The Express.
London, England, 1849-08-08 00:00:00

ILLUMINATIONS

which deserve especial mention, not o ly for their
splendour and extent, but also for an incident in
which I was a most unwilling partiepator. All the
streets through which I pass:d, and I made en
extensive circuit, were completely light. d, and the
devices were remarkably numerous, splendid, end
tasteful. Being, generally speaking, in gait, they
made the streets almost as light as d ty. The " %%It'd,"
" V. and A.'s," and" Welcome" were as thick u black-
berries ; but in some of toe more considerable t &flees
a much greater share of invention and cost had been
brought into requisition. Sackville-street looked
truly magnificent; but the gnat centre of attraction
MI Call( se-green, where the College, Bank, and the
private banking-hones of lbyle, Low, and Pim vied
with each other in attraction. The lonic columns of
the second-named building were completely
wreathed with light, and across the whole
front ran a large " Niteroi& and Albert,"
in variegated lamps. Boyle's Bank rejoiced
in a gigantic " Cead mine hike," in Garlic characters
which were quite as puzzling to the crowd as are the
Oghata "to the Irish antiqoaty. Later in the even-
ing, when a smart shower had somewhat interrupted
their continuity of outline, they assumed quite a
cabalistic appearance. The college was radiant over
its entire fecade. In the centre was exhibited the
college arms, and each wing had magnificent devices.
It having got abroad that here, also, fireworks would
be exhibited, sects a crowd collected as I have never
seen equalled, and certainly such an one as I hope
never again to form a component part of. I suddenly
got whirled into the vortex, and far two mortal hours
was wedged against the rails of the Bank, helplessly
reins on a scene which I felt sure would
end in some dreadful calamity. The middle of the
street was (»copied by benches of every description,
and the interstices were choked with men, women,
and children. The cries of the latter were terrific.
The women soreamed, fainted, and were, I fear, in
some instances trampled on ; and as for the children
all the friends of humanity could do, was to pitch
them over their heads in the hope that they might be
caught by some pet son in a secure position. A more
of polieemett would have produced order in a few
moments, bat through some unaccountable neglect
not one was to be seen until at lest an aristocratic
vehicle having got into a position of difillealty, a
strong body of the force came to its reggae,
A heavy responsibility rests somewhere, as lam awl
vinced that there must have been tutor accidents,
perhaps loss of life. I myself had a narrow escape.
A pair of horses in a pheetaa became restive close to
where I was standing, and kicked and plunged fear-
, fully, end at hat one fell close to my Eat. The agony
of terror •in which this placed the crowd is inde-
scribable. They were incapable of moving, and ex-
pected every moment to be struck by the horses. I
believe that their very density saved them, as the
affrighted animals bad not room to do much mischief.
At last that prince of special constables, a heavy
shower of rain, came to the rescue, and allowed myself
and the other sufibrers to escape from our perilous
position. On my road home I saw a man who had
been trampled on, and he appeared to be in a dying
state. I can only hope that the gross neglect of the
police authorities may not have produced many such
casualties. To-morrow her Majesty holds a levee and
will receive addresses.