The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-13 00:00:00

EPTEMEER 13, 1861'

there it was getting dark, when of course it could
not be attempted. The party thereforedisenalliked
at the Lochine station and noun-led by rail to 'Mon-
treal.
in the evening there was a grand musical testi.
val at the Ballroom, expressly in honour of the
Prince. Yesterday, the 29th, his Royal Highness,
after _inspecting some volunteers, went again to the
Loehine Rapids, to the residence of Sir George
Simpson, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, and the head-quarters of that great corpora-
tion, whence, at the commencement of each year,
large bodies of trained voyageurs set out in canoes
with goods and packages for the various posts in
the wilderness. On the waters here, near the
Loehine Rapids, a number of large and splendid
canoes were provided, manned by boatmen in the
employ of the company, all dressed in scarlet mini-
forms, and many wearing the medal given for Arctic
services. In these canoes his Royal Highness and
the members of his suite skimmed up and down the
rapid current, the boatmen sending their light t irch-
bark skiffs over the water with the speed of arrows.
It was thought at one time the Prince would have
ventured down Lochine itself in one of these quick,
dancing little craft, in which you require to sit
with as much care and quietness as in the caiques
of the Bosphorus. I am quite sure that if the Hud-
son's Bay boatmen, who in their voyages through
the various wilds of North America shoot Rapids
far more dangerous than Lochine, saw they could
take the Prince down there safely they would have
done it. But the river was much swollen after the
heavy rains of late, and the aspect of Lochine some
two miles below, with its deluge of waters pouring
down with irresistible velocity and force, was not
inviting, and very prudently, therefore, no at-
tempt to run them was made by any of the
party. So the Prince and his suite had lunch,
and amused themselves on the water, and had for
once a pleasant and strictly private day, far from
the eager pen of Western reporters, though I fear
that their knowing nothing of what took place will
not fail to give a still wider range to their imagina-
tions, and that the most incredible paragraphs and
most thrilling woodcuts of perilous escapes will
result therefrom.

On this evening there were firemen's processions
all over the town, each man carrying torches and
Roman candles, and ringing bells, so that a lively
night was the result.

AUGUST 31.

The Prince went last night to the People's Ball, to
the intense delight of every one present. Almost
for the first time since his visit, the night was mild
and splendid, with a full, clear moon, and soft,
warm air. It was also the night chosen for the
grand display of fireworks at the foot of the Mount.
These pyrotechnics, like everything else that has
been undertaken here, were really splendid, and
thousands of persons of all classes assembled to wit-
ness them. The Prince of Wales's plumes in coloured
rockets, and the Royal arms and motto in fires of
every hue, were of course among the greatest
attractions of such a night; and, though the illu-
minations of the arches were continued, as they have
been ever since the Prince entered the city, they
last evening, for the first time, "failed to draw."
Every one went to the fireworks, and, once there,
waited for another and another, and then "only one
more," before they went to the ball ; so that as the
time drew nigh when his Royal Highness was
expected there were only some 2,000 present—a
mere handful in a building of such size and space
of floor. It was built to accommodate 8,000
people, and 2,000, therefore, made but a scanty
morsel in its wide expanse. Of those present,
too, such a considerable majority had collected
round the Royal dais, and near the entrance where
the Prince would enter, that at the first glance it
seemed as if the room was almost empty. By and
by, however, they began to drop in faster, and
before ten o'clock some 3,000 or 3,500 were assem-
bled. The announcement of "no restriction as to
dress" was taken advantage of on the most liberal
scale, and the few who ventured into the arena in
real evening dress became as much objects of curio•
sity and interest as they would have been at an
ordinary assembly in a suit of chain mail. White
ties became unpleasantly conspicuous objects, and
were, on the whole, rather tolerated than viewed
with favour. The "no restrictions as to dress" was
popularly interpreted to mean corduroys, brown or
gray shooting-jacket, yellow vest, and scarlet neck-
tie, without gloves, or with thick leather ones, as
the case might be; and those who attended in
evening costume were regarded rather with dis-
favour than otherwise, and as having taken advan-
tage of the committee's leniency in point of toilet
to an unwarrantable extent. The toilets of the
ladies, of course, are never alluded to except in
terms of praise, but it may be said that I would
praise them more if there had not been rather a
sameness in the matter of bonnets and shawls.

Before the Prince came, the Mayor, still robed
in municipal splendours, made an attempt to open
the ball with a quadrille. It was not successful,
however, as no one followed the example save
four young men who danced, with a strange in-
dependence of time or tune, among themselves,
and whose eccentric movements unfortunately
rivetted the attention of the band to such an ex-
tent that when they stopped the music stopped ;
and the Mayor's party—a little oasis of festivity
in the great desert of floor—were left unsupported
in the midst of their figure, and slunk back again
with a disconcerted air, though trying to " make
believe" that it was quite en regle, and that they
rather liked the band stopping suddenly than other-
wise. Things in general were getting very flat,
when, fortunately the Prince came with his suite,
in evening dress, and entered a box in the gallery
overlooking the circle. He was welcomed, of course,
with tremendous cheering, but was not tempted
thereby to descend and join the dancers.
He starts for Ottawa in the course of an hour,
and will arrive there at six o'clock this evening.