een bestowed upon
me--an honour which has, as history bears testimony, been
bestowed upon several members of my family, my predecessors;
and, brethren, it will always be my most ardent and sincere wish
to walk in the footsteps of good men who have preceded me, and,
with God's help, to fulfil the duties which I have been called
upon to occupy to-day.

"The Pro-Grand Master has told you, brethren, and I feel
convinced, that such an assemblage as this has never been
known; and when I look round me on this vast and spacious Hall,
and see those who have come from the north and south, from the
east and the west, it is, I trust, an omen which will prove on
this auspicious occasion an omen of good. The various duties
which I have to perform will frequently, I am afraid, not permit
me to attend so much to the duties of the craft as I should
desire; but you may be assured that when I have the time I shall
do the utmost to maintain this high position, and do my duty by
the craft, and by you on every possible occasion. Brethren, it
would be useless for me to recapitulate everything which has
been told you by the Pro-Grand Master relative to Freemasonry.
Every Englishman knows that the two great watchwords of the
craft are Loyalty and Charity. These are their watchwords, and
as long as Freemasons do not, as Freemasons, mix themselves up
in politics so long I am sure this high and noble order will
flourish, and will maintain the integrity of our great Empire.

"I thank you once more, brethren, for your cordial reception of
me to-day, and I thank you for having come such immense
distances to welcome me on this occasion. I assure you I shall
never forget to-day--never!"

The Prince resumed his seat amid loud cheers, which were long continued.
His Royal Highness spoke with a perfect elocution which rendered every
syllable audible to the whole of the vast assemblage; but when (adds the
reporter of the scene) in conclusion, he uttered a manifest impromptu in
saying that the reception which had been accorded to him, and the
spectacle which he witnessed, were things which to the last day of his
life he "should never forget--never!" there was just so much tremor of
his voice as seemed to show that even the trained self-possession of
Royalty was somewhat shaken, as indeed it well might be, by the
magnitude and the splendour of t