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THE Queen held a drawingroom, in St. James's Palace, on Saturday after- noon, in celebration of her Majesty's birthday. Besides the members of the Royal Family, about seventeen hundred persons attended the drawing- room. The day was "a collar-day," and the spectacle was magnificent, from the abundance of orders and rich costumes. The dresses of the Queen and the ladies were of English manufacture.
After the drawingroom, the Queen drove round the Parks, with three of the children; and on her return encountered the outrage related beneath. In the course of the evening, and on Sunday and Monday, the cards of almost every person of rank or distinction in town were left at the Palace: the reply made to all inquiries was simply, "The Queen is well." On Monday, her Majesty held a Court and Privy Council. Prince Henry of Holland had an audience, to return the insignia of the order of the Bath worn by his brother the late Field-Marshal King William IL of the Netherlands. Lord John Russell had an andienee. The Duke of Cambridge visited her Majesty on Monday. On that day, the Count de Nenilly, the Duke and Duchess de Nemours, the Duke d'Aumale, the Prince de Joinville, and the Prince Augustus of Saxe-Cobourg, took luncheon with her Majesty. The Queen and Prince Albert went to the German Opera on Monday evening; and her Majesty was received with extraordinary demonstrations of loyal affection.
Prince_ Albert visited the Queen Dowager, at Marlborough House, on Sunday: on Monday he presided at a meeting of the Council fof the Dutchy of Cornwall.
The Queen and Prince Albert left Buckingham Palace, with their child- ren, on Tuesday, for the Isle of Wight; and arrived safely at Osborne early the same afternoon. The Dutchess of Kent followed, and joined their cir- cle next day. Prince Ernest of Saxe-Leiningen arrived on a visit to her Majesty and Prince Albert yesterday. The Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge, and the Hereditary Grand Duke and Dutchess of Mecklenburg- Strelitz, visited the Dutchess of Gloucester
Olt Sunday.
After the drawingroom on Saturday afternoon, her Majesty, accompanied by three of the children left Buckingham Palace about five o'clock, in an open car- riage, to drive roand the Parks. On her return, a few minutes before six, a pistol
was fired in the direction of the carriage, by a man who stood within the railings of the Green Park, about half-way down Constitution HU General Wenlyss was riding at the side of the carriage, and saw the person who fired. The man was instantly seized, and for a moment was in danger of being maimed or killed ont- right by the excited bystanders; but a park-keeper and a constable arrested him, and with some assistance took him safely to the Palace guardhouse. The Queen's carriage was only stopped for a moment: her Majesty stood up, and with much coolness motioned the drivers onwards, while she engaged the attention of the children in conversation. Prince Albert was riding in advance, and learned what had happened from her Majesty's lips as she alighted at the Palace. Under examination, the prisoner gave his name as John Hamilton, of Adare, in the county Limerick. General Wemyss was examined; and stated that he believed the pistol was not loaded with anything but powder: he beard no mis- sile, though the pistol was fired point-blank at him—for he was in the line of her Majesty's person at the moment of the shot; and the report wasrlike that of a blank charge. Hamilton was locked up for the night in the Gardner's Lane station- house.
On Sunday, a formal investigation was made at the Home Office in Downing Street, before Mr. Hall, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate; Sir George Grey attending, and Sir John Jervis appearing for the Crown. The residence and pre- vious history of the prisoner had been discovered, and was now stated by wit- nesses. He came over from Ireland five years ago as a bricklayer's labourer; two years ago last summer he went to France and worked on the Nantes Railway; he returned in November of the same year; and subsequently he has obtailied a precarious and scanty livelihood by casual jobs. He lived at the hote.e of a countryman in Pimlico, and had got in debt to him some few pounds for lodging; and the wife of this countryman, with another young woman, have mainly sup- ported him by broken victuals collected at the houses of their milk-customers. On Saturday afternoon, he was seen making a sort of firework instrument, or mock pistol, out of the spout of a tea-kettle and a piece of wood; his object, as professed to his landlord's son, being to make "a sight in the air among the trees." His landlady lent him an old rusty pistol, "of no account," belonging to her hus- band; he cleaned this and sent the boy for a ha'p'orth of gunpowder; and he was heard to fire the pistol the garden. He is next found in the Green Park, await- ing among the crowd of spectators the passing of the Queen's carriage, and in- quiring of two or three persons when it would come. A number of witnesses proved the presenting of the pistol at the carriage, and its explosion. The prisoner did not put any questions; and at the end of the proofs he was committed by Mr. Hall for trial under the 5th and 6th Victoria, chapter 41—the act passed in contemplation of such outrages against her Majesty as that com- mitted by Bean. Hamilton will thus, in all probability, be transported for seven years„ or Imprisoned for three years, and " publicly or privately whipped as often and in such manner as the Court shall order and direct, not exceeding three times."
The Police constable who guarded him on Saturday night deposed, that Hamil- ton had protested to him that the pistol was only loaded with gunpowder, and that he did not mean to harm the Queen; that he was tired of his destitute life, and wanted to go to prison. He is about twenty-three years old.
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