All My Noble Dreams and then What Happens by Gloria Whelan

Author:Gloria Whelan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A Paula Wiseman Book

11

At last we were to see the prince, and Father was to have his moment of glory. The prince was to drive in state to the Victoria Memorial. There he would preside at its official opening and be introduced by the Bengal governor, the Earl of Ronaldshay, whose speech was decorated by my own Mr. Snartwell. Father and his battalion of Gurkhas would join other battalions in the parade. I had seen the memorial with Mother while it was still being built. It was set in the middle of the maidan. I thought the white marble memorial, two hundred feet high, looked like a monstrous birthday cake. Around its dome were figures meant to represent, among other things, justice, which must have seemed ironic to the citizens of India. The great marble pile was built to honor Queen Victoria and to display scenes and mementoes of her life. Queen Victoria was the prince’s great-grandmother, and his visit would give the memorial official status.

Thousands of Indians lined the streets for the parade, shoving and pushing for a glimpse of the prince. Along with my aunts and my mother, I saw the festivities from a stand reserved for British officials and their families. The procession stretched almost as far as your eye could see. We cheered madly as Father rode by with his battalion. I thought he looked years younger and guessed he was imagining himself riding into battle for some great cause.

All at once, shouts rang out and there was the prince, splendid in his dress uniform, rather slight and rather shy looking. Walking a little behind him on the red carpet was a naval officer in his navy whites who looked rather more the way a prince should. As they reached the entrance a little boy ran toward the prince. At once the police closed in, but the child only wanted to present the prince with a kitten as a gift. I gave the prince points for thanking the child nicely, though His Royal Highness did not touch the kitten, but let an aide take it. In such crowds it was impossible to hear the prince’s speech, but from the enthusiastic cheers I gathered Mr. Snartwell’s additions were a great success.

We just had time to rush back to the hotel and change into our afternoon dresses for the garden party at Government House. Our dresses were of floral printed chiffon, light and flowing. With the dresses we wore white gloves right up to our elbows and large floppy hats. As Father helped us climb into the tonga we had to duck around one another’s hats, and once we got going we had to hold on to them to keep them from flying off. As always, clutched in my hands was my purse, with the letter inside.

There was a long reception line, with the prince at the end like a prize. Father bowed and we curtsied our way down the line. The men were in gray tailcoats and top hats or

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