr. W. H. Russell thus described the surroundings in one of his letters to the London Times: "The valetaille, in liveries of green and gold, with white cuffs and collars, throng the passages and corridors, and black-coated Chibouquejees are ready at a clap of the hands to bring in pipes with amber mouth-pieces of fabulous value, crested with hundreds of diamonds and rubies, and coffee in tiny cups which fit into stands blazing with similar jewels. The cuisine cannot be surpassed and the wines are of the most celebrated vintage. All the persons attached to the Palace speak French or English. There are Turkish baths inside ready at a moment's notice. Equerries, aides-de-camp, officers of the Body-Guard, radiant in gold lace and scarlet, in blue and in silver lace, flit about the saloons and corridors. Human nature can scarce sustain the load of obligations imposed on it by such attention. If the Prince is seen on the water guards are turned out along all the batteries and the strains of music are borne on every breeze that blows. Yards are manned and crews turned out on the slightest provocation. The least wish is an order."

On April 2nd the Sultan went in state to the Mosque in honour of his Royal guests. The streets were lined with five thousand troops and the Prince and Princess, with their suite, were driven to the Palace of Beshik Jool, from a beautiful room in which they could see the Imperial procession pass by. The sloping ground on the opposite side of the road was filled by groups of women clad in varied colours and looking from a distance like animated flowers. The Sultan came, presently, preceded by brilliantly garbed Circassian troops, announced by the blast of a trumpet and the acclaim of the Turkish populace and riding a magnificent horse, which an English spectator described as a "marvel of beauty." He wore a splendid military uniform and his jewelled orders and sabre-hilt shone brightly in the rays of the sun, while immediately before and behind him were the officers of state. After the pageant had passed, little Prince Izzedin—the eldest son of the Sultan and a delicate, intelligent-looking child—came over to visit the Prince and Princess. The troops then filed past the Palace windows. Later in the day a deputation of British residents was received by the Prince and in the evening a special performance at the Theatre was attended and witnessed from the Sultan's box.

Early in the morning of April 3rd, the various foreign Ambassadors and Ministers called on the Prince of Wales and were presented by Mr. Elliot. Amongst them was General Ignatieff, of Russia. A visit to Seraglio Point followed, and from its heights was seen that most exquisite view which embraces the Sweet Waters, the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmora and its islands, the shores of Scutari, the minarets of the city and a general mingling of sea and shore, of light and shade, of softness and Eastern charm which is hardly equalled in the world. The great mosque of St. Sophia was then visited. In the evening a state dinner was given by the Sultan at Dolmabakshi Palace—the first ever given by His Ottoman Majesty to Christian guests. The Prince and Princess were received in the grand drawing-room by the Sultan and all his Ministers. The Princess was taken in by His Majesty and Madame Ignatieff by the Prince. The dinner-room was already renowned for its exquisite candelabra and lustres in rock-crystal; and its other decorations, combined with plate and flowers of the most beautiful kind, made up a scene well worth remembering. Aside from this, however, it was not very interesting, as none of the Sultan's Ministers—except the Grand Vizier—had ever sat in his presence before and were apparently too much astonished and afraid to speak a word to each other or to any of the twenty-four guests who made up the banquet. After dinner the Princess and Mrs. Grey visited the Harem, or rather the Sultan's wife and mother. Mrs. Grey, in her Diary, declares the dullness and stiffness of the occasion to have been indescribable. There were innumerable slaves, but they were all "hideous," though loaded down with jewels, while other incidents and surroundings were not very unlike a similar reception at a European Court. The whole affair broke up at 10.30.

A VARIETY OF INCIDENTS

On the following day the Royal party attended service in the church of the British Embassy, driving through silent and crowded streets. In the afternoon they inspected the Cemetary at Scutari. On the following day the Prince and Princess, attended by Mrs. Grey, and all garbed in the humblest English clothes they could find, visited the Bazaar. "Mr. and Mrs. Williams" seemed to enjoy themselves greatly, the former smoking a long pipe; the latter buying quantities of curios and, as the merchants soon found out, driving an occasional bargain with earnestness. They took in all the entertainments, sipped sherbets and the various unnamable drinks which are sold in such places, and revelled in a few hours of freedom. Later in the day the Prince paid some formal visits and in the evening they again attended the theatre. Meanwhile Sir Andrew Buchanan, British Ambassador at St. Petersburg, had arrived with his wife, on their way home to England, and were welcomed at the Palace. The following day a visit was paid to Belyar Beg, some distance up the Bosphorus, which has been described as "the most beautiful place in the most beautiful situation in the world." Guards of honour were seen in all directions as the Royal party passed in caiques up the river. The luxury and elegance of the furniture at the Palace and the beauty of both buildings and surroundings evoked expressions of admiration from the Prince and Princess and, perhaps, they even regretted their refusal to stay here in preference for the other and more accessible residence. Tchamlidja, not far away, the summer residence of Mustapha Fazil Pasha, brother of the Viceroy of Egypt, was then visited and a "luncheon" served which proved to be almost wanton in its luxury—the choicest fruits that Paris could produce and the finest wines of the east or the west being served in profusion. Afterwards, the Princess and Mrs. Grey visited the Harem, while the men smoked exquisite cigars and drank the finest obtainable coffee.

The following day included a trip across the Bosphorus in the Sultan's yacht and a state ball at the British Embassy in the evening, which was, for a short time, attended by the Padishah himself. The Royal party did not retire from the gathering until daylight. During the next three days one function continued to follow another. A visit to the British Memorial Church; attendance with the Sultan at a great special performance in the Theatre through densely-crowded streets; a visit to a cricket match in the suburbs; attendance at a state banquet given by the British Ambassador; inspection by the Prince of a Turkish ironclad—Hobart Pasha's flagship; a dinner at the country home of the Grand Vizier. The day of departure fixed upon was April 10th, and, after a stately breakfast with the Sultan at Dolmabakshi, and farewells exchanged amidst all possible pomp and Oriental pageantry, the Ariadne was boarded and slowly steamed away from the Moslem capital to the sound of cheers and thundering guns from fleet and fort. They were soon in the gloomy waters of the Black Sea on the way to the Czar's dominions.