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

TEE ARRTVAL OP TILE PRINCE AND
PRINCESS OF PRUSSIA AT ANT WERP.

Our readers have already been informed of the
arrival of the Prince and Priv cess Frederick William
of Prussia at Antwerp, and their departure by
special train for Brussel.. Up to the last moment
the minds of the authorities here, civil and military,
were kept in a continual state of perplexity by tLe
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. Oa 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 collet ed 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'lndependance
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 Couucil 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 I
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 in the city before leaving for Brussels.
Among the public edifices which they were ex
pected 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 abandon
the intention of making any stay in Antwerp, and
to content themselves on the present occasion with
a mere glance at such of the public buildings as
were visible from the line 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 Hotel du Parc in the Place Verto, and they
were shortly afterwards followed by the Prussian
Minister, Baron Broeckhausen, who alighted at the
Hotel St. Antoine. The weather had now cleated
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 all the country around enveloped iu 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 Duo de Brabant and the Comte de Flandre,
and attended by a brilliant suite, arrived from
Brussels at 10 o'clock. He hai been expected
somewhat earlier, but the train did not leave
Brussels until an hour after the appointed time, in
consequence of the dense fog 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 " Vive le Roi !" His Majesty and the
Princes passed in review the battalion of Carbi-
neers 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, wuither thelocal 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 be made a communication to the
officer commanding the Cuirassiers, the effect of
which no one was at a loss to guess, when the troops
wheeled into _line and retained 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 during the night, but
had cast anchor somewhere about the mouth of the
Thames. The despatch added the, unless the
weather cleared, the squadron would not put to sea
till an advancei hour iu the Morning, in which ewe
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-
mained lingering about, fearful lest by going home
they should miss the spectacle. Several hours thus
pawed without any further tidings of the expected
visitors, altlicugh the authorities at 03teud and
Flushing had been ordered to use the telegraph the

moment the flotilla came within sight of-cifher of
those places, and at last the apprehension began
seriously to be entertained that the Prince and
Princess had changedtheir minds and goneto Calais.
Happily these forebodings turned out not to be
correct. At half-pan 2 o'clock came a telegraphic
message to the Pilot-house that the Royal squadron
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 the streets, and in an incr. dibly 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 manoeuvre', executed
with precision, they soon succeeded in clearing an
open space on the landing wharf and covering it
with carpets brilliant in colour and elegant in de 3 ign.
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 gratified the
multitudes which pressed upon them on every hani
by playing a number of favourite airs. The Minis-
ters, Consuls, and civil and military functionaries,
all wearing their richest -uniforms, now began to
assemble, and, as eachwheu he artived wasadwitted
to the carpetted 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. Tho effect of
the spectacle was still further heightened by the
arrival of the King, the Princes, and a brilliantstaff of officers. His Majesty wore a military uni-
form with the insignia of the Order of the4,Black
Eagle of Prussia, and after bowing acknowledg-
ments to the prolonged acclamations of till people,
entered freely into conversation with several of the
distinguished personages by whom he was sur-
rounded, while the military bandplaycd the national
air of the " Biabanconne."

The firing of the guns of Fort St. Lillo nine miles
below the city, precisely at 3 o'clock, was tho first
signal of the approach of the Royal squadron.
After passing that station, which marks the fron-
tier line between Belgium and Holland, the Riyal
travellers beheld on either side nothing but a flat
exparse of iand, brown, bare, and marshy, and in-
tersected in all directions by muddy and stagnant
canals. Plantations border the horizon in the di -
tance, but nearer the river one solitary oak stands,
the solo representative of his tribe over a la!ge
tract of country. ' At length the tower attic cathe-
dral of Antwerp was seen lifting its beautiful and
delicate form into the sky, and, as the flotilla
r( muted bend after bend of the river, the spires of
the magnificent churches which embellish the city
came one by one into view. The squadron was
saluted by Fort du Nord, the guns of whic!i were
just visible above the earthworks, 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 docks,
and the double line of foitifieations. A few more