The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-04 00:00:00

The Drawing Boom.

Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales wore a train
of rich black silk, trimmed with crape and jet ornaments ; a
petticoat of black silk covered with crape and bouillonnees
of black tulle, ornamented with jet stars and butterflies;
head dress, tiara of jet with black feathers and veile.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Mary of Cambridge
wore a train of rich black corded silk, trimmed with ruches
of silk poiut d'Alencon and bouquet of silver wheatears; a
petticoat of black siik covered with tulle, trimmed with
point d'Alencon and silver wheatears ; head dress, a diadem
of diamonds mounted with silver wheatears, feathers, and
silver tulle veil ; stomacher, necklace, and earrings of pearls
and diamonds.

Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Meeklen-
burg-Strelitz wore a black satin train, trimmed with lace;
a petticoat of moire antique, trimmed with rich lace and
satin riband ; a stomacher of pearls and diamonds, a dia-
mond necklace, and a diamond of pearls and diamonds, with
white feathers and white veil.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales wore the
uniform of the 10th Hussars, of which regiment his Royal
Highnesss is colonel, with the order of the Garter and the
Star of India,

The Foreign Ambassadors and Ministers having been
introduced in the order of their precedence, the following
had the honour of being presented to her Royal Highness
the Princess of Wales, on behalf of her Majesty the
Queen :

By his Excellent.), the Austrian Ambassador—M. de
Biegeleben, Privy Councillor to his Majesty the Emperor
and Plenipotentiary.
By his Excellency the Prussian Ambassador—M. de
Balan, Actual Privy Councillor of the King and Plenipo-
tentiary.

By the Danish Minister—Baron Holger de Rosenkrantz,
Secretary to the Legation; Baron de C-uldenkrone, Cham-
berlain to his Majesty tho King. and Councillor of Lega-
tion; and Baron de Bertouch, Chamberlain to the King
and Councillor of Legation,

By the Right Hon, the Secretary of State—His Excel-
lency the Baron de Beust, Plenipotentiary of the Germanic
Confederation.

Oa this occasion the Lady Mary Wood officiated for the
Countess Russell, and the Earl De Grey and Ripon offi-
ciated for Earl Russell.

The diplomatic circle was attended by the Turkish Am-
bassador and Madame Musurus ; Khalil Effendi, First Se-
cretary of Embassy ; Etienne Musurus Bey, Secretary of
Embassy; and Paul Musurus Bey, Attaché ; the Austrian
Ambassador and the Countess Apponyi, Count Wimpffen,
Councillor of Embassy; Count Kalnoky, Secretary of Em-
bassy; Prince Paul Esterhazy, Prince Yzenberg, and Count
A. Apponyi, Attaches; the Russian Ambassador and the
Baroness de Brunnow, M. Sabouroff, Councillor of Embassy,
Baron Freedericksz, Secretary of Embassy, and Baron B.
de Vietinghoff Scheel, Attache ; the Prussian Ambaskador
and M. Frederic do Katte, First Secretary of EmbTssy;
the French Ambassador, the Marquis and Marquise de
Cadore and the Vicomte de Virel ; the Belgian Minister,
M. M. Delfosse, Councillor of Legation; and Baron B.
Whettnal, Attache ; the Italian Minister and Count
Maffei, First Secretary of Legation; the Portuguese
Minister, and the Chevalier Santos, Secretary; the Saxon
Minister, the Danish Minister (M. de Bille), M. de Quaade,
M. de Krieger, M. C. A. Gosch and Madame A. Gosch ;
the United States' Minister, with Mrs. Adams, and Mr
Benjamin Morgan, Second Secretary of Legation ; the
Swedish and Norwegian Minister and the Countess \Yacht-
meister ; the Netherlands Minister and Baron Mackay,
Attache ; the Peruvian Minister, the Spanish Minister,
Madame de Comyn, and the Duke de Granada, Attache;
the Haytian Minister, the Hanoverian Charge d'Affaires,
M. C. Tricoupi, the Greek Plenipotentiary; the two Pleni-
potentiaries from Madagascar, with their interpreter, the
Rev. John Duffas ; the Earl de Grey and Ripon, Secretary
of State for War ; and the Hon. Sir Edward Cast, K.C,H.,
Master of the Ceremonies to the Queen.
Her Excellency the Countess of Bernstoff was unable to
attend the Drawing-room, not quite having recovered from
her late illness, The Baron and Baroness de Cetto were
also unable to attend by reason of the recent death of her
Imperial and Royal Highness the late Princess cf Luitpold
of Bavaria.

ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA.—Their Royal High-
nesses the Prince and Princess of Wales honoured
the performances at the Royal Italian Opera with their
presence last evening at the repetition of "Un Ballo in
Nasehera." Their Royal Highnesses were accompanied
by her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge. the
Grand Duchess of Xecklsnburg.Stralitz, and the Princess
Mary, the illustrious party occupying FY g her Majesty's box.
The house was crowded with fashionable company, among
whom were observed the Duke and Duchess of Richmond
and the Ladies Gordon Lennox, the Duke of Montrose and
Lady Agnes Murray, the Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne,
the Countess Dowager of Westmoreland, the Earl of
Coventry, the Earl and Countess of Uxbridge, the Earl
and Countess of Westmoreland, the French Ambassador,
the Earl and Countess of Hopetoun, the Duke of Granada,
Colonel the Hon. James Macdonald and Mrs. Macdonald
ley and the Hon. Misses Stanley, Lady Geraldine Somerset
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Mrs.s.
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Captain and Lady Edith Abney SRy of Alder-
ley
Curzon,
Hastings, Lord and Lady
Wodehouse, the Belgian Minister, Lady Langdale, Lady
Molesworth, &c.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS AT COPENHAGEN,
THE SEAT OF WAR IN DENMARK.—Turies, Gallenga ;
Daily Nero, Skinner; .Daily Telegraph, Dicey;
0. Commettant ; Tatris, Arnoult ; Opinion Kationale,
Louis Noir ; Noniteur de l'Armde, Fevrior.
PERILS OF PLAY-WRITING.--It i 8 a favourite

theory with some people, that any one capable of
writing a good story is necessarily competent to produce a
good play. No greater mistake can be made. When we have
named Fielding, Goldsmith, Hook, Mitford, Jerrold, Inch-
bald,Bul wer,and Reade, we have we think exhausted the list
of writers sucees,ful in both walks of literature. Indeed,there
is no comparison in the risk of failure in the two cases. A
novelist may
achieve success spite of a few badly-drawn
characters, a dull chapter or two, a poor plot, or an unsa-

tisfactory denouement. But one poor scene, one obnoxious
character, one weak situation, will suffice to ruin a play,
An unlucky sentence even has sometimes brought a piece
to grief. Dryden is said to have lost his author's night on
one occasion by making his heroine say—" My wound
is great because it is so small," and affording the
Duke of Buckingham the opportunity of displaying his
wit, by ejaculating, " Then 'would be greater were it none
at all I" And a tragedy, in which Garrick played an aged
king, proceeded safely through four acts, till the monarch,
when dying, divided his realm between his two sons, with
the words, " Between you I bequeath my crown;" upon
which a malicious pittite exclaimed, " Ye gods, he's given
them half-a-crown apiece!" after which no more of the
tragedy wail 4eard.—C/lambere3 journd,

By command of the Queen, a drawing room was held
yesterday at St. James's Palace by her Royal Highness the
Princess of Wales, on behalf of her Majesty. Presentations
to her Royal Highness at this Court are, by the Queen's
pleasure, to be considered as equivalent to presentations to
her Majesty.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, attended by the ladies
and gentlemen in waiting, and escorted by a detachment of
he Royal Horse Guards, proceeded from Marlborough-
house, and arrived at St. James's Palace at about 2 o'clock,
where their Royal Highnesses were received by the Mistress
of the Robes and the great officers of state of the Queen's
household.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Mary of Cambridge ar-
rived at the Palace, attended by Lady Geraldine Somerset
and Colonel H. Putves.
Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and Grand
Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelii.z arrived, attended by Lady
Caroline Cust and Baron Plesson.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge arrived,
attended by his Equerry, Colonel Tyrwhitt.
His Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar
was present at the drawing room.
Her Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of
Gentlemen at Arms was on duty in the state saloons, under
the command of the L'etrenant.
The Royal Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard were
on duty under the command of Colonel Bourke, the Finn
in Waiting.
Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales took her sta-
tion in front of the Throne, accompanied by the Prince of
Wales and the other members of the Royal Family,
In attendance on the Princess of Wales were the Duchess
of Wellington, Mistress of the Robes to the Queen, the
Marchioness of Ely, the Countess of Caledon, the Vis-
countess Jocelyn, and the Lady Churchill in Waiting,
Ladies of the Bedchamber to the Queen; the Lady Char-
lotte Copley and Viscountess Forbes in Waiting, Bed-
chamber Women to the Queen; the Countess De Grey,
Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess of Wales; the
Hon. Mrs. William C. Grey, Bedchamber Woman to the
Princess of Wales; the Hon. Lucy Maria Kerr, the Hon.
Caroline Fanny Cavendish, the Hon. Horatio Charlotte
Btopford, the Hon. Harriett Phipps, with the Hon. Emily
Cathcart and the Hon. Emma Lascelles in Waiting, Maids
of Honour to the Queen ; the Earl of St. Germans, Lord
Stewart; the Viscount Sydney, Lord Chamberlain; Vis-
count Torrington, Lord in Waiting to the Queen; Colonel
Francis Seymour, C 8., Groom in Waiting to the Queen;
Major-General F. H. Seymour, Equerry in Waiting to the
Queen ; Lord Proby, Controller of the Queen's Household ;
Viscount Castlerosse, Vice-Chamberlain; the Marquis of
Abercorn, acting for Earl Spencer, Groom of the Stole to
his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales; Lieut.-General
Knollys, Controller and Treasurer of the Prince's House-
hold; Lord Harris, Chamberlain to her Royal Highness
the Princess of Wales ; Lord Alfred Hervey, Lord of the
Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales; the Hon. Robert H.
Meade, Groom of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales;
Major Teesdale, Equerry to the Prince of Wales; and Mr.
Loftus and Mr. Paget, Pages of Honour in Wafting to the
Queen.