The Sun.
London, England, 1869-03-30 00:00:00

THE ARRIVAL OF THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE.

At the time that the order was
given to dismiss, a
very, very few of the most sanguine entertained the
slightest hope that the rain would cease before midnight,
. .

and no one appeared to question the policy or propriety o
the decision then come to. As soon, however, as the air
had cleared and the roads were beginning to dry, critics
appeared in crowds, like the lizards after a tropical
shower, and there was much shaking of heads and many
questionings of the propriety of the course which had been
adopted. But it was all the fault of the weather; no one was
to blame. Lounging upon the pier, and strolling through
the still' damp streets, was not a promising way of spending
the afternoon. There seemed, however, to be no alterna-
tive ; when the appearance upon the scene of the Duke of
Cambridge gave an entirely new turn to affairs, roused all
from lethargy. His Royal Highness, who had ridden over
from Walmer Castle, accompanied by Prince Arthur,
Prince Teck, and Lord Granville, Lord Warden of the
Cinque Ports, reached Dover about 12 o'clock, and
appeared to be greatly surprised and equally annoyed to
find that after bringing the volunteers from London
and other places, it was intended to have no review after
.01 ITA his way to the Lord Warden,
and having called out General Lindsay, demanded, in
tones which were, to say the least, peremptory, why the
review had been given up. The gallant General explained
the reasons to his Royal Highness. But these reasons
were not sufficient to satisfy the Commanderin•Chief,
and he expressed in unmistakable terms his determination
that the men should be mustered into ranks, and that all
the contemplated manoeuvres should be performed. The
proclamation of this intention was made in the presence of
a considerable number of volunteers, whom the appearance
of his Royal Highness and his party had caused to
assemble, and was by them received with an unanimous
and hearty cheer, which was repeated when the Com-
mander-in-Chief equally loudly directed that all the staff
officers should immediately get upon their horses, ride
about Dover, and turn the men out as quickly as possible.
" Sound the assembly at once" said the Duke, turning to
a bugler who happened to be near him, and who,
in his nervousness at being so suddenly addressed
by so exalted a personage, began to " toot,
toot," feebly, in a vague search after the appro-
priate notes ; and "You" (turning to the volun-
teers who were around him) "fall in at once." The effect
of these decided and vigorously-uttered directions was at
once perceptible. The excitement could hardly have been
more intense, the bustle could not have been greater, if we
had suddenly been informed that a hostile fleet was just
rounding the end of the pier, and that it was necessary to
fly to arms in order to defend our shores against the pro.
faning footsteps of an arrogant invader.

TILE ASSEMBLY.
Anyone who has assisted at an excursion or picnic,
where members of the party have strayed off in different
directions and lost sight of each other, can form some
notion of the difficulty of getting the volunteers together
again. Moreover, though "the Assembly" was sounded
in front of every hotel, in all the leading thoroughfares,
and almost at every street corner, there were reasons—or,
at least, excuses—for its not being obeyed with alacrity in
all cases. Many had been wet through, or nearly so, and
it calls for an effort, even on the part of strong-minded
men, to struggle into damp boots or coats again
at a moment's notice. many bad food or drink before
them when the bugles began ; some had actually left the
town, or made other arrangements for the day ; while, of
course, there was a proportion—though happily a small
one—of men who flatly avowed that they " felt them-
selves very comfortable, and did not mean to stir."
Among the steadiest volunteers also there were conflicting
opinions ; some held firmly to the " three o'clock" order
given in the first instance, discouraging as well-meant but
mistaken interference the efforts of those who were
endeavouring to bring about an immediate parade.
Some whose rendezvous lay in the East had to
go West in the first instance to get their rifles.
As soon, however, as two or three bands had
been got together, and the steady tramp of a
battalion en route for the heights was heard, indecision
and conflicting currents came to an end, and three-fourths,
or possibly four-fifths, of the volunteers in Dover instinc-
tively fell into their places. Taking all the circumstances
into account, the weather and consequent state of the
roads, the sudden dispersion and still more unforeseen
recall, it is to the credit of the force, as military men
cheerfully admitted, that within two hours and a half
from the time the Dnke of Cambridge issued his orders at
the Lord Warden the head of the column—not taken
indiscriminately in the order of arrival, but arranged as
nearly as possible in accordant. e with the original distri-
bution in the War Office returns—marched past the flagstaff
in rear of the Castle-bill Fort, two miles and upwards
away from the town.