The Sun.
London, England, 1867-07-20 00:00:00

BREAD.

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The prices of wheaten broad in the metropolis are from
Sid to 10d. ; of household ditto, 7d. to 9d. per 4lbs loaf.

HAY.
SMITHFIELD—Meadow hay, £3 Os to £4 10s Od ; clover,
£4 Os to .£5 15s Od; and straw, £2 to £2 Gs per load.
A small supply.
CUMBEILLAND—MeadOIV hay, £3 Os to £4 12s 6d ; clover,
£4 Os to £3 17s 6d; and straw, £2 to £1 6s per load
A dull sale.
WHITECHAPEL—Meadow hay, £3 to £4 lOs Od; clover,
£4 Os Od to £5 17s 6d ; and straw, £2 to £2 Gs per load.
Demand inactive.
Now hay is quoted at £2 lOs to £3 10s, and now clover
£3 to £4 15s. per load.

ALLEGED MANSLAUGHTER BY A SON.—On Thurs-
day an inquest was held at Macclesfield on the body of a
man named Wright. It was stated in evidence that on the
3d inst. the deceased had an altercation with his son Daniel,
who kicked him in the abdomen. On Tuesday last he died
from neglected inflammation of the bowels. The sou said
that his father had been kicked by a horse, and it appeared
that the deceased made a statement to that effect to the
burgeon. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter
aping Daniel Wright, who wag+ then committed for trial

THE BALL TO THE SULTAN AT THE
INDIA HOUSE.

Yesterday evening his Imperial Majesty the
Sultan, with his chief Ministers and the most dis-
tinguished members of his suite, was entertained at
the new India-offices, with a splendour and mag-
nificence which quite threw into the shade all
similar entertainments in London for many years
past.

After so many disappointments it is some comfort
to be able to state that the great Ball, or, more pro-
perly speaking, the State reception of the Sultan
last evening at the India-office, was perfectly suc-
cessful, and regal in its appointments and splendour
from first to last. It would be difficult to overpraise
all the arrangements for this superb entertainment,
and almost equally difficult would it be to convey
to the general reader a fair idea of the difficulties to
be overcome before a fete so suddenly resolved on
could be carried to perfection in a building which
is not only empty, but will for months to come be
incomplete.

A special room was set apart for the reception of
the illustrious visitors. This overlooked the Park,
and was so draped and fitted with mirrors and
gilding as to make a most elegant little saloon. Its
glories, however, were as nothing compared with
those of the chamber specially set apart for the
Sultan's reception and the Sultan's supper. This
was the India Council Room, one of the most
beautifully decorated of all the fine apartments
in the new offices. Except its superbly
carved mantel-piece, in itself a perfect monu-
ment and work of art, very little was seen of
its other decorations yesterday evening. All parts
of its walls were covered with rich draperies grace-
fully festooned, and all the treasures of Windsor and
Buckingham Palace had been ransacked to lend
additional splendour to its adornment. At the
upper end, under which his Imperial Majesty was to
sit at supper, was a trophy of massive golden plate.
There were shields, and cups, and salvers, as large
as any shield, the rarest and most antique specimens
of workmanship of their kind, one or two being
from the hand of that great master Benvenuto Cel-
Hui, and others dating as far back for their origin
as the days of Queen Elizabeth. Mixed with these,
so as to form a background to their brilliancy, were
the time-honoured regimental standards of many
regiments, all covered with glorious names of vi,;-
tories achieved, some dim and dusty-looking in their
faded glories, and others mere tatters of discoloured
silk banging to the poles. Conspicuous at the base
of this great trophy of artistic wealth and historic
honours was a hugh tiger's head and shoulders,
about four times the natural size, in gold. It was
beautifully chased so as to resemble the markings
of the beast's skin, and the widespread open jaws
of the monster were filled with teeth of rock crystal.
'['his was a trophy from the treasure-house of Tippoo
Sultan.

In artistic worth this regal trophy was incom-
parable, though in actual money value the golden
plate which covered the Sultan's supper table would
have been a ransom for a King. All that the Royal
Palace could spare of their most costly table deco-
rations for State occasions were displayed last night.
There were gold epergnes, gold flower vases, gold
centre pieces, gold ice pails, gold knives and forks,
gold salts, and gold bouquet holders. Everything
on the table was of gold, and although all were of
similar patterns, some pieces were of an antiquity
that dated from a time when the Sultans were, if
not the first, at least the most dreaded Power in
Europe, and when every Sovereign, save that of
England, sued for their friendship and trembled at
their wrath. Some idea of the value and extent of
the plate thus placed at the service of the Imperial
guest and those who accompanied him may be
judged from the fact that there were no less than
nine doze❑ soup plates and 16 dozen supper plates
allotted for the use of the Imperial party.
Such were the most prominent features of the
preparations made to receive his Majesty, but, as
we have said already, no amount of mere descrip-
tion would do justice to the splendour of their effect
when seen as they were last night. Amid all the
glow of thousands of lights shed upon the brilliancy
of State uniforms and Court dresses, the spectacle
of the Imperial reception was really one of grandeur.
The principal guests began to arrive, with praise-
worthy punctuality, at half-past 9 o'clock ; but
before this time the upper corridor and galleries
were well filled with visitors. The Lord Chancellor
and Lady Chelmsford and Mr. Disraeli and Mrs.
Disraeli were among the first to take their places
on the dais, which was gradually occupied by a
brilliant throng of the Great Officers of State, Am-
bassadors, and Ministers from foreign Courts. Be-
fore this time the lower corridor, from which the
procession up the hall could be seen to great advan-
tage, was crowded with ladies and their escort,
nearly all the gentlemen being in Court dress or
uniform. It was nearly 11 o'clock when His Ma-
jesty arrived. He was met at the Park entrance by Sir
Stafford Northcote, the Minister for India, Sir James
Fergusson, the Under-Secretary of State, and the
members of the India Council, and was ushered to the
Reception-room, where the Prince of Wales, Prince
and Princess Louis of Hesse, and other members of
the Royal party were present to meet him. After
a short interval a procession was formed, and pro-
ceeded through an open space roped off in the centre
of the hall to the dais and chairs of State which
were arranged there. The Sultan led her Royal
Highness the Princess Alice, the Prince of Wales,
the Duchess of Cambridge; and after them came
Prince Louis of Hesse, the Duke and Duchess of
Mecklenburg Strelitz, the Duke and Duchess of
Aosta, Prince Teck and the Princess Mary, the
Duke of Cambridge, and suites. His Imperial High-
ness and the Royal party having taken the seats pro-
vided for them, the band of the Coldstream Guards
struck up the first bars of ft quadrille, which was
then danced in an open space formed in front of the
dais. Eastern monarchs don't dance, and are said
to wonder why other people should, when men
and women can be hired to undergo this.
fatigue. So the Sultan looked calmly on while
the twelve couples who formed the only quadrille
party went through the well-known figures. The
Prince of Wales danced with Lady Northcote ;
Princess Alice honoured with her hand the Minister
for India. The Duchess of Cambridge remained
seated on the right of his Imperial Highness, and
the Duke of Cambridge during the quadrille took
the chair on the Sultan's left, which had been va-
cated by the Princess Alice. His Excellency Fuad
Pasha, as usual, acted as interpreter iu the conver-
sation between his Imperial Majesty and any of the
royal party whom he addressed.

After the quadrille came a waltz, which was re-
stricted as before to the royal party. But the waltz
somewhat languished, and was not shared in at the
most by more than six or seven couples, sometimes
only by two or three. It was kept up, however, as
waltzes are, with a fitful energy long sustained, and
the guests outside the privileged circle watched the
dancing with immense interest.

At half-past 12 the Sultan signified his pleasure
to take supper, and a new procession was formed
which proceeded up the grand staircase, and past
the pleasant cascade, with its refreshing sound of
falling water, to the chief supper room. The ap-
proaches were lined by Yeomen of the Guard and
the picturesquely-attired members of the Sultan's
body-guard ; and a stately show it was as the
courtly throng divided to allow the chief guests to
pass, the Sultan. giving his arm to the Princess
Alice as before, and the Prince of Wales and the
other members of the royal party following to the
banquet prepared for them.
The baud, which had played a grand march as
the procession passed, now struck up a merrier
strain. Dancing was vigorously begun while the
distinguished guests were at table, and was still
more vigorously continued after supper. Great
statesmen and diplomatists don't as a rule dance,
and one or two whose official positions required that
they should were observed to be rather at a loss in
some of the figures. Few politicians even are
fascinated by this amusement. Since a ball it was
to be, Sir Stafford Northcote was therefore per-
fectly justified in inviting a proportion of " ball-
going people," as well as the more staid and per-
haps more distinguished persons who, like the
celebrated Tenth, don't dance." Sir Charles Rus-
sell, Colonel blurt, and several Officers of the

Guards acted as masters of the ceremonies, and did
their best to prevent the ball from flagging. A
large proportion of the guests, however, were satis-
fied with having seen the Sultan and the Royal
party come and go in procession, and after supper
did not return to the ballroom. Supper was pro-
vided for 2,500 visitors.