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Les diegremmes suivsnts illustrent le mAthode. f 1 ::: 2 3 1 % 3 .. 4 ., , ^ 6 ;^akiC±—~- Axti. fffS rRlNCE'S TISIT: // %/^ "^mmm JfSJtJiiijtiDu ■ Im ■'.s^mf. ^tm MAMmh 1^'^ I'Y U .». .<|0 OOBJPOVA, / ii^vV V«MtK \ ■'^., PropQTXy of the Library University of Waterloo /int THE PRINCE'S VISIT; // // Jl gumoiious 9«s£i[i^tion 'h or TIJE TOUR OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE PRINCE OF WALES, THROUGH THE TNITED STATES OP AMERICA, IN 1860. BT // R. J. de CORDOVA. ILLCSTRATBO BY STEPHENS, ROSENBERG, AND J. D. SMILLIE. NEW YORK: 1861 . Property of the Library University of Waterloo #■' *. Entered, according to Act of Congresa, in tlie year 1861, by R. J. 01 CORDOVA, In tlie Clerk's Office of ttie District Court for the Soutliern District of New York. BAKER & GODWIN, PBINTIKa, PrintiDg-HouM Squuv, N. Y. %' DEDICATION. TO THE GENTLEMAN ROUND THE CORNER. i Sir :— Had I the honor of your personal acquaintance, I should long since have called and left my card with you. Not possessing this privilege, I venture thus publicly to address you. Many an eve and oft have I beheld you, seated directly in the centre of the hall in which I have been lecturing, intently listening to my observations. I have found you, night after night, in the same position, and repeating the same gestures of satisfaction, till a halo has seemed to surround your baldness, shining out upon me from amonj;; the multitude of othicr heads, like a star. When my remarks have been serious, you have done me the favor to weep. Sir, I respect the extreme sensitiveness of your nature. '■' When my jokes have been poor, you have benevolently laughed a riotous laugh, in defiance of the silence of your less appreciative or more critical neighbors, and have even struck Upon the floor with your gold-headed cane in solitary token of applause. Sir, I honor the keenness of your perception. But when I have fortunately succeeded in provoking general If! II '¥• -.-ml 4 DEDICATION. mirth among tho assembly, then, — nh ! then, Sir, you have shaken your extensive sides, wagged tho Vald organ previously referred to, and otherwise deported yourself in a manner which, although intensely flattering to me, has frequently inspired me with serious apprehensions on the subject of your valuable health. Such gratifying conduct, so persistently continued, evening after evening, has won my respect, my esteem, my confidence, — shall I say it? — my affection. Unhappily, I have never been able to satisfy my longing desire to ascertain your name ; and my regrets on this point have not only kept me awake at night, but have even interfered with my general well-being, much to the secret pleasure but dubious profit of my physician. I have enquired severally of the Janitors of Clinton Hall, Hope Chapel, Irving Hull, and the Cooper Institute, and they all recognised you by my description, and knew you, — not by name, but as " the Gentleman Round the Corner." In what direction lay that corner so flippantly alluded to, alas ! they could not tell. As "the Gentleman Round the Corner," therefore, I now address you. Accept, Generous Man ! Sensitive Heart ! Lenient Critic ! the dedication of this little book, as a tribute of grateful admiration. I solemnly assure you that 1 intend no unworthy sneer at your extreme obesity, when I breathe the humble prayer that your shadow may never be less. Wc shall, I fondly trust, meet again, (next autumn, in, one or more of the public halls;) — and, until then, Excellent Unknown, believe me to remain. With feelings of the highest consideration, Your most obedient servant, J DE CORDOVA. A^'ew-Torl-, April, 1861. ' ^ v i<*-' AUTHOR'S PREFACE. This little work, which the newspapers of the various States have for the past six months been persistently designating a " Poem," is not presented to the public as possessing any great literary merit. Its production is due to a conjunction of cir- cumstances, which may thus be briefly mentioned. As a humorous lecturer, I have known and suffered periodical fits of the most intense anxiety, on the subject of a subject, wherewith to amuse that eccentric animal, " the Good Public ;" and I was sorely puzzled for one such last autumn. It was possibly owing to the superabundance of instructive oratory throughout the year of the presidentiol rloctlon, that the popular taste rather favored the absurd ; — I believe I may say that I am an absurd man; — and the Prince of Wales visited America. Circum- stances more favorable for the production of an entertainment suited to the humor of the hour, could scarcely have been found, and "The Prince's Visit" was produced accordingly. Its success in most of the principal cities of the Union, North and 6 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. South, has been unequivocal, Mrhich is doubtless to bo attributed more to the effect produced by the oral delivery of the rhymes, thon to the intrinsic excellence of the " Poem." And it is now published by my enterprising friend Frodbham, who expects to make it yield a little more money to the author, and, ns is usual in these cases, not a little to the publisher. I cordially wish him success in his praiseworthy enterprise, and a satisfactory fulfilment of his noble anticipations. I cannot, however, allow " Tiik Prince's Visit " to go to press without mentioning to the reader, and especially to those enlightened foreigners who may be wise enough to purchase this book, that they must not accept adpedem literal all that is herein set down. The tour of the royal party through the United States has been correctly traced, as for as the geography of His Iligh- ness's progress ia concerned ; but, of course, every conversation here reported is purely imaginary. His Grace, the Dukk op Newcastle, is known to be one of the most polished and dignified of men, — and, ns a natural consequence, the idea of fastening Yankee phrases upon that distinguished nobleman offered itself to my mind, and was immediately adopted. In like man- ner, the Mayor of the city of Philadelphia, who is said to be a worthy gentleman, and fully equal to the pleosant task which devolved upon him in the reception of the royal guest, is pre- sented in a ludicrous light, in pursuance of a very excusable desire to return to the Quaker town aforesaid some of those AUTIIOK'b I'BKFAOE. little civilities which she is in the habit of occasionally paying to New-York. And similar instances occur in various pages of "The Princb's Visit." On this side of the water all such little absurdities will at once be recognised and understood, and nowhere more readily than in the cities which ore thus innocently trifled with. Abroad, however, this explanation may be needful. It will scarcely be necessary to add, that care has been taken to say nothing that can seriously offend any one, or show the smallest want of respect to the distinguished guest of the nation, or to the noblemen and gentlemen who accompanied Ilis Royal Highness to this country. Notes have been appended to explain the quaint expressions current here, but generally unknown abroad, which are put into the mouth of the Duke of Newcastle. My modesty will not permit mc to lay claim to any extravagant praise for the unexampled daring with which 1 have made " Niagara " rhyme with " staggerer," " spasm " with "enthusiasm," "queer" with "idea," "talk" with "York," "parcel" with "Newcastle," &;c., and taken other similar liberties which even Shakspearc never attempted. I shall be silent on this point, and leave Posterity to do me justice. , » lO m <«i ]!^ew-York, April, 1861. 'w 'M #■ *' .,'^*\.' INTKODUCTION. y*^- • n Sound the trumpets ! Beat the dinims ! The Princely Heir of England comes ! Years of hateful anger past, . J A softer feeling rules at last ; And Geobge's great grandson shall find A greeting warm, a welcome kind. Write the letters ! Sweep the halls ! Erect the arches ! Deck the walls ! Charge all the guns ! Subscribe for balls! Polish the engines ! Clean the hose ! Pipe-clay the belts for soldiers' clothes ! Burnish the bayonets ! Buy new dresses ! Drill the children ! Write addrcBses I 2 10 INTBODUOTION Let the Common Council all Beflag and deck the City Hall ! Hang out the banners I Light the groves ! Hire coaches ! Purchase gloves ! ' Adjourn the Courts I Postpone the Sessions ! Buy Koman candles ! Form processions ! For hark, the trumpets ! hark, the drums ! The Princely Heir of England comes ! _- jp^^!-'--: m (■•TS- ft' "i-Ji .#, ■•• «fc' ■* li ■ PART I. NEWFOUNDLAND TO NEW YORK. ■i- i'l -♦«»- i Already the tidings have flashed o*er the land. The Nobs of Cape Breton have shaken his hand ; The Prince Edward's people have met him with awe ; The Chief of Newfoundland extended a paw ; Tlie loyal Blue-noses a welcome have blown, * To greet Albert Edwabd and claim him their own, — Since, surely, they have the best right to adore him, As having received his grandfather before him. ' »£&.>-, mm. And as for the Canadas ! Loyalty's mn Into madness almost for Victoria's son. They have shown him the wonders of water and landj And shot him down lumber-shoots awful and grand ; M it li li 12 THE prince's visit. They have dined him, and wined him, in manner most royal, Addressed and harangued him to prove they were loyal. They have bored him in parks, and they've bored him in halls; _ , s- s • Danced him almost to death in no end of balls. They have bored him in colleges, bored him in schools ; Convinced him that Orange fanatics are fools. * Torn his bed-clothes to strips, — every fool keeping one, To remember the linen the Pkince slept upon. They have stolen his gloves, and purloined his cravat ; Even scraped a souvenir from the nap of his hat. In short, they have followed him, hustled and shoved him, To convince him more fully how dearly they loved him. Each snob with a present, done up in a parcel, To the lively disgust of the Duke of Newcastle. »> They've " received " him at church, in magnificent state. The Bishop and Clergy — all solemn, sedate. With a farce only played on this single occasion, — Forming a clerico-comic procession, . - ?: To show him his pew, with the utmost urbanity, Ere they read him the Collect denouncing all vanity. n„„ -. "-«■.• ■% ■# "v: iner most THE PBINCE'S VISIT. W And the pew, as a matter of course, was hung With most solemn of frippery, solemnly strung ; Surmounted, I need scarcely say, by a crown ; — But so tenderly poised, that the Duke, with a frown, Sat the service out in a reverie brown. Looking up, as expecting the thing to come down. Tho' 't would not have hurt much had it come to ground ; Since a crown is, you know, but one fourth of a pound. So they rode him and boated him, church'd him and speech'd him. Feasted him, toasted him, ball'd him, and preach'd him ; And, wishing all possible honor to do him. Made him review them, that they might review him. While, to make matters worse, and in full execution Of the plan which had doomed him to dread persecution, The New- York Reporters all " followed him round," Held him always in sight, and forever in sound. To keep Mr. Bennett religiously posted * As to what the PrJnce said when his mother was toasted. And to let us, benighted republicans, know Where His Highness had gone or intended to go ; i i r ' I i •■ ' I, ■ :i *«^ * * i M m .V' 14 THE PBINCE S VISIT. How he looked when he danced — when he sat at his ease — When His Highness had sneezed, or was going to sneeze ; Whether he smiled, or whether he laughed ; All recorded, and morning and night telegraphed, To the end that New- York might reliably know What his dear little Princeship had done or would do. Till, at length, when routine had most thoroughly tired him. It struck him that Canada no longer required him. Now, he'd had no end of polite invitations * To visit the land of his Yankee relations. In New- York, what a business the Prince to invite ! How Fifth- Avenue ladies and gentlemen write To offer their mansions and all they contain. If the Prince, condescendingly, only will deign To take up his lodgings in such or such street. In the " brown-stone fronts " that they cast at his feet. ■>^ Every hotel-keeper is doing his best. With the most exemplary unction and zest. To astonish the town And the Heir to the crown. By turning his hostelry upside down, « ,*f. m' v\\ THE PBINCE'S VISIT. In order to furnish a right royal nest For the Prince, who, he hopes, will become his good guest. What if 't is but one day 3 .' / 'T will be certain to pay / The favor'd hotel w Most amazingly well. ; .^, For where is the man who will not have adored The room where a real Prince has slumbered and snored ? -M. J\ I So every landlord puts in his plea, Trusting the fortunate landlord to be. Each house has a special ambassador sent. To see if the Peince will be pleased to consent To take princely quarters, for right princely pay, At sucli a hotel, when he travels this way. And I hear, from a source which I may not repeat. That a messenger went, His Highness to meet. On behalf of the Rainbow, in Beekman Street. ' But the oddest invite, most strange and most singular, "Was the one that was sent from the far-famed Spingular ;' A kind of a secular nunnery, where An A*b*t so sleek holds the principal chair ; * Who vented his great hospitality's vapors In a puffing essay on his school in the papers. *^ i tj i i ■■! k- ■*>*•■ :M- m-^ M .^l' 16 THE prince's visit. In that letter he made a most bumptious display ' >a^ Of a " Ladies' Academy " he kept on Broadway, On principles noble, exalted, and grand ; » A College wherein he instructed a band Of wealthy young ladies to well understand 4 That they were the highest and best in the land ; And, with logic enough most logicians to bother, Ho proved, from the fact that the Prince had a mother. That no house in New- York, if reason might rule. Would so fitly receive the young man as a school. 4 With these missives and cards the youth was so bored, So completely, indeed, was His Highness floored With this gushing and multiplied accumulation Of every description of kind invitation, .&'- That he turned to the Duke : " What is here to be done ? Which one shall I choose?" Said the Ddke, "Nary one. )) 10 *3^ " I dare say," said the Prince, " such a course would be kY best ; -i^- For, if we accept one, refusing the rest, I No doubt all will say we were wrong to receive it." Said the Duke, with a nod, " You had better believe it." " ,.*j- >^^' ■ THE PEINCE 8 VISIT. ■■T 17 IIo thoroforo resolved, as Jenkins relates, To judge for himself of the state of the States. What judgment he has, I of course cannot say ; But, in view of his taking one city per day, 'T would scarcely be found of much use denying, If he judged us at all, that he judged us flying. However, the Queen had decided to send A very short note to her very " good friend," " To tell him the Pbince had a strong inclination To accept the kind Pbesident's warm invitation ; And would certainly do so, the better to learn The manner and style of that people stern. Whose disloyal and troublesome ancestors rather Had grossly insulted his great grandfather ; And how that, the better to form his opinions. His Highness, on leaving his mother's dominions. Should drop every princely, imperial form, " And submit to the rude and untitled reform Of the land whore each man is, in spirit and letter. As good as the next, — and a precious deal better. He should study the States thro' no titular fog, But should drop all display and come here incog. i^ Now, at first, this created a huge sensation Throughout the whole length and breadth of the nation. 3 - : m ■-m ",;■■• trir 18 THE prince's visit. Thoy bosiogcd tho Cliiof Magistrato, anxious to know What tho moaning was of this very strange go. Enquiring Officials and Congrcssmon thronged to him : " "Would not the Pbinoe come with tho name that belonged to him?" They wrote puzzling cons to the Sunday Press, To ask what it meant : " "Was there no redress 2" And urgently begging for early replies; " "Was it right that a Prince should come hero in disguise? It is seldom wo have a real Prince, Lord knows ! And now that he's coming, who'd ever suppose That he'd come in some other young gentleman's clothes ? "Who wants to see Barons? They're plenty enough ; '* Like Counts, and that sort of stale emigrant stuff ; But a Prince is * a thing we don't see every day,' And we'd rather not see him than see him half way." His Highness, however, not troubling his head About what the newspapers fancied and said, Concerning the title he'd chosen to take. His tour without fuss or confusion to make. Wrote Mr. Buchanan politely to say He would dine at the White House on such a day ; And, packing his stars and his garters fine, He made a bold dash, and — ^he crossed the line : ■ 4' THE FBINOE 8 VISIT. 19 Little dreaming what sort of a genuine staggerer Wonld confront him as soon as lio readied Niagara. For there was a crowd of a thousand or so, Looking up at a strange and remarkable show. " Hollo !" cried the Dcjce, as they rode along, " I'm afraid that some chap's been committing a wrong ; For across .the falls a rope has been slung. And I rather believe there's a man to be hung." " But why," asked the Prince, looking up in the air, " But why should they hang the poor fellow up there ?" 4 " Well, Your Highness," the Duke said, in tone most grave, " I suppose, in the States, ' it's a way that they have ;' And, if you'll observe, it's an excellent plan. For, as soon as they've thoroughly hung the man, They complete the course of the legal slaughter. By cutting the rope in the proper quarter, * ^ And letting the culprit fall into the water." " A good idea," said the Prince, " no doubt ; But how in the world do they fish him out ?" -m 1 1 ;*^ U 1 20 THE PRINCK'B visit. "That's why," gaid the Duke, « they allow him to fall; Tliey don't trouble themselveB to fish him at all." " True 1" answor'd the Pbinoe. " But another con : How in the world dp tl}ey sling him on ?" i^>* " Egad !" said the Duke, " a wise retort I You've got me there, whore my hair is short ; " But I dare say they carry out that intention By some bran-new patent Yankee invention, — After the style of their rat-killing dart, Which catches the animal right- through the heart. And kills him completely, as rapid as thought. If he only will come to the hole to be caught." Thus discoursing, and carelessly looking about, One of the party saw Blondin come out. " " And now, who may he be?" His Highness cried. uV I've no doubt that's Jack Ketch," jnylAtru I^ctke rej-ned. " But Jack Ketch doesn't dress in that sort of style," T)»e Prince remark'd, with a princely smile : iiii«ariMiiniiiWiijM,»iiiii-«,.iti.^,.t 26 THE prince's visit. And treated onco more to a popular spasm Of wild and spontaneous enthusiasm ; Where he witnessed a race and attended a fair, And saw how they managed those matters out there. Then when ho and the Duke had performed their parts To open the "Western School of Arts, And received a great farewell serenade, "Which the Western Fire Department made. They took special train, or it took them, at least. To Cincinnati, en route for the East. There a ball, a supper, a crush, and the like. Took place in the Opera House of Pike ; And the party was treated, besides, they say, To a firemen's brilliant torch-light display. "■'■■■ M- It was here that a certain ambitious Official Catechised the Duke in manner judicial. " Cincinnati, my Lord, is marked out by the fates As the greatest of cities in all of the States. Has Your Grace, in your wanderings, happen'd to see Such a city as this one is — destined to be ?" And the Duke replied, a trifle incensed, " It will be a great place when it comes to be fenc'd." ' THE PRINCE'S VISIT, 2T Then to Pittsburg, famous for coal and coke, Where you can't see the houses because of the smoke ; Tlien to Harrisburg City, where, says the report, An Irishman — one of the genuine sort — Believing that courtesy could not express That he loved the Psinoe more or Old Ireland less, Lent His Highness a team of fine thorough-bred grays For the time that he stayed there — a couple of days. (■/ Now on to the Capital, passing a score Of hundreds who waited three hours and more To greet him while passing through old Baltimore^ And then, when the journey was happily done. And the Peince and his suite were at Washington, 'T was delightful to see Mr. General Cass Bringing things to so fearfully pleasant a pass As to chain up his rage, like a male Zcnobia, And, repressing his notorious Anglophobia, " A welcome sincere to His Highness extend, In the President's name — the Queen's " good friend ;'* Wlio behaved, we must own, like a Prince, in his way, To the Prince and the Duke ; though people do say It was precious dull work for all parties concerned,— So much etiquette ruled ;— -^and etiqU\^tte turned t '!■■ t- rn, ■*' 28 THE PBINOE'S VISIT. All that should have been cheerful, and friendly, and gay. Into stupid routine, reproduced every day. And the reason was plain : Mr. B. had so tarried To make up his mind, that he never got married ; And the consequence was, when, according to use. He bethought him his " family " to introduce, ' ' Its principal member, the wife, was not ; Two nephews and one niece comprised all the lot. When a ball was proposed, that singular man, Exercising his privilege, vetoed the plan. And no wonder, — the motive is clear at a glance : ITio " old public functionary " had not learned to dance ;" So, giving a dinner of state instead, He dined the young Peince and went oif to bed. But a grateful duty awaited the son s** Of haughty old England at "Washington ; A privilege graceful, and well performed. Which showed how two nations had greatly reformed The feelings that formerly rankled in hate, Now frankly removed, though removed so late. The boy paid a visit of love to the tomb Of the patriot noble and great, of whom m 1 ¥'■' 1 |i|: 1 V I '■i\ f \ 1 > i 1 M 1 • 1 •i. '■ 5: ; . r 1 •4te« ; i £«rfl-"- r^.; If. > t 'ifr S^£^ f^ F #■?,:, ?'t-«;. >■ ./ '#- TUB PXIJICS'S YWIT. 99 1, III sS.'l«ll^ WKd^rougfttl tUifig* had be^ saM ' I'ld gtiinilfiithcr GteoBOB,— like him long <3«ftd. 1 : 1^ yc-^e hod parsed, and pMskoi Imd fli»d^ ■'; ■:i ■X'^ ftsi itot Biij»rsitition»; havdino fidtii in gtata ; ^' WAgHoroTON^a spirit y»s titew t© jf«eciVe i * 5^ *< l^eaeie, I ftm frei^ to bellw J .; • .i' >, it^ it 'wito6et»bd tU i^em hj iSb^^mm, %^ r^il! «C tke gteat#ian forgot ai*«l tofgi^ , H. >»<^, tliB a^geU are glad I ** sfs-^H^fvnj^'s spirit, and Lteawd tlteUfl- «, ' " ' ■■■'">■ i{''' * j^m^'noiha fiolanmi WG read ^ la>iiin|)^ ^?y^r#0^rd ivow a fine i^iotogfj^ i&'rmS' liomeBtead, with frames or«sti^.?oleii hi»\M>»*^ ndl-fratned, were duly pireisaitet}, ^f^ 8ok««c?ris>-dr-WasJ»ugton/l>. 0:^^- . |5. 1 Ho Capital, between von amfc nae^— ^6 '- Oftpitaj Fub^icrs" they're stated t*>b*.^ r hwfliine I ^&J^ enx^PSse partis tUeii" p«Si«¥ ijej»ili>d on to fnrniah all CorigtfeM with br?il»\?i > e KSBI i' Jm ^ THE fringe's visit. 29 Such bitter and wrongful things had been said By old grandfather George, — like him long dead. Now that years had passed, and passion had fled, The son of the Queen had gome oyer the wave And planted a tree upon Washington's grave. Now I'm not superstitious ; have no faitli in ghosts ; Don't believe in the rappings of angelic hosts ; But that "Washington's spirit was there to receive This offering of peace, I am free to believe ; And I know, if it witnessed the scene by that grave. That the soul of tNe great man forgot and forgave. " Of evil repented, the angels are glad I " Says Washington's spirit, and blesses the lad. But we must not be solemn ; we read this to laugh : Let us rather record how a fine photograph Of Washington's homestead, with frame ornamented. And note, also well-framed, were duly presented. By Philp & Solomons, of Washington, D. C, (Publishers at the Capital, between you and me, — Wherefore " Capital Publishers " they're stated to be ; And Pm sure I don't envy these parties their pains. If they're called on to furnish all Congress with brains.) rt>\ -X...- 80 THE PRINCE'S VISIT. So tho Fringe wrote a lino, his delight to confess, And started for Richmond by special express. Now tho point as to how he was there received, Depends on the question, who should be believed ? One reporter declares he was cheerfully greeted, Tlio other asserts ho was shamefully treated ; *' And the truth, between both, is so hard to find out, We had better, perhaps, leave the matter in doubt. Tlien, once more on to Baltimore, whore again • The people awaited the express train. And received tho Prince without needless form, But with real Southern welcome, sincere and warm. In the city renowned for historic events. And for beautiful women and monuments. Then, of course, the next, most important, move, "Was to visit the great manufacturing town — Tlie right-angled city of Quaker renown — Where iron and steam do each other up brown ; The city renowned, all others above. For red brick and hard coal and true brotherly love. They reached Philadelphia, the papers say. At noon on a State election day. ■*P- TUB PBINCK's visit. 81 All upholstering city tlioy thought it at first ; Tliough thoy afterwards learned that the people, at worst, AVoro engaged in a task which, in this special case, Was hut putting a Curtin up in a very higli place. " Yet they warmly received the young Pbinoe for all that. And showed him the city so square and so flat, Yet so pretty ; so mantua-maker-like ; So handsome and rich, yet so Quaker-like. - '^[ Iv And the Mayor of Philamadelphia came — " A curious man with a curious name- In a hackney carriage, the party to meet. And the Pbinoe in the name of the city to greet ; {They say that ho did it just off of the street ;) With a fearful harangue, a mile or two long. Which ho spoke as though he were singing a song ; And happily having delivered the same, - He turned to the law-clerk, who with him came : " Shall I offer to shake His Highness's hands ?" " Why, of course," said the clerk ; " don't you see that he stands With palm extended, as though to be shaken, Ere he and his suite can be properly taken it ' V. 32 THE PRINCE'S VISIT To our great hotel, with facade ornamental, And grandiose title, the superb ' Continental V And say something witty, and pretty, and neat, To puff up the city and Chesnut Street. Do them up brown, now, and don't be a muff; I'm sure they both want a word badly enough." '*„ " But how shall I do it ? May all the saints serve us !" (The Mayor was beginning, you see, to be nervous ; 'T was no task to deliver the written oration, But now he'd to draw on his imagination.) " Ah ! true," said the Mayor, " very true — very true I And how does Your Highness do — that is — ^yes — do? Fine day ; though it rained last night — ^last night ; But I hope Your Highness is all right — all right. We've an election here — ^I mean to say We've an election here to-day — to-day. No guns to fire — no bells to ring ; Election — ^ballot-box — that sort of thing. Hope you'll excuse us : we made, I declare, Eather a botch of that last affair ; Not used to matters like these — ^like these — And bungled the — what do you call ? — Japanese I as THE prince's visit, 33 Though even in that, if you come to talk, Our show was much finer than that of New- York. In short, Sir, the fact will be clear to you, That this is the much better place of the two. New-York, Sir — ^Your Majesty — Highness I mean — Is a village pretentious, immoral, unclean ; New-York, in a word, excites nothing but pity. While Philamadelphia, as you see, is a city ; Whose glory is not based on mere numeration Of such trifling nonsense as bare population. She measures her greatness in numerals round By the roods she takes up of the brick-paved ground. Our houses, it may be, are squat, small, and square. But we don't encourage no brown stone here." (The fist of the clerk came down like a hammer On the back of the Mayor : " Take care of your grammar !") " We are all red brick here, men and houses together ; We stick to prunello and don't care for leather. We don't crowd our thoroughfares, block up our slips ; We don't fill our river with too many ships. We've no Broadway here, too crowded to walk in, And much too noisy to venture to talk in. 5 ^'^^msum^w,.. M: 84 THE PEINOE'S VISIT. But we'll show you, Sir, where our grand monde meet, On the beautiful sidewalks of Chesniit Street, Which the finest promenade in the world stands eonfess'd ; Where three men and one hoy may travel abreast, With space besides for a tortoise-shell cat. And abundance of room to swing him, at that. In short," said the Mayor, who so oft ha*^ been twitched By the clerk that he thought his coat had been hitched In the door of the hack, but discovered at last That his time for speaking had long since past, ••^ " In short, Philadelphia, Your Highness, must rank. In virtue of having once fathered the crank And very unstable old National Bank, As of all this great Union's cities the first, While undoubtedly New-York is plainly the worst. We may look slightly small and remarkably flat, But this is the metropolis, Sir, for all that, — And I trust you'll at onue recognize us as such." ffhf " Oh ! of course," said the Duke, with a chuckle ; " ycs- . ... much!"" ■ ' _ '"' , ' , ' ' ■" .' it- ' ' \ '.'' 1 ' _'• . - ' ' But, joking aside, wo must certainly own. Now that the thing is concluded and done, nil t«^ THE PBINOE's visit. 35 That, taking in charitable consideration I i The excusable, natural, nervous flustration, <' Which must have been caused by so grave an event In a place sorely puzzled to know what it meant — ' In a village where even the slightest excitement Is regarded as matter for fearful affriglitment — ' In respect to reception, procession and ball, The inevitable show of Independence Ilall, "With the few public buildings which made up the rest. Dear little Philamy acted her best ; And the Pkince, though he'd seen, when he bade them good-by, That they rated their village a trifle too high, Was very much pleased with the place, — for 't was clear. If ability faltered, the intention was there. For they showed him the College of world-renowned fame. Known all over the earth by its good Founder's name, — The name that is frst in the city's regard, The time-honored, r '-verenc'd name of Gikaed. " They showed him the Schuylkill, whose waters so clear Were described by Tom Moore when he gossip'd from here. And all met the Prince in that whole-souled way Which made him regret, when he went away, Tliat he could not a month more prolong his stay. ^1 n i 86 THE PRIUOE's visit. Bat Princes are men in spite of their state, And men are but creatures of rigorous fate, And fate didn't care what the Peince liked to do, — His time was expended, His Highness must go ; So, packing his manifold baggage anew. He bade a reluctant but grateful adieu To the opulent city of Fbanklin and FrrcH, And Penn or Ptolemy — ^the Lord knows which. "A good man, and clever," said the Duke in the ear Of the Pbince, when he bade a farewell to the Mayor ; " His manner is honest and pleases me well ; I've no doubt, if he tried, he could keep a hotel." " And now, for the Pbince, came the critical hour ; He must pass through the land of an alien power, — " A power not yet recognized by the nations, Where England had no diplomatic relations. But while in Philadelphia the party had stayed, The arrangements had all been most cautiously made ; The United States Consul at Camden, forearmed. Had resolved that His Highness should travel unharmed, And without any trouble his course to annoy. Through the length of New Jersey, as far as Amboy. THE FBINCK'S VISIT. 37 And precaution was needful : on the preceding day The Jersey newspapers had ventured to say, From Camden we hear That a Prince from somewhere Is expected down there, — "^ Being likely to come. On the way to his home. He has been through the States, Our informant relates ; Who cannot declare When this Prince will he here ; But he and his band Are to pass through our land, And so forth, and so forth, On their way to the North. It happily chances however to be The rule, in New Jersey, to tarry and see What will happen to-morrow, — and never to go And look after a fact you desire to know. So the Jerseyites waited fresh tidings to hear. As to when the Pkince might be looked for down there. And they waited so long, and they waited so well. It was only last week that the papers could tell it • 88 THE PBINCE'S VISIT. Their readers the fact that, on such a day, Tlie Pbince and his suite had corae through that way ; — Which indeed he did without any delay, — And, attired in citizen's costume plain, Embark'd for New- York in the Harriet Lane^ Where we'll leave hiin awhile to the fortunate lot Of a long conversation with General Scott, (Whom he liked so well he regretted to leave him,) While we see how Broadway was prepared to receive him. If PAET II. NEW-YORK AND UNTIL THE DEPARTURE FOR HOME. ^>» ^# Per programme, wliicli the newspapers publish anew, The Pbinoe is to be here precisely at two ; Though, in view of the fact that he has to go » By the Camden and Amboy line so slow, Many doubts are expressed if His Highness can be At the Battery pier before half past three. Yet the people in various groups combine To block up the door-steps by half-past nine. By ten, the crowd is beginning to grow To a couple of hundred thousand or so ; Tlie stages are ordered away from the street, And the stones echo nothing but human feet. iii; 40 TH£ FBINOU'S VISIT. By eleven, the sidewalk so closely is packed With a perfect mobocracy, cleverly stacked, That busy Broadway might in verity seem One vast human sausage, parboiling in steam. The windows are thronged As though they belonged To a gaudy tide That lived outside, And weather defied, But took it a pride To be espied By a Prince on his ride. ***„ * ;«. <*■ *^^ At length it is mid-day, or thereabout, And then — the tremendous police come out ; And all that was peaceful and tranquil bef<^" , Is turned to confusion sad and sore, — The unquiet policemen beginning to hustle The crowd with unseemly confusion and bustle. 'I" I I'll fue' " Now, come, you I get out of that." .' " Who ? me ? get out of what ?" " Stand back, I say, or by jingo I'll make you !" " What am I doing ? Confusion take you 1" .'■.r*^^---' m THE PBINCE's visit. 41 " For the last time to-day, get out of the way, Or you'll dearly pay if you disobey." I- * " The deuce, you say ! It's all very well A fellow to tell, In such a pack, ' '^ That he must fall back, • When there's no place at all W "^^ ' Where a man can fall In the midst of such crowds. Unless he fell upwards and dropp'd in the clouds." Then an Irishman's voice. In language choice, Her alarm to arouse, Demands of his spouse. In accents wild, « Oh, Biddy, acushla ! where's the child 2" And the woman replies. Without turning her eyes, , " Where did he go ? How should I kno«r^ 6 ■■m p' ^ 11 ■ !f S '41 *.i]!!i '!i'il ■li SuA- iM • A, 42 THE prince's visit. .1 But he must bo here, ' • I suppose, somewhere." Then the father, unable his trouble to smother : "Oh I worra he's gone ! I Och, hone 1 och, hone I ■♦,. Joseph, my jewel, where are you gone?" % To whom, in confident tones, the mother : " Och ! let him alone ; He'll be sure to come In good time to his home. • It's a long time since I seen a Prince ; ,,"', And av the spalpeen f Has been so green •'V As to go asthray Along Broadway, ' ' • He'll just have to remain Till he comes back again ; For if we was to go To git our Joe His stips to retrace, We should lose our place, 'y ■■■■■ -4" -A And divil a word should we see of the show." THK fringe's visit. 43 "MeinCottl MoinCott! You petter not Shtand up so On de dop my doe. I cot four, fife corns, So pig ash horns. Just you keep you foots Inshide you own poots, Or, I gif you my vord. You never haf heard De row dat I make, Till de conshtable take You and lock you up In de lock-up shop." \i i " Olio, young hooman 1 You're a rum 'un ; If you're out o' your mind You'd better go find A place in some mad 'ouse, where never a crowd Ain't not by no manner of means allowed. But vile you are here, it Vill be best to bear it Um 44 THE prince's visit, I'M I ! I In mind that my pride Von't never abide A young hooman's lielbows a punchin' my side. Here I what are you about ? You're hawful stout, And you're crowdin' me out Over the gentleman liere in front ; If you're not very deaf you may liear him grunt, And I'm ratlier afeard that lie's troubled with gout." " Sacro tonnerre ! You villain, sare. You shall beware ! It is my femme Is not to blam. If Monsieur have got ze gout. He do very wrong zat he come out ; But, sare, I don't care ; Is not my affair." " Hollo, little Froggy ! none of your squibs ; Let your wife keep her helbows out my ribs." " Monsieur Jean Bull, You big fool ! ^*> THE PRINCE 8 VISIT. 45 My wife stand liere pon her ease ; She put her elbow vero she please." "But, you stupid blackguard, Your wife's helbows are 'ard." "Again, I don't care ; Zat's not your affair. What's zat to me ? Zo country is free. '* You keep you ribs, if you don't want strife, Out of ze elbow of my wife." Such prattle as this, both coarse and fine. Runs loosely along the whole length of the line ; Which by tw o'clock becomes so dense, The patient crowd is now so immense. That it seems that nought but a shower of rain Can ever get Broadway clear again. k M, And a mounted policeman solemnly rides Up and down each gutter, to flatten the sides Of the human mass, as a plasterer might. Had the people been sticks, Or piles of bricks, That had come to Broadway to see the sight. ■n-j 46 THE PEINCE 8 VISIT. So each side of the street is a human wall, _ - ■' - Running firmly across the crossings and all ; And every one waits ; when, — taken aback, — The disgusted police find a dog in the track ! A dog of a kind that you seldom see, — The dog of a certain foreign M. D. Now it needs no argument here to maintain That clearly the Doctor's dog may not remain ; " The street must be kept clear of every obstruction ;" The orders admitted no other construction. Yet a dignified light of the drug profession Had got his big dog in before the procession. And the poor policemen are running about To endeavor to get the huge animal out ; But this, as the police are clearly aware, Is not to be done short of Madison Square. And here was the dog, never ceasing to bark, Up and down between Anthony Street and the Park. Their means were few and their hopes were fewer, — The dog was too big to squeeze into the sewer ; The street was full, all the crossings were blocked. And all the front doors of the shops were locked ; Tlie second-floor windows were full of the fair ; You never could hurl the great brute up there ; l;il m: .» rk. v ^ ■a>. /^' aiPc7 i'/i,. V-. i /?f-/ef a<^?(f c: '/itX, ■ c • i •tllV PRINCK a Vl6i? ': 't yirm in> uac to past lihn n].i into tW uil-*- jIjc Btrretd come manage tliis How dup: (ihai*.. , ,,*-: jeersjkttd the Bbonts and tW lauglduv i?ud -roat.ly doUghted, appUttcfuig oroVi?d. 47 I I :.!j ! lit ; • there Jir« guns iDid chccrui,^ Ixjluw, «*; Hrstx tti*-Ue»j; J;: ■ •' *j^wciira, porkntoufi Mid wi^ . ■::-m^, SAKUF(>itD find y^'oim ^lli bor^ hiai, ' ' '.% wbat tbo DtrKK -wtif^ for hint ;- - ^^^flv^'Jhs {vro rigbt, 1 swpp-jifeji ri; tit. J to <•:■■» j-jrcfeBiiie'tt) come here all tliis way '. ! ■ . ' '«h~ -.K^i 'J'-' ■ ' ■; ';'*;?il\^»^'f'-***' 'H".. <■''■' ! ;:ii THE TBINCE's visit. And 't was no use to cast him up into the air — He'd he sure to come down, — for what did he care 2 There was nothing in prospect but Madison Square. So a squad of policemen, quite red in the fac 3, "Were deputed to manage this new dog chase, 'Mid the jeers and the shouts and the laughter loud Of the greatly delighted, applauding crowd. 47 But hark ! there are guns and cheering below, Distant at first, and faint and low. But gathering strength as the boat draws near. " It is three o'clock ; when will he be here 2" Asks the feminine voice of a female slender ► Of the gent at her side, in accents tender. " "Well, not before four," her lover replies ; "He has to hear speeches, portentous and wise, With which Messrs. Sandford and "Wood will bore him, " And read, in reply, what the Duke writes for him ; — Besides, if the papers are right, I suppose It will take him some time to get into his clothes." JiMw & I3| I'la " To get into his clothes ? "Why you don't mean to say, Though the weather is warm on this very fine day. That a Prince would presume to come here all this way /I"- "VS^- 48 THE prince's visit. Without any" " Oh, no ! You misapprehend. The papers announce that the party intend ^o wait till the Peince has exchanged his attire For the surcoat of scarlet with bullion wire, Which marks, as is shown in the tailors' cards, The rank of a colonel of Grenadier Guards." But bang ! goes the cannon, and bang ! again, louder ; We can see the blue smoke from the burnt-up gunpowder ; And a terrible shout goes up from the crowd, A shout that is earnest and hearty and loud, — A shout, never echoed before nor since. Goes up in Broadway : " The Pbince I The Prince !" For there in the distance dimly is seen, Filing into Broadway from the Bowling Green, A gallant escort, and in front of the band A single horseman, with truncheon in hand. Just as in pictures of old we sec A noble Prince as a Prince should be ; And far up Broadway the shouts extend, Along the whole street, from end to end. But strange tho' it may be, 't is very clear That the cheering stops as the troop draws near. ■Si- THE PKINCE's visit. 49 1 1 And the populace, too uncivil by half, Change the welcome cries to a hearty laugh : For the band is a troop, not of war, but of peace ; — 'Tis a squad, in short, of the new police. And the person in front receives the hints Of the crowd that he's not in the least like a Prince. In fact, it is Superintendent Jones, On a horse, and praying the saints for his bones. ■ ::1 And how they ride ! oh, me ! how they ride 1 ■ Each man with his toes in the next horse's side ; And their elbows akin^bo, as wanting to see How much l'..t! a goose a policeman can be. With shoulders well bent to soften the pace, And anguish depicted on every face, Which by turns is pale and exceedingly red. As it finds itself over the animal's head, They bump, as the horses are jogging along, As though to proclaim that if they belong To the regular cavalry force, that same Is more than they know or pretend to claim. ^ "w 1M4J But, by this time, the " Simon Pure " Pkince has stood 'Before the municipal chief. Mayor Wood, ■'wr''''-'-'-',m \ I ■ Si ' - .'^ ttO THE PRINCE'S VISIT, Who has had the good sense, if never before, To speak what was needful, and say nothing more. His remarks, indeed, to be aptly translated, Might thus, in a word, be with brevity stated : " Your Highness ! the city we are going to show you — New- York — is both p^oud and delighted to know you. I am Mayor of the city, and, by the same rule. This party's V%*i*e and this one is B***e, Both of which names, I have no doubt at all, :^i.^ ;> Under your notice have happened to fall, If, perchance, you have heard of the Japanese Ball, — " Worthy citizens both as ever were bom." , ■ -. r . ■ .-T' , ■ ,: ■ Whereupon sotto voce the Duke, "in a horn." " .. , iii'^ m I The Prince, in reply, expresses delight. At the really and truly magnificent sight Which had greeted his eyes, every mile of the way, Up the noble and utterly peerless bay ; .; . > And ho thanked New-York in an epigram good, A compliment scarcely too well understood. As a city that boasted a head of " Mere Wood." He regretted to leave, but 't was time ho should dress, Which His Honor requests he will do by express, — THE PBINCE'S VISIT. While His Grace, my Lord Duke, opportunity takes To beg that His Highness will " hurry his cakes." " 51 ilW At length all is ready ; His Highness appears On a horse, which with spirit curvets and rears, — Which any horse would that royalty bears, As the orthodox custom so strictly declares. j And the company forth from the garden ride, To behold a display that New- York in her pride Deems a fitting show, on the day so fair, . ' • That sees her receiving, in welcome here, Tlie lordly boy who is England's Heir. ' Tliere, ready for peace or for war's alarms, • With the sunlight gilding their shining arms, StJind the citizen soldiers in martial array, ; Which induces the Duke in a whisper to say, > " Many armies I've seen, but never a line More splendid than this one, more steady, more fine ; And if they should have soldiers' duty to do, >^f I reckon they'd turn out hard nuts for the foe." " " Hard nuts. Sir 1" says B'^^*e ; " and, pray, what would you do? " . , m " Dry up," says the Duke ; " I'm not speaking to you." 52 THE prince's visit. And the Alderman, snubbed, thinks he^d best go away, — Which he does, and is seen not the rest of the day. Says the Duke, " I'm delighted ; it's just as I hoped ; I'm exceedingly glad that the party has sloped." *' I!' But now in a canter the Pbince spurs his charger, The martial battalions grow longer and larger, The band plays the anthem that prays for his mother. Each soldier salutes him as soldier and brother, Tlie flags dip, with cordial welcome to meet him — Not in homage — but friendship and good will to greet him. And the boy proudly gazes the squadrons along ; For he reads in the glances that come from the throng, That the features, the bearing, the blood, are the same Tliat over the sea with the old Pilgrims came. His people and these differ only in name ; And if England should e'er want a friend, and a kind one, In the day of her trouble, it is here she shall find one. " Now, General Sakdford," says the Prince, "Are you expecting to convince His Grace the Duke and me. That the soldiers We now see Are clerks, and shopmen, and the likC) "Wlio are thus prepared to strikej THE prince's visit. If occasion ever comes, i i For their country and their homes?" " I do, indeed, Your Royal Highness," Says General Sandfobd with some shyness ; Though he didn't mean to minco Matters, even with a Prince. V. f ■ " Your Highness, all these men , Are only soldiers upw and then ; Arms are not their occupation, — Rather more their recreation ; Yet they're good shots at the targets, Tliough they're posted on the markets. Tliey certainly are strangers To real war and all its dangers ; But if occasion should arise "When these hoys must win the prize Of martial valo/ and emprise, > I rather think they'll do Tlieir duty good and true." 63 49 il 1 : s M " So do I," cries the>DuKE— " a few." *' Said the Pkince, " I won't detain them ; But tell me how you train them. \.^- M THE prince's TIBIT. 'Tia not easy to conceive How mechanics can receive Sucli a military air As these noble fellows bear." " Oh I that," says Sandfoed, while He breaks into a smile, "Is simple and quite plain, V As I'll endeavor to §xplain : '''■ For the spice of the affair, "We've a certain Spicer here, ** Who o'ersees the drill of all ; And, by assistance of a Hall, " ' "' "We soldierize the men." * ' '•■■,' -'^'^>\ -.^ "ii ^ ■ "Good for youl" says the Duke; "Call again. * But now the battalions are ready to move ; • -'■ ^ Tlie bands play the airs that all Englishmen love. And the cortege moves forward in martial array Up the noblest of thoroughfares, splendid Broadway. Such a crowd as the Englishmen never had seen Divided to let the bright host pass between. The mass was as dense as a mass could be ; T was like walking in midst of another Red Sea ; ^ 1 . TUK PRINOK'b visit. (Ml :t.i For tho waves that wore piled up on every side, To allow the procession in triumph to ride, Had been dangerous waves, were the spirit suppressed A spirit of trouble, sedition, unrest. But those men made tho laws which they would not in- fringe; So they would not bo rude, but they never would cringe Before royalty even ; but proud and ercc*^^, ' With decorum perhaps tho Prince did not expect, They shouted, — as none but a New- York crowr^ Can shout a welcome, robust and loud ; A welcome to make tho Prince glow with pride When he stands again by his mother's side, And tells what those New-York shouts aver,— That in welcoming him they are honoring her. So gaily tho Prince and tho party ride; > England's meteor flag streams on c ry side ; And they come to the Park, where tho Notables all Wait to be introduced in the City Ilall. Up to this time, all went As though the event ;.-:,, Had by some friendly genius — St. George or St. Nich'las — >: ■*^m. tSSiMiMWMM^.AlUMWMu^. 56 I I THE PPINOE'S VISIT. Been cleverly planned, To astonish the bland And most excellent Duke, Whose delighted look Most clearly evinced That His Grace was convinced The an^angements were such As conferred very much Of credit and fame On the city's good name. Bat, alas and alack For the great drawback ! K Sandfobd and Wood Could have just understood That a crowd belated Had patiently waited From nine A. M., (A long time for them,) Without wanting to go Till they'd seen the show I If Sandfoed and Wood Had but understood The axiom good, THE PBIKCE B VISIT. m m Uuiversally known, That to let well alone Is the very best thing that a body can do ! But, no ! They must order another review. What matter to them. At 3.JM) P. M., If, to see the troops, w Some hundreds of groups Of ladies in hoops, And thousands of beaux In holiday clothes. From the districts adjacent, "Were waxing impatient. After waiting all day On the stones of Broadway, Or on top of the roofs Of tall fire-proofs. Hanging over the leads, Peeping over the heads . Of others more fortunate Or more importunate, "Who had the best places To exhibit their faces ; v While others, less lucky. Or may-be less plucky, 8 t.^--'. II I •Mtmamt^. 58 THE prince's visit. Were but too glad to find Little corners behind, "Where their only repose Was to stand on their toes, And peep as they oould Through chinks in the wood, Through holes in the wall, ' t Through mortar and all, Or wink and blink And watch and think "^ To spy out old Sandfoed Over some sign-board, Or to look out behind A Venetian blind, Or a curtain of chintz, Till they saw the Pkince ! -Mfe If Sandfobd and Wood had but thought of thsse I But they didn't. They first had their party to please ; And all that they cared for, the vain old elves. Was to have the fine show all alone to themselves. And the consequence was, when they'd fully enjoyed The second review, and tlie troops had deployed, THE prince's visit. 69 It had fallen so dark that few spectators coiild Understand which the Prince was and which was Mayor "Wood, — For they both rode up in a carriage together. And it still is a question o£ interest whether The Prince or the Mayor was puzzled the more To recall having sat in such eomp'ny before. At the comer of Broadway and Thirteenth Street Stood a rustic, whose name I may not repeat, " Who with new-married spouse had that morning come down, From one of the far rural districts, to town. His lady had ne'er seen a Prince in her life, And he thought he'd afford that great treat to his wife. In a copy of last week's Squam Telegram " ' Tliey had brought some slices of home-cured ham, In sandwiches, smeared with a kind of brown custard, Or some such queer stuff they intended for mustard. And they waited and waited, till, patience outdone, Tliey believed they had come to the wrong place for fun. At noon they grew hungry, and both having munched At the queer-looking sandwiches, thought they had lunched ; % if* ,mtmiiu.mu^:^^im 'Mk 60 THE PRINCE S VISIT. And still they waited, four hours and more, "With patience they never had shown before, — Till the l&ciy, : «nd even the man, much stronger, Declared they " never could stand it no longer ;" She was loth to go, but she would not remain If she could not do so without suffering pain. . ' So the husband away to the comer was sent, "With the lady's instructions to invest to extent Of six cents, for a chair, or what he might hit on, For his wife and himself in rotation to sit on ; And, after a very few moments' delay, The rustic in triumph returned to Broadway, ^ With his cautious investment — the cunning young fox — In the shape of an empty but stout soap-box. So by turns they sat ; . ' . And I'll tell you what. The sight in itself was worth a crown ; For, when he was up his lady was down, To the vast delight of that end of the town. % Still nought was to see and nought was to hear ; The Pbince didn't come, and 't was doleful to bear; For Sandford and Wood had got him down there. The lamps had been lit and the night was here ; ■ ;^ ', . • .n THE PBIKOE's visit. if* Their Btomacbs were empty ; the prospect was drear, — For beds in New-York are remarkably dear. Yet they, like thousands of others, must go, " Without having seen any more of the show Tlian hosts of soldiers' gay pompons and coats. In the ligbt whicb so dimly before them floats, And some men in a coach, which, the shouts evince, Carries one who, no doubt, is His Highness the Prince. Oh, General Sandford and Mr. Mayor "Wood I If both of you gentlemen only had stood In the midst of that crowd, . And bad heard aloud Its anathemas deep, T would have spoiled your sleep For a week, I'll be bound ; Unless you can sleep most outrageously sound. But, all this notwithstanding, and nevertheless. The affair, on the whole, was a splendid success. - The Prince was delighted ; The suite were excited ; The police were affrighted ; 62 THB PBINCE'S VISIT. And every one saw m^'^'^^ Thatf but for the law, Mayor Wood most assmrediy would have heeu kragiited, And, as for His Grace, His jolly old face Beamed over with joy. Like the face of a boy, AiwI. wfsen tbo Mayor said that he hoped the reception Ilfttl '^lofe fallen short of His Grace's conception Of what New- York would do to let it be seen How greatly she honored the Son of tlie Queen, The Duke, gratified, In these words replied : ii'>'^P' ill: " I'm, indeed, at a loss To express, old Hoss, " The feelings that now round my old heart cling. "We are grateful, indeed. 'T was a very big thing. '" I assure you I never was so overcome ; And I'll write a most ample account of it home. I'm too tired now, but I'll write by-and-by ; And, meanwhile, let us liquor — ^I'm exces.:ively dry — " Drink with you instead ? "Well, I'm siiro I don't mind ; But somi thing I must take ; I want it worst kind." " .■>,;* THE prince's visit. So all was over and happily done?, "With much excellent feeling and plenty of fun. Then for three succeeding days the whole town, Or all of its folks, came and sat themselves down Before the Fifth- A venue hostelry, where The Peinoe and his suite were puzzled, I fear. To conceive what amusement the people could find In inspecting the walls which he lived behind. However, the thing was exceedingly clear. That the most that the people desired to hear "Was the fact that their guest . Had enjoyed his rest, ' And, whatever befell, That the Prinoe was well. . ■ And, happily, this was indeed the case ; Health shone in the tints of his English face. He'd but one attack while he stayed in the city — An attack, it appears, of the Ball Committee : " "Who, suflfering under a fearful congestion Of views concerning the white-waistcoat question. Applied for some hints, r To His Highness the Prince, |^ «8 \»« i«*4*- JnWPWP;'' '■*".„ ■- ^-,.-. !'t -J u »4 THE PRINCE'S VISIT As to whether 't was right That vests of pure white, With black pants and coats- Per the lithographed notes- Should perforce be the rule Of the elegant school Of manners polite, Set down for the night When the great affair, Now under their care, Which the people call . "The Prince's Ball," Should haply come off. But the Prince, with a laugh, ^ To the Duke referred this momentous point. But His Grace said his science was out oi joint, And on matters like these was not to be boasted ; He could not declare himself thoroughly posted ; " Old parties like him could not be Amphytrions ; They'd do better to ask his good friend, my Lord Lyons. ' But His Lordship distinctly and flatly refused, And begged that diplomatists might be excused From saying a word on the white-waistcoat plan ; " But there's Archibald, now ; Ac's a ladies' man." " V . e THE TKINClfiS VISIT. Here the Consul grow instantly rod in the face : " I know nothing," said he, " in regard to this case. I think that a tailor liad better declare What you and the rest of the folks ought to wear." So the grand Committee went off, in a fuss, Tho " white-waistcoat " question again to discuss ; And all that they gained by their visit that day, Was the right to their numerous cronies to say, With that accent of humble and ill-suppressed pride Which reveals the joy that is working inside, " We happened, by chance, to be passing that way, And we made a short call on the Pbince to-dav. A remarkably fine and intell* ;ent yjuth. With his father's nose and hi s mother's mouth. Spoke the same to me as I'm speaking to you : * Ah 1 Co*p*B, old fellow, and how '^*o you do V ' Pii*L*8, my boy, will you have some wine ? Or, if you prefer it, remain and dine.' " 00 4 roNS. Now, concerning the ball, I've but little to say. When the theme was young. It was cleverly sung By the author satirical., learned and witty. Who wrote the hrochure so well known in the city- WW' 66 THU PBINC£ S VISIT. The ciubt.ij booiT, — with tho famous heading, — In vei-se, and entitled " The Diamond "Wedding." "What I saw befall At "The Princes Ball," Let me briefly relate ; For, at half-past eight, (Not having a card, For I thought it hard To have to petition and take oif my hat For a ticket, and pay ten dollars at that,) I got myself cleverly smuggled inside, In the tube of a monstrous ophicleidc. By a friendly musician, to whom one day I presented an " order " to hear " Broadway." *' »• And I saw young women most handsomely dressed ; "With diamonds, — which, it must be confessed, They had hired from Tiffany's show-case, lest The Pkince might suppose that their rank, at best. Must be traced to a codfish, by way of crest, •" On an oyster-sauce field to make up the rest. And hope in theii faces was plainly expressed ; For they fervently prayed for only a chance, That His Highness the Pbinci; would ask them to dance. ■f-v THE PRINCE'S VISIT. er And, indeed, I dou't wonder they wished for his hand,— For, of all that white-waistcoated masculine band, There were few who could dance with the sweet little dears, Since not many were much under fifty-five years ; For our " solid " old men, having furnished the tin. Thought it nothing but right that they should go in And inspect the Pbince and his party, while * They showed him true Manhattan fashion and style. So the gentlemen's heads made a sea of white liair, "Well mingled with bald pates here and there, — A mixture, indeed, that might almost seem Like hard apple-dumplings floating in cream. And not the least worthy of one's observation "Was the delicate drift of the soft conversation : " There, Sarah Jane, You've done it again ! You've torn my dress! Tliere's such a press- " It wasn't I, Ma! Can't you see it was Pa ? V , But it's no great harm." " It's terribly warm ; n ;•••' :1 :l «8 THE PEINOK'B VISIT. I know I sliall faint, And lose all my paint." " There's the Prince I" " No, it ain't ; ^ I'll bet a quarter He'll wear the garter." " Well, so he may ; But can you say, If he does do it. How we shall know it? "We each of us wear Of garters a pair, And nobody's eyes Can recognise Such things as these On a person's knees." " But his will be seen, — For the thing I mean It is English pride To wear outside." " What a very queer And droll idea 1" Tlien one old girl. With her hair in curl. id: y, V ■/;: ?■ /^/- . A^-lZ--^i/jcJ t^ ■^y^ ^-c^e €.y7i,/7-- r/zec'cd^' ^, f^^ -^f/. ?Z-^ '' /2=?^^/ // ¥;..,? I ^; t •■■/• . '-^ t ^rv ■v;m^';lfmii^jf.Ai r^Jlfiji, <:h- ':.',-•/ ■': \in a rustle :.-w&iM? ^' For ttp-.'firfN::^^ w''^lfc^.:^'i_ ■r» ■ '' ''■»■'' ' ■ ' ' ' ■ ' j-r- TH ;r t- With inartrter r^*^5i.4. ■*' i-m;iiot tliSS-'W!^'^' ■ d i jiil • nil! t.-^M^'^,i^^,iiMi^i-i^- \ m •'.Wr- :*j5s% •^T, .4 7'V .'* <.j- r^i . -i, / r""^i'.c "^•' _i«* ■ '/ ■ ■ >vc,-« " :^>. « '■'*«j^" ■ ■■-■■^'^j;- .-.^. -.•-.(.-: f^j*' ^-^V'jrV. ":¥^ THE PEINOE'S visit. From the rural districts, Has the hyst'rics, — And, in a stupor, Calls Peter Co*p*r, To his very face, " Your Highness' Grace !" In a rustic "whim Mistaking him, With his black coat-tails, For the Peinoe of Wales. Mr. Co*p*E flushes, And really blushes From the very roots Of his hair to his boot£; (Crimsoning quite The waistcoat white. Which makes him Joubt If they'll turn hj :^i out.) "Madam I" says Peter, In solemn metre, With maimer tarty, " I'm not the party. There are many, I kiiow-= At least, I hear so — ml '*■- mmmmtm,^ ■SS^BBS YO THE PBINCE's visit. I "Whom it happens to strike That I'm not unlike His Highness in face ; It's a very hard case That people will Persist in still Believing me "What I've no intention whatever to be." ;. But the music plays ; ' And several ways The people look C ■ -. For the Peinoe and Ddke. " Oh, let me see! , Tliat'shel that'shel" '- That's he, indeed ; and the ball begins. Mrs. Governor Morgan the honor wins Of His Highness's hand for the first quadrille,- Then polkas, and waltzes, and redowas still. The fun waxes furious, jolly and hot. And many a girl of that brilliant lot Is anxious to catch His Higliness's glance, In the hope that he'll single her out to dancoi THE PitlNCE's VISIT. n The giddiest of crowds is hopping about, "Wearing their pump boots cruelly out ; Peter Co*p*b is wild with ecstatic delight, And Ph*l*s declares it's a brilliant sight ; And all is mirthful and happy, when — " Oh ! Ahl Oh! Ahl Oh!" Like a flash. Crash, dash! , "^ . Smash! Clang, bang! ^, ^ "Hollo! Hollo! Where the deuce are we going to go ? What's become of the floor ? Let us rush for the door ! Is it an earthquake ? — No ! only a floor-break." " And Peter Co*p*r — what does he do ,? Sticks to the Prince like a man of glue ; " lie doesn't falter, he doesn't wince, But he rushes about — " Here ! save the Prince I Leave everything else ; every effort maVo ; Save the Prince, for the poor Committee's sake ; For, if he be hurt, he will never be able To behold the display at the banqueting table." m- 'MM m ..:*»;«4*.i ■■ . *'.. K, 72 THE PRINCE'S VISIT. Thougli it seems to have first and already occurred To His Higliness, before Peter's outcry was heard, That if, for any one's sake alone. It was well that his safety should soon be made known, — He had better, perhaps, see to that for his own. tM But the floor is mended and all k> made right, And they dance in stylo till long past midnight ; And they have the magnificent supper beside. In which the Committee take so much pride. And thus terminates the glitter and glare Of this monstrously dull but most gorgeous affair : And the Prince goes to bed and has the nightmare ; For the principal cook aud all of his helps Ride astride of his chest, led by Co*p*r and Ph*l*8. The rest of the story is very soon told. Much American work, in silver and gold. The Prince anc'. the Duke spent the half of a day In buying of Ball, Black & Co., in Broadway. Mr. Ball did himself t? c high honor to wait On His Highness the Prince, — and oh, fortunate fate I By friends and relations, assistants and all. He is known to this day as " The Prince's Ball." t, •; • ~i ■hi . . ■ pi* C—^^(L-yc4aA/^i^£^^u) ^..t)-e^' ^^/^^l!^^IZ^x/(n^;■ //na^i^^^i /!-■ ■^'■^-y'- «■•■ •-^.jtv ,'J/ V i^i T H K .I> JU I li V !; ,^ y I « I . He liked ^owmn|? and tliu-i., "" ;«-loIdiiig iu»ny ft lUfMiJrrty, gooijo, a«il Inrk — j^a excliasirely iH«.«.H»s s . .\^> 9. Ark. • hi.n he plant'sj r- t?«K>« ia tUc Contra! I'^rV, ' '".M to BjtAiJt it iJn^i v^j-'t;i'ii ; ami fiai I '.r''-'8:AiiiTUM>, ta K0<;'*t«'1u'' ■-, fM» the ""Whut u ■.. ^-. *rtr,Ta the -wiij-.tliat '*'- ■ ■ . .•-- ' - > : .i : 1 fi- tlic puinttng ontoi*!., (i^ -• . ' 'it; oye, v^ :o auiniui ro^ >>. i; it, -udeed? ' ikeueriA inif! b; ••r(. AM I Mm "4vT«^<>iild be (pito ill ?>. 'i-^^ WiV; ttae bIiowibsji' II "Js<:;W' said the I>;;tvi -.y nor n^^v, :; *f is Si#« 0/ tllOSG liugfe, I**"" **^^ ' •'''< Whfi^ r^^sing to V0ot,. n^*il ■fet^;»»^ fettled: tt^- d?*, 10 ■ ■ - ^'^*4I ■-«i7S?&-' (--^-w.^^./a-: THE PRINCES VISIT, n \ 1 < Ho liked our libraries, — the Astor most, Where Cogswell met that remarkable ghost. " He saw the Academy, frowni '^ and dark, ** Holding many a monkey, ?o« c, and lark — An exclusively human K ^. Then he planted two treei itral Park ; Went to Bbady'S, and Guunki d . and paid a visit To Babnum^s, to see what was the " What is it ? M «» " 'T is a singular thing," said the Prince ; " but I thought, 1^ From the way that the artist the likeness has brought, On the painting outside, to the public eye, 'h That the animal really was taller than I. What is it, indeed? I thought 'twould be bigger." « Well, I kind o' calc'late," said the Duke, " it's a nigger." " y 1 « 2%e loyal Blue-noses a welcome have blown." The term Blue-noses has been applied to the inhabitants of Nova Scotia : on what grounds, I have not been able to ascertain, and can only imagine that the personal compliment conveyed in the phrase was intended to infer a criticism on the extreme severity of the winter in that country. ' " As having received his grandfather be/ore him." His Royal Highness the Dukk or Kent, father of the present Quees, visited Nova Scotia in the year 1*799, and was warmly welcomed by the hospitable inhabitants of that province. r 80 NOTES. * " Convinced him that Orange fanatics are fools." The Orange disturbances during the Psiiiob's stay in Canada are too familiar to the reader to require any comment here. • " To keep Mr. Bennett religiously posted." Mr. Jambs Oobdon Bbnnbtt is the proprietor and editor of the well- known iVew-yorit;irera/<^information which would be suporflnous to any but the foreign reader. The word " posted " is a current phrase of commer- cial derivation, signifying " informed." • " Now, he'd had no end of polite invitations." The newspapers of vhe time teemed with offers, authorized and other- wise, of mansions which their owners desired to place at the disposal of Hia Royal Highness during his stay in this city. The Fifth Avenue, which is the Belgravia of New- York — most of the houses in which street are built with "brown-stone fronts" — was especially forward in these mani- festations of hospitality. ' " That a messenger went, His Highness to meet, On behalf of the Rainbow, in Beekman Street." A modest but respectable house, kept by an Englishman, but in the heart of the business portion of the city, and in the neighborhood of what is known as " The Swamp," where the hide trade is chiefly conducted, — a district not likely to be visited by His Royal Highness. • " Was the one that was sent from the far-famed Spingular." The Spingler Institute — ^tortured into Spingular to meet the tyrannical exigencies of the rhyme — is one of the first and most respectable academic institutions in the country, and is known and appreciated in every State in the Union. • " An A*b*t so sleek holds the principal chair." Tlie Head of this Institution, Mr. Ooriiam Abbott, is a gentleman of high literary ability ; but his rather lengthy letter to the newspapers, attempting to show reason wliy the Prince should occupy the Spingler Institute in preference to any other house in New-York, caused much comment at the time. , - ^ '^' NOTES. 81 are too " " « Which one shall I choose ?' Said the Duke, * Nary one.' " This expression has been geueraily adopted by the fast young men of the day to convey, in an abbreviated and somewhat corrupt form, " Ne'er a one." ihe well- } to any commer- [»d other- isposal of Avenue, ich street kese mani- 11 « Said the Duke, with a nod, * You had better believe it.' " lut In the of what ucted, — a lular." tyrannical academic State in " You had better believe it," illustrates the American desire to arrive directly at a point without wasting too many words over the argument. It assumes, as a foregone conclusion, a wish, on the part of the individual addressed, to be correct and to arrive at a truthful understanding of the matter in question, and intimates the Cixdat Judaua in an absolute rather than an ironical sense. la (( A very short note to her very * good friend.' " The letter by which Her Majesty informed Mr. Buchanan, then Presi- dent of the United States, that her son, the Fbince of Wales, woidd visit America, was couched in the following simple and unaffected terms, which helped, in no small measure, to strengthen and confirm the feeling of affec- tion and good-will with which Her Majesty is regarded by all Americans : " BccKiNaBAM Palacb, June 22, 1860. "J/y Good Friend,— \ have been much gratifled at the feelings which prompted you to write to me, inviting the Pbincb of Wales to come to Washington. He intends to return from Canada through the United States ; and it will give him great pleasure to liave an opportunity of testifying to you, in person, that these feelings are fi'!iy reciprocated by him. He will thus be able, at the same time, to maric the respect « ' < he entertahis for the Chief Magistrate of a great and friendly state and Icindred nation. " The Primcb or Walks will drop all Royal state on leaving my dominions, and travel under the name of LuRO Rbsfrkw, as he has done when travelling on the Continent of Europe. " The Friscb Coksort wtehes to be Idndly remembered to you. " I remain, ever your Good Friend, "VICTOKIAR." Ian of high Ittcmpting Istitute in Lent at the '* " Should drop every princely, imperial form." With most becoming good taste it was arranged that the Pbince, on visiting the great republic of the North, should drop all superior title, which might be supposed to be out of favor with republics, and appear simply as Babon Renfeew. Vide Note 12. 11 8S MOTES. '* " Who wants to it€ Barons f They're plenty enough^ The baronial diBtincUon has not been nncommon in America since the tide of emigration haa set in bo freely from Germany. There are now many persons, severally engaged in soap-boiling, lager-beer-brewing, the manufac- ture of blacking, Ac, Ac, who lay claim to this title in their own Vatcrlond. '* " * You've got me there, where my hair ia ahort.^ " A common expression, and, sooth to say, perhaps a vulgar one, but which is very current with Young America. I have not been able distinctly to trace its origin ; but it is said to have reference to a fashion which pre- vailed in this country, a few years ago, of cutting the hair on the back of the head very short, and to a habit which the street boys had of directing pellets, through pea-shooters, at persons promenading Broadway, whose heads had been so treated. " Take him where his hair is short," one urchin would say to another; and the expression passed into a proverb to indicate a point of vantage over an adversary in argument. i« i( One of the party saw Blondin come out.''^ Mr. Blondin repeatedly perilled his life, to the uncontrollable gratifica- tion of an enlightened public, by crossing the Falls of Niagara on a rope stretched across that fearful chasm. " " On one of the South Carolina Banks.^^ The Banks of South Carolina had just suspended specie payments when " The Prince's Visit" was first brought out. " " That the fish, in alarm, made a rush for the sea." If the reader will have the kindness to consult the map, he will observe what a fine time the Michigan fish must have had of it, if they really carried into effect their daring .attempt to reach the Ocean. '• " Who wrote for * The Hoboken True Indicator.^ " Hoboken is a transfluvial suburb of New- York, being situated on the opposite bank of the Hudson, and therefore in the State of New-Jersey ; ithstanding which last-named fact, there exists a certain degree of NOTKB. 88 clvUiution among the inhabitants. The Teutonic el<^ment largely preUomi- nates in the population, and it ia said that lager bier is regularly taken in at the areas in the morning, as milk is with us. I believe they have a Mayor in Hoboken, who occupies his civic chair every Sunday, al fre$eo, in the Champa Elyth, or " Elysian Fields," (so called from their being any- thing but fields and having nothing whatever Elysian about them,) in the suburbs of that suburb. I also learn that Ilobuken enjoys the municipal blessing of a " Board " of Aldermen and Common (I am told extremely common) Councilmen. There are, besides, two (or more) newspapers published in the classic solitudes here spoken of. I have never seen the prints in question ; but I have no doubt that the editorial articles given to the world in those columns exercise — as anything emanating from New-Jersey would — a mo3t powerful influence on the destinies of the republic. •0 i't^j'ig a great contrivance^ and hard to beat.'' " The motto of New York — " ExeeUior" — governs the American mind in everything. Not being a profound people, like the Germans or the Chinese, (the nations who are most given to boring the world with metaphysics about which the world in general does not care two-pence), they do not seek in lowest depths a deeper still, unless an oil or artesian well be in question ; but they love to find a higher to every highest, a cap for every climax, and a better to every best. Indeed, it would not surprise me to hear one day that they had invented a card competent to take the ace of trumps. To employ language which will be best understood on the Mississippi River, they will " see " anything that anybody can do, and " go you ten better." There may in reality be a great deal of " brag" in this ; but it nevertheless is the national characteristic. They are never content with what is ; because what is is never good enough for them. Whenever, therefore, they view anything accomplished, although they may admire it, their admiration is always mingled wifU r.. calculation of the means to excel the performance which has been successful. It will readily be understood, from the foregoing remarks, that the admission, by an American, that a work accomplished is hard (difiicult) to beat, (to be excelled or surpassed), is intended as the highest compliment he can pay. *' " Says Wentioorth, (Long John,) to the Duke by his side." Col. Wbntwobth is one of the most distinguished citizens of Illinois, or, as Mr. Dickens would more aptly say, " one of the most remarkable men in our country." M N T K 8 . " " And the Duke replied, ' Well, I gueas it ia.' " I boliovo our EiiglUh coiMinfl already know tlint to " giiens " in a habit with the American, as well in hia social life an in his ordinary conversation. He will "ke«. •' " Was but putting a Curtin vp in a very high place.''^ On the day of the Tbixck's arrival in Philadelplda, Mr. Ci'RTIX was elected (Jovemor of the State of Pennsylvnnin. " " And the Mayor of Philamadelphia came." The city of Philadelphia is sometimes so called, in rather unmerited derision, by New-Yorkers. Referring to my remarks in the preface, Ijowever, I would observe that the Philadelphia press does not lose many o[)portnid- ties of ridiculing New- York and its inhabitants: — hence the little and rather undeserved fling, in the text, at our sister city. " " And bungled the — what do you, call? — Japanese ! " It will be remembered that, a few mnntlm prior to the arrival of the pRiNCK or Wales, an Embassy from Japan visited the United States, and was afflicted witli a public reception in Philadelphia and Now- York, among other important cities of the Union. tlie State le earlier itation for prejudiced mce. ^ndited by |)ending. *' " ' Oh ! of course,^ said the Duke, with a chuckle; ' yes — much P " ^ " Much " is used ironically, in the same sense as the phrase of Shakspeare which is frequently amplified to read " very much like a whale.^' *' " 7%« time-honored, reverenc'd name of Oirard." Stephen Girard is remembered in Philadelphia, with respect ond vene- ration, as a philanthropist who, beginning life, like Lafitte, with nothing but an honest purpose and a determined will, achieved wealth, which he used lavishly in works of benevolence and charity. The Girard College is one of the proudest monuments of individual philanthropy on this Continent. 86 NOTES, M « ( Pve no doubt, if he tried, he could keep a hoteV " The greatest test of merit in certain localities in the West, is the ability to keep a hotel. If u man can successfully perform the delicate and com- plicated duties of the landlord, he is adjudged competent to act as minister of state, first tenor in an opera, editor of a newspaper, colonel of en^eers, commodore of the Mediterranean squadron, or President of the United States. " "He must pass through the land of an alien power ." The thriving tad stirring little State of NewJersey is out of favor with New-Yorkers, owing chiefly to a tax which the State government imposes on every passenger going over the railroads, and which is felt to be onerous by commercial men travelling from New-York to Philadelphia or between the Eastern and Southern States. The Jerseyites have also acquired or been invested with the character of a " slow " people, and the State is therefore generally spoken of derisively as being " out of the United States." The gibe, however, has lost all its fun in these sad, sad days of " secession." 34 «( Ze country isfree^ " The country is free," is a remark which is unhappily made to do service, as an excuse, in a variety of cases where license is mistaken for orderly liberty. Any one, however, who knows the abuse which is only too fre- quently made of the word freedom in the TJpited States, will understand the melancholy misinterpretation here referred to. " " ' With which Messrs. Sandford and Wood will bore him.'' " General Sandfobd, and Mr. Wood, Mayor of the city, were, ex officio, the most prominent of those citizens to whom was delegated the honor of receiving the Pbince in New-York. 9S (( ( If, perchance, you have heard of the Japanese BalV " The ball given by the city in honor of the Japanese Princes was so miserably and vulgarly conducted, that every respectable citizen regarded it with horror and has remembered it with disgust — feelings which were expressed without stint when the bill of expenses was presented. Thousands NOTES. 87 I ability kd com- ninister gineers, United of bottles of champagne which figured in that precious document, had been larishly wasted by a class of persons whose ordinary drink was whisky, whole dozens having been handed by them to their friends and political supporters in the street, whose tastes had never before aspired beyond New- England rum. The most costly ornaments were either broken or abstracted by persons who had gained admission to the supper-room ; and, in short, the scene is said to have been little better than a civic orgie. 87 « Whereupon, sotto voce, the Duke, * in a horn.^ " vor with imposes I onerous between 1 or been therefore IS." The ion. io service, orderly too fire- stand the iim »>» ex officio, honor of " In a horn " is an ironical term, implying a decided negative. It is sometimes employed as an equivalent to the elegant English inquiry, " Don't you wish you may get it '^" '* " To beg that His Highness will ' htcrry his cakes.'' " To " hurry up your cakes " is a common observation, expressive of the "go-aheaditiveness" of the American people. Europeans who have visited America, are doubtless familiar with a highly indigestible compound, called buckwheat cakes, which are served hot, and eaten with butter or molasses, according to the taste and fancy of him who eats. In boarding-Iiouses these circles of vegetable flannel form the principal feature of every-day's break- fast, — (like all indigestible food, they are of a very satisfying nature, and very few of them go a very far way,) — and as every boarder covets buck- wheat, and is moreover in a violent haste to get through the troublesome process of breakfasting, the unfortunate servant is overwhelmed with adjura- tions to " hurry up those cakes," — whence the saying. »» « i J reckon they'd turn out hard nuts for the foe. ^ " " Hard nuts to crack" is a form of expression that comes to us, I believe, from England, and implies a difficulty to be overcome. W.'" les was so ^garded it jich were rhousands » >» 40 « < 2)ry M/),' says the Duke ; ' /'wi not speaking to you. " Dry up," with other expressions having the same meaning, — such as " shut up," "evaporate," " stow it,"— owes its origin to the Western States. It implies that, although the party addressed may physically remain in the presence, he must not appear in the conversation. OP' NOTES. *' " * Fm exceedingly glad that the party has sloped.^ " To " slope " is to glide away unnoticed, to " take French leave," to depart without previous notification to creditors, or to quit company under circum- stances not creditable. 4j « I J'hough they'' re posted on the markets.^ " For the meaning of the word " posted," vide Note No. 6. " " ' So do i; cries the Duke—' a few.' " " A few " is intended to express, ironically, a very great deal, or a very great many, in the same manner as the English sayings, " rather," " slightly 80," «fec, " " * We've a certain Spicer here.'' " " " * And, by assistance of a Hall.'' " Generals Spicer and Uall are Generals of Brigade of the New-York State Militia. " "* Good for you!' says the Duke; * Call again.' '' This is a Western form of speech, and expresses appreciation not only of the joke, but of the joker, whom it invites to take an early opportunity of giving another specimen of his wit. *' " But, no ! They must order another review." A second review of the troops having been ordered to take place in front of the City Hall, ostensibly to entertain the Peince, but in reality to gratify the morbid vanity of certain officials, two or three hours were need- lessly wasted. The consequence was, that before the Fringe's carriage had traversed one fourth of the distance between the City Hall and his hotel, it had become too dark for the thousands who, during so many hours, had j^atiently awaited his coming, to discern His Highness' s features. Much dissatisfaction at this gross mismanagement was expressed. " " In a copy of last week's Sqtiam Telegram." A certain part of the rocky coast of Long Island is known by the euphonious name of " Squam." NOTES. 8» lepart rcum- 4» « « ji^^ indeed, at a loss To express, old Hoss.^ " Here, again, we find ourselves indebted to Western invention for an elegant and dignified apostrophe. " Uoss" ia a corruption of " Horse," and "oldHoss" is used familiarly, in the same sense as that in which some persons permit themselves to address their friends severally as " old fellow," " old boy." Nothing derogatory is meant, however, by the substitution of the quadruped for the biped in this case. a very slightly *0 (( < We are grateful, indeed, ^Twas a very big thing. ^ " Anything extraordinary is alluded to as " a big thing." I have heard the term applied to a sermon, a glass of rare wine, a lady's fan made of expensive material, a heavy shower of rain or a storm, an elegant ring, a commercial enterprise or speculative operation, (be. * ew-York lot only )rtumty 61 (( ( And, meanwhile, let us liquor — /'m excessively dry.^" " Let us liquor " — a Western invitation to drink at the public bar of a hotel. The pages of Punch, however, have already familiarised the English reader with this American nominal verb. *' " * But something I must take ; I want it worst kind.'' " To want anything " worst kind" is to desire it to the iitmost degree of craving. by the " " Ah attack, it appears, of the Ball Committee.''^ The gentlemen composing the " Ball Committee " were among the most respectable and distinguished of the citizens of New-York, and managed the details of the magnificent entertainment entrusted to their care with consummate skill and ability, in spite of the difficulties presented by the very democratic constitution of the societe melee of the city. If they did not succeed in making the company altogether as select as might have been wished, they, at least, did the best they could, in a community which is apt to measure position by the test of wealth, and is constantly erecting ephemeral statues to aristocracy upon pedestals composed of dollars. One of the prominent members of the " Ball Committee " Ixaa earned for 12 X£4P^ 90 NOTES. himself an exalted name among his fellow-citizens for his constant and active benevolence. Unlike many rich men who let their means go to charitable or benevolent institutions only after death has rendered their wealth valnelcss to themselves, Mr. C. finds the chief enjoyment of life in witnessing the results of his good actions. lie has built and given to the city of New-York the " Union Institute," a magnificent monument of noble care for the great cause of public education. Had there existed the smallest chance that either of the gentlemen here referred to would have taken offence at the lines which speak mirthfully, but not disrespectfully, of their names, the words would never have been written. But the author is satisfied that no one will more thoroughly under- stand the innocence of the joke perpetrated, than the gentlemen who are made its subject. M « Per the lithoffraphed notes.^^ Among the oddities of the Prince's Ball, none created more merriment than the published directions to the effect that all gentlemen assisting at that reunion should be arrayed in black pantaloons, dress coat, and a white waistcoat. This promulgation of the Ilaymarket etiquette was regarded, on this side of the water, as an example of imitative flunkcyism, and was ridiculed accordingly. ** " He could not declare himself thoroughly posted" Vide Note No. 6. *' " They'd do better to ask his good friend, my Lord Lyons. ''^ Lord Lyons was and is Her Majesty's Ambassador to the United States. " '^' But 'there'' s Archibald, now ; he's a ladies' man.^" Mr. Archibald held, and still holds, the ofBcc of British Consul in New- York. U (( Ibr a ticket, and pay ten dollars at that." The tickets to the Prince's Ball were issued at ten dollars each, and it required much influence to obtain one. ./ NOTES. 91 at and go to 1 their r life in 1 to the )f noble len here pthfully, ve been y under- who are M (( I presented an ' order ' to hear * Broadway.^ " lerriment assisting coat, and ette -was nkcyism, Vyons. ted States. » >» [ul in New- ach, and it The title of another humorous production by the author of " The Prince's Vitit," and shortly to be published as a companion-book to the one now in the hand of reader. *• " The Prince might suppose that their rank, at best, Must be traced to a codjish, by way of crest" The New- York Herald, I believe it was, which first applied to the nouveaux r'cltes of metropolitan society the designation, " Codfish Aristocracy." 61 (n^of only a floor-breahy^ The temporary staging erected in the Opera House on the occasion of the ball, gave way and created some little alarm, but was speedily repaired, and the casualty did not materially interfere with the enjoyments of the evening. •' " Sticks to the Prince like a man of glue." Mr. C. is the most extensive manufacturer of glue in the United States. •* " Whtre Cogswell met that remarkable ghost." De. Cogswell, the eminent Librarian of the Astor Library, saw, or asserted that he saw, a most remarkable ghost, several nights, reading studiously in the great hall. S4 it He saw the Academ,y, frowning and dark." Tlie Free Academy of New-York is a noble institution, of which the State and city are justly proud. Its style of architecture, however, is gloomy, and tlie building has more the appearance of a dilapidated match- box than of A college. '" " To Barnum's, to see what was the ' What is it ? ' " "The What is it?" is an idiotic negro, who is exhibited by Mr. Barnum under this "sensation" title. This animal at present occupies the place of the Fejee Mermaid, absent on leave. 92 NOTES, «• «( Well, I kind o' caWlate^ aatd the Duke, ' if 8 a nigger.^ " The Yankees of the Eastern States " calculate " where the New-Yorkers only "guess." r» The good people of Boston have a very magnificent idea of their pretty little city, which they designate the " American Athens," among other Attic titles. The Autocrat of tlie Breakfast Table has said, perhaps with more severity than truth, that the tire of the earth, straightened into a lever, could not pry out of the Boston mind the belief that the State House on Beacon Hill is the hub (or radiating centre) of the universe, NOTES, 93 Tl « When the Cheat Eastern flatly refused to go there. ^^ The citizens of Portland were much incensed, and justly so, as far as a judgment can be formed on ex parte evidence, against the Directors of the Qreat Hattem Steamship Co., for their refusal to let the vessel visit Port- land, after an understanding that she was to be sent thither had induced that city to expend a large sum of money in making preparations for her reception. 1* « As he says to the Prince, * Those Slates' are some.^ " The word " some " is frequently used in the same sense as the other purely American term, " considerable," which vaguely conveys the idea of "a great deal" or "a great many" more than the speaker would be bold enough to mention definitely. It serves rather to insinuate and leave to the hearer's assumed predilection for exaggeration, than to assert and incur the hazard of being discredited. The phrase " some pumpkins " is often em- ployed to treat, in like manner, of subjects which are not vegetable by any means. ^' " ' And with angry^ language a trifle too slick.'' " " Slick" implies ready, prompt, quick. T4 (( ( But U will pass and be gone again quicker 'on ^scat. i » " 'S cat " is an expression used in the Eastern States to drive a cat from a parlor, out of a garden, or off other prohibited ground ; and " quicker 'an 's cat " denotes haste even greater than ('an) that displayed by the feline animal when the verbal missile above cited is hurled at it. • « [r pretty Ig other |aps with I a lever, louse on " " ' Let all who oppose them stand well from under.^ " The adjuration to "stand from under" is a popular form of advertise- ment that something slightly astonishing is about to occur. " " * May Ood bless and preserve thee, thou Union of States! ' " In the present unhappy po'sition of public affairs in this country, it might seem that this prayer of the good Dukk has not been heard by the Being with whose Holy Name these few pages of humor are made reverently 94 NOTES. to conclude. But the A'jthor bega the reader to remember that all things may not, in reality, be bo bad as they seem. His fiiith is strong in the Union ; and he sincerely believes that the nnirersal love with which it was regarded by all Americans but a brief time gone by, " is not dead, but sleepeth." The Union is now undergoing the last and most severe test to which it is likely ever to be put. To hope that it will emerge successfully from the trial, is to hope what all men who love peace and cherish national prosperity earnestly desire ; to believe that it will come out of the struggle stronger and more enduring than before, is only to believe in the mercy of Our Father who is in heaven, and in the wisdom and moderation of Americans in every section of the country. ill things \g in the ch it was lead, but e test to ccemfully national I struggle le mercy ration of -♦•♦- NOTICE. DE CORDOVA'S humorous Poem, BRO^DWA.Y, copiously illustrated by the leading Artists of America, is in press, and will bo published, in style unitorm with " The Prince's Visit," so soon as the engravings, which are now in progress, shall have been completed. Parties desirous of obtaining copies of the first edition will please address the publisher, B. FRODSHAM, , 648 Broadway. ♦>» y - ri O ^ ca, 18 with irhich litiou lY. ^^ -V