pleasant
surprise at Altona where, as his train stopped on German soil, he found
the Emperor William and Prince Henry of Prussia waiting with their
suites to welcome him to Germany and, at the same time, to offer
personal congratulations upon his escape. This occurrence created wide
comment in Europe generally, and was taken to mean a desire by the
German Emperor to express friendly national as well as friendly personal
feelings. When His Royal Highness arrived at Dover, the welcome was
immense in numbers and enthusiastic in character. The same thing
occurred at Charing-Cross Station, London, where he was met by the Duke
of York and the King of Sweden and Norway and wildly cheered by
thousands of people on his way to Marlborough House. As the _Standard_
put it next day: "No address of congratulation, presented by dignitaries
in scarlet and gold, could have been nearly as eloquent as that sea of
friendly faces and the ringing cheers of loyal men." In response to the
innumerable congratulations received, as well as to this reception, the
Prince of Wales issued a personal and public note of thanks in the
following terms:

"I have been deeply touched by the numerous expressions of sympathy and
goodwill addressed to me on the occasion of the providential escape of
the Princess of Wales and myself from the danger we have lately passed
through. From every quarter of the globe, from the Queen's subjects
throughout the world, as well as from the representatives and
inhabitants of foreign countries, have these manifestations of sympathy
proceeded, and on my return to this country I received a welcome so
spontaneous and hearty that I felt I was the recipient of a most
gratifying tribute of genuine good-will. Such proofs of kind and
generous feeling are naturally most highly prized by me, and will
forever be cherished in my memory."

CHAPTER XVII.

Accession to the Throne

The death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward were the
first and perhaps the greatest events in the opening year of the new
century. Before the formal announcement on January 18th, 1901, which
stated that the Queen was not in her usual health and that "the great
strain upon her powers" during the past year had told upon Her Majesty's
nervous system, the people in Great Britain, in Canada, in Australia, in
all the Isles of the Sea and on the shores of a vast and scattered
Empire, had become so accustomed to her presence at the head of t