The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-10 00:00:00

EVENING,

rented a most gay and picturesque appearance. What-
ever may be the demerits of gas, as contrasted with
the softness of colour and richness of effect produced
by the old coloured lamps, its
and
superiorthiellum
i
nating power need not be insisted upon
bril-
liancy with which it lit up the faces of the crowd and
rendered every object visible, was remarkable. At
Farringdon-street, where the concourse was also very
large, her Majesty and the Prince were again heartily
cheered. St. Paul's•churchyard presented an excel-
lent spot for commanding a view of the procession, of
which some thousands availed themselves. A brilliant
star over the shop of Mr. F. Goodyear, at the north-
east corner of St. Paul's-churchyard, threw its rays
directly into the royal carriage, and presented a strik-
ing contrast to the more mellowed richness of the
illuminations of St. Paul's School, which attracted
the attention and elicited the admiration of her Ma-
jesty and the Prince. After passing St. Paul's
School the illuminations on the south side of the
churchyard came into view, especially the royal ini-
tials, wreaths, and crown in gas, over Mr. Nichol-
son's, which had a brilliant effect. The same may
be said of a star over the shop of Mr. Butler, che-
mist. These illuminations brought into strong re-
lief the dark and dusky outline of St. Paul's, and
there were probably many among the crowd who
wondered whether the time would not one day come
when the gorgeous and glittering illuminations of
St. Peter's may not be adopted to show in resplendent
outline the sublime proportions of our great Protes-
tant cathedral. The neighbouring streets command-
ing a view of Cheapside at this point contained a
dense assemblage, whose acclamations were loud and
enthusiastic. The view down Cheapside was even
more beautiful than that presented by Fleet-street.
Flags were suspended across the street, and gas
crowns, and stars, and initial letters exhibiting more
brilliancy of material than taste or novelty of de-
sign, endeavouring to outshine the light of day. The
bells of Bow Church rang a joyous peal, and at about
twenty minutes before ten o'clock the royal cortege
entered King-street. The Life Assurance-offices
made a splendid display at the corner of King-
street, but with the exception of a star or two,
thinly placed at intervals in the street, this approach
to Guildhall, which ought to have been a blaze of
magnificence with gas at 4s. a thousand, looked
dull and dim. Guildhall itself was not so prettily
illuminated as upon some former occasions, the dis-
play being confined to a royal coat of arms in gas.
Upon her Majesty's arrival the band of the Hon.
Artillery Company, which was stationed in the open
space between the church of St. Lawrence and
the Irish Chamber, struck up " God save the Queen."
Here the Lord Mayor, the Recorder, the Sheriffs,
and the City authorities awaited the arrival of her
Majesty, by whom she was received on alighting
from her carriage with every mark of respect, and
by whom she was accompanied to the ball-room.
The immediate approach to the throne was lined
by the pion. Corps of the Gentleman-at-Arms, the
Yeomen of the Guard being also in attendance in
the passages which the Queen traversed.
It was nearly ten o'clock before the cheers of
the people outside heralded the approach of the loyal
party. For some time before the only great sensa-
tion had been created by " the Duke," at whose
presence all the company cheered loudly ; but
at last the flourish of the Life Guards' trumpets,
and the blast of the horns which the Messrs.
Harper made such fine exponents of loyal feeling, re-
lieved the anxiety of the company, and they were
soon gratified by the appearance of the Queen, who
was received with the greatest enthusiasm and
seemed in the best possible spirits. She walked
gently through the hall, smiling and bowing on
each side as the company made way for her with re-
spectful reverence.

Her Majesty wore a white satin dress, embroidered
in gold, trimmed with gold, silver, and white satin
ribands, and richly ornamented with diamonds. The
head-dress was composed of poppies, golden oat and
wheat ears, ornamented with diamonds.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert wore his
uniform as Captain-General and Colonel of the Hon.
Artillery Company, with the ensigns of the Orders
of the Garter and the Golden Fleece set in diamonds.

The Royal party having passed through the
principal rooms returned to the Guildhall, and
her Majesty took her seat on the throne on the
raised dais. It would be vain to say what followed.
The various orchestral bodies struck up, but dancing,
except mentally, was in most cases quite impossible.
A steady current set in towards the dais. Some
presentations took place, and a genuine city mob,
who now and then broke into little displays of very
bad temper, besieged the throne. The Duke of Cam-
bridge, Lady Clementina Villiers, the Marchioness of
Douglas, and some other ladies and gentlemen danced
in the confined space before the Court, and in the im-
mediate vicinity of the dance were Earl Grey, Sir F.
Baring, the Marchioness of Ailesbury, the Marquis
of Douglas, Sir J. Graham, Sir Gibson Craig,
the Marquis of Westminster, Lord M. Hill, Admiral
Dundas, Sir IL M. Bellew, &c. In the meantime
all those, and they were many, who could not get
near the end of the hall, wandered through the other
rooms in anything but solitude. It would have
,been weary work but that an agreeable recreation
was afforded to most of the pilgrims by the many
sheets of plate-glass and mirrors with which Mr.
Sims had so profusely supplied these recesses. After
some space of time devoted to promenading, and to
such dancing under difficulties us that we have de-
scribed, her Majesty was conducted to the crypt for
supper. The arrangements of thin portion of the
building have been already described on a previous
occasion, but it would be unfair to the Messrs. Staples,
whose general merits in providing a very am,ile and
well selected supper we have great satisfaction in
praising, if we did not state that the great effect pro-
duced by the decorations of this ancient banquetting-
hall was greatly aided by the artistic skill with
which they furnished the tables for the Royal re-
past. In compliance with the antique character
which the vaulted arches and low crowned cells of
the apartment gave to the place, the provedores had
invented dishes the origin of which we cannot now
stop to trace, though the taste be excellent to the
most modern of palates. The peacock full-feathered,
and with all the glories of his shining plumage, and
resplendent tail—the hure de sanglier, fresh from
the Forest of Ardennes, with the ancient couplet
so familiar to all our Oxford men, made pleasant
campanionship with boudin de foie gras aux truffes,
and chapons ala Pompadour. Dummies in armour
holding lights which flickered from their spearheads
lent a romantic character to the scene ; and we could
not but rejoice that the committee in their Christian
kindness had not carried out their original idea of
incarcerating policemen in these coats of mail, con-
sidering that their duties would have been extremely
arduous as well as protracted.
The tables for the royal supper were laid out in a
splendid and really tasteful manner. There was the
finest Amontillado, hock of 1822, sherry (bottled for
Napoleon) 105 years old, which then cost 6001. a
butt, and muscatel and paxargt6, sillery and spark-
ling champagne, gave proofs of the taste of the Messrs
Staples. The wineglasses (made for the occasion)
had the royal crown, the City shield, and the globe
(as typifying all nations) engraved with interven-
i ing groups of corn, fruit, and flowers, emblematic
of the various portions of Europe. The doyleys
were of pale green Genoa velvet, richly embroidered
with devices of Peace and Plenty; the Royal
Crown in the centre, encircled with the national
flags of England, France, Austria, Turkey, the
United States, &c., and the arms of the city of
London. The dessert plates, of " Rose du Barri,"
had the royal arms and those of the Prince Consort
and the Prince of Wales on either side ; the arms of
the City and of the East India Company, and a sur-
rounding wreath of the rose, thistle, and shamrock.
The bills of fare were of delicate pale gold satin, with
an embossed border, showing the initials of her Ma-
jesty and Prince Albert, and the arms of the city of
London in relief. The napkins were of the finest
Scotch damask, tastefully embroidered and trimmed
with rich lace.
Supper having been concluded by the Royal party,
a tremendous rush was made by most of those pre-
sent to the various side tables. The. Queen, attended
by the Prince and her suite, retired in the order ob-
served upon her coming. The enthusiasm was, if
possible, greater. All the company stood up to do
her honour, and left the various alleys in which they
had been buried in pursuit of the pleasures of the
table to give a parting cheer to their Sovereign.
Shortly before one o'clock the trumpets sounded a
royal flourish at the gates of Guildhall, and, through
a dense mass of people, cheering incessantly with the
greatest enthusiasm, her Majesty returned home to
Buckingham Palace after this interesting visit to the
ancient metropolis of her kingdom.
In the ante-room between the Court of Aldermen
and the Common Council Chamber was an elegant
fountain of perfume, manufactured by Mr.'. E. Rim-
mel, of Gerrard-street. This fountain, which is si-
milar to the one Mr. Rimmel has in the Exhibition,
threw up a continued jet of toilet vinegar, the delicious
fragrance of which was most refreshing.
We have not beard of any serious accidents,
though, in consequence of the great pressure of the
crowd at various points during the progress of her
Majesty, and in the course of the evening, several
persons sustained injuries from being thrown down
1 and trampled upon.

THE ILLUMINATIONS.
The following are a few of the places illuminated along
the Strand:—
The Royal British Bank.—A superb crown, with a
star and " V. R." under, in variegated lamps.
Caldwell, biscuit baker, 457.—A brilliant star, in gas,
with " V. lt." in the centre.
W. Preist, trunkmaker, 420.—A gas illumination,
with" V. A." in lamps.
Westbrook, confectioner, 416. A star surmounting an
ornamental device.
The Adelphi Theatre.—A brilliant crown, in gas.
The Bull Court Passage, leading to the Nell Gwynne