Page:Speeches and addresses of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales.djvu/36

14 "My Lord Mayor, Mr. Chamberlain, and Gentlemen,—It is, I assure you, a source of sincere gratification to me to attend here for the purpose of being invested with a privilege which for the reasons you have stated you are unable to confer upon me, and which descends to me by inheritance. It is a patrimony that I am proud to claim—this freedom of the greatest city of the commercial world, which holds its charter from such an ancient date. My pride is increased when I call to memory the long list of illustrious men who have been enrolled among the citizens of London, more especially when I connect with that list the beloved father to whom you have adverted in such warm terms of eulogy and respect, and through whom I am here to claim my freedom of the City of London. My Lord Mayor and Gentlemen, the Princess and myself heartily thank you for the past—for your loyalty and expressions of attachment towards the Queen, for the manifestations of this evening towards ourselves, and for all your prayers for our future happiness."

When the ceremony was ended, the Prince and the Royal visitors withdrew from the Hall, but soon returned to join in the festivities, which began with a ball. "The Lord Mayor led off in a spirited quadrille with Her Royal Highness the Princess, and the Prince with the Lady Mayoress." So runs the record, with details of the dances, and the names of the dancers in the area kept clear, in front of the daïs, for the special guests. Attempts were occasionally made to keep up dancing in the body of the Hall, but the crowd was so great that, till after supper, and the retirement of the Royal party, the fête was more of a grand assembly than a ball. Under whatever name, it was a magnificent entertainment, and aged citizens tell us that Guildhall had never witnessed a scene so splendid and joyous.

of the earliest appearances of the Prince and Princess of Wales in support of a charitable institution was when they opened the new buildings erected at Slough for the British Orphan Asylum, on the 24th of June, 1863. The scholars belonging to the Asylum had so largely increased in number that the Board of Directors