thout
a struggle.

A crowded day was closed by a yet more crowded reception. It was an
open reception of the kind which I believe I am right in saying the
Prince himself was responsible for initiating on this trip. It was a
reception not of privileged people bearing invitations, but of the
whole city.

The whole city came.

Citizens of all ages and all occupations rolled up at Government House
to meet His Royal Highness. They filled the broad lawn in front of the
rather meek stone building, and overflowed into the street. They
waited wedged tightly together in hot and sunny weather until they
could take their turn in the endless file that was pushing into the
house where the Prince was waiting to shake hands with them.

It was a gathering of every conceivable type of citizen. Silks and New
York frocks had no advantage over gingham and "ready to wear." Judge's
wife and general's took their turn with the girl clerk from the drug
store and their char lady's daughter. Workers still in their overalls,
boys in their shirtsleeves, soldiers and dockside workers and teamsters
all joined in the crowd that passed for hours before the Prince.

At St. John he had shaken hands with some 2,000 people in such a
reception as this, at Halifax the figure could not have been less, and
it was probably more. He shook hands with all who came, and had a word
with most, even with those admirable but embarrassing old ladies (one
of whom at least appeared at each of these functions) who declared
that, having lived long enough to see the children of two British
rulers, they were anxious that he should lose no time in giving them
the chance of seeing the children of a third.

It was an astonishing spectacle of affable democracy, and in effect it
was perhaps the happiest idea in the tour. The popularity of these
"open to all the town" meetings was astonishing. "The Everyday People"
whom the Prince had expressed so eager a desire to see and meet came to
these receptions in such overwhelming numbers that in large cities such
as Toronto, Ottawa and the like it was manifestly impossible for him to
meet even a fraction of the numbers.

Yet this fact did not mar the receptions. The people of Canada
understood that he was making a real attempt at meeting as many of them
as was humanly possible, and even those who did not get close enough to
shake his hand were able to recognize that his desire was genuine as
his happiness in meeting the