The Express.
London, England, 1860-08-06 00:00:00

VOLUNTEER EVOLUTIONS ON HAMPSTEAD

HEATH.

There was an immense gathering of the London
public on Hampstead-heath on Saturday evening, attracted
by the expectation of a regular volunteer sham battle,
something like the muster which bad recently been so sue.
cessful on Campdemhill. The fineness of the afternoon
and the nearness of town to the locality was sure to make
the attraction • " draw," but it unfortunately turned out
afterwards that the importance of the affair had been
considerably ever-rated, and that what been expected to be
• regular petite ',fierce was only to be a few ordinary
evolutions by the Western and North-Western Metropoli-
tan corps, accompanied by a very moderate expenditure of
blank cartridge. But if the public were disappointed
with the military display they could not have
been otherwise than gratified at the imposing
spectacle which they themselves presented, gathered as they
were in thouaands ever the heath, and studding every eleva-
tion of its unequal and picturesque surface with eager and
happy faces, radiant with intense enjoyment of the fresh
breeze, the evening son, and the magnificent prospect that
stretchedoutto the verge of the horizon on every side. Hamp-
stead Heath is probably the worst placein England for military
evolutions, but is the very beat for showing off a crowd to
the greatest advantage, as every one can see and be seen as
if it were some vast colosseum without any of the stiffness or
formality of the latter.
As use been the rale sham the commencement of these
volunteer displays the crowd was too early, and the actors,
few as thelatter were, too late. Very shortly after 4 o'clock
the Hampstead-road exhibited a continuous stream of pedes-
trians all tending in one direction. The omnibuses were
perilously full, and private equipages got along with difficulty
and considerable risk of broken panels. The proprietors
of donkeys from all the suburban districts, probably remem-
bering the want of cavalry at Chislehurst, were evidently
concentrating forces in Hampstead, and their endeavours to
get on with something of military briskness, added consi-
derably to the noise, eonfumion, and excitement of the road.
The ordinarily quiet town of Hampstead, like all the quiet
towns which the volunteer movement has stirred up into
such unwonted vitality, was in a perfect fever—the house-
keepers at their windows and the shopkeepers at their
doors, all but the publicans, who stood to their taps like
men, and seemed most calm and collected when all the rest
' of the world was in a pefect pheensy of holiday making.
When we arrived at the heath, we found at
least a hundred thousand people assembled, and all
asking each other where the review wee to take place, an
inquiry which later in the evening was modified into
" when." Possibly never in the history of the world did so
large a mountain bring forth so Email a mouse, as it subse-
quently transpired that what had been expected to be a
regular sham battle was merely to be the assembling of
three or four corps to manoeuvre and practise their guns
with blank cartridge. But what was worse, even this very
small affair did not commence until nearly half-peat seven,
whilst the crowd had gradually kept increasing until at Yet
not only the hills but the hollows of the heath were densely
filled with people, so that anything like space for military
evolutions entirely disappeared. It was certainly a most
remarkable and attractive sight, worth fifty sham fights, to
See the heath so instinct with life, so gay, and so resonant
with cheery human sounds. The people themselves evi-
dently felt this, for they never grumbled or got out of
humour fora moment, except perhaps a few of the more re-
fractory, who may have murmured a little at Sir Marion
Wilson, for attempting session after session to deprive
the inhabitants of London of their glorious playground.
The majority were pleased with anything. They called out
"Charge, Chester, charge," to the donkeys; if they heard
the distant sound of a solitary bugle they cheered vocife-
rously, and, when the firing began, they honoured the moat
erratic volunteer volley with a tremendous encore. When
the West Middlesex came on the ground commanded by
Major Compton, in the absence of Lord Haddock, they had
quite an ovation, althoughthe gallant major was quite aghast
at the assemblage that had gathered to witness his modest
campaign. The 29th (St. Pancnis) came next, headed by their
celebrated goat, who is always escorted by the moat steady
and intelligeut sergeant in the corps, and as they took up
a position immediately under the public gaze they were
the most observed, and the most applauded during the
evening. As if stimulated by en much encouragement this
gallant corp. obviously expended far beyond the ordinary
amount of ammunition, keeping up such an incessant fire es
meat have annihilated any enemy that ventured to face it.
In addition to these there were the Hampstead and Work-
, brag Men's College. maki n3on the whole • scanty force of
between two and three hundred men. The effect of
their attempts at manceuvring amid such an illllllol3lo
crowd was that of a few soldier, who bad hew
detached to clear the ground, and who kept constantly
charging to and fro for that purpose without the slightest
chance of success. There was • good deal of harmless
firing, and one or two faint attempts to form line, which
were rendered quite fruitless by the people ; and, finally,
the tomes marched off the ground with colours flying, and
took immediate possession of Jack Straw's Castle and all
the public-hoses within reasonable distance. Thus ended
the famous battle of Hampstead-heath, which all the world
had come to see, and loomed to enjoy themselves as much
as if they had seen, and of which the real victors were the
catheter, who having enticed people out to see the show,
charged them all double fares ea setting down, on the per-
fectly legal and scientific plea, that Hampstead-heath was
a long way " beyond the radius.*

CILTSTLL PALAOIL —HALT-A-CROWN DAT.
BATIMAT, Avourr4.—Adaisiousoa payment, 1,389; ditto
by @somata tasks* 1,415; total, 2,804 • total visitors for
week coding esturday, 57,241. Total visitors since opening
d the Palms, Jabs 10,1864, 8,879,868.
Erre'eIIOWROPATEIO CoOOA. Its delicious
Weak gratetal eapoothneas, and Invigorathtg pews, have pro.
44848 Its adoptlien as a breakfast beverage. Oh.
e4and 113. gamma . packets, ana A. per lb., by2earinalpial ropers.
dad "James Epps, But usepathic Ch London.' —Ad-
vertionsmi.

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