The sun., 1919-10-04
Sail River and Harbor.

At the North River end of Forty
second street they boarded the yacht
Mona, already heavily laden with men
and women who had to be held back
by policemen when the royal party en-
barked. On the lower deck a band
held forth playing "Over There" La
Brabanconne" and stirring Sousa
marches. The rigging of the Mona was
ablaze with the Stars and Stripes and
the tricolor of Brabant. Down the Hud-
son to the bay and around the retic-
ulated shores OF the harbor the yacht
sped. The King watched the shores of
New Jersey. Manhattan and Brooklyn
bloom with industry until his eyes re-
beled against the binoculars he used.
The Queens trusty camera worked
madly and the solemn face of the boy
prince lost something OF its soberness
under the spell of the picture.
Then at AS they landed at the
Battery-Pier A-where a regiment of
soldiers. a company of marines and
another of sailors stood in stolid atten-
ton while great crowds milled like
sheep in vain effort to see the most
popular OF Kings and Queens. Through
the canyon of lower Broadway with its
million windows and lofty cornices, I'D
the widening turn of Park Row and
across the green plaza OF the tiny City
Hall they were escorted
u 's venerable mystery where the
crowds come from. Some years ago
there came to the City Hall for honors,
Just as King Albert did yesterday, for
eign dignitary whose mind and speech
ran to candor. He saw the throngs OF
we'll dressed men and women and wanted
10 know whether folks worked at all in
New York city.
King Albert and his consort. the Prince
and the others of the royal party. looked
over the deeply banked crowds stretched
across Broadway and Park Row and
back to the old Post Office delivery decks
and gave notice in their facial express
sions what they didn't put into words.
American spontaneity is wholly Ameri-
can. Europe is blase country.
Mayor Hylan greeted thet King and
Queen as they stepped out of their motor
cars. They were taken to the Council
manic chamber and there the King was
made an honorary citizen of America,
given the flag that to Americans stands
Tor what the crown means to Belgians,
and then rendered a reception that was
just little warmer, more sincere and
less formal than anything of the sort
that the quaint old hall has ever known.
King Voices Appreciation.
The Mayor told the King what Amer
leans thought of him, of his Queen and
MS country The King, in slow, simple
and rhetorically blemishless English tried
10 tell the crowd Just how ne and his
country felt about America, Americans
and this particular occasion. Neither
speech, both brief, departed from the pre-
cedents that rule such speeches. The
1ormalities were soon over The Police
band, up in the balcony, played La
brabanconne" and>then the Star Span
gled Banner" woman, said to be
Alma Clabourne of the Metropolitan
opera House. began singing. and the
throng joined her. ID.
There is something about King AL
berts attitude that compels the belief
mat he would shun all this formality of
welcome If 1t were possible. He is en-
ureIy self-possessed, OF course, and al
ways the commander of the situation,
out 1t Is the safest sort OF a guess that il
ne had his way about 1t he'd be off alone
poking around the docks, roaming
through the stores. wandering through
wan street and visiting the parks and
residential sections. There is nothing of
we poseur about him. He does not lin
ger In front OF cameras nor does he be-
come irritable when the cameras corner
MN Were he not king he'd likely set
70 down to that solid and unassuming
ntIenship that has no aspirations out
soc Its ONCE and home
rear Admiral Glennon. Major-Gen