The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-13 00:00:00

trtirb ISllittott+

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

THE QUEEN IN BELGIUM.
(From the Times.)
ANTWERP, WEDNESDAY EVENING.
At 4 o'clock a
pigeon arrived at the pilotage on the
gust, with the news dated " Flushieg, halltpast 2 o'clock.
—Tke list is in sight—nine steamers—in the Channel."
The intelligence gradually was spread abroad, end
burghers, soldiers of all arms and grades, and all sorts
and conditions of men and women, hastened down with
increased masses to the broad quays which hem the bor-
ders of the lazy river, and wandered slowly about there
for hours.
The wicd was high and the tide was against the
squadron. supposing it to be makieg for the mouth of the
river, and it needed all otett confidence in the knowledge
of the bluff hearty-looking master pilots to believe the
Queen could arrive at Antwerp before dark. An hour
or two proved the confidence well founded, and it was
announced that the Royal yacht and three steamers had
passed Flushing, and ware forcing their way against
wind and tide with great rapidity up towards the town.
At the same time orders were given to prepare to-receive
the King.
At six o'clock the squadron was not more than ten
miles distant from Antwerp, the King had not yet ar-
rived. Generals, burgomasters, and echevins, lcoked
perplexed as they saw the prospect of a divided duty
betore them, and the distance of the quay from the sta-
tion—precisely that of the full diameter of the city—
offered considerable obstacles to their evident wish to be
in two planes at once. The perplexity of every one
increased as seven o'clock drew near; a rumour too
travelled from the river aide that the steamers of the
squadron were fast rounding the point of land
which projects into the Schelde, just below the town.
The troops stood' to arms, and a general stir took place
among the people: A heavy thud of a cannon was heard
from the citadel. - The report was followed in an instant
by another, and the full roar of the salute waking up
the echoes of the old town gave warning that the
Queen of England was before Antwerp. It was now
seven o'clock, and as the King was not in sight nor to
be heard of, the only thing that could be done was
to rtiah off to the river aide for the arrival of tho
Royal yacht. In a few minutes and the well-known
hull and rigging of the Victoria and Albert was visible,
proudly beating through the waters of the river,
preceded by her usual avant courier, the Vivid, and
attended by the . Fairy and the Black Eagle. The
royal standard of England flew out bravely from
the main, while " the foul anchor" at the fore told
that the Lord High Admiral was on board. :The
last rays .0 the sun, ere be set in a heavy bed of
clouds, from which the lightning at times blezod out
viveity, threw a fine mellow hue over the animated
picture. The river, which is ,here about the breadth
pienttild-
of the Thames et Greenwich, for once looktel
rat quelyigay beneath such an unusual burd,en, sad rolled 101 l
freshly cio've between its oozy banks, which
'-,weerrof un-
uncovered by the reteding tide, bearing a
couth hut well handled boats, which crowdleudusci:lt's respect-
fultheir hottest
distance rotted the yacht, and hoisted
her Itustriene mite
and newest streamers in honour
tress. Towering above the
ed up by the light
wbite.wofashed lice of houses
welch
faces the stream, now brighten
of
Notre
D
from tho west, rose the graceful
.turret
to the topmost pinnucl,; of which some darin,,,,, fellow, I
had attached the English standard,
.surmounted by an
enormous streamer, neich flickered
the
in rapid tut.
Ali alongh line of the quays,
duletions in the Bretz ~
c-vea on the.
~,:kuse tops, the people
as they could pack,
in every window,
scrambled sud petted as tnie ly
and formed a dense array by the ]ices of trees,
which form C :,ceasing
'Whey
and a relief from
the glare of the Louses. Ihey could serreely be kept
beck by, the heavy hoofs of the horses of the Lancers,
who kept the line, or by the strenuous advances of gees-
dartaaerie, sapeurs-pompiErs, echevinn and chasseurs ;
but ikough theY punted each other a good deal about,
and .were .not violently lively, they were by no
means ill:mei:tiered, nod that 10 a greet point
gained on -such cceltioos. The Victoria and Alpert
steamed steadily on about midway in the river,
till sae carne Opposite the Porte de I'E an when her
anchor splathed down studtook hold of ground. Too
Queen could be distinguished on the deck, but she soon
retired when it was eraltnt that the King had not ar-
rived.. The
Yuen Princes seemed in high spire's, and
were eunnieg about the deck in their tiny sailers'
hats
and
frock's and jacktts, us lightly as the merriest
niiddics is the fleet, but the closing shades of evening
prevented the features of the officers and gentlemen
on deck being distinctly visible ' from the shore.
The other vessels anchored a little higher up the
river, vet- as the King had not yet come a pause
of nearly thirty mieutts took place, during which the
persons on shore gazed on the royal yacht in silence,
or turned their attention to a large war steamer, of
which. the masts were visible above the lend, us it ad-
vanced low down between tee banks, just as one sees
vessels appaeeetdy take to the land in the windieg pools
below w oolwice. As soon as the first gun was heard at the
station, Count Moerkerke drove off rapidly to the river-
side, and at once proceeded on board the yacht, and after
a stay of a few minutes returned to shore, tied went
back to the station. Two of the royal equipagts ,
were drawn up near the landing-place, opposite to
which was stationed a couple of squadrons of the let
Lancers (a fives well-mounted regiment) flanked by 200
of the.2ti Chasseurs I Pied, the whole terming a very
impesieg body guard. The landing place, which is a
sloping causeway by the gaily wail, now rendered ot
coasiderable length by tlee lading of tha tide, which was
nterly Jst low water, was covered with a carpeting in the
centre, and in the open space cleared before it to the
ground
.were the Cott= Gurowsky, the husband of the
Infanta Isabelle of Bourbon, and a circle of officers,
gentlemen, and a few ladies. When Count Moer-
kerke 'retarne.l to the station, King Leopold bad not
arrived, end it was half-past seven o'clock when the
pilot engine before the Royal train came whistling
fiercely tothe terminur. The King, who left Laeckcn
at 6.45, followed in about ten minutes, and was well
received by the people. His Majesty, who wore a
tight well-fitting blue uniform, with large gold
epaulettes, cocked hat and feather, orders of Leo-
pold, &c., blue trousers with broad gold stripes,
and large gilt spurs, seemed in very good health.
He was attended by two general officers and Lieu-
tenat-Colonel Van der' Burght, and having hastily
but courteously acknowledged the reception of the
burgomaster and of Messrs. Masin, Director-General
of Railways, and Sirens, Chief Engineer of Railways,
and the cheers of the people, proceeded towards his car-
riage. Count Moerkerke, stepping
the Queen has arrived.". Whereupon his Majesty
said, " ith, rite done, rite!' and was driven off rapidly to
the port. shortly before eight o'clock King Leopold em-
barked on board the state bar
white with gold mouldings—ande—o. very handsome boat,
gzlaent on hoard the yacht,
whernho was received by her
expected the Queen would return withland,first
Itlltwimas to"
but a boat was sent on shore
that the King would stay on board.'" the intelligence
se-
veral of his officers had been honouredto dine, and that
the royal table. This was adi by an invitation to
people, many of whom had spentsnaetalar7innent to the
quays; but there was nothing for it • y all day on the
but to gaze at the
bright lights which flatbed out of the saloon Window-
yacht tit! they wearied of it, and then
of the
, to go home. The
band of the Chassethrs was sent out in a steamer '
around the Victona and Albert, but there way to pale'
re Was very
little communication between the squadron and the
shore. At 10 o'clock the. King returned quietly _
to his
palace at the Place de Meir. Her Majesty will come on
,---orrow, and wilt accompany
shore about 9 tooat , . . . the li.fig
to Laecken without me king, it said, any delay in
Antwerp. The rumour shethat. .is going to Spa is
now
that she will visit Berlin.
varied by a report
As the progress of the fleet since they left England
may be interesting, I may add that they weighed anchor
from the Downs at 6.10 on Wednesday morning; at
11 they were 9 miles off Ostend; at 1.45 they stopped
p• and anchored in the
to take in pilots al Flushing, f the lare
Ugly one a
Scheldt, at Antwerp, at 7.10.
Barracon:a, had
steamers, which seems to be the
arrived at dusk, bat two others were coming up the river.
Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred,
Princess Royal, and Princess Alice, accompany her Ma-
ains
borough
jest y, who is attended by the Countess of di
in waiting, Lord Colville, Clerk Manila!, the Hon. Miss
Gibbs'
Byng, Colonel Phipps, Sir J. Clarke, and Mr.
The First Lord of the Admiralty, the .Duke of
Northumberland, is with the fleet.
BRUSSELS, THURSDAY AFTERNOON.. a
Last night was extremely, wild and tempestuous. -a
the gale howled and raved among the creaking vanes'
house tops, and old gables of Antwerp, it was agreeable
to think that Queen Victoria was lying snugly on board
her Yacht in the safe anchorage of Scheldt, with her
rant
„ewer steamers to protect her, if any such guar-
tantuip was necessary. The morning broke in the
most nape:min -
'ugly over „tams way—murky clouds flying cling-
gale lathier til3t.aeth, and the violent gusts of the
heavy drifts of re- Scheldt into foam, with frequent
day by no mearma.t(tinwehenever the wind abated, and the
wetter, windier, nastier the'character of its dawn, for a
in England, even in resort of noontide never visited us
the morning gun fired the
height of our summer. As
with flags, and towards three steam frigates dressed
poorer sort of persons taili,grht o'clock a crowd of the
of the equedron. Aboute eaon the quay in front
of Lancers and four cr the same time a troop
Foot Artillery, of the Ist five companies of the
of the- 2d Ciaasseura 1 Pied,
. . , . Iglu Infantry, and
. neaceded by a brass
band, Claradect down an enspesed themselves
the lendie 1 g Place. : The waver was 13„, sshin float of
just on. the turn, consequently a great deal d,oteletidle was
path from the boats to the quay was left s oping
heeovered
e busily engaged in a
which men were rendering fit for
n by the aid of a carpet. The wind,
walking_lll)°- -malty to the carpet, and however,
took a great aril
violently, so that guestBll4°ll arid
tor el end
,beat it about the e,„13:.
men were obliged torw burro d
heeli s of stones,
which they
^long the edge of the tapeatry to
disposed as a tiorda. .. .
resist such assaults. It was
order to enable it to
an assemblage of bright
curious to see amid such ffi ers of uni-
formsburgomasters,
of general and inferior c c ,
119 .. s,
these rough-
and chefs of all sorts of depardnie t , .
looking fellows in blouses, hobbling about in their
sabots in the meet unconcerned manner, 7 dialect
r hile they. 1
indulged in conversation with each other in a ia ect
of Flemish that sounded like a continuous stream
of profane sweatie-.
6 Then they
were industrious
in laying down batrels of sand along the causeway,
which the wind would not suffer for any consideration;
and as the ingenious Belgian% could not cover each par-
ticle of sand with a big gt,no, the result was that the
wind whisked it away, and '' sent the sand like snipe
dust into the ears,
eyes, 'meth, and nose of the in-
corporated paopie and army, The river olocps and
iroggers went skimming over the river in all direct,
tions, heeling over in spite of tk,ir gnat weather
boards, till one could get a peep into the