So he turned to the left, and was at once swallowed up in the
street crowd. It seemed very strange to him. Not that he was
unaccustomed to crowds. Had he not, that very Christmas, gone
shopping in the city, accompanied only by one of his tutors and
Miss Braithwaite, and bought for his grandfather, the King, a
burnt-wood box, which might hold either neckties or gloves, and
for his cousins silver photograph frames?

But this was different, and for a rather peculiar reason. Prince
Ferdinand William Otto had never seen the back of a crowd! The
public was always lined up, facing him, smiling and bowing and
God-blessing him. Small wonder he thought of most of his future
subjects as being much like the ship in the opera, meant only to
be viewed from the front. Also, it was surprising to see how
stiff and straight their backs were. Prince Ferdinand William
Otto had never known that backs could be so rigid. Those with
which he was familiar had a way of drooping forward from the
middle of the spine up. It was most interesting.

The next hour was full of remarkable things. For one, he dodged
behind a street-car and was almost run over by a taxicab. The
policeman on the corner came out, and taking Ferdinand William
Otto by the shoulder, gave him a talking-to and a shaking.
Ferdinand William Otto was furious, but policy kept him silent;
which proves conclusively that the Crown Prince had not only
initiative - witness his flight - but self-control and diplomacy.
Lucky country, to have in prospect such a king!

But even royalty has its weaknesses. At the next corner