Westward with the Prince of Wales Part 30

It was an astonis.h.i.+ng 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 Sat.u.r.day, November 22nd, he held a reception on _Renown_, saying good-bye to endless lines of friendly people of all cla.s.ses 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 s.h.i.+p with its escort of small, lean war-craft moved seaward along the cheering sh.o.r.e.

Crowds ma.s.sed on the gra.s.s slope under Riverside Drive, and on the esplanade itself. The skysc.r.a.pers were cheering grandstands, as the s.h.i.+ps steamed along the impressive length of Manhattan. They pa.s.sed 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