Year: 1860

From the Post of Saturday EUening.
This entertainment which has of late occupied
so much of the public attention, for which such
elaborate preparations were made, from which sc
much was expected, took place last evening as an
nounced, at the Academy of Music.


1t opened with every omen propitious, and every
ticket holder feeling that for in his her life al
least, he or she was going to ball to which he or
she would look back hereafter with pleasure and
pride Society to them seemed suddenly to have
been divided into two great classes, those who
were going to the ball and those who were not;
those who were going being under the smile and
those who were not going being under the frown
of Providence.


The company began to arrive about eight o'clock,
and string of carriages half a mile long continued
to pour their contents into the Academy for at least
four hours without interruption.


The Academy was tastefully and, except as will
be hereafter noticed, judiciousIy arranged. The
ornamentation was mainly confined to flowers. The
upper gallery, always unsightly and cavernous-
looking, had been tapestried out of sight wholly
extinguishing the thrdter associations of that dis
mai region, while row of lights around it
gave it a cheerful appearance. Nothing planned
by the committee did much this closing of the
upper tier to improve the general effect of the spec
tacle. The stage proper was covered over head by
a tent-shaped drapery, in admirable taste


vi course nothing serious could be done till the
Prince arrived, and the interval of waiting, not a
brief one, was occupied by the company in ex-
changing salutations with old friends or in propa-
eating charitable remarks about the different
methods resorted to by the American nobility in
attendance, to indicate to the Prince and suite,
when he should arrive, that they were the persons
specially sent by Providence on that particular oc-
casion to secure to him pleasant evening; the
men to enlighten him in regard to the expense of
the entertainment, the nursery men who furnished
the flowers, the carpenter who constructed the
floor, and the name of that beautiful girl, the
speakers lovely daughter, who is standing meeker
than Moses ever stood, with bouquet in her hand
thinking of nothing and nobody, while she is the
subject of discussions and the women, meanwhile,
holding themselves in readiness to share with NV
Lnr the pleasures "of the mazy," if possible, or if
not to get near enough to ascertain from personal
inspection, whether he ever shaved, if he really
does turn his toes in when he dances, as has been
asserted and to catch something from his lips that
could be quoted in triumph to astonish listeners
hereafter, when he becomes King of Great Britain
and Ireland.


THE ARRIVAL OF THE PRINCE.


At last, and tow ards midnight, the noble guests
OF the evening arrived. Their advent was herald
ed by an unusual movement among the committee,
who gathered in full force around the part of the
stage at which they were to enter, and by the aid
of long rope succeeded in pushing back the ladies
who were gathered there, so that they could have
the lions all to themselves for time. This,
though not much relished, was submitted to with
as little grumblng could have been expected.
Presently, Mr.. Charles Augustus Davis requested
the company to form procession and walk around,
promising them, a reward for their complai-





the Prince" OF course such an inducement was
not to be resisted, though not presented in Mr..
Davis's most f1attering manner, and Immediately q
procession began to move in pairs like the animals
going into the ark, from left to right, in front of
the Prince, to whom each person, as he came up,
was presented by Mr.. Hamilton Fish.


CRASH.


This proposition for the relief of the curiosity of
the crowd, though not announced very felictously,
was working admirably, and some fifty couples had
already been presented, when suddenly the upper
ends of some two hundred of the guests suddenly
disappeared, with the accompanying noise of
breaking timber and loud thump. About two
rods square of the floor Immediately in front of
and about thirty feet from the das had given way,
dropping the throng standing upon it, some three
feet down upon the tops of the seats of the theatre
Immediately under it. Among those standing on
this area were Mr.. and Mrs. Governor Morgan.


The assembly behaved with wonderful discretion
Not single cry was heard; the crowd stood per
fectly still, and the exact nature and ex-
tent of the danger was ascertained the alarm which
at first was naturally considerable, subsidized. One
lady tainted Provdentially, no one was hurt
This unfortunate and disgraceful accident for it
disgraceful in the last degree to the carpenter
and persons charged with this portion of the ar
ENTHUSIASTICALLY spoiled the whole affair. 1t
converted the beautiful spectacle which a few
minutes before all were admirpg into a huge Join
cry establishment; it postponed the opening of the
ball for full hour: it diminished the space already
over-crowded, by expropratng some fifty feet
square of the best part OF the room to carpenters
and policemen, thus preventing dancing or even
walking, without difficulty, for what promised to
be an indefinite period.


To relieve the floor the company were requested
to go to the supper room, which of course filled
in an instant, and about a thousand people were
jammed into the corridors, unable TO move back or
forward, waiting for the ins to come out that they
themselves might get in, in order to get out. The
accident, during this painful hour of reparation,
was the theme of every tongue, and grateful as all
hof
felt that it through care or foresight on the
part of the committee that thousand people were
not killedfor the carelessness which would permit
floor to give way under the mere weight of those
Standing upon it, might we'll have pr coipitated
them thirty feet three, and filled this whole ma
tion, and perhaps another, with mourners.


THE DANCING.


When the repairs were completed, little open
ing was made in front of the dais, about large
enough to swing a cat by the TAIL and Mrs. Cover
nor Morgan, whose superb toilet was the universal
theme of conversation, and Lord Renfrew took
their place for the first quadrille


Among those who shared the distinction of dane
ing in this set Lord Lyons with Miss Wood,
Mrs. Gould Hoyt, daughter of General Scott Con-
onel Scott, his son in law, Miss Bergman with John
Van Buren, James w. Gerard who did "the hand
some thing" on this occasion by Mrs. Howland,
Captain Gore and two or three other ladies and
gentlemen whose names have not transpired. This
over, the crowd began sensbly to diminish. Lord
Renfrew danced several times, and at two o'clock
seemed to be getting into the merits of the occasion
But public curiosity was by this time pretty much
satisfied, and the legs of all were very much
wearied. Some went home disgusted, more dsap-
pointed, and all mortified, for the accident had
moral in it, considering the circumstances under
which it occurred, which touched the pride of every
American.


There is no place in the British empire where
was ever seen assembled at any one time so much
beauty and many unexceptionable toilettes taste
in female dress not being the faibLesse of English
society. The coup d'eil was magnificent, and i'm
pressed our foreign guests very unmistakably.-
But what John Bull terms, not without reason, our
national vice. our recklessness of life, exhibited
in our hasty, imperfect hand -to-mouth mechanism,
whether in ships or houses, theatres or church.
es so Indicative of nation of to-day that antic-
pates no future because it has past, must needs
receive illustration, under circumstances in
conceivably humiiating.


In the character of the assembly, its claims to
distinction, its department under circumstances
calculated to put the best breeding to a severe
trial, there was everything fol American to feel
proud OF, and for foreigner to respect. Every
thing would have gone off triumphantly but for
this miserable fiasco of the carpenter, who had
never thought for moment that his attempt to
save five ten dollars, which would have been
sufficient to render the floors perfectly secure, i'm
perilled the lives of hundreds of people and the
reputation of every one in any way responsible for
his carelessness. But this is subject which will
probably receive further discussion when the facts
in regard to it are fully ascertained.


1t is proper to add that the number of persons
present exceeded by at least five hundred the pro-
per capacity of the Academy for such an occasion.
The blame for this has BEEN as we are assured
falsely laid upon the police. 1t is not denied that
larger number of tickets were issued than was
originally proposed for reasons which doubtless
seemed sufficient to the committee but which the
event did not justify.


We are authorized to state that 8,19S tickets
were issued, and 8025 taken at the door, leav-
ing one hundred and seventy tickets sent to per-
sons who did not use them.


The following ladies, twelve in number, had the
honor of dancing with Lord Renfrew Mrs. Nor
gan, Miss Fish, Miss Mason, Mrs. Gould Hoyt, Miss
Fl. RUSSELL Mrs. Edward Cooper, Miss Augusta
Jay, Mrs. Belmont, Mrs. NJ. b. Field, Miss Van
Buren, Mrs. Kernochan and Miss Butler


THE RUINS THE BALL.


The reporters have done their best to convey
some idea of the tremendous crush on the floor of
the Academy but the results of the crush, and the
picturesque scenes to which it gave rse not to
be told in words. They are easier imagined than
described. When the flooring gave way the indi-
vidual particles of the vast crowd-"fair women
and brave men'-were thrown together in
collision, and the consequences to apparel,
and toilette, were indescribably amusing
But little respect was paid, under these circum-
stances, to the expansveness of crnoline,
and hoops often got interocked in hoops, producing
most ludicrous effects.


This general and picturesque jumbling up of
things was not simply passing incident of the
grand drama; it lasted all night. But these vexa-
tions were endured in the main with great good
humor, and to many but served to heighten the
enjoyment of the spectacle.


Numerous pocket handkerchiefs were picked up
some of great value worth $l00, of the costlicst
lace and ornamentation. Some asked what should
be done with them? Some considered them tro-
phies of the night Others wished to leave them with
the police. But if left With the police, it was
asked, what would become of them?


The loss in torn laces of the costliest descriptions
mail haua han, i 1L. L -