The Express.
London, England, 1867-06-05 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 5, 1867.

TELEGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE.

(azurzz's rsuamo.►

DEPARTURE OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA

FOR.PARIS.

BERLIN, Jura 4.

The King of Prussia, after giving a farewell
audience to the princes, ministers, and officers of
hie staff at the railway station, left at 3.37 p.m.
to-day for Paris. accompanied by Count Bismarck
and Councillor Dohme, besides the other per-
sonages previously announced. His Majesty, who
will not pass through Hanover on his way, will be
met at Verviers by Count von der Goltz, the
Prussian minister at Paris. The conference of
ministers from the South German States held yes-
terday at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs lasted
two hours and a half. Ths ministers who took.
part in this conference leave Berlin to-morrow.
They had a second conference with Count Bis-
marck at half-past eleven this morning. The
question of a tariff parliament was under dis-
cussion. The writs for the election of members to
the North German Parliament will be issued on
the 15th of next month, and the elections will take
place at the end of August. The Louisa Order has
been conferred upon the Princess Louis of Hesse-
Darmstadt and the Countess of Flanders.

BIRLIN, Jcaz 4, Burma.
The mend-official North Gorman Gazette, of this
evening, says :—" It has been found necessary to
extend to the Zollverein, even as regards those
countries which still belong to the North German
Confederation, the principle introduced in the
North German constitution of deciding by a
majority of votes questions relating to the customs
and to commerce. The conference with South
German ministers now being held in Berlin was
called fur the purpose of coming to an understand-
ing on this subject. It is proposed that the South
German populations shall send deputies to
take part in the deliberations of the North German
parliament upon questions relating to the customs.
The South German governments would with the
same object send plenipotentiaries to the federal
council. The Banking and Commercial Journal
of this evening asserts that an exchange of commu-
nications has taken place between the cabinets of
Paris and Berlin with reference to the occupation
of Rastadt by Prussian troope. Prussia reserved
to herself in principle the right to garrison the
fortress by an understanding with the sovereign
ruler of Rastadt, but declared that there was at
present no question of taking practical advantage
of that right. The same journal adds that France
accepted the last, and gave no contradiction to the
first portion of the Prussian declaration.

FRANCE.
PARIS, Jus-z 1, EVENING.
The Pattie of this evening says that the Queen
of Spain has written to the Emperor Napoleon,
Baying that she regrets not being able to visit Paris
this year. The Prtsse announces that the Sultan
will leave Constantinople on the 23rd instant,
and will reach Paris on the Ist July. The same
journal states that the Viceroy of Egypt will go to
London.

RUSSIA.
ST. PETERSBURG, Jryrs_4.

The Empress of Russia will leave on the 17th
inst. for Livadia, in the Crimea, travelling via
Warsaw and Vienna. The Finnish Diet was for-
mally closed on the 31st ult. The river Neva is
still frozen over.

DENMARK.
COPENHAGEN, Jun 4.

At the sitting of the Folkething to-day the
government was victorious in the Army Bill ques-
tion, after a warm debate, by 52 votes to 40. The
ministerial crisis, which was considered impending,
is thus averted.

ASCOT RACES.

If the precedent of the opening day should be
followed throughout, the current summer meeting
at Ascot will be among the most successful that
have been held upon the heath. Fine weather, an
ample but not too numerous company, large
fields, and in the majority of cases good and close
finishes, made yesterday as enjoyable an afternoon
as a non betting man could desire to spend upon
the racecourse. There was certainly none of
the crushing, riot, and furore, which is ob-
servable at Epsom on a Derby day, in-
deed not even the mitigated crowding and
milder excitement which usually characterise
the Cup day at Ascot ' • but there was abun-
dance of society, including many of those
distinguished personages in the sporting or
other worlds, whom everybody knows, or is de-
sirous to know ; and when one was tired of chat-
ting with friends or weary of watching celebrities, a
ready field of observation was at hand in the con-
templation of the multifarious industries and de-
vices by which dishonest ingenuity earns in the
course of a few hours as much or more than steady
industry can, in some ranks of life, obtain in as
many weeks. Against the weather there is nothing
to be said ; indeed, were it not for the danger
'AM-attends too warm congratulation in this un-
certain climate, we might pronounce upon it many
eloquent and deserved commendations. Those
who left London in time to reach the heath at the

commencement of the sport were not unnaturally
alarmed for the prospects of the afternoon by
two or three heavy showers of rain which
attended their progress, and threatened them
with a return far less cheerful and enjoy-
able than their departure ; and some of the
ladies must have almost despaired of carrying
back to town the delicate laces and elegant silks
and muslins in which they were attired in a con-
dition which would warrant their being worn upon
any future occasion, even of the most homely
and unfashionable nature. By the time they
reached Ascot, however, their fears were greatly
relieved ; the shower clouds which scudded rapidly
across the sky were much lighter, and discharged
much less rain, while the intervals of sunshine
were larger, brighter, and more frequent. Once upon
the course no one could have any apprehensions
as to the weather. True there were here and there
observable rather threatening clouds, but the hori-
zon to windward was generally clear, and over the
heath there was blowing a fresh and pleasant breeze,
which gave assurance to every one that no cloud
would be permitted to linger long enough upon its
way materially to damp even the silk jacket of a
jockey. The confidence that was inspired by the
first glimpse of matters aerial and meteorological,
was amply confirmed by the experience of the after-
noon ; for although once or twice a few drops of rain
alarmed the more timid of the spectators,the weather
continued generally fine, and there was a good deal
more sunshine than gloom. Constant sunlight is by
no means the perfection of racing weather ' • and
as the shadows of the dark clouds chased each
other across the bare and almost barren heath, or
over the tops of the surrounding woods, they
attracted the attention of many eyes, and excited
the admiration of many minds that were insensible
to the charms of yellow and blue and green, of
scarlet and mauve and puce, as they flashed for a
moment upon the eye.
Although there were some complaints as to a
falling off in the attendance of that general public
which favours the amusement* on " the other side
of the course," takes its meals in booths, and in
humble imitation of its betters loses its money to
list-keepers, :the principal stands and the lawn
lease .qmite as well tilled se is usual upon the, foot
day of the meeting. The attendance of ladies was,
if anything, rather larger than ordinary, and
though the fair sportswomen were naturally
loth to anticipate their " Cup" costumes, there
was a sufficient variety of toilettes to charm the eye
and engage the attention of any modiste in search
of ideas, or of any man-milliner who was anxious
to prove that he possessed any upon the subject of
dress. Which was the most fashionable colour, or
which the most becoming form of robe, we, being
ignorant of these things, will not presume to pro.
flounce. All that we will venture to say is. that
hudging by the ladies at Ascot yesterday, chignons
ave not gone out, bonnets have not yet come in,
and trains—those abominable nuisances in all
crowded assemblies—are even more in the
ascendant than ever. If our wives, sisters,
and cousins must take their fashions from
across the Channel, why cannot they select
the most convenient, and adopt for the raoecourse
at least that form of French costume in which the
dress, instead of extending along the award so far
that its real extent is unknown even to the wearer,
terminates a few inches before it reaches the
ground. The muster of carriages in the space set
apart for their reception opposite the Grand Stand
was tolerably large, and in quality they were supe-
rior to those of the last few years. The taste for
four-in-hand driving appears to he increasing—
perhaps the revival of the Brighton four-horse
coach has given it a fillip--and there was a very
good show of drags or waggonettes, which were
rattled into their places by teams of handsome
horses steered by experienced whips. Behind the
carriage enclosure there was the usual line of
drinking booths, Aunt Sallies, sticks, &c., the pro-
prietors of which scarcely reaped so good a harvest
as they had anticipated • and in and out, among
and between the vehicles, the usual nuisances or
attractions of the racecourse, niggers, acrobats,
fortune tellers, and so on, plied their various avo-
cations with more or less of success. There was
certainly one source of congratulation, in the
absence of gamblers other than the betters. As
far as our experience went the heath was free
from roulette boards and the three-card trick.

As we have already intimated the sport was upon
the whole very good, although one of the principal
events, if not the principal event of the day ended
in no race at all. The two first races were
the Trial Stakes and a Maiden Plate. In the
former of these Mr. Merry scored the first
win with Black Diamond, beating a filly by North
Lincoln second, and Ostreger third. The old
horse was a good deal fancied at starting, but
the weight which he had to carry told against him,
and in the end the race was left to the two-year-
olds. Before the start for this race, a horse, said

to be very appropriately named Venomous, bolted,
and after running a conaiderable distance up the
course, tumbled over some rails and threw his
jockey. The boy, we believe, escaped without
serious injury, but this impulsive steed took
no further part in the contest. The
Maiden Plate for two-year-olds was won,
after a good finish, by Sir J. Hawley's
Rosicrucian, the second and third being Lord
Stamford's Charnwood and the Duke of Hamil-
ton's Contempt. The next race, the Prince of
Wales's Stakes, was made especially interesting by
the meeting of Vauban, Marksman, and Achieve-
ment, who it was anticipated would have a severe
and close struggle for first place. Unfortunately,
however, there was really no contest at all. For
the last few hundred yards Vauban cantered in as
he pleased, Achievement, who was second, being
quite unable to approach him, and Marksman,who
at the start was rather the favourite of the
three, declining to make any effort at all.
It is impossible to conceive a greater contrast than
that between his fine struggle with Hermit for the
Derby and his miserable exhibition of yesterday
afternoon. The lovers of keen and close contests
were somewhat compensated for their disappoint-
ment in this instance by the finish of the race for
the Queen's Stand Plate between Mr. Fleming's
Cecrops and the Marquis of Hastings' See Saw ,
and still more consoled by the tine struggle for the
Ascot Stakes between Mr. Joseph's Zenobia, the
Duke of Beaufort's Gement, and Lord Westmor-