Page:Speeches and addresses of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales.djvu/32

10 was a scene of popular enthusiasm such as has seldom been witnessed, so tumultuous was the outburst of joy. The magnificent splendour of the marriage itself was as nothing compared with that national demonstration. In the following pages it will be seen how the Prince and Princess were one in public life, as they were in heart and home.

When the Prince and Princess were returning from Osborne, where they spent the honeymoon, on arriving at Portsmouth, en route to Windsor, the Mayor and Corporation presented an address, upon the deck of the Royal yacht Fairy. This was the first of a succession of "addresses," which were merely marriage congratulations, couched in complimentary strains, and responded to in a few grateful and gracious words. These addresses were so numerous that they came to be merely mentioned in list, and in that early time might have been troublesome, but for the courtesy and good nature of the Prince. These demonstrations continued throughout the summer, the last being at Edinburgh, where their Royal Highnesses remained for a night on the way to Abergeldie, their Highland home near Balmoral. They did not go to Holyrood Palace, but to Douglas' private hotel, in St. Andrew's Square. Here a vast crowd assembled, and the Prince and Princess had to appear and bow their acknowledgments from the open window, till the multitude dispersed. But before going to the North, the Prince had already made public appearances, and his voice had been heard, in the City of London. The words were few, but the occasions were so important ihat with them may be commenced the record of the Speeches of His Royal Highness. The earliest appearance in a public assembly was at the banquet of the Royal Academy of Arts, on the 2nd of May, 1863.