The Express.
London, England, 1863-03-09 00:00:00

1863.

ia
riplikieralliftich powerful incense arose ;
*ng a great part Or the day and impregnated !
u around with'en agreeable odour. These 1
tripods with tiaiir Manse were supplied by Mr.
occati
Ranimel, wh ' 'applied similar tripods at
Tuniple.bar a one or two other points. The I
prrfurne was s ' • made to burn for hours 1
Arough wind and ~ ' . On both sides of the
north and iiiiiih ' approaches to the bridge were
erected large and elegant pedestals, each bearing
'on the top a bronze figure of a Danish ,
warrior, holding the Daneborg, the national flag of !
Denmark, and below, three colossal statues of `:Fame, with wings extended and bearing a wreath. I
The upper portion of these pedestals was surrounded
with small lamps, which were lighted up at night.
In the different recesses along the parapets ap-
peared smaller pedestals, in a similar style of orna-
mentation, but instead of each having three statues
donate it had only one. To be sure a close exa-
mination of the medallion portraits of the kings of
Denmark brought out those works of art in rather
a comic point of view, and they bore all the marks
of having been produced by an artist of cognate
skill to him who painted the portraits of the
ancient Scottish kings at Holyrood at a contract
price. Still, as we have said, the general effect
l was excellent ; and flanked on the west as it was by
the shipping covered with flags, and in many cases
with their rigging crowded with seamen, and backed
os the south-west and south-east by tall warehouses
with their fronts clad in the gala colours of this
day, and crowded at window and roof by
enthusiastic sight seers, anyone geeing at
the scene could hardly realise that they
were looking at the London-bridge of their every-1
day experience.
At the time the civic procession passed through
the triumphal arch which had been erected on the
north aide of the bridge the erection was almost
obscured by scaffolding, all of which was not removed
when the royal cortege passed under it. On the south
side there wereonly a few poles and planks, which
were fortunately taken away in due time. The arch,
which is 60 fret high, spanned the entire thorough- •
fare, sad had about it a solidity which one would
not have expected in so purely temporary an &ea
non. The month or principal side bore iu the
amine, immediately over the carriage-way, the
united arms of Bogland and Denmark, and finely
executed medallions in relief of the Prince of
Wales and the Princess Alexandra. Appended
above the arches over the footways, on the columns,
were placed, in honour of Denmark, the statues of
Saxo Orammations (1166) ; Holberg, the poet ;
Thorwaldsen, the sculptor; and Juel, the painter.
In the pediment was the following quotation from
Shakspere, in gilt letters :

Hoisoir, riehw, marriage, blessing,
Long mute:mance sod increasing
Hourly toys be still upon you :
Englind 'bonen her Mewing' on you.

Under this inscription there was ; large and richly-
coloured painting, representing Britannia escorting
the Princess Alexandra to the shores of England, ac-
companied by sea gods and goddesses. The Princess
stood in the boat, in her bridal dresa, holding the
hand of Britannia, shill sail, and a numerous body
of nymphs as rowers, promising a quick voyage.
The good wishes of the City were further expresded
at night by replacing this with a transparency de-
picting the riche,' of earth, air, and water, in offer-
ings to the Princess Alexandra. On the top of the
arab or pediment appeared a very effective piece of
scalpture—Britannia. in • ear, drawn by four
prancing horses, welcoming the Princess to our
shores, with, on either side, recumbent figures of
Fame, heralding her happy approach. In the centre
of the northern aide of the arch there was a por-

trait of Queen Victoria in a widow's dress, within
a wreath of laurel, and the crown above, supported
by figures of Wisdom and Strength. The eight
Corinthian columns on this side of the arch sup-
ported four statues of Fame, and the arms of
England and Denmark were emblazoned above the
footways. The arch was painted white, the capitals
and cornices being gilt.
It is with reluctance that we venture to indicate
an opinion that the general effect of the arch was
not satisfactory, and its chief merit, after all a
negative one, was that it completely screened all
view of the bridgei from the spectators advancing
with the civic procession until it was passed, and
gave them a sensation akin to that produced by a
transformation scene when they debonched upon
the bridge itself. Except aline on each aide of the
north end, extending about a third of the bridge,
composed of the Hon. Artillery Company's In-
fantry Brigade, with their band and colours, under
the commend of Lord Colville, and a few
policemen ranged on each aide of its southern extre-
mity, there was no person on the bridge, which
presented itself under an aspect novel to everyone
that looked on it, and this without reference to its
decoration, namely, that of emptiness and stalkers.
On to this charmed spot, whichcontrasted so vividly
with the turmoil of the region which bad been just
left behind, the civic procession advanced, but,
although in a regulated line, in most admired dis-
order so far as etiquette and arrangement were
concerned.
It had been arranged that a procession akin in its
features to that in which the Lord Mayor figures on
the 9th of November should take place.
This procession was to start from the Guildhall,
to pass along Cheapside, to traverse London-bridge
to its southern end then to wheel and form from
the north end of the bridge, and to precede the
royal carriages to Temple-bar, where it was to turn
off by Chancery-lane. Accordingly, by ten o'clock,
the component parts of the pageant were marshalled
at Guildhall ; and a large number of guests were
entertained at a-very splendid dejedner, which was
laid out in all the available rooms of the building.
Now it seems to us that this breakfast, mit was
called, was the primum mobile of the mishaps which
afterwards betel the City promotion. If the
time occupied in restoration, which was probably
superfluous in most cases, had been devoted to
getting the procession under way, and marshalling
it in its proper position' it is probable that all might
have gone well. As it was, instead of starting at
an early hour, it was much past 12 when a long
line of carriages, bands, and the paraphernalia of
the City companies began to move into Cheapside.
When the head of the train turned out of
King-street, it found the street iniuyrsses-
iton of the crowd : in fact the • Moors
were beforehand with the preservers o order
and She.. police-constables. Hone artillery
and volunteer regiments, who bad been detached
to keep the way, when they arrived found that no
effort of theirs but that of violence could force a
mass of persons who thronged the street on each
side nine or ten deep into the comparatively
narrow range of the footpath ; and their numbers
being relatively very few—the absence of policemen
being conspicuous—each man had as much as he
could "do to hold his individual standing-place.
Through this dense gathering the procession lite-
rally forced its way up to the Mansion-
house, where a scene of confusion occurred which
baffles description. To an unhappy person in the
procasion, hours seemed to elapse ; while space was
liMeally fought for, through which that which was
to have been a stately pageant was to have swept
prdudly and gorgeously. By dint of Feat exertion,
and the performance of some skilful military
manoeuvres, the lit City of London Rifle Volun-
teers contrived to get into line in front of the crowd,
which from Princes-Arad and Cornhill pressed
on the area before the Mansion-house, which
by comparison may be called open. As soon as the
tight tank of the corps was reached the way was
forced clear for the procession, which hurried on
somewtat rapidly, in order to reach London-bridge
in due time, it being then quite 2 o'clock. The
appearance of things at the Mansion-house was
striking. Apart from, the immense crowd which
was surging to and fro in the roadway, aid which
was unpleasantly picturesque, every building was
thronged from area to roof with spectators. The
pediment of the Royal Exchange presented
a singular appearance, being seemingly sur-
mounted by a dark fringe, like the feathers
on a French general of division's coked bat,
but which was in fact a line of people who were
clinging to and leaning over the parapet in all sorts
of attitudes, many of them quite acrobatic. On
the summit of an insurance office at the end of
Lombard-street, front of the church of St. Mary

Woolnoth, is perched a figure with helmet and
spear, which may be Minerva or Britannia ;
and to this clung a man who, in order, to
support himself, clung with one arm round
the neck of the figure, forming an odd
groupe. The Mansion-house was decorated
with an unsparing hand. The columns which
sustain the portico were draped in crimson and
gold ; medallions of the Prince and Princess were
attached to each of the pilasters, around which
flowers were wreathed, festooua of which were
pendent in great profusion. Above, and close
beneath the pediment, were ranged a line of Prince
of Wales's feathers, interspersed with creams of St.
Dagmar of Denmark. The portico bad been con-
verted into a " sane de epeotaele," and in tiers of
benches were seated a large number of ladies,
dressed as it is to be imagined they would have
been on such an occasion, iu attendance on whom
was a moderate number of gentlemen, many of
whom were in uniform. Turning the eye down
Cheapside from this point, it must be confessed
that the sight which presented itself was magnifi-
cent, and every way creditable to the taste and loyalty
of the citizens of London. Banners and flags were
hung out of windows and across the street in such
abundance that they formed in the aggregate almost
a canopy over the heads of the crowds below, while
with emblematic devices, floral decorations, crimson
and gold and silver were massed together in such
profusion that a bright hue was given to the very
atmosphere of the dingy old street which bad
arrayed itself so splendidly in gold deem Every-
where were palpable signs of good intention on the
part of the civic authorities, who at that moment
were struggling painfully through a middle passage
of no small discomfort, if not of danger. Taking up
that part of the civic procession at the point at which
it emerged with ruffled dignity from the crowd into
King William-street, it may be stated that
it proceeded at a quick pace along that
avenue, which was kept tolerably clear,
and soon reached the statue of King Wil-
liam I V. Here the horse artillery of the
Honourable Artillery Company, with six guns, was
drawn up, and a corps of Volunteer light cavalry
extended on the left side towards the bridge. On
the right the stately hall of the Fishmongers' Com-
pany presented a striking appearance, lavishly
decked with the ornamentation of the moment ;
and crowded with company, who were accommo-
dated in superbly-fitted up stands, one of them look-
ing riverwarde on to London-bridge, while the band of
her Majesty's 22nd Regiment was stationed on the
item of the hall, and discoursed excellent music
all through the day.
In truth, every person did what seemed good
unto him so that it enabled him to each the
bridge, to traverse its left side to the southern
end, and to turn there and, like the cele-
brated army of the King of France, to march
back again into the dark and threatening
limbo of disorganised crowd which awaited him on
the space before the statue of William IV. and
the gorge leading into King William-street,
where they had broken in and taken pos-
session. The Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, and as
many of the carriages and footmen as could
be ranged along the length of the bridge, remained
Awaiting the arrival of the Princess Alexandra,
who was advancing slowly through the Boroegh.
At this critical moment, when there was a hush of
expectation almost solemn about the bridge at its
southern approach, a dark cloud gathered, and
from it descended a pelting shower, happily only of
a few momenta' duration. Promptly a hoarse
roar son uding angrily was beard ,in the distance to
the south, and it came nearer and nearer, resolving
itself into the joyous and excited shout of the mul-
titude, who took up the cheers as the six carriages,
which, with two escorts of the Royal Hone Guards
Blue and the Life Guards, preceded by a small body
of mounted police, and regulated by Lord A. Paget,
Clerk-Mershalto her Majesty, and Major Teesdale,
R.A., chief equerry to the Prince of Wales, formed
the very unostentatious cortege of the Princess,
passed along their serried ranks. Exactly at 25
minutes past 2 o'clock the head of this simple pro-
cession appeared at the southern extremity of the
bridge and passed slowly forward. In the first
carriage were General the Hon. Sir C. Grey, Colonel
Seymour, Captain Lund, and Mr. Funck • in the
second, , Countess Hilda. Reveutlow and Madame
Vauvile ; in the third, General Oxholme and
Madame Oxholme ' • in the fourth, Prince Waldo-
. mar and Prince William ; in the fifth, Prices
Frederick, Princess Dagmar, and Prince's Thyra.
Somewhat to the surprise, as we imagine, of the
spectators, with two exceptions, all the gentlemen
—come of whom, it should be stated, iu addition
to these above-mentioned, were members of the
Prince of Wales's household—were in plain clothes.
It may have been etiquette, but on such an occasion
as this it would certainly have been advan-
tageous from a spectacular point of view if the
male occupants of the carriages had worn
uniform. Bacon did not think it beneath
him to discourse on the value of spangles,
and he laid down the whole philosophy of stately
dress in reference to its effect on the multitude,
which takes impressions merely from its eyes. It
is certain that our multitude on Saturday would
have been better pleased with a little display of
scarlet, blue, and gold in the royal carriages. The
carriage which contained the Danish Princesses, the
oting sisters of the Princess Alexandra—namely,
Dagmar and Princes& Thyra, and their
brothers, were surrounded by an escort of the Blues;
sad when the fifth carriage passed on to the bridge
a young lady who sat in the place of honour wager
a moment taken for the bride elect, and received an
ovation from all those who could see on to the
bridge which seemed rather to surprise her. Some
of the suite of the Danish princes seemed greatly
struck with the appearance of the scene
which presented itself to them at this point
and they rose in their places in the carriages, and
looked wonderingly, and probably anxiously, around
at the vast concourse of people which met their
eyes on the Oity side. There was a pause of some
duration before the carriage containing the Princess
Alexandra, the Prince of Wales, Prince Christian
of Denmark, and the Princess Louise, the parent,
of the future Princess of Wales, came upon the
bridge. When it reached the southern end, for
some reason, which was not then accurately, but
which was very unpleasantly discovered afterwards,
the cortege -as again brought to a standstill and
remained stationary for nearly twenty minutes.
The few persons privileged to loiter on the bridge
had ample opportunity for respectfully but
earnestly making themselves acquainted with the
form and features of her royal highness. There
was no dissentient from the opinion that the
Prince of Wales has been fortunate enough to
have obtained as the partner of his life a lady
whose personal appearance and demeanour are but
in described by the word charming ; and on whom
it is intended to speak in the terms which we
couceive to be the most satisfactory when we say
that her beauty and grace are of the type
lovely English girlhOod. Except that she seemed
a little pale, her royal highness showed ne
eigns of the somewhat laborious progress which
she had made ; and as she took in the view the
IMO presented to her of that mighty city
on the threshold of which she stood, au exprer
mien, half of wonder half of gratification, passed over
her face ; and after a few momenta' siletwe be
turned to the Prince of Wales, who sat oppeOte
her, and addressed a few sentences to him. Afla
that, during the pause in the progress of the pro-
CWWIIOII to which we have alluded, she belied slid
smiled at every fresh shout from the rather di.t er.
spectators on the two shores and on the shippillL
but,who contrived to make themselves very decidePy
heard. At length the royal carriages were enablet
to move over and off the bridge, and when theY
reached the Middlesex ride, the cause of the delay
was sufficiently apparent. As we have hail, bet
only had the crowd broken in and taken jeeseol''
of the confined area in front of the statue of
IV., but a long line of carriages iii which aury beate,,
members of the Corporation of London were rabra•
without reference to official dignity and precedeutv•
or the right aide of the roadway, on the outer edge
of a mass of persons eight or nine feet deep beY'cl
the footpath. These obstacles extended to the
Mansion-house ; and with the same utter disrego'
of facilities for the procession and the eouveuieuo'
of the crowd itself, no serious attempt was made t

keep a hue by means of policemen or cavalry on
the left hand side. On the right the carriages of
the civic gentlemen, which ought at that time to
have been far on their way to Temple-bar, acted as
a barrier ; but oil the opposite side it was only through
the good sense and feeliug of the peop'.e themselves
that any order was observed. Nevertheless the energy
of the crowd from behind constantly drove forward
those in the front ranks, who were willing enough
to form a barrier, and in short there was
no passage for the procession at all. It was
only when the mounted police, a few troopers of
the Horse Artillery, and the beadmost files of the
crowd forced a passage, that the cortige could move
on, and so narrow was the space thus gained that
the cavalry were obliged to change their formation
from threes to twos. As soon as the five leading
carriages had thus with difficulty passed, the crowd,
we believe in almost every case involuntarily,
broke in, and again the Royal Yeomen Prickers,
Lord Alfred Paget, Major Teesdale, and the leading
files of the escort immediately around the carriage
of the Princess, had by sheer pushing to make way
for its transit. In spite of every effort, close around
and about the carriage hung hundreds of somewhat
rough-looking men and dishevelled women, whose
jo
yous,
were shouts, which were meant to be
were so frantic and exaggerated, that they bore
with them a sound of terror, and a hearty and
honest welcome seemed very much akin to
threatened violence. At first the Princess Alex-
andra seemed alarmed, and, it was thought, com-
municated her ideas on that point to the Prince of
Wales—who by the by, maintained a very cool,
not to say reserved manner, all through the day ;
but receiving a laughing reply sbe evidently
became re-assured, and revived with calmness and
complacency a popular demonstration which, if
rather uncouth and boisterous, was true and hearty.
Slowly the carriage bearing the hopes of England,
as some of the mottoes displayed mud, proceeded to
the Mansion-house, where it halted in a very
limited area, which bad been cleared by gi-
gantic exertions. Here' within a door-
way on the pavement, in the centre
wader the portico, and which we believe is that ly
which prisoners are taken into the justice-room on
Ordinary occasions, and which had been converted
into something between a bouquet and a boudoir,
stood the Lady Mayoress, attended by Miss Snows,
Mims Augusta Samuda, Miss B. Simpson, Miss
Ellen Wheeler, Miss Shaw, Miss Roney, and Mime
Parlby, holding in her hand a magnificent bouquet,
composed of flowers representing the Danish colours,
such as roses, carnations, lilies of the valley, and
white lilac, surrounded by a large border of Irish
lace, and placed in a holder set with jewels.
In dee form her ladyship advanced and pee.
suited her floral offering, which was acknow- •
}edged by a few gracious words, and still more
Enscions gestures ; and the carriage passed o

After this so far as progrelts. kin was coal
earned, mended. There was a tolerably sufficient
passage ; though it was obtained mainly through
the exertions of the people themselves, who gave
way, and pressed themselves into the amalfesl

poin—lde space, for the same feebleness
and ask of organization was present in
Cheapside and all through Fleet-street to
the termination of the City bounds. At the en-
trance to St. Patirs-elluallyard, and at the foot
of the Peel statue, the 3rd City of London and
Dome other voluntecs were drawn up in line, but
the people mingled be their ranks, and though free
and easy enough at other times did the
duty of special constables, and kept the way
for the procession to pass. The effect of the
ornamented stands which were situated around the
base of St. Paul's was good so far as the combine-
lion of gilding and colour and groups of well-
dressed ladies were concerned, bat the cathedral
was dtsidedly an eclipse. Down Ludgate-hill
wended the slight procession, wedging its slow way
through masses of people and beneath banners and
iestoons of flowers, and. gay draperies. pendent from
the wizdows filled in with eager pang faces. At
Farringdon-street, on each side and about the
obelisks there, the men of the Society for the Pre-
servation of Life from Fire, with their band, were
grouped, and there, too, was a volunteer core
which had hopelessly abdicated its func-
tion of keeping the line. Fleet-street af-
forded a still better place for transit, and
was as gaily decorated as any part of the route. It
was four o clock when the Princess was delivered
from a bondage of more than an hour and a half
within the precincts of the City, and emerged from
beneath Temple-bar (which was fitted up in a style
akin to the music gallery of the assembly-room of a
&riroLind,cial town) into a wide clear wia in the
whertiLife-Gluardamen, practised in keeping
order in the streets of London, and policemen.
equally expert in that duty, were stationed
at very short intervals, and where the
crowd was kept to the footpath, leaving
the whole area of the road-way free to the passage
of the procession, which now for the fiat time
souldesallybe said to be seen by these speetatan
who were not fortunate enough to obtain ear
better vantage ground for viewing the spectacle
than was afforded by a standing place in the street.
The civic part of the procession here left the line
and filed off up Chaneery-Lee.