THE PRINCE TAKES PART IN A HUNTING EXPEDITION

After dinner, various Eastern performances in dancing and juggling were given, and then they departed for the shooting grounds farther south, where "pig-sticking" and other sports were enjoyed. His Royal Highness succeeded in killing one wild boar. On November the 24th the Royal visitor arrived again at Bombay and went on board the Serapis. On the following day he landed to take leave of the Governor, and suddenly, to the dismay of the local authorities who had lined his announced route with troops, intimated his intention to attend the wedding festivities of the son of Sir Munguldass Nuthoobhoy, a great native merchant. The visit proved well worth the trouble, and the undisguised delight of the host and those present was a privilege to see. A farewell incident was the knighting of the energetic Chief of Police, Sir F. H. Soutar. At 6 p.m. the Serapis was on its way to Goa.

The visit to this ancient Portuguese dependency was not prolonged and the incidents of importance were few. But much that was curious was seen and many historical memories revived. On November 28th the little foreign strip of territory was left behind and Beypore was sighted on the following day. It was found, however, that cholera existed along all the routes which the Prince proposed to take in this part of the country and the medical men would not take the responsibility of advising a continuance of the tour in this direction. The Prince bore his disappointment philosophically, though he had expected much pleasure from the splendid shooting places of the Mysore country. What can be said, however, of the disappointed people and authorities? The Mysore Government had spent thousands of pounds in preparation; Ootacamund, Bangalore, Travancore and other places had laid out much money and the population for hundreds of miles was stirred with expectancy. A visit was paid to the shore and a brief glance taken at the old-time land of Tippoo Sahib, and then the voyage was resumed to Ceylon.

On December 1st the lights of Colombo were sighted, and soon the familiar spectacle of British men-of-war dressed to welcome royalty was seen. The sight at the landing-place was a pretty one, and the long avenue of gaily-decorated and flower-garlanded boats through which the Royal barge first passed was equally so. The Prince was received in a beautiful pavilion under a striking archway and everywhere in sight were arches and flags and palm-leaves, and massed displays of fruits and flowers, and tier on tier of spectators. All the dignitaries of Ceylon were there and the usual addresses and replies were given. Thence the Prince passed to the Government Buildings and took a drive round the town, meeting everywhere an enthusiastic and sincerely generous reception and a wealth of decoration in fruits and flowers and ferns. His Royal Highness gave a state banquet on the Serapis in the evening, while Colombo was illuminated and the ships were a blaze of light. Never were the Cinghelese more happy than on that day and night, and spectators found it hard to describe the revel of light, fantastic, Eastern pleasure. On the following day the railway train was taken for Kandy amid genuine British cheers from throngs of men clad in petticoats and wearing combs in front of their chignons.

At this splendidly situated town—the ancient stronghold of Chiefs and the seat of more than one rebellion against earlier British rule—the Prince was received by a great number of queerly-clad but distinguished personages and Buddhist priests. The Governor, Mr. W. H. Gregory, who accompanied the Royal traveller, was unusually popular and this, perhaps, helped in the success of the reception. Addresses were received and in the evening the Governor held a state dinner attended by all the notabilities of Ceylon and accompanied outside by the beating of native drums, the blowing of myriad horns, the clang of mighty gongs and sounds of distant cheering. Afterwards the Prince witnessed a grotesque and extraordinary procession of elephants, dancers and priests of the Temple. On the following day he visited the Royal Botanical Gardens and in the evening held an investiture of the Order of St. Michael and St. George at which the Governor was knighted and some lesser honours given. The Chiefs and their stately and dignified wives were then formally presented. From the audience hall he afterwards passed to the Temple and was shown the famous "Sacred Tooth of Gotama Buddha"—an object of veneration to many millions of the human race and of visible fear to the priests who stood around the Prince or took it from its precious and numerous cases. On December the 4th the Prince went on a visit to the interior of this wonderfully beautiful country and enjoyed the excitement of an elephant hunt and of killing some of those colossal creatures of the jungle. Colombo was reached again, three days later, and another state banquet attended in the evening. On the following day the new Breakwater was inaugurated by the Prince and in the evening a farewell banquet received and the city left amid scenes of brilliant illumination and fantastic Eastern beauty.

The Prince of Wales and his suite landed in Tuticorin on the coast of India, again, on December 9th, and proceeded inland by train without any particular or formal reception. The Tamils were found to be a handsome, mild-natured, respectful people and the land cultivated and apparently prosperous. At Mainachy, a deputation of six thousand native Christians and one thousand boys and girls, headed by the Rev. Dr. Caldwell and the Rev. Dr. Sargent, presented an address and a handsomely-bound Bible and Prayer-book in the Tamil language, to His Royal Highness. A native "lyric" was then sung by the children including words of which the following is a translation: "Crossing seas and crossing mountains, thou hast visited this southern-most region and granted to those who live under the shadow of thy Royal umbrella a sight of thy benign countenance." Madura was reached a few hours later and found to be profusely decorated, one of the arches being made of native work in perforated paper, covered with talc plates and silver plaques in front of a screen of red. The name of the town signified "sweetness" and it turned out to be a place of great charm, imposing buildings and unusual cleanliness. The Rajah of Pudducottah was duly received and during his visit he showed the Prince a book consisting of original letters, dispatches etc., which had passed between Clive and his own ancestor during the times of French and English struggle for supremacy in Southern India. The Prince visited some of the ancient buildings of the place, including the Temple of Minakshee, where Nautch girls scattered flowers before him and garlands were placed over his shoulders, and the Tank of the Golden Lotus and received a number of interesting presents from the Rajah and from the Ranee of Shivagunga. He left on December 11th for Trichinoply, where he arrived in a few hours.

Here, His Royal Highness, after his progress through flowers, arches, crowds, officials and decorations of unusual richness and taste, visited the famous Temple of Seringham which has been described as "a vast bewildering mass of gate, towers, enclosures, courts, terraces and halls." In one of the last-named there were one thousand columns of granite each consisting of one block and carved with elaborate images of deities. The next place seen was the ancient Palace of the Nawabs of the Carnatic and here presentation of the notabilities of the city took place and an address was received by the future European Emperor of India in the very home of the olden Eastern power. The scene from this place in the evening was very striking—immense multitudes below, a great tank full of boats and blazing with coloured fires and lights, Clive's historic home on the opposite side and, above and over all, the vast pyramidical pile, the Rock of Trichinoply, with its Temple of Ganesa crowning the famous precipice and towering above the city.

PRINCE WELCOMED IN MADRAS

On December the 12th, the Royal visitor was again travelling and on the following day reached Madras, where he was formally welcomed by Lieutenant-Governor the Duke of Buckingham, the Rajah of Cochin, the Maharajah of Travancore, the Prince of Arcot, the Rajah of Vizianagram and others. The procession then passed from the station to Government House through the narrow streets of the native town and the wide thoroughfares of the European quarters. A golden umbrella was held over the Prince's head and thus the massed populace—more fortunate than that of Bombay—was able to be certain of his identity. At the Wallahjah Bridge some thousands of students and boys and girls were ranged on both sides, each school with its distinctive banners and badges. The audiences given afterwards at Government House to Native Chiefs, and the return visits, were conducted in the same manner and style as those at Bombay. In the afternoon a crowded Levée was held and in the evening a state banquet given to which the Governor invited all the chief personages in the City and Presidency. A brief reception followed and then His Royal Highness drove out to the Duke's country residence where he spent the following day in seclusion as being the anniversary of his father's death.

The events of the succeeding day included fashionable and interesting races at Guindy Park which all the Madras world attended under the patronage of the Prince; and in the afternoon a Royal reception of the Chancellor and officers and Fellows of the University; of the Grand Officers of the local Freemasonry; of Commissions or deputations from Mysore and Coorg and Coimbatore. Each of the latter bore gifts and all presented addresses. Formal calls were made upon the principal Chiefs and a memorial foundation stone of the new Harbour works laid. The latter was an impressive scene and on his way home the Prince, despite pouring rain, visited the historic Fort of St. George with its many reminders of past struggle and conquest. Another state banquet and reception followed.