NAMING THE BABY

Shannon News, 11 December 1925, Page 1

NAMING THE BABY

PRINCE OP WALES' TASKS. KISSING BRIDE AT WEDDING. Minor trials have been experienced in plenty by the Prince of Wales dur_ Ing his recent prolonged tour, but they have never in any way depressed his good spirits. Indeed, some of these little trials have afforded him a good deal of amusement. For example, at a village on the veldt in South Africa, a native woman showed the Prince with some pride her children, six boys and one baby girl. The interpreter informed the Prince of their names. When he came to the baby girl he told th e Prince that the child was yet unnamed and that the mother would feel deeply .honoured if the Prince would name her. The request took th e Prince completely aback. He was for a moment quite unprepared with a suitable sug. gostion. But he was only nonplussed for the briefest space. He suggested the name Dawn; it was received with delight by the mother and the baby was so named on the spot. On another occasion during a jour, ney across South Africa an aged native was presented to the Prince, who, through the medium of the inter' preter, asked the native if there was any kind of gift he would like. The reply was a request for the Prince's pipe. The distinguished visitor at once complied, but it meant that he j was unable to enjoy a pipe for, six hours, until the place where his personal luggage had been sent on to was reached. It was a fairly frequent trial of the Prince during tour that the; days set apart to. give him a rest from the keeping of public .engagements, had to be sacrificed in order that he might. attend some entertainment got up un. expectedly. On e of these little enter, tainments-was a native wedding. The ceremony had been hastly arranged to take place so as to coincide with the Prince's arrival at the village. The Prince anticipated being able to take a day off and enjoy some hours of really needed rest when he reached the village. But on his arrival he was presented with the invitation to the wedding; he at once agreed to accept and duly bestowed a kiss—another unexpected duty—on the brjde. At one little town the Prince, had agreed to play a round of golf with a local champion. On his arrival at the' links the Prince found that an enorm- j ous crowd of -all sorts and conditions' I of persons had assembled on the course to witness the match. This was somewhat disconcerting for the Prince, who never plays up to his best I form 'before a big (gallery. But there was another circumstance still more disconcerting—his Royal Highness found tluit he was expected to play not j with his own clubs, but with a weird ' collection of 'irons" not more than a foot in length. The Prince put up with- a bad defeat with the best ofj grace, gratefully accepting the strange' Jiubs that wer e presented to him after the match. The worst trial that befel the Prince was the long delay in Chi],,,.•necessitated by the unexpected heavy snow. fall in the Andes. That delay meant the total upset of the Prince's programme in! Argentina, which had to be rearranged by, cable. This was a necessarily difficult task and kept the Prince's secretarial staff at work day and night. The ''Prince himself remained up one entire night settling the detai] s with his staff.

A great trial to the Prince in connection with all his tours has been the long train journeys. His restlessness of disposition makes him detest sitting- still for hour irr a train He won't, play cards and does not like reading, when it is practicable the Frinee alights from the Royal special and takes anything from a 15 to 30mile walk, while the special i s sent ahead. During- his tour the Prince in this Avay walked several hundred miles.