The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-20 00:00:00

Visit of the Volunteers to B?lgium

(From the Times Special Correspondent.)
BRUSSELS, Friday Morning.
The difficulty of conveying to the reader in Eng-
land a correct idea of the proceedings here becomes

greater day by day. The use of superlatives is
always suspicions, because men are accustomed to
discard judicious comparison under the excitement
of scenes which come under their observation sud-
denly and iu a vivid form, and because there is
nothing terrestrial which, however good in its ap-
pearance,
may not be excelled. It would be difficult
to imagine anything more picturesque than the entry
of the Volunteers into Brusse's crowded
streets, the torch lights, the ill umi. The
nated Hotel de
-Ville. the battalions of the Garde Civigne, the hun-
ch:et:B of hitches, the vtvaS, the tott:,ie, the genet:d
enthusiasm made up a spectacle inexpressibly grand.
`Den the reviews, the gala night at the Opera-
house, the proceedings on the occasion of the King's
visit to the 'f ir, all were such as to delight and asto-
nish the Volunteers and all other foreign visitors to
theßelgian capital; but the scene in Autwerp yester-
day proved that Belgian resources in this way were
not yet exhausted, and that even in a provincial
town of this kingdom something still new and mar-

vellous could be done in the distribution of interna-
tional hospitalities.
The people of Antwerp having invited the foreign
riflemen to spend a day in " the city of Rubens,"
preparations were made here for an acceptance of
the invitation yesterday. The Belgian Tir and the
long range were well attended in the forenoon ; but
there was a general muster of the English, French,
and Dutch riflemen at their respective quarters by
half-past 1 o'clock, iu order that they might march
to the Station du Nord by 2, and thence set out for
Antwerp. The Volunteers assembled for parade in
the Place du Musee, all the field officers being on

horseback and the men being drawn up in companies.

When they were ready to he put into marching

orda Colonel Loyd Lindsay addressed them, stat-

ing that he felt much pleasure in communicating to
them his own approbation and that of the authori-

ties of Brussels as to the way in which they had con-
ducted themselves since their arrival in the capital.
Ile thought it unnecessary to comment on the mag-

nificent manner in which they had been received and
entertained by the people ; but he felt much pleasure
in informing them that at a meetingof the Volunteer

officers held that morning the following resolutions

had been come to

"That a committee, consisting of representatives of every
corps actually present in Brussels, shall be appointed for the
purpose of carrying out a suitable reception of the Belgians
at n iuibledon in the year 1867, and also for errangeinents

connected with the visit of Volunteers to Thlgium.
" That the committee shall consist of the senior officers
of every corps present this year at Brussels, or such other
members of the corps as may be appoiLted. The commit-
toe to have power to add to their number.
" That the chairman be requested to inform the Belgian
authorities that such a committee is in the process of for-

" That Lieut. Gould be requested to hold the money
subscribed until the formation of a committee, when it be
handed over to them."
The resolutions were received with several rounds
of cheering, and at once received the ratification of
the whole of the Volunteers. Headed by the band
of the Ist Surrey, between 700 and 800 Volunteers
then proceeded to the railway station, crowds of the
citizens accompanying them on their way through
the Place Royale, the Rue Royale, and the Boule-
vard Botanique. They reached the Place des Na-
tions at 10 minutes past 2 o'clock. Some of the
Garde Nationale of France and riflemen from Holland

had left for Antwerp 10 minutes before. The others

and theVolunteees were placed in two trains and de-
spatched on their journey in five minutes after their
arrival at the station, every carriage in both trains
being a first-class. It was understood that they

were not to stop at Malines, but there a great num-
ber of people bad assembled, and cheered the rifle-
men lustily as the trains ran past. It was a quarter
past 3 when the'first of the trains carrying the Vo-
lunteers arrived at Antwerp. As it drew up by the

platform the demonstration on the part of the people
was something which the foreigners, even accustomed
as they had been to Belgian feting, were not prepared
for. The Garie Civique were drawn up in double line
and carried arms; a vast coacourse of people sur-
rounded them. All the houses from which a view of
the station could be obtained were crowded at every
window, and even on the roof, and a cheer that re-
verberated again and again through the long glass
shed covering the platform was raised in honour of
the visitors. Before the riflemen had begun to de-
scend the fine band of the Garde Civique of Ant-
werp, one
.of the best in Belgium, struck up the
Brabaneonne. This the foreign riflemen and the V-
olunteers received with hearty cheers; next came
"Partant pour la Syrie;" and then, just as the Vo-
lunteers had formed, "God Save the Queen." The
commandant superieur of the Garde Civique wel-
comed the visitors in a spirited address, which was
replied to in French by M. Deherpe, Chef de Batail-
lon of the French National Guards, Col. Loyd
Lindsay, and the commanding officer of the Dutch
riflemen. While the speaking was going on the second
of the trains with Volunteers arrived, amid a flou-
rish of trumpets, the beating of drums, and a per-
formance of our National Anthem, which completely
drowned the voices of the speakers. When the Vo-
lunteers had been got into marching order, such
was the enthusiasm of the Garde Civique that the
officers pulled off their shakoes and held them up on
the points of their swords, the rank and file followed
suit by hoisting theirs upon their bayonets, and a
scene of deafening hurrahs resounded throughout
the station. A procession headed by the Garde
Civique then set out out, the Frenchmen took the
lead of the foreigners, the Dutchmen following, and
the Volunteers, who formed the great body of the
procession, coming last. The band of the Ist
Surrey played alternately with the band of the
Garde Civique. On emerging from the railway pre-
mises the scene before and around the troops was
as remarkable as any that our Volunteers have seen
in Belgium, extraordinary as many of these scenes
have been. Not only was every foot of ground
covered with a dense mass of people, but every win-
dow and roof-top commanding a view of the rifle-
men was filled with spectators. On their way to the
Zoological Gardens, the first of the'places in which
they were to be entertained, the riflemen pissed
along a suburban road, the trees on either side of
which are yet in full leaf and formed a lovely green
arch over their heads. • Admiring crowds stood on
the road, and cheered' the marching men. The Zoo-
logical Garden of Antwerp is one of the finest in
Europe ; it is said to have the finest collection. of
birds, and there are spacious pathways all round it.
Through these the riflemen were marched, and the
elite of the citizens were assembled there to see them.
Their reception was of the most flattering descrip-
tion, though here the first sounds of discontent were
uttered against the invasion of the foreigners. In
the principal avenue of the gardens a number of
parrots are placed on suspended perches. It was
evident that these birds disapproved the whole pro-
ceeding, for as the Volunteers walked by them they
gave utterance to sounds not at all genial, and
looked still
for the gazelles, fierce. There is a spacious sward
tion in the gaesttchich form a portion of the collec-
this, one of the'". The riflemen having surrounded
and bounded abLaztetlhles became much frightened
enenelosed space with.atnazing
speed, every moment
springs the length of
which drew forth esps:sting
190 a
of wonder and ashni:
ration. At length it war: th j prudent to draw
off the riflemen from about the enclosure.
garaeneluelosure. Having
wade the circuit of the
were marched into the town. :ktitthe whole force
of a 117miasrIA etoTn-
a picturesque city. It presents a • seir„l-I,uailways is
bination of the characteristics
of the Middle Ages with those of a thriving 1;""
of the 19th century. It has wide and modern
looking streets and spacious stone mansions ssmel
have been erected within the memory of the
present generation ; but in many parts, particularly
those about its glorious cathedral,it is so old -fashioned
and quaint that one could imagine it had stood still
for the last 500 years. Last evening the marching of
so many hundred men in uniform through all the
principal thoroughfares, with the windows full of
citizens who viewed them all the way, and the masses
of Flemings who covered the pavement and gazed on
the procession with a pleasure largely intermingled
with astonishment, made the old city wore interest-