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

THII ARRIVAL OF THE PRINCE AND
PRINCESS OF PRUSSIA AT ANTWERP.

Our readers have already been informed of the
arrival of the Prince and Priecess Frederick William
of Prussia at Antwerp, and their departure by
special train for Brussels. Up to the last moment
the minds of the authorities here, civil and military,
were kept in a continual state of perplexity by the
numerous, and contradictory rumours as to the
time when the Royal squadron might be expected
to appear in the port. At one period, indeed, it
was by no means certain whether Antwerp would
be honoured by the presence of the illustrious
travellers. On Monday night a violent storm of
wind raged from the south-west. The Scheldt rose
above the quays, washed away a considerable por-
tion of the valuable merchandise collected there, and
inundated the cellars of the houses facing the river.
The hurricane lasted all night, and yesterday morn-
ing a report got abroad that, in consequence of the
unfavourable state of the weather, the Royal couple,
instead of coming to Antwerp, would land some-
where on the coast of France—an impression which
was strengthened by a statement in L' Independance
Beige that if the gale continued the Prince and
Princess would disembark at Calais. Moreover,
the Burgomaster, who is a member of the Chamber
of Representatives, was absent in Brussels, attend-
ing to his parliamentary duties, and no instruc-
tions had been received by any of the resident
authorities relative to the arrival of the Royal
squadron. During the course of the afternoon,
however, intelligence came from Brussels that the
flotilla had left Gravesend at half-past 2 o'clock,
and might be expected to reach Flushing about
midnight. Upon the receipt of th;s news the
Municipal Council immediately assembled at the
Hotel de Ville, and adopted the necessary measures
for giving a fitting welcome to the Prince and
Princess. The Governor of the city issued invita-
tions to the Consuls resident in Antwerp, to the
members of the Chamber of Commerce, to the civil
and military officers of the town, and to all the
principal inabitants to assemble on the Quai Van-
dyok at an early hour this morning to receive the
illustrious visitors on their arrival; and later in the
evening two squadrons of Cuirassiers came in by
train to escort the Royal procession through the
streets. It was thought probable at that time that
the squadron would remain at anchor abreast of
Flushing all night and ascend the river to Antwerp
before noon to day, so as to permit- the Prince and
Princess to visit some of the principal places of in-
terest iu the city before leaving for Brussels.
Among the public edifices which they were ex
pectsd to visit were the Bourse, the Cathedral? the
Museum, and one or two of the most celebrated
churches in the town. It will be seen, however,
that their arrival was unfortunately delayed to so
late at an hour that they were compelled to absndon
the intention of making any 'stay in Antwerp, and
to content themielves on the present occasion with
a mere glance at such of the public buildings as
I were visible from the lino of procession between the
quay and the railway station. About 10 o'clock
last night Lord and Lady Howard de Walden ar
rived from Brussels and took up their residence at
the Rotel du Parc in. the Place Verte, and they
were shortly afterwards followed by the Prussian
Minister, Baron Broeekhausen, who alighted at the
Hotel StoAntoine. The weather had now clearea
up, and the good people of Antwerp retired to rest
in the confident hope of passing a pleasant day on
the morrow.
Vain were their hopes ! When they opened their
eyes in the morning they found the city, the river,
and alt. the country around enveloped in a thick
gray fog, and no news of the Royal squadron.
Nevertheless, the Cuirassiers, in obedience to the
orders of the previous evening,- left the barracks
about 8 o'clock, and took up a position in the Canal
au Sucre, a short street leading to the quay,
where the Royal party were expected, to land.
Crowds of people, among whom were many
peasants from the surrounding districts, then
began to collect on the quays and the adjacent
streets, and every now and again might be seen a
civil or a military officer, in a gorgeous uniform,
hurrying to his post. The King, accompanied by
the Due de Brabant and the Comte de Flandre,
and attended by a brilliant suite, arrived from
Brussels at 10 o'clock. He had been expected
somewhat earlier, but the —train did not leave
Brussels until an hour after the appointed time, in
consequence of the dense fug which covered the
railway. The Governor of the Province of Ant-
werp, the Burgomaster, and many other distin-
guished personages received his Majesty at the
station, and the people who had assembled outside
greeted their Sovereign with enthusiastic shouts
and cries of " rive /0 Roi !" His Majesty and the
Princes passed in review the battalion of Carbi-
peers which' formed the guard of honour at the
station, and then drove in a coach with four horses,
preceded by two outriders, to the Palace in the
Place de Meir, wjither the local authorities imme-
diately hastened to pay their respects to the King.
The presence of his Majesty was signified to the
inhabitants generally by the waving of the Belgian
flag from the topmost pinnacle of the cathedral, and
also from the highest points of the Palace and the
Hotel. After a brief interval a mounted orderly
left the Palace and rode at a rapid pace to the Canal
au Sucre, where he made a communication to the
officer coinmanding the Cuirassiers, the effect of
which no one was at a loss to guess, when the troops
wheeled into line and returned to their barracks.
It was apparent that the Royal couple were not
now expected to arrive so soon as had been antici-
pated ; and on making inquiry I ascertained that
a telegraphic despatch had been received to the
effect that, owing to the fog, the Royal squadron
had not crossed the Channel durieg the night, but
had cast anchor somewhere about the mouth of the
Thames. The tlespecri added the, unless the
weather cleared, the squadron would not put to sea
till an advanee.l hour in the morning, in which crv,e
it could not arrive at Antwerp before 3 or 4
o'clock in the afternoon. As soon as these facts
became known the crowds in the streets and quays
gradually thinned, but still many hundreds re-
maiued lingering about, fearful lest by going home
they should miss the spectacle. Several hours thus
passed without any further tidings of the expected
visitors, although the authorities at Oateud and
Flushing had been ordered to use the telegraph the
moment the flotilla came within sight of either of
those places, and at last the apprehen,ioa began
seriously to be entertained filet the Prince and
Princess had changed their minds and gone to Calais.
Happily these forebodings turned out not to be
correct. At half-past 2 o'clock came a telegraphic
message to the Pilot-house that the Rcyalsquairon
had arrived at Flushing at 11, and would probably
enter the port of Antwerp between 3 and 4. Why
the intelligence of the arrival in the Scheldt had
been delayed for three hours and a-half I could not
ascertain. The news quickly spread through the
town, and it was brought to the knowledge of the
deafest and most indifferent by the loud booming of
the great bell:of the cathedral. Crowds again
gathered upon thestreets, and in an incredibly short
space of time the quays were filled from end to end
with people. The Cuirassiers again appeared on
their stout Flemish steeds, and a regiment of
Chasseurs and soldiers of the line marched on to
the quays. By a few simple mameavrea executed
with precision, they soon succeeded in clearing an

open space on the landing wharf and covering it
with carpO t s brilliant in colour and elegantin design.
They then formed in a double line round three sides
of the spot thus prepared for the reception-of the
illustrious travellers, and their band giatited the
multitudes which pressed upon them on every hand
by playing a number of favourite sire. The Minis-
ters, Consuls, and civil and military functionaries,
all wearing their richest uniforms, now began to
assemble, and, as each when he arrived wasadmitted
to the carpettod space, that little oasis ere long
presented a splendid appearance. Unfortunately,
although the fog had almost wholly disappeared,
the sky remained of a dull leaden hue, and there
was not even a single ray of sunshine to exhibit the
scene in all its dazzling brilliancy. The effect of
the spectacle was still further heightened by the
arrival of the King, the Princes, an" brilliant
staff of officers. His Majesty wore a military uni-
form with the insignia of the Order of the Black
Eagle of Prussia, and after bowing his acknowledg-
ments td the prolonged acclamations of the people,
entered freely into conversation with several of the
distinguished persenages by whom he was sur-
rounded, while the military bandplayed the national
air of the " Br abauconne."
The firing of the guns of Fort St. Lille nine miles
below the city, precisely at 3 o'clock, was the first.
signal of the approach of the Royal squadron.
After passing that station, which marks the fron-
tier line between Belgium and Holland, the R )yal
travellers beheld on either side nothing but a flat
expar se of land, brown, bare, and mat shy, and in-
torsec' ed in all directions by muddy and stagnant
canals. Plantations border the horizon in the di-
Lance, but nearer the river one solitary oak stands,
the solo representative of his tribe over a large
tract of country. At length the tower of the cathe-
dral of Antwerp was seen lifting its beautiful and
delicate form into the sky, and, as the flotilla
rounded bend after bend of the river, the spires of
the magnificent churches which embellish the city
came o_.e by one into view. The squadron was
saluted by Fort du Nord, the guns of which were
just visible above the earthwork, and amid the
noise and smoke thus occasioned the Royal yachts
passed the heavily armed batteries on the south
bank of the Scheldt, the entrance to the new decks,
and the double line of fortifications. A few more