Among the "Rebels"

(British Commonwealth of Nations)

Sirens moaned, whistles shrieked as The Repulse carried the Prince of Wales into Table Bay at Cape Town. A dense blanket of fog hid the land from view, but, as the Prince subsequently found out, more than 200,000 cheering people, Boers and British, were behind it.

The Prince was received by the Governor General and Lady Athlone, his uncle and aunt,* by Premier Hertzog and his Ministers and a vast concourse of the distinguished, of which the most outstanding was ex-Premier General Jan Smuts (TIME, Apr. 27). As he drove through the city, flags were waved, flowers thrown, white, black and yellow people cheered in a strange assortment of languages; children sang. Many were in the crowd who had traveled hundreds of miles to be present at the Prince's arrival and many of these were the Boer veldt farmers,, some even hailing from the Orange Free State, that alleged home of South African republicanism.

In the succeeding days, the Prince's right hand was in great demand and as a result he was inconvenienced by a slightly sprained wrist.

On the fourth day of his stay in Cape Town, the Union's Parliament invited him to dinner. Present at that dinner were some of the more curious of the true Boer diehards, whose republican sentiments had often resounded in both houses of the Legislature.

General Hertzog, Prime Minister, rose and, turning to the Prince, said:

"You will be welcomed in the lonely plains of the Free State, on the high veldt of the Transvaal and in solitary villages with the same warmth as here."

A toast to the Prince's health and prosperity was drunk and followed by Boer and British cheers, and the singing of God Save the Prince of Wales.

General Smuts, ex-Premier, then rose to introduce the Prince, in the course of his speech referred to him as "the future occupant of our hereditary Presidency." (Tremendous cheering.)

The Prince stood up. Complete silence. Old Boer Senators leaned forward, hand behind ear in order that not one word of the Prince's English should escape their Dutch-hardened tympanums. "Meneer die Speaker," began the Prince in Boer Dutch. He got no further for some minutes. The Boer "rebels" let out one roar : Ous Prins! (Our Prince) and secession of South Africa from the British Commonwealth lay, apparently shattered, on the floor. Cheers, table banging, clapping, Boer and British songs finally over, the Prince continued, still speaking Dutch:

"I find it hard to put into words my appreciation of the welcome you extended to me on my arrival in South Africa," etc., etc.

After this, the parliamentarians could no longer contain themselves. Leaving their places they crowded about the Prince, cheering, clapping, vociferously anxious to teach the Heir Apparent the words of Dutch ditties and songs.

*Also his cousins.