SINGULAR CAUSE OF ALARM.—We have seldom witnessed a more curious
scene than was on Thursday displayed in Hyde Park. At half-past five in the afternoon, a loud shouting was heard in the direc- tion of the Knightsbridge Barracks ; which was followed by the ap- pearance of two elegant ladies, in riding costume, mounted on spirited chargers, and attended by a groom. The rapidity and earnestness with which they pressed forward, evidently showed that they were in pursuit of something; and it will be understood that the loungers strained all their eyes to discover what this something could be. "A Haim!" cried a squat old gentleman, who was taking his airing at the railings near the Serpentine. " I bet a hundred it is a fox," replied his companion : we shall soon see whether your eyes or my nose de- serve the greatest confidence." At this very moment, our attention was suddenly called to a group of well-dressed women, surrounding a young lady who had fainted, from hearing that it was a wild beast which had escaped from the Zoological Gardens. Bless us, what a scampering was there !—men, women, and children ! The panic, how- ever, soon ceased, upon the appearance of the real object; which was no other than an immense balloon, let off at a mansion at Old Bromp- ton, which would appear to have become celebrated for the philo- sophical recreations with which its inmates have during the last month been occupied. No sooner had this gaudy bauble displayed itself, than the aforesaid squat old gentleman, after a long pinch of snuff, turned to his companion, with the sensitive nose, and with a roguish twinkle of his eye, inquired whether there was any thing so wonderful at seeing two women running after a bubble ? The ladies, we have since heard, chased the balloon to a nursery-ground in the Hampstead Road ; when it was secured, and carried home in triumph. The topic—not the balloon, but the dashing horsemanship of the elegant ladies—has proved a godsend to the few unhappy idlers who linger about the club- houses at this dismal season.
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