e on May 6th and the splendour of the reception far exceeded
all expectations. For many weeks the people of the Commonwealth had been
legislating, planning decorating and preparing for the visit of the Heir
to the British Throne and his wife; the dormant loyalty of years,
aroused and developed by the events of the war and the despatch of
thousands of troops to the front, had grown to a white-heat of interest
and excitement; the completion of confederation and the union of the
Colonies in one great Commonwealth, which was now to be marked by the
opening of the first Federal Parliament and stamped through this visit
with Royal approval and British sympathy, enhanced the public interest.
There was a great and stately setting at Melbourne for the functions
which graced the occasion and, as the _Ophir_ rested in the waters of
the bay, surrounded by British and foreign warships, with roaring
salutes and a myriad of fluttering flags, there were excellent scenic
preliminaries to the impressive landing ceremonies. From the St. Kilda
Pier, through miles of beautiful, decorated streets, great arches and
hundreds of thousands of cheering people, the Royal couple passed to
Government House, welcomed also on the way by a gathering of thirty-five
thousand school children singing "God Save the King."

The whole spectacle was an extraordinary one. Mr. E. F. Knight,
correspondent of the London _Morning Post_ said that "it was a day of
splendid pageants, stirring and impressive, and the extraordinary
enthusiasm of the ovation given to the Duke and Duchess by the hundreds
of thousands of Australians who packed the streets along the entire
eight miles of route must ever stand out vivid in the memory of all who
witnessed it." Mr. W. Maxwell, the correspondent of the _Standard_,
declared that: "I have seen many Royal progresses but never have I seen
one more hearty and spontaneous than that of the multitude of
well-dressed men, women and children who thronged the streets daily for
nearly two weeks." The scheme of decorations was splendid, the triumphal
arches were authoritatively stated to be better and more numerous than
anything yet seen in London itself, the gathering of Australian troops
lining the streets was representative and effective, the spectators were
almost everywhere dressed in black or dark clothing as a tribute to the
late Queen, the evening illuminations were on a magnificent
scale--buildings and arches and decorations being a