The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-30 00:00:00

State Ball at Buckingham Palace,

By command of the Queen a State Ball was givan
last evening at Bucltingham Palace, to which a
party of between 1,700 and 1,800 was invited.
The Royal Body Guard of the Yeomen of the
Guard, with their officers, Lieut.-Col. Cooke, the
Ensign, and Lieut.-Col. Patterson, the Exon in
Waiting, were on duty in the interior of the Palace.
A Guard of Honour of the Foot Guards was
mounted it front of the Palace.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess
of Wales, escorted by a squadron of the Royal
Horse Guards, and attended by the Marchioness of
Carmarthen, the Hon. Mrs. Stonor, Earl Spencer,
the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, Lord Harris, Lieut.-
Col. Keppel, and Mr. C. L. Wood, arrived at the
Palace from Marlborough House at 10 o'clock.
Their Royai Highnesses the Duchess of Cam..
bridge and Princess Mary arrived from St. James's
Palace, attended by the Countess Spencer and Capt.
Ellis.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge
arrived, attended by his Equerries.

Th. Pfir.ce and Princes) of Wales, accompanied
by their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess
Louis of Hesse, her Royal Highness the Princess
Helena, their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of
Cambridge and Princess Mary, and his Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge, conducted by
Viscount Sydney, the Lord Chamberlain, and
attended by the Ladies and Gentlemen in Waiting,
entered the ball-room soon after 10 o'clock.
Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales wore
a dress of black silk, csvered with black and white
tulle, handsomely trimmed with rich Brussels lace
flowers of mountain ash and lilies; tiara of dia•
monds; necklace, brooch, and earrings of diamonds,
Her Royal Highness the Princess Louis of Hesse
wore a lilac tulle skirt over a lilac silk petticoat,
with ruches of white. and lilac tulle; a top skirt of
white tulle with silver embroidery, and trimmed
with passion flowers. Head. dress, a net of dia•
monds and passion flowers; brooch and earrings,
emeralds and diamonds; necklace, pearls, with
emerald and diamond ornaments.

Her Royal Highness the Princess Helena wore a
dress of green fulls and crape over glace silk,
trimmed with pink roses and lilies of the valley.
fiead•dress of roses and lillies of the valley, and
diamond ornaments and orders.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge
wore a dress of violet satin with Honiton lace.
Diadem of pearls and diamonds; stomacher, neck.
lace, and earrings of pearls and diamonds.
Her Royal Highness the Princess Mary wore a
blue tulle dress over blue glace silk, trimmed with
bouquets of pink roses End silver wheatears, covered
with a silver tulle veil. Head dress, a diadem of
diamonds, with silver wheatears and pink roses ;
stomacher, necklace, and earrings of diamonds.

Prir.ce and Princess Gargarine have arrived in
London from the Hotel Mirabeau, Paris.
The Archbishop of York and Mrs Thomson en-

tertained at dinner, yesterday evening, at their residence ill
Btlgravc-equare, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl
and Lady Constance Grosvenor, Viscount and Viscountess
Stratford do Redoliffe, Viscount and Viscountess Nevill,
the Bishop of Oxford, Lord and Lady Wenlock, Sir John
and Lady B. Johnstone, Sir Witlam and Lady Payne Gall-
wey, Mr Christopher Sykes and Miss Sykes.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Normanby,
Earl A.luigrave, Lady Catherine Phipps, and Lady Laura
Phipps have left the Queen's Hotel, Upper Norwood, for
Mulgrave Castle, Whitby.

The Marquis Mtgliorati, Italian Ambassador to
South America, has left the Hotel Mirabeau, Paris, for
Lima, by way of Southampton.
Miss Kate Gordon's second morning corrcert took
place yesterday at Collard's Concert Rooms, Gros-
vr-
sTtrheeet,caonndceartttreaocmtemd
pianoforteeanvceerdywcritohwdaed
all cf
at its
close Mr George Perron, Mr Renwick, and
Miss Gordon, to which ample justice was donme,isasnzd
ofsatitshfaec:tionb..es.t songs,
The principal
kwihniscohn
gave contributed
the
gr someee s t fashionable
solo audi-
ence.by
for pianoforte, clarionet, and viola—Mozart--by Miss Kate
instrum ntalperformances were ttle Trio in E Flat" (0p.14)
Gordon, Mr. Lazarus, and Mr. H. Webb ; and Mozart's
”
" Morceau de Concert," for two pianos, from "
.Tuan"—Mies
Kate Gordon and Herr Lehmeyer. These two compositions
elicited, as they deserved, the loudest applause, and we
cannot close our brief notice of the pleasant performance
without awarding great praise to Miss Gordon. Her touch
was good and her taste unexceptionable.
TIIS CITY COMPANIES.—Non-citizens have very
little knowledge of these companies : they hear ova-
bionally that the Prince of Wales dines with one company.
Garibaldi with a second, some other celebrated personage
with a third, and so on ; and that the companies contribute
liberally to various benevolent institutions, besides main-
taining almshouses for decayed persons. But beyond these
limits, little is popularly known of the companies. The
truth is, there is little to know. The companies have out-
lived the purposes for which they were originally chartered.
Each was intended to regulate some particular trade at a
time when unfettered commerce was little thought about.
It was believed in the days of the Edwards and Henrys
that there ought be some central authority in each trade, to
determine wages, prices, quality of goods, quantity of work
done in a particular time, number of persons free of the
craft, number of apprentices, and other such matters. We now
know that these things are hest left to manage themselves;
but it was a well-meant and perhaps beneficial system in
those days. Wealthy citizens left estates to the companies
to which they belonged, for appropriation generally to the
needs of the poorer members of the craft. These estates
have now become enormously valuable; and as the com-
panies have very few trade privileges to exercise, or trade
duties to fulfil, the annual revenues are mainly spent in
charities and in feastings. Parliament has sometimes talked
of interfering in the matter but walnut effect, for the
estates are really and legally vested in the companies.
Aany readers wit! be surprised to hear that there are 80
city companies, established to control as many different
trades,--Once c Week,