PRINCE'S TOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 117, 17 May 1920, Page 7

PRINCE'S TOUR.

CHRISTCHTTRCH ENTHUSIASM. VISIT TO THE RACES. STARTS THE MARYBOROUGH STAKES. (By To'iPgrapli.-'Speolu] hi "Star."* lIIKISTCFIIRCH, Saturday. PuMic cnfliusiasm for the Prince of Wales epenw to {trow, if that were possible. Crowd:; await 11i-=. arrival and departure from tlie rhrirttihurch Club, and at the street corners along the route* that it i- known lie will take To-day nt Riecarton In , hud n tremenwliieli wiis renewed when, mounted on n rim- iron vrcv hack, and accompanied by Admiral llnbey ami Mr. Uoyle, chairman of the ('..1.c.. lie rod.' out on t<i the course just before the start of the lnj» race the Prim- dismounted, and w.w shown )io«' tli! , barrier worked. He *m inviled to dispatch the field of four, and after or" fnlse break ;;\vav the ImrspK Returning as the horsct* enmc liiu-k to the scnle. Mr. Boyle called out hh they passed the ?;Hillm<i pnr'josiire to know tvhai hai! 'yon, and someone in the crowd shouted back, "Amylhas bent you there. Teddy." referrinjt to the common belief that the Prinre had a.aain backed Arrowsmith. After this race the Prir.ee and hUi companions went out to make a circuit! of the course. Opposite the cr'.ni.iji-.'j padJoek the l'rinee put bU mount at; the etcep!eehai?c fence, and u">t over i" prer.f At CiUt:<', however, iliiiety] did not seem to fancy I ho l,rn-h ii!i«:ai-|e and baulked, and her lloyn! riler slid : to the ground. Hn wnrf "on the luuvsej again in an instant, and completed the: circuit of the course. IIL< reappeiitam-e on the course in front of the slamli w.is the sipnßl for nontiniif-d eheerin-. He] consrratulated the owner and trainer o'i Auiythafl. the winner of the race, and was photographed by Admiral Hal*cy aa he stood patting Amytlin.-". In tbe fourth racp the neglected to follow the obvious' tip in the name of Royal St.nr, wliich pot home alter a rattling finish, pavinji an excellent dividend.

The "Prinze fo-nijht 'nnkrd in for a short while at the seconj civic hall in the barracks, at which the attendance was even greater thnn last night, and went to the Savnso Club for a quarter of an hour, and then to a private dunce. The Royal ball Inst ninht was really spoiled to 6om» extent by its excessive popularity. The crush iiisido and out a was very great, nnd'not until well after c midnight did the npsemlilase thin nut. p sufficiently*to r.'low of dancing being .. pleasurable. "It is stated that three , thousand tickets were sold, but the n number is believed to bp larger. When shortly before 0 p.m. Colonel Chatley • announced that the Prince intended to 0 shake hands with those present there was a gasp of incredulous amazement. A j. busrle note gave indication of the arrival of the Prince, a further blast, and he stood at the head of the stairway, and then cheering broke forth. At the > foot of the stairway the Prince was met ;by the Mayor and' Mrs. Thacker. His ; Royal Highness, in civilian evening 1 dress, with several orders, escorting J Mrs. Thacker, nnd accompanied by his ■ staff, proceeded up the ballroom ' through a cleared aisle to a l?oyal box. Hero and there lip recognised a face and ' smiled pleasincly. Immediately he i J entered upon the self-imposed task of shaking the hands of the people filine] 1 past for a full hour. Towards the end he showed signs of weariness, nnd once Admiral Halsey urged him unsuccessfully to desist, but he kept on, and throughout his quick glance and merry smile ' were given to all. The people filed past •' at the rate of 4r, a minute, but he nevertheless managed to pass a remark to ! many who bore evidence of war : or to give a particularly cordial greeting !to dehutantees. Some people were posed to linger. "Sorry, friend, I haven't time just now," was a typical remark as he turned to another. Until his task was over eeveral extra waltzes were played. It was quite obvious that the Prince , was tired, and he was absent in his dressing room for several dances. At 11 p.m. he escorted the Mayoress to supper, and left at 11.40 p.m. As he was leaving the ballroom the cheering was something to be remembered. He had actually left the ballroom when the crowd broke into "For He's a .Tolly Cood Fellow."' At this the Prince returned, and stood in smiling response to a fresh outburst of cheers. There was a further demonstration outside, 'where the crowd was present still in large numbers. Many beautiful dresses worn did not have a fair opportunity for display owing to the inteneely crowded state of the room: r,m() guests made it too crowded to dance to display frneking to advantage, or to find anyone for whom one might look. A lady reporter says that, some drosses of delicate and diaphanous texture Buffered in the wild scramble for admittance when the gates were opened, and again when the magical word "supner" went around, and the crowd made a determined surge towards the supper rooms. Xothing especially distinctive was noticed among the gowns, except that in a number ,-,f gowiw the new pink that goes by the name of "Britnnniqup" was favoured in trimming and embellishing touches, n. new blue. "Malachite," also being noticed here and there.