The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-03 00:00:00

The Volunteer Review at Br-gliton.

BRIGHTON, Monday Night.
The first anxiety of the people of Brighton yes-
terday morning was for the weather. From every
window in the 10,000 houses of which that famed
marine city is composed had anxious eyes been
peeping out ever since the earliest dawn. The sky
looked positively tantalising, and whether it was
to be sunshine or shower was even betting for seve-
ral hours. Sometimes a tremendous group of black
clouds with those vicious white edges which prog-
nosticate early dissolution and descent upon
drenched holiday-makers, would hover, ready to
swoop on our housetops, and then, just as we had
resigned ourselves to the coming deluge, there would
be a break ; a single sunbeam would come dancing
down upon the mist, and people would draw a long
breath and sing, "We may be happy Yet." But it
was awful tension this horrid alternation of hopes
and fears, and constant wishes for siphonias, and
terrors as to whether the fiyman—who was drunk
when you engaged him the evening before—would
make his appearance at your street door at the
proper hour. Seven, eight, nine—still suspense,
still phantoms of expanded umbrellas flitting along
the half-deserted streets, and of despairing faces
from every opposite window. In the bitterness of
your heart you muttered, "If the Queen herself
bad been coming we should have been sure of a
fine day ;" but the Queen was away, and the
fine weather with her Majesty. The Mayor of
Brighton is a great personage ; during his short
reign he is one of the most potent of earthly poten-
tates. He can sit in his pavilion on state days with
a royal Prince on his left hand and a royal Princess
on his right ; he can ask tne Commander-in-Chief
of the bravest army in the world to take wine
with him, and in this matter arms must respectfully
yield to the aldermanic gown. He can fix a mini-
mum—which he doesn't—on the extortions of his
loyal subjects, and for all we know he can execute
justice furca et fossa on all strangers who presume
to ask him for a favour which he does not think it
consistent with his dignity to grant. What a pity
that he cannot regulate the weather. 80,000 natives
of Brighton and 100,000 visitors asked him this
morning for a fine day, but alas ! it seemed as if
his worship were to be as helpless as his great pre-
decessor King Canute on the sea-shore. But never
mind the rain, everyone has been and is afoot, and
we push along bravely through old Steyne, and up
Eton-grove, to see the Princess and the Prince, and

the riflemen. To say that the whole town looked
as if it had suddenly been taken possession of by a
hostile army would, perhaps, to many, be an ob-
vious reflection, but it would be the very reverse of
the truth, for the soldiers and the civilians smiled
too kindly at each other to justify such an impres-
sion. Rather should we seek a comparison in the
chief town of some free country from which a
patriot army was preparing to set forth to meet the
invader, and it receiving ere it started the hand
grips of the men, the farewell embraces of the
women, and the innocent blessings of the little
children. As we travelled slowly along—the Hy-
man had, by a strong mental effort, remembered
his appointment—all the open spaces seemed a suc-
cession of encampments. St. Peter's-green and
the Old Steyne enclosures bristled with bayonets,
and busbys, and shakoes, and at short intervals
long white tents, over which pennons fluttered,
gave still further reality to the illusion of coming
battle. The great guns, strongly horsed and
bravely manned, rumbled along the highways, and
rival military bands played " Paddle your own
canoe," in doubtful harmony with " Rule Bri-
tannia." Whilst passing along the more ancient
portion of the Marine Parade, the eye was arrested
by the veterans of the Coast Guard, who, drawn up
in that fluctuating line which sailors love so well,
presented their bronze countenances and profusely
decorated chests as samples of the sort of volunteers
we had for the salt water to aid those who were then
mustering so strongly on the land.
Although, from the numbers who took up positions
at several points on the royal route, the crowd on
the racecourse itself was not at first quite so dense
as the Epsom crowd on the Derby-day, still there
must have been from the appearance a vast assem-
blage, complimented by all the vehicular resources
of the South Coast. The barren Downs beyond
looked damp and dismal enough, the valleys being
filled with mist and the hills capped with clouds,
making the whole effect of the weather rather chill
and dispiriting. Lemonadiers called out " Ginger-
beer" in a weak voice, evidently hopeless that on
such a day the mild stimulant would find a market.
The strains of coloured melody came floating over
the air, and loud clamours were heard from the local
police, who, not knowing very clearly what they
might permit the public to do, solved the difficulty
by not permitting them to do anything, or to go any-
where. We should not have got. to oar appointed
station but that we luckily caught a glance of civilisa-
tion and human intelligence in thq person of a Lon-
don inspector, who conducted us to our place whilst
his local subordinates were holding a caucus to ex-
amine into the genuineness of our tickets. ToWards
12 o'clock the weather began to clear, pickets of the
gay cavalry of the line, or the brilliantly uniformed
officers of the staff, galloped up and down, and the
general public waited patiently the arrival of the
Prince and Princess. Whilst the crowd were thus
standing at attention, the volunteer army was gra-
dually being massed in the rising ground to theright
of the grand stand. As each successive corps as-
cended the hill with elastic step, the people gave
a cheer, and every one watched with admiration
the gradual enlargement of the dense columns which
were so soon to pour down upon us in the march
past. There were the scarlet of the engineers, the
green of the older corps, and grey of the juniors,
with all the " pride, pomp, and circumstance" of
mimic war, as became a national army getting ready
for a grand field day.
While the great centre of expectation was to so
many the Royal arrival at the railway station, there
was some plodding work going on in other parts of
the town. The day woke up amidst innumerable
bugle calls in those quarters where the volunteers
were being summoned to enter upon their self-im-
posed duties. The series of enclosures which lie
under the shadow of the Pavilion, and which at
ordinary times resound only with the measured beat
of the' watch, or the slow clatter of the milkman's
clog, echoed this morning with martial sounds.
Each enclosure contained a tent, and each tent con-
tained provender for an allotted number of volun-
teers. From 6 o'clock the corps began to assemble,
and by 9 o'clock the green turf, which used to be so
charmingly spangled with daisies, was trampled by
a. hundred feet into a deplorable state of mire and
dirt- Anxious and doleful looks were cast to the
low clouds, and the one great theme of discourse
was that never-exhausted topic,
heavy rain during•this portion
of the town look damper the weather. The
the night had made
clouds over the sea
than it really was, and the
looked
full of mischief. How-
ever, it did not rain now and it did
intervals, notwithstanding shine
ng it
sudden
a was
i at long
a shine of an irre-
gular and unmistakably
nial fickle appearance.
But it was sufficient to keep,
only the volun-
teers, but the public, in a frame of hopeful resigna-
tion. The music, whether high opera
or
tendencies, enlivened the fashionable quarter, ‘ar‘tnerig, gaenrd"
afforded those inmates of the overlooking houses who
could not go to the review the chance of seeing
succession of small reviews from their own breakfast
tables. By 10 o'clock the majority of the corps were
trim and ready to answer the signal for starting,
and very handsome and smart the regiments looked
as they stepped proudly off when the order was
shouted. The arrangements for moving about the
troops at home, on the downward journey, or in
Brighton up to the time of the march past, could
only have been brought to so a high degree of per-
fection by admirable discipline, and most creditable
attention to duties more than usually routine.
The continual stream of people which set in sta-
tionwards from 9 o'clock in the morning suggested
that the majority of the visitors were more anxious
to catch a glimpse of the Prince and Princess of
Wales than to tvatch the mustering of the volun-
teers. For once the uniforms, generally so Potent
an attraction to the fair sex and country people,
failed to d "
time draw." but only e. Volunteers might be seen at any
one day in a life perhaps would bring

the opportunity of seeing a live member of the royal
family. Therefore, crowds besieged the approaches
to the station, and worried the railway officials, who
instead of keeping the platform clear of intruders
ought to have been attending to the demands of
legitimate traffic. The difficulty on the whole was
not a serious one, and order was kept wherever it
was necessary. Within the precincts of the station
an anxious party waited for the approach of the
royal train. The platform to the right hand was
carpeted with crimson cloth, and galleries were
erected to accommodate those ladies and gentlemen
who
by fair and lawful means could secure the
coveted privilege of admission. These seats were
chiefly filled an hour befon the royal train left
London, and a considerable number of the ladies
conspicuously displayed the complimentary blue
ribbon, rosette of red white and blue, or Prince of
Wales's plume. Near the spot at which the car-
riage would stop beautiful and rare plants were
tastefully arranged, and flags and devices were too
numerous to particularise. Excitement rose high
when it was announced that the train had left Lon-
don shortly after ten ; it fell to a dead level when it
was whispered that the Princess was not coming,
and gentlemen could be heard in tones of
calm wisdom reminding their friends that
it had always been their private opinion that
she would not come, and in fact had never intended
to do so. But when Capt. Mangles, in answer to a
telegram, received and communicated the fact that
the royal lady was actually en route, the good spirits
of the ladies rose so rapidly that they would fain
have embraced the captain on the spot for the good
news he had told them. When the minute hand
crept past the hour of 11 countenances became again
overcast, and with each tick of the clock there came
a deeper silence. At ten minutes past 11 the signal
guns proclaimed the arrival of the train, and excite
ment at one bound reached fluttering heat. Hats
were removed, the assemblage rose, and eyes were
strained to witness the reception of the royal party
As far as could be seen, the Mayor received the
Prince and Princess, and there were, with the
Mayor, the Mayoress, the Lord Lieutenant, the
Brighton corporation in
its robes, and other gentle-
men. The reception ceremony was commendably
brief, and the Prince and Princess were escorted by
the Mayor to the door of exit, followed by the Duke
of Cambridge and the Princess Mary, the Prince
and Princess Hohenlohe, the Prince of Teek, the
noblemen of the suite, the corporation, and other
local notabilities. Without entering the elegantly-
furnished reception room that had been provided at
the station, the royal party, amidst cheering from
the gentlemen inside, proceeded at once to the car-
riages. Bouquets were presented to the Princesses
by the Mayoress and other ladies.
The crowd outside was dense, almost to danger,
but they were looked after by the mounted dragoons
and volunteers, who were " told off" to that par-
ticular duty. The first glimpse of the Prince's
bearskin, and the pale lady in black velvet who
walked by his side, produced a roar of welcome
that must have spent itself far away in the Chan-
nel. The Princesses were handed into an open car-
riage drawn by four horses, and the Prince, the
Duke, and the other gentlemen mounted their
chargers in the station yard, which had been kept
clear of the populace. The sun shone on the gay
crimson uniforms of the horsemen and the gilded
trappings of the horses, and the gleam of brightness
was reflected in the countenances of the royal party,
about whom Brighton was so pleasantly disturbed.
Another and another cheer came from the thou-
sands of assembled men, women, and children as
the procession started off at a brisk trot along the
Queen's-road. It was a grand sight, no doubt—a
right royal spectacle, proving the interest and atten-
tion of the exalted, and the hearty devotion of the
humble. It was, however, like all the pleasant events
of this life, transient. The picture soon vanished,
to gladden other eyes equally anxious to see it.
The procession went through the chief streets, the
route having been changed from the original design.
The royal party appeared delighted with the place,
and the welcome they had experienced to it. The
cheers were everywhere hearty and loud ; not even
the keen north wind could chill them. At two or
three points the crowds were so packed that danger
was apprehended, but prompt dealing with the
groups who were inclined to be frightened saved
them from panic. Twice the carriages had to stop
for a moment, and in Bedford-street a platform fell
with its occupants. No serious injury arose from it,
and it appeared to be the only mishap that occurred
throughout the journey. Handkerchiefs were waved
from windows and balconies above, and hats and
voices from below kept up the acclamations from the
first appearance of their royal highnesses until the
review ground was reached. There were plenty of
decorations in every street, but they were of the cus-
tomary evergreen, bunting, and motto type, and do
not require more than a passing general notice.
The arrival of the Princess of Wales at the course,
accompanied by the Princess Mary, and attended by
her royal highness's suite was the signal for loud
and general cheering. Spread over a long line in
the crowd just then the presence of her royal
highness was hot made manifest to all at once,
but gradually as the news was carried along, the
cheer was taken up,
and, minutes after the first
burst, we could notice the distant echo rolling it,
back again from the far extremity of the line.
A portion of the stand at the south end had been
railed off and carpeted for the accommodation of the
royal party ; a few chairs were the only furniture,
and beyond the rail were the reserved seats well
filled with the elite of the residents and the visitors:
Immediately after the royal party had taken their
seats, the commander-in-chief, accompanied by the
Prince of Augustenburg, Prince Couza, and several
officers of high rank, took his place at the flag-staff,
and the march-past commenced in the order given
in the official programme published by us last week.
The weather, which had loured, and even rained
during the entire morning, now clearel up wonder-
fully, and permitted all who were well placed to
witness a splendid military spectacle. On the hill
was encamped the whole volunteer army, in greater
numbers than had ever assembled before, and in
magnificent order. The muster of artillery was very
strong, and all the corps present were fully repre-
sented. The bands took their places under the grand
stand, and the military music was commenced by
the band of the Ist Dragoons (Royals), the only
regulars on the ground. When all was ready, "The
Duke" took his place, casting an anxious look, how-
ever, now and then at the dull canopy of clouds
overhead, but resolutely making up his mind to face
the battle and the breeze like a true soldier. At the
head of the vast column came the fine mounted
troop of the Hon. Artillery Company, commanded
by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in per-
son, and wearing his uniform of captain-general of
the company. His royal highness, having placed
the Princess of Wales in her box, had immediately
mounted his horse and at once taken up his com-
mand. The old " Trainbands " were in unusual
force and in the most magnificent order. Their guns
were splendidly horsed and manned, and their in-
fantry company marched so steadily as to be taken
by one half of the spectators for the Grenadier
Guards. After these came the let Dragoons (Royals)
one of the finest regiments of heavy cavalry in the
world. As each troop paced magnificently past,
with its officers prancing in front and its non-
commissioned officers steadily watching the line
in the rear, whilst men and horses seemed to act
with a perfect mutual intelligence, the crowd raised
regular army,
cheer after cheer, and obviously exulted in their
which thus, in the perfection of its
drill and equipment, formed so fine and unerring a
model for their equally gallant volunteers. After
the cavalry
'on of infantry
maresehempaesdt aolnmothsteincthearmmipnadbeleii
had passed, the success'
caorps
ordi-
nary English military pageant.. It would he impos-
sibleainn faanct, like
to notice all the more,arstl
corps in detail, as it would be
invidious to praise any
did their best. _p_articularly where all obvi-
ouslyWe must not omit, however,
some mention of one or two 0 1
P pu arfavourites, such
as the London Scottieh
, who under Lord Elcho fully
sustained their high reputation, or their
sister corps,
the London Irish, whose members answered to the
inspiriting strains of " Garry Owen" •
with a most
elastic pas gymnastique. The public
cheered both
vociferously, and kept up the welcome unti •
l the two
corps had all passed out of sight. The St.
George's

were in great force, and marched well ; but the 4th
Middlesex, once so " crack," were hardly up to the
mark. The Working Men's Corps looked splendid
in their scarlet uniforms, and their marching evi-
dently met the approval of the Commander-in-
Chief. To praise the City of London Rifles would
be to paint the lily. They are always perfect in
everything pertaining to the citizen soldier. They
made a splendid show on this occasion, and, along
with their worthy commandant, Major Rose, re-
ceived a hearty welcome. The various engineer
corps, both town and country, marched with great
precision, and, generally speaking,
all the Hamp-
shire corps might fairly challenge comparison with
their metropolitan comrades. Towards the end of
the march past a little confusion was created by the
eagerness of the crowd to break in upon the course,
in order that they might obtain a clear view of the
Princess of Wales as her royal highness ascended
her carriage to witness the evolutions. There
were two or three batteries of guns of
position still to pass the flag-staff, which the
rush of the crowd brought to a regular stand-still.
The Prince of %Vales and the Commander-in-Chief,
thinking the whole of the volunteers had passed, had
ridden away from the flagstaff ; but on being in-
formed that the sailors of the Cinque Ports had still
to bring up their heavy guns,°
they promptly re-
turned to their posts, whilst excited aides-de-camp
rode frantically into the crowd, and at last succeeded
in obtaining rime sort of clearance. The artillery
restrained no longer, but pressed in thousands hurried on, on, and being the last, the crowd could be
everything—dra-
wards the grand stand, carrying
a
goons, police, royal princes, trusty aides-de-camp,
foreign visitors—along with it. The Princess of
Wales was about to descend to her carriage, and
this was to account for the tremendous congestion
of humanity. The people came pouring in from
every side, above 100,000 in number, and their
cheers were deafening as the Prince handed the
Princess to her carriage. Her Royal Highness gra-
ciously and repeatedly acknowledged the vivas of
the crowd, but the latter at last prsssed so close that
a score of the Royals had to be called into requisi-
tion to clear the way. The mixture of uniforms and
mufti, of scarlet and green, of men and women, of
horses and carriages, of military bands and banners,
and light and heavy guns, seemed all to float in one
vast sea, and to bear the Royal carriage with the
two Princesses majestically along towards the dis-
tant windmill, where was to commence the evolu-
tions of the petite guerre.
As the corps marched along the racecourse after
the inspection they dispersed' to the left to take up
the various positions they were appointed to attack
or defend. The consequence was, that as soon as
the marching past was over the crowd, who had
hitherto hustled and fought to look at the Princess
and her party, now hurried off to enjoy the scenes
of carnage and slaughter which the presence of
the twenty-four fine field pieces had led them to
anticipate ; the crests of the Downs to the left
or the racecourse were literally darkened with
the scores of thousands of people who met
there, and still they came and kept on
coming. The grand stand was left far. behind ;
a hill obscured it from the vision of all who in-

tended to see the fight, and there were very few who
did not attempt the experiment. It took a consi-
derable time for the volunteers to take up their
ground, because the heavy guns could not be moved
rapidly, and a tramp of a couple of miles over those
chalk downs after rain, is not calculated to impart
buoyancy to the footstep. Large portions of the
spectators who, being unrestricted, went where
they liked, sought diversion from the monotony of
waiting by the innocent and exciting pastime of
rabbit hunting ; groups of 20 or 30 would enter the
furze, and before long they would succeed in start-
ing a rabbit or hare, which, after trying its best to
escape, would be ignominiously knocked on the head
with a stick and pocketed. The sport at one time
grew so pleasant to the eye that several bandsmen
were seen joining in the pursuit, one of them with
a large sackbut raised in readiness to strike the hap-
less rabbit to the earth. On one hill alone eight or
ten rabbits were killed within an hour. Others be-
guiled the moments in the tents in those occupa-
tions which tent life on racecourses generally gives.
Scores of carriages were stationed on the sides of
the hill, and equestrians, mounted on horses evi-
dently familiar with steep declivities, moved about,
adding additional life to the scene. Viewed from
the racecourse side, the spectator found himself
standing upon an eminence, with a windmill at his
back, and before him, enclosing the village of Beven-
dean below, undulating downs, which stretch round
a circle of many miles. As not a dozen trees can be
seen in any direction, an uninterrupted sweep can
be taken of a large area of country. Former sham-
fights extended over double this range, but this year
the limits have been more reasonable, and more
within view of the general spectators. The greater
part of the evolutions were fixed to take place
within this natural amphitheatre of hills, and the
area was found quite large enough for the necessary

movements.
The sham fight commenced under what are
termed " favourable auspices "—that is to say, the
weather was not tempestuous, and the men had been
stimulated by the inspection of the Prince and Prin-
cess of Wales, and a distinguished assembly. As
to the weather, it was more cheerful than it had
been during the day, and the scene itself was calcu-
lated to act as a powerful stimulant. The forces,
without much parade, marched off to their posts,
and when the first gun was fired the spectators
were in a measure taken unawares. Those long
black
lines away on yonder hill-side they thought
were hedges, and some were prepared to swear that
the dark patches in the distance were nothing but
clumps of furze. The delusion was not of long du-
ration. It was soon seen that the volunteers had
quietly dispersed in all directions, and were ready
for the word for action. It was roughly said that
the men to be engaged numbered about 22,000, but
the real forces were probably 1,000 less. The at-
tacking party were commanded by Major-General
Lord F. Paulet, and it consisted of the Horse Ar-
tillery, the Cavalry, the Ist Infantry Division, and
the Ist and 2nd Brigade of Field Guns. Brigadier-
General Campbell commanded the defending force,
which consisted of the 2nd Division of Infanery and
the 3rd and 4th Brigade of Field Guns.
The evolutions were not so difficult as last year,
when they were supposed to have been an imita-
tion of some Indian battle in which the commander
had taken part. This time it was an ordinary
attack and defence. The enemy were on the
opposite side, the defenders on this, nearest the
racecourse. The large field pieces commenced the
engagement, to the great delight of the country
folks, who, heedless of the warning " dangerous" in
front of the guns, flocked near enough to the
muzzles to be stifled by the smoke. The defenders
answered the challenge by sending out skirmishers,
and by some very smart file firing. The enemy
drove them back, and they then called up a portion
of their reserves. The enemy boldly advanced in a
long black line, and esconcing themselves behind a
hedge opened a galling fire upon the defending
force, who immediately extended their line and
strengthened their position with the laudable de-
termination of retrieving their lost ground, and
driving the impertinent aggressor into the nearest
sea. This involved some heavy firing on both sides.
In a short time the enemy again inclined towards
victory, and were about to carry everything before
them, when the defenders, nothing daunted, boldly
advanced, and answered the rattle of the enemy's
charge with a fierce outburst of firing. After a
pause the enemy was seen to be retreating, fol-
lowed by the outraged foes in hot pursuit. The de-
fence had been strengthened by additional men, and
a tremendous fire was opened. The response was
so serious, that the defenders were obliged to draw
again upon their reserves, and the attackers wisely.
retreated. The firing then ceased for a few mo-
ments, the only ammunition then fired being small
shots, in the shape of a heavy storm of hail. For
a short time the enemy had the field in their hands,
but the defenders getting more desperate, the com-
batants began to get closer together.
While the forces were thus moving the attention
of the spectators was diverted to the Prince of Wales,
who approached from the further side with the staff.
He way loudly cheered as he drove off towards
Brightoe) ikere he and the Princess took luncheon