ber well the morning the steamer arrived at Adelaide. We
had heard by cable from Western Australia that His Excellency was
anything but well, but we were not prepared to see him looking so ill. It
was with difficulty that he was transferred to the _Orlando_, and we
wondered whether he would recover sufficiently to take his part in the
arduous functions ahead of him. However, though always somewhat on the
delicate side, he was full of grit and determination, and, when the time
came, he was able to fulfil all his obligations, much to the delight of
everybody.

Sydney had surpassed itself in the arrangements to celebrate the unique
occasion. I don't remember ever seeing decorations so profuse or in such
good taste. The whole of the principal streets were a mass of colour.
Venetian masts lined the pavements at short intervals. Endless festoons
of evergreens and flowers crossed overhead. Balconies and windows were
swathed in bunting and flags; thousands of electric lamps lit up the
decorations and made the city a blaze of light. What shall I say for the
Harbour? Looking towards this from the roof garden of a club in Macquarie
Street it was a sight to be remembered but difficult to describe. The
surface of the water, smooth as oil, dark as the overhanging sky,
reflected every one of the myriad lights on the ships resting on its
surface, and the houses lining the foreshores. Endless ferry-boats, like
things of fire alive, rushed hither and thither. And when the great
display of fireworks began, and hundreds of rockets rose from ship and
shore, there seemed to be no harbour water, for the reflections of the
roaring rockets were seen apparently to dive into the earth.

The day of the "Proclamation" came. A bright and sunny morning, followed
by a real hot day. The route of the procession was over four miles long.
Immense crowds lined the streets, and all available space in the great
Centennial Park was covered with people. What a day to remember! The
Commonwealth of Australia became an actual fact. All the aspirations and
all the desires of the colonies to be one and united were consummated on
that day. What a future lies before it! Before its twentieth birthday it
has made history of which any young nation may well be proud.

The next and most important function, namely, the opening of the first
Commonwealth Parliament by H.R.H. the Duke of York, accompanied by the
Duchess (their present Majesties), took place in Melbourne. The