The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-30 00:00:00

VIE PR, r-sY CES y 'MT 70 TEE UNITED and necessary to the opening of any and every ball.
1 STATES. The prospects of the fete were most seriously dark-
ened by this catastrophe. The general opinion of
everybody who looked into the gap was that " some-
thing" ought to be done. Somebody suggested
carpenters, but this idea was regarded as premature,
inasmuch as the managers of the fete had not at
once made up their minds as to how the contretemps
had taken place. Eventually, however, they came
to the same conclusion, as everybody else had done
from the first, that the mishap was solely owing to
the want of proper support beneath. Carpenters
were the practical suggestion, after all. They were
summoned accordingly, and the work of restoring
at once undertaken. For more than an hour the
rough shirt sleeves and coarse jackets of the work-
men were mingled with the delicate toilettes around,
an amusing commentary on the anxious forethought
of the committee with regard to dress. The work
was done with marvellous quickness—so quick in-
deed, I am told, that one of the men was overlooked
and nailed down under the floor. He knocked to be
let out, but his request coming at such a moment,
just when the floor was complete, was generally
regarded as frivolous and ill timed. He maintained,
however, such a determined knocking that his de-
mand was at last conceded, a plank taken up, and
the imprisoned artisan let out all hot and dusty. A
little before midnight the flooring was thoroughly
restored and dancing began. His Royal Highness
first danced with the wife of the Governor of the
State of New York, and afterwards, over the very
spot where the accident had occurred, with a num-
ber of the daughters of distinguished citizens. The
curiosity of the company was quite irrepressible, and
was displayed in so bold and demonstrative a manner
that one was sometimes led to regret the committee
had not vouchsafed a hint concerning manners as
well as dress. Hundreds of gazers hemmed in the
guests as they danced, impeded their movements,
and utterly forbade their free participation in the
promised enjoyments of the evening. Nevertheless,
the Prince continued to dance until a late hour in
the morning, with apparently the same pleasure
which he seemed to find in all the provincial balls.
The crowd lingered until the end, and towards the
close appeared to brighten into a more cheerful
humour than had been earlier shown. It is fair to
say that the remembrance of the ball, although less
gratifying, on the whole, than that of many pre-
ceding entertainments, is to all extremely pleasant
and agreeable ; and that, if the more important
festivities of Canada had not been so unexception-
ably administered, this would, perhaps, have been
without a rival.
The day of Saturday was passed in driving round
the city, and making private calls and visits to some
of the chief objects of interest along the Broadway.
The first was to Mr. Brady's photographic establish-
ment, where a number of admirable portraits of the
Prince, alone and surrounded by his suite, were
taken for the members of the historical society, with
whose wish to have these interesting records of the
Royal visit the Prince had at once complied. The
sittings over, the whole party drove to Barnum's
Museum—a building in which all sorts of vulgar
monstrosities and curiosities, more or less real, have
been gathered together by that prince of showmen,
Mr. Barnum. The enterprising proprietor was
himself absent on this occasion, but his deputy at-
tended to receive the illustrious visitor, and showed
him over its bizarre collection, sometimes containing
objects of almost interest, sometimes the merest
rubbish and absurdities of deformity. His Highness
next drove to the magnificent jewellery establishment
of Messrs. Ball and Black. This building is a very
recent addition to the rows of superb stores that
abound in the Broadway, and is one of the finest
even in that splendid avenue. The rooms in it are
of a height and size such as we have no notion of in
London, and decorated with a magnificence which
would appear lavish and almost absurd for places
merely meant for business shops. Of course, in such
a building the stock of plate and jewellery is dis-
played to most unusual advantage, and a very grand
effect produced. The details of this effect, however,
scarcely repay examination, There are no grand
works of art in gold and silver, while for exquisite
reproductions of ancient cups and salvers, or rich
minute objects of bijouterie, there was not so much
in the whole store from top to bottom of A 'nerican
manufacture as can be found in a single case at Bir-
mingham. I say this in mere justice to our own
great goldsmiths, whose stock in trade certainly as
much surpasses those of the stores at New York as
their places of business is utterly eclipsed by the
buildings here. An immense crowd collected round
Messrs. Ball and Black's establishment while the
Prince was visiting in it, cheering so determinedly
that at last his Royal Highness was obliged to show
himself at the balcony in acknowledgment, to the
intense delight of the crowd, who roared themselves
hoarse with enthusiasm. From the Broadway the
Royal party went to Gen. Scott's house in Twelfth-
street, of the Fifth Avenue. This was, of course, a
strictly private visit,and one which when it became
known gave immense satisfaction to the New
Yorkers, for the General, as an old and distin-
guished veteran, is one of the most popular men in
the State. A stay of more than two hours was
made here, after which the party returned to
the Fifth Avenue Hotel, all along the route
being crowded with enthusiastic people, who
cheered him till the air rang again. By the way, ,I
may allude to the fact that the Neze York Journal
electrified the city by coming out with an edition in
which was an account headed " Attempt to Assas-
sinate the Prince," and which went on to state that
a bloodthirsty miscreant aimed a heavy blow at his
Royal Highness while stepping into his carriage,
and swore that he would take his life, &c. There is
no truth in this. A drunken man refused to move
from the private door of the hotel, so was taken up.
As at the station he persisted in saying if he was let
go he would return to the Fifth Avenue, and that
Albert Edward never should be king, if he had to
invade England with 100,000 men to prevent it,
he was locked up till he gut sober, when he at once
expressed regret for his misconduct, and was dis-
charged.
These are the real facts of the " attempt to assas-
sinate the Prince." No reliance can be placed on
any of these " sensation" articles. It is publicly
known here that they are fabricated to order, and,
until confirmed by the New Fork Tribune and
Vines, are scarcely ever noticed or attended to.
Late on Saturday night the grand torchlight
procession of the firemen, in honour of the Prince,
commenced, and continuedpromenading the streets
till past one o'clock in the morning. The volunteer
fire brigades of New York always form a most im-
portant and picturesque element is all processions.
As fire brigades, however, they are most colossal
shams, as any ono who takes the trouble to examine
into the organisation and working of the whole force
can see in a short time. At Boston and Cincinnati
their uselessness has been long seen through, and a
regular paid farce, like our own fire brigades, sub-
stituted in their stead. At Philadelphia also, the
volunteers have been to a great extent done away
with, and- in a short time will be superseded en-
tirely. Among the intelligent citizens of this city
the fire brigades are no more believed in than they
were at Boston or the " Queen C:tv." Their
torchlight processions, however (which are always
remarkably splendid), make them popular with
the people, and what is of importance to their con-
servation is that they form rather too strong a
political organisation to be rashly meddled with.
I am told they number among themselves some
10,000 votes and influence more than four times
that number. The functionary who would be
rash enough to propose their being superseded by
regular paid corps must make up his mind, whether
he failed or sueceded, to forego public life in
New York entirely.
New York volunteer fire-
men, therefore, are still among the institutions of
this State, and the result is that in no other city
of the same size in the world
common occurrence or commit are fires of such
such destructive
do
ravages. Their processions, however, I must
them the justice to state, are always admirably
managed, and most effective in their general bril-
liancy.
On Saturday night all the volunteers of the
various companies turned out to the number of
nearly 6,000. All their engines (polished till they
resembled
and draped all over with garlands of flowers. The

Canadian provinces. Without anything like rigid
formality there was still in all the visitors an ap
pearance of too much constraint and want of ease
for general enjoyment. The preparations had been
profuse, and all that lavish expenditure could do to
secure success was applied, but notwithstanding the
grand surroundings and the real magnificence and
suggestiveness of the scene the spirit of festivity
seemed to be absent. Only the most eminent citi-
zens of New York had tickets, and oven here a man
does not attain to eminence till 40, after which age
he never attains to eminence in a ballroom. The
result of this was that the very life-blood of these
fetes—young gentlemen and young ladies—were in
a manner excluded. In fact, there wore scarcely any
young men there, and far too small a proportion of
young belles. Perhaps, too, the whole effort was
too great for the occasion. The spontaneous and
unexpected outpouring of the masses of citizens on
the day of the Prince's arrival was an event of in-
finitely greater interest and magnitude than the
colossal entertainment in which the gay excite-
ment of the tour was here to have culminated. I
should judge, moreover, that the tastes and feelings
of the people of New York are not well adapted to
a celebration of this kind. The very cautious man-
ner in which it was arranged gives evidence of this.
A number of merchants, men of much wealth and
occupying the highest social position, assumed the
management of the ball. In order to insure the re-
spectability of the company it was arranged that
the names of all holders of tickets should be sub-
mitted for approval of a committee, a proceeding
never adopted in Canada. A singular circumstance
connected with the disposal of the tickets was the
distribution at the same time of admonitory notes,
describing minutely the style of dress in which
gentlemen were to appear. This occasioned some
merriment; but in spite of the public assurances to
the contrary, it is by no means certain that the
suggestion was wholly needless. What is called
"the best society" in New York is composed of very
diverse and inharmonious elements. The standard
of aristocracy is wealth, and wealth is here so sud-
denly gained and lost, that the citizen who to-day
holds the humblest station may tc-morrow lead his
social coterie. The merchant who until yesterday
was ready to scoff at frivolities of fashion may to-
morrow be startled into the necessity of yielding to
its most imperious laws. And so the scrupulous
committee, bent at least upon exterior elegance and
symmetry, thought it wisest to forestall all possible
ignorance upon the subject of dress—no insignifi-
cant consideration upon an occasion so showy as
that they had in charge. In this guarded manner
they consummated all their plans, acting under the
natural belief that with every condition of decorous
adornment and external requirement properly sup-
plied the first and most important step to ultimate
success would be achieved.

The ballroom, filled with its throngs of guests—of
whom, by the way, there were at least a third too
many—was undoubtedly as brilliant a picture as
any the Royal party had witnessed. The regulation
as to dress was gracefully submitted to, isot always
t the advantage of individuals, but greatly to the
benefit of the mass. The apparel of the ladies pre-
sent Was, I might almost say, recklessly magnificent.
The only
jewels generally worn were diamonds, and
these were in
such profusion that the floor and the
galleries sparkledi..
largo and
like dew-laden banks of flowers
in a bright sunlight The room itself—a very
padaY rescoed theatre, about one-fourth
less in size thanci
rasYe, s—w
embellishments as hung about with such
taste justified, and alto-
gether the scene NvEtsgd more
dazzling than any which
the Canadian ballrooms
Parets‘einted, always
single exception of that
The Prince and suite were
thenontreal. with the
y
announc®d at half-past
10 o'clock. The assemblage
jammed in a
solid mass near the platform hid 7"
n reserve for the
flooring erected
e
guests. Indeed, all over the artificial
tior
above the stage and, parquet the
people
as irci
closely clustered that motion of any kind
were so
iadl-
possible. His Royal Highness Was
~,
little sensation and a murmur of with a
Welcome, which
were immediately lost in the burst of "God
Save the
Queen" from the orchestras. During the American
national melody which followed an attempt was
made in the centre of the room to open a space for
promenading, but without the slightest avail.
When the music ceased there was an awkward
silence, which lasted without an attempt at inter-
ruption for a few minutes, everybody perceiving
the utter impossibility of action at the time. The re-
lief, however, to this monotony, which was getting
uncommonly dull, came in a most unexpected way.
With a hollow crackling sound the centre of the
floor sunk abruptly some three feet. The fall was
slight, but the chief danger to be apprehended was
from sudden panic. The company, however, lam
told, displayed the most perfect coolness and pre-
sence of mind--there was not the least sign of terror,
hardly of discomposure. The people withdrew from
the
,s sides of the hall as rapidly as possible, and the
few under whom the floor had bent too suddenly to
enable theta to get out quietly extricated them-
leivea as '£ tiu,
whole affair was a thing of course,