The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-05 00:00:00

'ATS.

turns of the paddlewheels, and they glide majesti-
cally into a scene of singular beauty. As far
as the eye can reach, the river, here as broad
and as deep as the Thames at
.Greenwich,
flows in a straight line, its bcsom unvexed by
the stroke of a single oar. Along the left bank
is a green dike, so high that it almost con-
ceals the landscape behind it, terminating in
the fortified point known as the Tete de
Flandre. But on the right bank are seen a series
of magnificent quays, more than a mile in length,
planted with a douSle row of tree, and liued by
handsome edifices. They are crowded .with people,
some of them wearing costumes of the most quaint
description, and from the windows of many of the
houses are flying the flags Of England, Prussia, and
Belgium. Only a few vessels, chiefly small river
steamers, are lying alongside the quart but the
basins at *bottom of the town are well filled with
shipping, galy dressed in the brightest colours.
The Victoria and Albert, with the Prussian flag at
the main and the Union Jack at the fore, and de-
corated in the most tastr.ful manner, moved slowly,
up amid the shouts of the spectators. She an-
chored in the centre of the river, nearly opposite
the Porte de L'Eiceut, and was saluted by the
guns of the citadel and by those of the Tete de
Flandre. The Fairy passed between the Victoria
and Albert and the quay, and dropped her anchor
a little further up the river. Her example was fol-
lowed by the Osborne and Vivid. The Curagoa
also steamed up in the same direction, but before
taking up her position by the side of her tiny con-
sorts she returned the salute of the citadel with two
broadsides, which seemed almost to shake the earth.
As soon as the firing bad ceased the King pro-
ceeded on board the Victoria and Albert, and, after
exchanging affectionate greetings with the young
Prince and Princess, gave them a hearty welcome
to his dominions. Lord and Lady Howard de
Walden also went on board the yacht and offered
their congratulations to their Royal Highnesses.
A few minutes were spent in receiving the parting
homage of the officers of the ship, and, the last word
having been spoken, the Princess Royal was con-
ducted by the King down the ladder to an elegant
12-oared boat, painted white and gold. Prince Fre-
derick followed, and the ladies and gentlemen in
attendance were landed in the boats belonging to
the Royal yacht. The moment that the Princess
left the side of the Victoria and Albert the crew—
officers and men—mounted the paddleboxes and
gave three such cheers as probably the good people
of Antwerp never heard before. The crew of the
Curagoa, too, who now manned the yards, as well
as those of the Fairy, the Osborne, and the Vivid,
sent forth' repeated "hurrahs !'" in a style which
evidently astonished the amiable but somewhat
stolid Flemings. The Princess Royal was handed
on shore and conducted to the carriage by the
King, her auga4 husband following between the
two Belgian Princes. The utmost anxiety was
manifested by the people to see her Royal High-
ness, in whom they apparently felt an unusual
interest, and ,she traversed the short distance be-
tween the river side and the carriage amid the most
enthusiastic applause, accompanied by the waving
of hats and handkerchiefs. She conversed with
the King in a cheerful, lively manner, and seemed
nothing the worse for the voyage from Gravesend.
She wore a dress of light-coloured moire antique, a
black velvet pelisse, and a gray silk bonnet,
trimme I with 114wers and cherry-coloured ribands.
The Prince wore a Prussian uniform. All the
Royal party, with the exception of the Comte de
Flandre, entered one carriage, drawn by four beau-
tiful bays. It was intended that the Royal car-
riages, of which there were two, should be followed
to the station by the coaches of the ambassadors,'
consuls, and civil and military authorities in some-
thing like order. The result showed that the
arrangers of the ceremonial had reckoned .without
their host. It is not the practise in Antwerp to
line the streets with soldiers or policemen on such
occasions as the present, and the consequence was,
that the moment the carriage containing the King
and the young Prince and Princess moved from
the quay, the crowd, disregarding the military
escort, rushed in behind it and isolated it from the
others. Any attempt to rejoin the head to the
body would have been perfectly hopeless ; the
distance between them became greater every
minute ; common street cabs insinuated themselves
at different points- along the route, and at last
not even the semblance of a procession remained.
but every one tried to get to the station as soon
after the Royal party as possible.
To reach the railway station from the Quai
clyck the procession, if it may be called such, had
to go a distance of about a mile and a-half, passing
through most of the principal streets and open
places of the city. There was much to attract the
notice and elicit the admiration of the august visi-
tors in their route. The streets aro generally nar-
row and lined with lofty houses of a sombre,
antique appearance, presenting in many cases the
most grotesque architectural combinations. Some
of them are six or seven stories in height, their
fronts adorned with elaborate tracery, and termi-
nating at the top in those notched and pointed
gables which are familiar to all acquainted with the
pictures of the Flemish school. Nothing could be
more dissimilar to the tame uniformity of a modern
street than the Vieux Marche au Bld, with its irre-
gular but richly ornamented fronts, its projecting
windows luxuriantly sculptured, and its sloping
roofs partly concealed by quaintly decorated tower'
and gables. In the short space of half-an-hour the
Prince and Princess saw samples of the different
styles of building which have been in vogue froni
the 11th and 12th century to the present time. r
do not know whether Mr. Gilbert Scott has visited
Antwerp, but I am sine he would gaze with wonder
and admiration at its exquisite examples of these
forms of architecture for which he pleads so elo-
quently in his recent work, proving as they do that
the Gothic, with its various modifications, is as
capable of being applied successfully to civil edi-
fices, and even to dwelling-houses, as to ecclesias-
tical buildings. But, after all, there is perhaps no
sight so interesting as that of human
beings con-
gregated together in large masses, and when to
this is added an infinite variety of strange cos-
tumes, the spectacle brcomes at once impressive
and amusing. Such it wees to-day. The male
dres3 seems to be nearly the same all over Eu-
rope ; it is not remarkable for either elegance
or picturesqueness ; but, happily, ire the im-
mense applauding crowds that welcomed the
Prince and Princess to Antwerp this afternoon the
women far outnumbered the mon, and their long
black Spanish cloaks, their tiny
caps worn with a
coquettish air, and adorned with ribands and span-
gles, and, in the case of the riper beauties, their
odd-looking straw bonnets, covering a pure white
lace cap, with broad lappets hanging down to the
shoulders, had a peculiarly strdcing effect. At Ye-
riots, points on the line of procession, at everi,
public buildings, at the different consulates, at all
tho principal hotels and cafes, and particularly at
the Hotel St. Antoine, and the Hotel du Parc, the
flags of England, Prussia, and Belgium floated in the
air. In passing along the Canal au Sucre the
Royal party obtained an excellent view of the
cathedral tower, one of the loftiest in the world,
light and elegant in form, and celebrated for the
beauty and delicacy of its Gothic ornamentation.
A little further on they caught a glimpse of the
Hotel de Ville in the Grande Place, the tree of
liberty planted by the Belgians at the time of the
revolution, and the venerable and interesting man:
sion in which the Emperor Charles V. used to reale•
when he visited Antvterp. They moved slowly
through the Place Verte, a large open space planted
with trees, having in its centre a colossal statute of
Rubens, surrounded by the Palais de Justice, the
Post-office, and other public institutions. Travers-
ing the March 6 aux Souliers, in which are the finest
shops in Antwerp, they entered the Place de Meir,
I the vast area of which was completely filled with
people, who greeted the Royal cortege as it passe&
I along in the most cordial manner. After leaving
' the Place de Meir, as it was now getting dark, the
pace was increased, and, crossing the ramparts at
trot, the Royal party arrived at the station about
5 o'clock, and were received with military honours
by a regiment of Rifles, while the band struck UP,
"God save the Queen." A special train Was ill
readiness to convey them to Brussels, and in a fell
minutes it moved slowly out of the station, followed
by the plaudits of those admitted to the platform*
In the evening the use
treated the townspeePlet
to a display of fireworks, which had a very brilliant
effect, and gave great delight to the crowds assem-
bled on the quays. The Victoria and Albert alt
the Vivid will, I believe, leave early to-morrow
morning for England, and the Fairy on Friday
It is probable that the Curagoa and the Osborno.
will remain for a few days longer.