The Express.
London, England, 1858-01-25 00:00:00

1411 r EVENING, JANUAIiIt 25; 1858.
-Tun_

suite on each side of her Majeety'santreace, although I
less gorgeously decorated than the docuiray though
which the Queen passed, over which was as arch
farmed of real palm branches. Thu baluster of tat
royal staircase, by which the Queen ascended to her
retiring room, was intertwined with the delicate
foliage of a creeping plant, into which was inter-
woven roses and camellias,

In the Throne Roo-i; and in Queen Anne's
Room miniature parterres of flowers were
flourishing on the mantel-pieces, while delicate
twining plants in diminutive festoonsi fringed the
edge of the marble. Each window throughout the
whole length of the State apartments was filled
with flowers set in beds of moss. At the top of
the State Staircase the coup-d'cil was both striking
and beautiful. The first object that met the eye
was the initial of V.A. and F.:W., formed of red and
white camellias, upon a background of evergreens,
plaited in so artful a manner as to compose a rich
natural tapestry, the deep emerald tint of which
admirabl threw out in alto-reliero the initials of
the royal' bride and bridegroom. This entablature
was supported and ornamented by palm branches,
united by the colours of England and
Prussia. In the corners of the landings
below, and right and left of these royal
ciphers, stood gigantic leaves of the celebrated
fan-palm, each leaf of which measures sixteen feet
in height. The rail of the Grand Staircase was
entwined with the stephanotus, interspersed by
white flowers. On entering the colonnade, gar-
lands of the same description as those at the Queen's
entrance were formed in double lines between the
columns on one aide, and against the wall on the
other. And the effect of the suitable arrangement
of colours was here peculiarly apparent, the garlands
being united with the colours of Prussia and Eng-
land between the grey marble columns ; but on the
wall opposite, which is scarlet, they were united by
the bridal favours of white satin and silver. Under
the centre or each garland a knot of various flowers
was attached to the wall with another bridal favour
of the same materials ; and these garlands, knots of
flowers, and favours continued throughout the whole
length of the passage leading to the chapel.
The reader must now conjure up the royal gather-
lug, the Queen and her immediate suite arriving first,
the procession of the bridegroom with his Prussian
cortege, and last and most interesting of all, that of
the young bride herself, with her fair bevy of brides-
maids, he must hear the sound of the trumpets and
the marshalling of the heralds, and fill, in imagina-
tion, the Throne Room and Presence Chamber with
the high and mighty of the land, decked in all the
magnificence of rank and office, and when he has
established this fancy sketch in his mind, he can
come and sit patiently with us in the chapel, and
wait the solemnisation of the wedding while the
bridal party is slowly making its way from
Buckingham Palace.

THE PARE.
Long before the day had dawned, streams of
pedestrians had set in the direction of the park,
and it is cot at all uncertain that great numbers of
persons were on the ground u early as four or five
o'clock in the morning. A cold frosty fog enveloped
the West-end, and a keen, biting atmosphere ren-
dered it far from pleasant to the knots of loiterers
who hovered about the neighbourhood of Bucking-
ham Palace. As the sun rose the crowds thickened,
but for two or thine hours the mist still hung over
the park, and; it was as yet impossible to distin-
guish objects at any distance. The hum of
vetoes, however, betokened that the multitude were
rapidly augmenting, at every footstep parties were
encountered, bent either upon securing front places,
or upon turning the occasion to profit by letting out
frail stands. All the dilapidated hand-barrows,
trucks, and stalls of Clerkenwell and Whitechapel
appeared to be in requisition; they came
looming through the mist like spectral monsters,
and, uuder cover of the temporary darkness,
their enterprising owner, succeeded planting
some of them right against the Palace walls. As
the morning advanced the increasing power of the
sun drew up the damp curtain that hung over head,
and disclosed to view as fine a day as the most san-
guine could desire at this period of the year. By
this time the park was literally thronged; not a
foot of space between the gates of the Palace and
Chapel Royal was withont its tenant, while our
industrious friends from the East-end had taken
care to flank both sides of the route with their
rickety platforms before the police could warn
them off. Not • table, however, of them could be
dislodged, for they had erected their scaffoldings in
such numbers that they formed effectual barricades
against all the efforts of the police force. Those who
recollect the peace demonstrations in 1816, the
Jubilee, and some other of the most prominent
celebrations of which St. lames's-park has
been the scene during the earlier part of the present
century, may form some idea of the numbers eongre-
gated. Up to about an hour before the time named
for the event, and again after the royal pertyhad en-
tered the (Wolof St. James's-palace, all the features
ofanc•dinary fair were observable. There were vendors
of spice nuts, oranges and sweets in abundance;
itinerant ballad singers chanting odes complimentary
upon the happy event—whether the veritable
effusions of the Poet Laureate himself we are
unable to say, but they evidently ac-'
corded with the public taste, and excited
a large share of patronage. There were huge parti-
coloured umbrellas, bedecked with bright yellow
tassels, under which the Jockey Club weighing ma-
chine would give you your exact weight for the
small fee of • halfpenny. Illustrated penny pro-
grammes of the procession and ceremony, n the
more remote quarters of the park, carpeted
the ground. Even the ancient milk stands
at Spring-gardens, where ancient and somnolent
cows, which for anything known to the contrary,
might be some of the same which Virgil de-
scribes in his eclogues—were decorated, for
the first time we believe, with gaudy
banners, in which the word " Welcome 'p was
conspicuous, and amongst which were to be seen
nautical ap, which reminded the spectator
rather of an alliance that was exceedingly popular
a year or two ago, when the tri-colour and the
crescent were at a premium and the black eagle
at • discount, rather than one with the heron of
Preemie. The old barrows and rickety tables and
benches which had been improvised into platforms
were speedily taken, and their proprietors, who took
care to be paid beforehand, must have reaped a rich
harvest. They did not,however,in many cases seem to
be deeply impressed with the axiom " property has
its duties as well as its rights," for at least onefialf
of them were so fragile that long before the proces-
sion arrived they. had broken down, landing
their occupants in the midst of a dense
crowd, from which, except the backs and
heads of those in close proximity and the tops
of the trees, it wee impossible to case anything. It is
almost needier to add that the applisatime fee the
return of the " rent" paid for these deceptive stand-
ings were not responded to. Those who doubted
the stability of these specimens of amateur architec-
ture, or who desired to economise and were pa-
seined of sufficient courage, =anted the trees,
the branches of which along the whole of the mall
and in the enclosure were thickly peopled. In the
immediate neighbourhood of St. lames 's the efforts
of the police, though assembled in great force, were
all but powerless against the enormous mass with
which they had to contend, and when the advance
of the leading troopers of the escort announced the
approach of the royal party, the pressure became so
great that it was with the utmost difficulty that the
crowd could be kept bask sufficiently to allow a pas-
sage for the royal canines, and this was only dens'
by the aid of the Life Guards and the mounted
men of the police. At one moment the screams
of women and children were terrific, and
, several were rescued in a fainting state.
In the garden of Betherland House • handsosee
stage was erected, covered with a canopy. Upon
this, which commanded a view of the whole route of
the procession, a oossiderable number of the Suther-
land family and their friends were seated.
The outdoor procession was unworthy of the
homage which the public were paying to the occasion;
it wasysatly inferior to what may be seen every year
at the opening of parliament,and since only a fraction
of the spectators could catch • glimpse of it as it
rapidly panned along the Mall; the cheering sews
reached an enthusiastic point. About a quarter to
twelve o'clock the centre gate of Buckingham
Palace was slowly opened, and the fortunate few

who were in its immediate vicinity could see
the first portion orthe distinguished personages who
were to take pert in the internal ceremony
enter their ferriage . These were her Majesty's
principal guests from abroad, who were conveyed
in a half-dozen carriages drawn each by ,two
horse*, an eighth carriage eontained the
Bride, who was attended by her great-uncle the
Itinq of the Belgians. She was, however, not re-
cognised by the people, and probably would have
passed on without exciting a cheer had
not the sound of trumpets at the end of the
alley announced that her carriage bore some one of
distinction, and thus secured her Royal Highness a
feeble cheer, as her carriage disappeared through
the gate of the
ap to enjoy the scene
amazingly; The foreign princes
ts and attendants
amazingly; they laughed and chatted as their car-
riages rolled along, and called one anther's at-
tention to the striking incidents of the
route. Perhaps not the least subject of their
notice, if not their admiration, was the utter ab-
sence of anything like military display. A few
Life Guardsmen stationed at long intervals
were all that they could see, and yet the line was
clearly kept, while there was nothing beyond
it to betoken anything but order, decorum,
and regularity. About a quarter of an
hour afterwards tome dozen other carriages drove
along; these conveyed the Prince of Wales, Prince
Alfred, and the other members of the Royal Family,
the last being occupied by the Prince Consort.
His Royal Highness was, no doubt, better known in
the multitude, and therefore more easily recog-
nisable, and as his carriage passed along he was
honoured with a cheer that continued from the
beginning to the end of the Mall. Another quarter
of an hour elapsed, and again the signal was given
that other carriages were -leaving Buckingham Pa-
lace. These were devoted to the great officers and
ladies of the royal household, the Duke of Cambridge,
the Duchess of Cambridge, and the Princess Mary
of Cambridge. Then came the only carriage of the
day drawn by cream-coloured horses, and at
once a ay was heard of " The Queen—
the Queen !" Her Majesty was aocomps,
nied by the Duchess of Kent, and the
cheering then became general.

THE STREETS.

The Strand, Piccadilly, Bt. James a-street, and all
the main Wert End thoroughfares have been
during the whole morning almost impassable.
The majority of the shops are closed ; from many of
the windows flags and banners are displayed, the
Prussian Eagle being the most prominent emblazon-
ment ; and the preparations for the illuminations in
the evening appear to be upon the most extensive
scale.