Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-10-22

ing the spacious hall which had snt;r;natsd
used by a smallish kind Of back door ITO
fong narrow passage, with q low ceiling and
at the end Of closely packed and murmurinr
assemelage OF persons, apparently we'll.
dressed, no doubt, and with plenty of pretty
faces and highly decorated heads, but 80
jsmmed together, so hot (yet liable t. rheu-
matte draughts Of air. so fearful Of their
neighbors, with such an expression Of almost
ludicrous anxiety upon their couutenances as
TO what might befall them next, that il was
evident they had already entered upon q ca
reer OF considerable difficulty and danger.
AS there is a clock against the wall st the
turther end OF the FIRST division Of narrow pas
sage, and as am rather taller than come of
my feliow-suferers, 1 was able 20 perceive
that II took three quarters Of an hour of short,
ntiul, pusnlng movement TO arrive at the said
end-when a turn round a corner whore sew
eral little skirmishing casualties ocsurred.
brought up the tightly -wedged column In an
other shorter fragment Of the passage, whence
another abrupt and perilous corner brought
as TO the foot of the stairs which we had n
surmount. Even by this time. had had A
considerable foretaste Of pain and danger,
from the sword hilts, spars, and rough clothes
ot the gentlemen, tramplings upon my feet,
&C., but endured quite as much, I am bound
to say, from the elbows, wrigglings, and reck-
less resolutions TO be the first of nv own sex
At this point, several Of the weaker candi-
dates, after various attempts 10 get their
smelling bottles to their noses. and vain an.
peais fer a consider alton which there were no
means OF showing gave in, and slipping out at
the sides, or where they could. appeared in
full retreat, proceeding which, blythe -by,
materially enhanced the grievances of the ad-
vaneing column. The same "pains and pen.
alties" continued, Of course, in an augmented
proportion, all the way up stairs. success
has .nA
sures, at guarded doors, and across haIbreds.
through which masses Of the Company
were driven pell-mell, a score or two at a time
las they do sheep in and out Of the fold when
about to shear thcm,) bore us ut length tri.
omphantly, though with diminishing strength
ana clothes, into the narrow, roped of avenue
significantly rmed the Penn By the tine
this goal was reached, considerable losses had
been sustained in equipments and few con-
tinued to wear that fresh, smart, serene ap-
pearance with which they had smilinrly left
their homes. Here, however, as ouly ccr-
ia n mum Der are admitted at a time-as il ia
the proximste approach to the Royal presence
"a comparative calm prevails; il being abs
lutely necessary to e-adjust ones costume
ana compose ones nerves SO as to pass at least
decently before the Royal line, which. % nv
dismsy, found, instead OF forming the grand
spectacle had anticipated, stationed imme
diately after the last door, with a yery con
nned passage between the lords and grooms in
waiting left in front for the approach Of the
visitors. had been thinking how L should
best compose my attitude while detained in
the presence of Majesty; but SIN I'll leisure was
now left for such solicitudes II Pass on. Mad
am, pass on"-in a low solemn voice, not the
less impressive for being delivered in the sun.
pressed tone of half-articulate awe be6tting
the place and occasion-were the only words
which fell on my ear q hurried past had
been known TO some of the ROYAL persons.
foreigners and others, who were standing there,
and they graciously began some sentences
to me; but the inex9rable =. Pass on. Madam,
pass on" again impelled me forward. and
was hastened beyond tn, power Of hearing
| before they had concluded them The same
stream continued through the gallery beyond
us as had arrived by the staircase, hut un.
doubtedly with less pressure, until we once
| more found ourselves in the yery narrow
passage by which We had entered, for
among other ingenious contrivances to pro-
duce difficulty and inconvenience is this, that
the route Of exit and entrance is the same :;
ana here, accordingly, ensues a scene which
battles all description people dying TO make
their escape after hours Of fatigue and ex-
haustion, instead of being dispersed i'm a large
enclosed space, with plenty Of sofas and seats
OF all kinds, Jammed up at the end Of the
same long passage while their carriage is be-
ing announced at the other; with only one
| means of egress; pressing and crushing
through the throng in a despairing agony st
being forcibly detained in place worthy the
pen and pencil of Dante. For myself,
finally arrived at home almost with shame
End humiliation at the mode in which 1 had
passed the last four hours, and entirely disa-
bused of all the ideas had formed of the
beauty, dignity, and courtesy Of q court"