The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-21 00:00:00

The Prince( and Princess of Wales in

Denmark.

(From the Zimes' Special Correspondent)
COPENHAGEN, Saturday.
Last evening the great reception in the Christians-
berg Palace was held—the first event of the kind
that has occurred in Copenhagen for close on a
quarter of a century. It was said to owe its origin
to a desire on the part of the Princess of Wales to
see again and thank all those who interested them.
selves in the rejoicings upon the occasion of her
departure to be married, and that having once
determined to open the Palace for festive purposes,
the numbers rapidly increased until the gathering
attained the dimensions of last evening. Be this
as it may, it afforded an admirable opportunity for
bringing together the Prince and Princess of Wales
and the elite of society in Copenhagen, and the
assembly uniting as it did the splendour of a State
ceremony with the charm of a private entertain-
ment where the hosts exert themselves to
promote the pleasure of their guests, the mutual
introduction of which, though little was said
about it, may be regarded as a material item
in the programme of the evening, was effected
under the most favourable auspices. Christianborg
Palace, where the Royal " at home" was given, is
quite equal in extent to Buckingham Palace, if in-
deed, counting the apartments allotted to the Danish
Houses of Parliament, to the Supreme Court of
Justice, and the Royal collection of pictures, it be
not actually of larger size. For the grandest room
of all, the Rittersaal, there is no parallel in the
English royal abode. Its magnitude, in fact, strikes
the spectator at once as out of keeping with the
present dimensions of the monarchy. It dates, how-
ever, from a period when Norway still was under
Danish sway, and when Frederick VI. hoped,
through the.faeour of Napoleon, to become even-
tually King of Scandinavia. In a land of giant
memories such as Denmark, a palace a little out of
keeping with its actual daily wants is, after all, no
great anomaly. The invitations were issued for 8
o'clock, and shortly after that hour the two princi-
pal reception rooms were filled with a dieting uished
company, all en grande tenue. In the act of entering
the first of these apartments, a stranger ignorant of
the country must at once have felt that he had set
foot in the headquarters of a nation whose pedi-
gree runs back to the gray times of old. The walls
are decorated—to say covered would be more
strictly accurate—with paintings by some of the
first Danish academicians, tracing the progress of
the people in knowledge and in power from the time
when white-robed bards and priests sang or gashed
themselves, after their fashion, before the great
stone images of Thor and Olin, through the period
when the " still small voice" of the Christian reli-
gion was first heard to repeat its marvellous story
in these regions under the shade of the great
primeval forests, down to the epoch when, in the
middle and yet later age, the sway and might of
Denmark culminated. The inner room was dif-
ferently, it would be hard to say more suitably,
adorned. The pictures in this case were re-
placed by gigantic panels of the richest
satin that can be conceived, having in
the centre a design in shaded white. The
walls and hangings of the room corresponded
in colour, so that the whole looked like sheets of
the most delicious verdure, with which the white
sprays intermingled very naturally. In the day
time, it is right to add, the apartment wears an en-
tirely different aspect, being distinguished by the
appellation of" the Blue Room." The sole ornament
of this chamber, beyond its mural fittings and the
brilliant company which it contained, was a mag-
nificent vase of antique Sevres, one of a pair valued
at £5,000. It is the characteristic of all continental
assemblies that uniforms and decorations largely
predominate. Those persons even, engaged in the
civil service of the country, who would not in Eng-
land be entitled to any distinguishing attire, ap-
pear abroad in uniforms more or less gorgeous, and
after a certain number of years would consider
themselves slighted if they were not possessed of
at least as goodly a show of stars and crosses as
their colleagues and acquaintances. In Germany
.0 ee.area h.o
passed into a proverb. „There are two things,"
says the Eckensteher, "that a Bearnte cannot avoid
—death and the third class of the Red Eagle." It
must not be supposed, however, that because all are
more or less decore, there are not in Denmark
special distinctions earned by high birth or special
services. For instance, among all the rare and
valued orders in Europe there is none holding a
higher place for honour and antiquity than that of
the Elephant, peculiar to this Court. It was con-
sidered a singular and almost unexampled instance
of favour when it was conferred upon the Prince of
Wales shortly after the King's accession to the
throne. Looking round the apartments as the com-
pany tell into little conversational groupswhile wait-
ing the arrival of the Royal party, it was impossible
to resist the impression that the assembly had on the
whole a strangely English character. At the very
Outset there must have been many points in com-
mon between the nations, and of late years, among
the better classes, the process of assimilation has
been favoured by facilities of travel,by frequent in-
termarriages, and by study of the English litera-
ture. Even at this moment, though France, for
political reasons, is specially the object of Danish
attention in a social point of view, the English are
far greater favourites. Add to this, that the State
uniforms and Royal liveries are all, as in England,
scarlet ; that both countries are nautical in taste, as
well as by necessity, and that the naval services re-
spectively were on this occasion well represented;
and it will be seen what a British tinge prevaded
the assembly, held though it was in the north of Eu-
rope. Of late years, indeed, the Danish army, from
some cause which it is not easy to discover, aban-
doning the traditional colour, has dressed its armies
in blue; but the Guards at least retain their scarlet
tunics, and wear them on State occasions. Last night
accordingly the sentries at their posts, and their
officers in the saloons, might almost have been
taken for an escort especially sent from England.
In the aggregate the military wardrobe is less
costly in Denmark than any of the southern na-
tions; there were, however, uniforms last night
on which both the ornaments were rich and the
colour tastefully chosen. The most costly service,
in strict analogy to our own, is the regiment of
Royal Horse Guards, about 100 strong, the corna
missions in which are always held by men of good
estate. The mere star of Denmark worn by them
is an ornamented cuirass on grand occasions, must
be of great value, since it amounts nearly to a sheet
of silver. In every corner of the rooms names were
heard that in the late unhappy troubles attained
a world-wide currency. M. Halle, late Foreign
Minister, was present, as was likewise M. Schelle, a
predecessor in the same office. M. Tilliscb, Minister
of the Interior, and Gen. Hansen, Minister for M ar,
represented the existing Cabinet, and M, Quaade,
though engaged in the negotiations at Vienna, may
likewise be treated as in attendance since Madame
Quaade was among the privileged circle. There were
also present Captain Lutkin, Minister of Marine ; M.
David, the Finance Minister; M. Halsen, Minister
of Justice, &c. The names of General de Meza and
General Gerlach recalled the brief but bloody
struggle in which they were engaged. Both are men
far advanced in life, and of the former it is said
that he prides h;tnself not lees on his musical gifts
than upon his professional attainments. Both were
called on in the late war to perform practical im-
possibilities, and both of course felt the bitterness of
popular disappointment, bat they never ceased to be
regarded as brave able men, for whom the circum-
stances of the time proved too strong. The members
of the diplomatic corps mustered in considerable
force. These included the American Minister, Mr
Wood; the B-.Agian Minister, M. Bosch-Spencer;
the French Minister, Count Dott z :c ; the Minister
for Holland, M. Roehussen ; the Italian Minister ;
the Charge d'Aff Aires for Spain, M. Louis de Castillo;
B Iron D'E3sen, Charge &Mr:4es for Sweden;
M. Gosch, secretary to the Danish Legation in
Landon, Sco. Many of the diplomatists present
were more profusely
decorated, bat the two
figures among their ranks by which the eye was
most attracted were unquestionably those of the
Danish Minister accredited to the Court of SP sin'
and now staying temporarily in Denmark, and
the English Plenipotentiary in Cepenhagee. About

half-past eight o'clock, a loud cheer outside the
gates announced to those within that the Royal

party was arriving from Bernstorf. Tae more
distinguished guests were formed meanwhile, ac•
cording to the Danish custom, in a tripe circle in
the inner or Blue Room : and a 3 on as the
folding doors which led from the private apartments

were thrown open, the Royal party were received
with a general reverence, Taking opposite Bides of
the circle the King and Queen of Denmark walked
the entire length of the room, nearly the whole of
those in the inner circle being known to and recog-

nised by them ; others, on the contrary, more re•
moved in position being brought forward and intro-
duced. The Prince and Princess of Wales followed ;
as far, however, as her Royal Highness was con.
cerned, there seemed little need of introduction, the
great majority of those present appearing to be
known mora or less to her. To each she had some

pleasant word to address, some agreeable recollec-
tion to call up ; and it was only necessary to watch
the gait and smile with which she passed from
young to old, and from point to paint, to learn the
. . _ _

secret of her popularity. Much of this hearty win-
ning manner the Princess undoubtedly inherits
from her mother, but she has added to it a grace

which is all her own. To the Prince of Wales a dif-
ferent field was open, and he too was buy, if not in
making conquests, at least in winning golden
opinions. To say that society accepted him as a
worthy consort of " their own Alexandra,' is proba-
bly as short and as accurate a summary as could be
given of the general feeling. Society, on these occa-
sions, looks for some account of the attire of the
lady forming the most conspicuous object in the re-

union. Accordingly, it may be interesting to state
that the dress of her Royal Highness, which it was
easy to see was of more recent mode than has yet
become general in Copenhagen, was of a smoke
colour, with deep black lace trimming, looped up at

the side with wreaths of coral and seaweed. The or-
naments worn with this consisted of a scarlet tiara,
studded with diamonds and pearls, and a massive
necklace, covering the greater part of the
cheat, consisting of similar precious stones.
In the case of moat other wearers this
necklace would have shone like a sheet of dazzling

light, but, placed where it was, it had a dull and
almost cream coloured effect. Her Royal Highness
further wore, suspended from the left shoulder, a
medallion likeness of her Majesty Queen Victoria,
set round with brilliants. The Prince of Wales wore
the uniform of the 10th Hussars, of which regiment
he is colonel, a dress certainly more becoming, in the
evening at least, than his ordinary costume as a gene-
ral officer. With this he wore the Order of the Ele-
phant, the blue riband of which much resembles,
but is somewhat broader than that attached to the
Garter. The other members of the Royal Family
accompanying the King and Queen were the Crown
Prince, the Princess Dagmar, the Landgrave of
Hesse, Prince Carl of Glncksburg, the Princess
Maria of Anhalt, and the Princess Hilda, her
daughter. From the Blue Room the distinguished
company, at a signal that all was ready, passed into
the Concert-room, where a selection of music occu-
pying two or three hours was performed by the
orchestra and most gifted members of the company
attached to the King's Theatre. About the middle
of the concert there was a pause of 20 minutes or
so, during which the Royal party left their seats,
and proceeded individually to converse with the
guests. Refreshments were brought in, and handed
round by the King's running footmen, dressed in the
same extraordinary liveries that were described on
the occasion of the arrival at Bernstorf. The leader
of the orchestra was M. Gade, a composer whose
works have attained considerable celebrity, not only
in his own country but in Germany. The musical
pieces performed and sung were, with the excep-
tion of Mendelssohn's " Wedding March" and one
overture, exclusively Danish. They were of high
merit, and the only drawback was that the second
portion of the programme may have been a little
too extended. In the Concert-room, it was pos-
sible to distinguish many faces which in the
rooms previously passed through were lost in
the crowd. Among those receiving the heartiest
greeting from the Royal party was the
poet, esteemed almost as much in England as in
Denmark, Hans Unristtan Andersen. Shortly after
eleven o'clock the concert came to an end, and the
King and Queen led the way to the Rittersaal, the
gem of all the apartments in the palace, where a
supper had been prepared for the 400 or 450 guests.
Of this, the closing and most brilliant sce4e of all,
I propose to send you a separate account.
In the early part of the day yesterday the Prince
of Wales took part in a battue in the deer park at-
tached to Bernstorf Castle, and met with very toler-
able sport. The proceedings consisted partly in
shooting foxes—an amusement which sounds bar-
barous in the ears of an English sportsman, but
which is perfectly legitimate, and in fact commend-
able here, where it is not the fashion to hunt these
animals with horses and hounds.
To-day a grand review of the National Guard of
Copenhagen, reinforced by such regiments of the
line as are now in garrison, was to have been held
a short distance to the north of the town. The
troops did actually assemble, but upon a report that
the Prince of Wales, who was to have inspected
them, was indisposed, the men marched back to
barracks and the review was postponed.