The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-23 00:00:00

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ago, has been left unfinished since that time.
Truly the Americans, as a people, lack veneration
or gratitude, perhaps both.
The train reached the fair grounds, some two
miles distant from Richmond, at six in the even-
ing. The Mayor and a committee of citizens were
in waiting to welcome his Royal Highness to the
capital of old Virginia. There was an immense
concourse of people who blocked up all the avenues
leading to the Ballard Hotel, so that the carriages
could scarcely force a passage. The cheering, or
rather howling, was villanous. There was to have
been a ball in the evening, but that greatest of all
difficulties—financial difficulties—stood in the way
of its being carried out on a proper scale, so the
idea was abandoned.
Richmond is not a little altered from the time
when Madame Esmond reared her young Virginians
here. Seen from a distance, it looks a very hand-
some town, both far grander and far larger than it
really is. Its population is only about 40,000, of
which nearly one-half are blacks and slaves. The
Capitol is a bizarre Gresco-American building which
runs much to windows, as is generally the case with
all the public buildings of this continent. In the
hall of this building is the noble statue of Wash-
ington, the first erected to that great patriot, with
a simple, dignified inscription worthy of the hero
it commemorates. The sculptor's legend in the
corner reads, " Fait pur Houdon, Citoyen Francais,
1788." Like all other slave-state capitals, there
are slave pens for the public auction of these
miserable beings in this city.
matter of course, no liberty of opinion is
allowed here on the subject of slavery, and any
known advocate of abolition doctrines would run a
considerable risk of his life if discovered in the city.
The New York Tribune, which, of course, advocates
the cause of the miserably oppressed negroes, is the
foremost object in the hate of the Virginians, many
of whom looked forward with savage delight to the
prospect of finding out and Lynching its reporter,
in case he was bold enough to follow the Prince of
Wales to Richmond. That gentleman, however,
was fortunately aware of the kind feeling enter-
tained towards him,:and took such precautions as
enabled him to avoid its manifestation on his behalf.
One might as well talk of freedom of opinion in
China or Morocco as of the liberty allowed to either
thought or speech in any of the slave-states of
America. Would any man's life be worth an hour's
purchase who should express sympathy with the
black or horror at his degrading, cruel bondage in
either Charlestown or Richmond? Not an hour ;
not a minute. It is stated in the New York papers
that an unfortunate newsagent, found in Arkansas
with some copies of the Tribune in his possession,
has actually been stintenced to be hung*by the
Vigilance Committee, who " detected " him.

During all the night of the arrival every room
and stairway in the Ballard Hotel was crammed
with a low wretched mob, each striving and hust-
ling to get some look into the apartments where
his Royal Highness was staying. There were cat-
calls, shouts, and whoopings, with cries for him to
show himself—invitations with which, I need
scarcely say, his Royal Highness did not comply,
for the rough, howling, brutal mob that had
swarmed round his carriage on arriving at the hotel
had given him a pretty good insight into the gene-
ral tendencies of a Richmond crowd.

Next day (Sunday) he attended divine service at
St. Paul's Church, nearly the whole congregation
rising to gape and stare at him when he entered.
After service, contrary to the practice which the
whole party have rigidly adhered to of resting on
Sunday, the Prince with the Duke and a few mem-
bers of his suite walked out to see the Capitol.
While here a rough dirty crowd collected, who
crowded in upon the party most unceremoniously,
making all sorts of coarse, vulgar remarks upon the
personal appearance of its members in a loud con-
versational tone, audible to everyone. While the
Prince stood looking at the statue of Washington,
to which I have already alluded, some called out
'• Guess, he whipped you Britishers ;" " Oh, you
like him, don't you ? Sartain ;" with other insult-
ing observations of a still coarser nature. The
Prince took not the least notice of this ruffianly ill
taste, but after a while went to the Senate Cham-
ber, and then quitted the building. In the street,
of course, they were all followed by a still larger
crowd, which at last grew so great that to avoid it
the whole party turned into the house of Governor
Letcher, where they remained for some time, escap-
ing at last by a private door to their carriages, in
which they drove out to Hollywood Cemetery, re-
turning to their hotel in the evening.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, OCT. 9.

The Prince arrived here last night. A great
crowd assembled to see him pass to his hotel. To•
day he goes on to Philadelphia, which is making
great preparations for his reception. On the 11th
he arrived at New York. He came down here via
Norfolk and Washington after a long and fatiguing
day's journey. It is quite a comfort to think that,
for mere flesh and blood could not withstand its in-
cessant fatigue much longer, even the Prince yearns
for a little rest and quiet, and nearly all the suite
are utterly tired out' The festive ordeals of New
York and Boston have yet to be gone through, but
at least there will be no travelling all day between
each fete. Sir Henry Holland, who as a personal
friend of the President, was invited out to meet the
Prince at the White House, returns again to England
by this mail.