THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO CHERBOURG.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 627, 10 November 1858, Page 3

THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO CHERBOURG.

Her Majesty proceeded on the 4th of August, as arranged, to visit the Emperor and Empress of the French at Cherbourg, attended by a convoy befitting* the head of a great maritime 'nation. A number of English yachts proceeded to the fetes, conveying • their, ownei s and large parties of their friends. . The Pera, with some hundreds of the members of the House of Commons on board, got under.weigh soon after daybreak on the same day at Southampton, and proceeded direct to Cherbourg. The escort squadron to her Majesty weighed anchor at Spithead at five o'clock on the morning of the 4th August. It consisted of the Royal Albert, 121, screw, Captain Egerton, bearing the flag'of Admiral Lord Lyons, and having on board his Excellency the Duke of Malakhoff and suite; the Renown, 91, screw, Captain Forbes ; the Euryalu?, 51, screw-frigate, Captain Tarleton, C.8.; the Diadem, 32, screw-frigate, Captain Moorsom, C.8.; the Cura^oa, 31, screw frigate, Captain T. Mason; the Racoon, 22, screw corvette, Captain Paynter, &c. The Osborne left Portsmouth the same morning, having on board some of the Lords of the Admiralty, and also the band of the Ro}*al Marine Lig"hfc Infantry^ which had been specially summoned to proceed with the naval squadron to Cherbourg. Her Majesty went on board the Victoria and Albert a few minutes before twelve, with the Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales, being* accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge, the Countess of Desart, Lady-in-Waiting, the Hon. Mary Bulteel, Maid of Honor, the Earl Delawarr, Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Malmesbury, Sir John Pakington, Sir C. Pbipps, and Mr. Gibbs. The remaining members of the Royal party had preceded the Royal Family, having embarked on board" the Black Eagle. At nine minutes past twelve the Victoria and Albert started for Cherbourg, the wind being moderate, blowing west-south-west, and the ship steaming against tide. The royal yacht passed on with gTeafc velocity, the Admiralty flag floating from her foremost, the royal standard from her mainmast, and the union jack from her raizenmast and stem. The TriHity^tachc, having on.board the- masters of the Trinity House, was about 200 vnrds in her wake. At seven o'clock her Slajesty the Queen, having had a very fine passage across th«v Channel, arrived at Cherbourg with Iht escort, and was saluted by the French fleet.

A.t eight o'clock the Emperor visited her Majesty, amidst remarkable demonsteations of enthusiasm.

On the sth of August, the Queen of England, the Prince' Consort, and the Prince, of Wales, breakfasted at noon with the Emperor and Empress. Their Majesties afterwards made the .tour of the city, and were received everywhere with the greatest enthusiasm. The Queen and the Prince Consort were then entertained at dinner by the Emperor .of the French, on board the line-of-battle .ship La Bretag'ne. The Emperor, in proposing the toast of the health of her Majesty, and of the Royal Family of England, made a speech, in which he.said, " I am liappy to be enabled to express the sentiiments by which I am animated upon this ■occasion of the Queen's visit to Cherbourg. The facts do, indeed, speak for themselves, and prove that the hostile passions which .were excited by some unfortunate incidents have never been able to alter either the

' friendship which exists between the two •Crown?, or the desire of the peoples to remain at peace. I have, therefore, the firm hope that if any attempts were made to revive again the.rancors of a former period, .such attempts would be foiled by the good .sense of the public, as the waves are bafiied "by yonder breakwater, which at this moment serves to protect the squadrons of Loth empires against the violence of the sea." The Prince Consort, on behalf of her Majesty, responded to the toast, in doing which he said:—"The Queen is most sensible of the words we have just heard, which will be for ever dear to her. The Queen is doubly happy in having an opportunity, by her presence here, to join the Emperor in endeavouring to draw together as closely as possible the ties of fiienship which exist between the two nations. That friendship lias their mutual prosperity for its basis, and the blessing of Heaven will i not be wanting to confirm it." I After the banquet the fleets and fortifications were illuminated. The French squadron saluted the Queen, and a magnificent display of fireworks took place. The town was also brilliantly illuminated.

After a farewell visit from the Emperor, her Majest\ r, with the Royal Family and the squadron, quitted Cherbourg on the 6th of August at noon under a triple salute. She arrived at Osborne at five in the afternoon. The squadron hove in sight over the east end of the Isle of Wight shortly "before six o'clock, and anchored at Spithea.d about an hour afterwards.

THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO GERMANY. On the morning- of the 10th August, her Majesty and his Royal Highness the Prince Consort embarked from Gravesend on board the royal yacht, on their visit to their daughter and Prince Frederick William of Prussia. Although it was understood that her Majesty was to be received at Gravesend privately, nothing could entirely suppress the decorative loyalty of the inhabitants, and so it broke forth in such a display of : ciphers, banners, wreaths, and garlands as , must have g-iven her Majesty a good idea ©f what the town would do if ever she came in state. The town-council of Gravesend had prepared an address for the Queen, but it was arranged that it should not be read, and that the Queen should make no reply. The proceeding, therefore, was a singular one. When the Queen was about to embark, the town clerk stepped forward and presented the document to her Majesty, the Queen gave it to Lord Malmesbury, and the ceremony was over. It contained three short paragraphs. In the first the Queen was thanked for choosing to embark from Gravesend; in the second, the town council reminded the monarch that they . were glad of showing- their loyalty when Prince Frederick William and" his spouse ; were there too; and, lastly, the document spoKe of t'ho happiness and comfort of the Queen s daughter. - Her Majesty went at once on board the ; royal yacht under a salute from Tilbury i OIV j \ .grocefal souvenir was now fancied to her—an offering to the Princess . Frederick William from a number of voun» ladies who had strewed flowers under the .young-bride's feet on the occasion of her ■departure from Gravesend. This, consisted „of a : sheetqf vejlunvon -wly'di-was exqui- : >.paiyite& , .a large true < lover's knot ; rtvith the-i^ottpes "England's fairest jose, .;. m.ay. J eyejty Jiap.piness attend tli.ee," and in . Of,rm;ini our, treasure to th«e confidence." This was - ; :<jiiclpsedvyin .;a*- beonfiffil wreath of roses :»:,6i3rftiyine.4ii;>ukh-' .'the ■*. Prussian corn-flower, yith^-filJets. which- .bound them too-other 1 : iriscribrfd \with the names of the

) rpung- Ladies who presented it. The whole was richly framed and enclosed in a large morocco case, mounted and eimehed with chased silver. There was some doubt as to whether her Majesty could be asked to take charge of this to her daughter, but whatever doubts existed were set at rest the instant the ca^e came on board. Her Majesty examined it with, evident gratification, showed it to. the Priuce Consort, and then took charge of it herself by locking the case and putting the key in her pocket. All was ready by 10 o'clock, and at that hour, amid the "most deafening cheers, the Victoria and Albert moved from the pier, and beo-an to By down the river at her usual pace. The Minister of England at Brussels, Lord Howard de Walden, and the gentlemen of his legation, went to Antwerp on the afternoon of the 10th of August, to receive her Majesty, and the members of the Prussian legation did the same. The Queen, the Prince, and their suites landed the next morning, and proceeded by railway to Malines, where they found the I King of the Belgians and the Duke and Duchess of Brabant, with the principal dignitaries of the Beigian Court, waiting" to receive them. The' Queen and Prince, accompanied by the King, and the Duke and Duchess, and attended by the English and Prussian legations, proceeded at once to Verviers. Here the King of the Belgians and the Duke and Duchess of Braoant took leave of her Majesty, and returned to Brussels. A crowd, which had assembled at the station, greeted the arrival of the train with loud aeclama-

tions.

At half-past one o'clock the royal train re tched Aix-la-Chapelle, where her Majesty was received by the Prince of Prussia. The train reached Dusseldorf at four o'clock. The endeavours which were made to secure for her Majesty as quiet a journey as possible, failed at Dusseldorf as completely as elsewhere. The citizens of Dusseldorf had assembled in large numbers, mostly in full dress, to pay their respects to her Majesty. As soon as she entered the carriage, the people broke out. into lusty cheers, to which, was added a peal from all the church bells in the city, besides the thunder of artillery. The two rifle societies of the city lined the road to the bridge over the Rhine. Right and left of the bridge lay barg-es adorned with flowers, and containing- bands of music, which struck up the • " National Anthem" while her Majesty passed the bridge, the barges all keeping pace with the carriage. The octroi-gate of the city had been transformed into a triumphal arch, bearing the arms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. An enormous crowd, which kept up the cheering, filled the streets of the town through which, the carriage had to pass. In the evening there was a general illumination of the town. The large alley of trees which leads to it, in particular those illuminated with red, blue, and green lights, looked magnificent. Her Majesty then- entered a carriage, and went through the to-.vn. The royal party remained at Dusseldorf for the night.

The Queen and Prince Consort arrived at Potsdam at 10 o'clock on the evening of the 12th August. On the whole way from Dusseldorf to Potsdam the railway stations were adorned with flags and garlands; and the welcome of an immense crowd at the Potsdam station was as enthusiastic as could possibly be conceived.