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upon reasonable terms. From five o'clock until eight the numbers in the lower parts of the abbey gradually increased, and the pages and ushers of the rod, dashing about in their gay uniforms, gave motion and sprightliness to the scene. At half-past eight a flourish of trumpets was heard, and the procession, with the regalia, marched out of the abbey.

From half-past eight to ten (spite of the novelty of the cere. mony, and the piquant circumstance of having been compelled to get up at two o'clock in the morning to behold it) something like ennui began to show itself in the demeanour of the expectant fair ones; soon after ten, however, loud and continued music in the distance gave a fillip to half-slumbering curiosity, and at ten minutes before eleven (looking down the abbey, as from the east, behind the organ) Miss Fellowes, with her six tributary herb-women, heading the grand procession, appeared at the western gate. The cavalcade halted for a few moments at that point, apparently to give time for the rear to come up, and lively music (fifes and drums, and flourishes of trumpets alternately) filled up the interim. After a short pause the procession again put itself in motion. The herb-woman, with her maids, and the sergeant. porter, remained at the entrance within the west door: the drums and trumpets filed off to the gallery over the entrance door. The abbey, at this moment, began rapidly to fill. The peeresses, (their natural attractions heightened by every aid which art or fancy could supply, their dresses sparkling with jewels, and their white feathers

waving in the wind) thronged into the seats appointed for them (immediately below, the choir); and ranged in rows, to the number of 155, without a single creature of the grosser sex to disturb the uniformity or break the delicacy of the scene; with robes of every colour, various as the rainbow, and plumes of hues almost as many, their box showed like a bed of summer flowers, in which the rose, the tulip, and the violet, the snowdrop, and the bright blue-bell, displayed, contending, each its pride of beauty, and all insisted on pre-eminence. The procession continuing its course, the choirs of the chapel royal, and of Westminster, proceeded with his Majesty's band, to the organ gallery: some little confusion occurred in the filing off of the different bands; but the difficulty was quickly at an end; and, upon the entrance of the king into the aisle, a hundred instruments, and twice a hundred voices, rang out their notes at once; and the loud anthem, blended with the applauding shouts of the spectators, echoed to the very roof of the abbey. The box of the foreign ministers presented, at his majesty's entrance, a peculiarly glittering appearance. It afforded specimens of the costume of every country in amity with Great Britain, from the splendid uniform of Prussia or France, to the plain chintz gown and dark beard of a gentleman, whose name we could not learn, but who stated himself to be the nephew of the Persian ambassador, and claimed, in right of such relationship, to be seated with ministers of foreign courts. The cavalcade continued its course.

The prebendaries and dean of Westminster filed off to the left,

about

about the middle of the nave, and there awaited the king's coming into church; when they again fell into the procession next before the kings of arms who preceded the great officers.

That part of the procession preceding the knights commanders of the bath, the knights grand crosses of the said order, and their officers, the clerks of the privy council in ordinary, the privy councillors, the register of the garter, vice chamberlain, comptroller and treasurer of his majesty's household, and peers, were conducted to their seats by the officers of arms.

The prebendaries of Westminster went to their places near the altar.

The sergeants at arms went to their places near the theatre.

The standards were delivered by the bearers of them to pages at the entrance of the choir, to be resumed and borne in the return. The princes of the blood royal were conducted to their seats as peers.

The prince Leopold to his seat in the royal box.

The barons of the cinque ports bearing the canopy, and the gentlemen pensioners, remained at the entrance of the choir.

galleries fainted and was obliged to be removed from the building; and the weight of the state cloak alone (which had seven supporters) might have overpowered a man in the most vigorous bodily health. His majesty being seated, the two bishops, his supporters, stood one on each side, the noblemen bearing the four swords on his right hand, the deputy lord great chamberlain and the lord high constable on his left; the great officers of state, the deputy earl marshal, the dean of Westminster, the noblemen bearing the regalia, train bearers, with deputy garter, the lord lyon, the lord mayor of London, and black rod standing about his chair.

Anthem--"I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the lord."

The Recognition. Upon the conclusion of the anthem, the lord archbishop of Canterbury, together with the lord chancellor, the deputy lord great chamberlain, the lord high constable and deputy earl marshal, preceded by deputy garter, moved to the east side of the theatre, where the archbishop made the recognition, and repeated the

same

at the south, west, and north sides of the theatre; during which his majesty was standing, and turned towards the people on the side on which the recognition was made. The words were, "I here present unto you king George the fourth, the undoubted king of His this realm; wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage, are you willing to do the same?". The reply through the hall was, with loud applause, in the affirmative, with God save king George the fourth.”

The king, ascending the theatre, passed on the south side of the throne to his chair of state, on the east side thereof, opposite to the altar; and after his private devotion, (kneeling down upon the faldstool), took his seat. majesty appeared distressed almost to fainting. It was with uneven steps and evident difficulty that he made his way up the aisle. The heat indeed was so great, that a lady in one of the

His majesty being again seated, the bible, the chalice, and the patina, were carried to, and placed upon the altar, by the bishops who had borne them in the procession.

The two officers of the wardrobe then spread a rich cloth of gold, and laid a cushion of the same for his majesty to kneel on, at the steps of the altar. The archbishop of Canterbury put on his cope, and the bishops were also vested in their copes.

The Offering. The king, at tended by the two bishops, his supporters, the dean of Westminster, and the noblemen bearing the regalia and the four swords, passed to the altar; where his majesty, uncovered, and kneeling upon the cushion, made his first offering of a pall or altar-cloth of gold: it was delivered by the lord chamberlain to the deputy lord great chamberlain, and by his lordship to the king, who delivered it to the archbishop of Canterbury, by whom it was placed on the altar. The treasurer of the household then delivered an ingot of gold, of one pound weight, being the second offering, to the deputy lord great chamberlain, who having presented the same to the king, his majesty delivered it to the archbishop, to be by him put into the oblation basin. His majesty continuing to kneel, the prayer "O God who dwellest in the high and only place," was said by the archbishop. At the conclusion of this prayer the king rose, and was conducted to the chair of state on the south side of the area. regalia, except the swords, were delivered by the several noblemen who bore the same, to the arch

The

bishop, and by his grace to the dean of Westminster, to be laid on the altar: the noblemen then

returned to their places.

The Service. The litany was next read by two bishops, vested. in copes, and kneeling at a faldstool above the steps of the theatre, on the middle of the east side thereof. His grace the archbishop of York then ascended the coronation pulpit on the north side of the aisle, and delivered a sermon of about twenty minutes length, from 2 Samuel, chap xxiii, verses 3 and 4. "The God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spake to me, he that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God; and he shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain." He began by stating that his text was deserving of the most serious consideration at the hands of the audience he was addressing, not merely on account of its being the declaration of a dying king, but also the inspiration of a divine prophet. He then entered into a dissertation upon the mutual advantages which accrue both to the governor and the governed from good government. He stated that one and the chief point to produce good government was a strict attendance to universal justice on the part of the governor; not merely to justice between man and man, but between nation and nation. The records of history, both ancient and modern, fully proved that monarchs in general applied one code of morality to men, and another to nations. Now, a good ruler ought to apply

the

the same code to both; and unless he did so, the nation which he governed could not be happy. After pointing out the dangers which arose from licentiousness in the people and tyranny in the monarch, he proceeded to draw the picture of a patriot king, whose sole aim was the good of his people, and who, in seeking to accomplish that good, always withheld his favour from the base and licentious, and exhibited in his own person an example of those virtues which he cherished in others. If a monarch fully accomplished that object he would not be overpaid for his exertions by the largest revenues, inasmuch as those exertions were calculated to produce the most lasting benefits to his people. England had very recently had a proof of the truth of that assertion; she had seen a religious ruler sit on the throne of her kings for more than half a century, and she had in consequence been established in strength amidst the wreck of surrounding nations. On the son and successor of that king she now rested her hopes in perfect security; and if the nation might take its experience of the past as a gage of his future conduct, they had good grounds for expecting that their hopes would be confirmed whenever they looked at the manner in which he had conducted himself during the late eventful struggles for the liberties of Europe. The sovereign, who was then about to undergo an important ceremony, was not unknown to the cares of his station. When called to the helm of government by the unfortunate illness of his father, he found the country in a state of war, which 1821.

threatened to destroy its very existence. To his stedfastness in a time of peril it was owing, under God, that the war had been brought to a conclusion, glorious in the annals of history, and still more glorious in the moderation of the victor, who, so far from being subdued by ambition in good fortune, had confined himself to the attainment of that which was the best justification of war-a secure and permanent peace. Under a prince of such wisdom, both in peace and war, they had reason to look forward to all the blessings. that were to be derived from a great and glorious policy-they had reason to believe that he would place his glory in the moral integrity of the empire, and that he would, in consequence, reign in the hearts of a loyal and happy people. The reverend prelate concluded an address, which we heard but very imperfectly, by calling on the congregation to implore the Almighty to confirm the hopes which they already entertained regarding his present majesty, to multiply every blessing on his head, and so to direct his counsels to the advancement of true religion, that he might long continue to hold the sceptre of righteousness in peace and security.

During the sermon his majesty sat in his chair on the south side of the area, opposite the pulpit; his supporters, the deputy lord great chamberlain, and the noblemen carrying the swords, standing by him: the archbishop of Canterbury took his seat in a purple velvet chair on the north side of the altar, deputy garter standing near him; the bishops were their benches, along the north side (G)

on

of

of the area; the dean and prebendaries of Westminster stood on the south side of the area, east of the king's chair, and near the altar. The published ceremonial stated, that the king would wear his cap of state during the sermon. His majesty (owing probably to the heat of the weather) forbore to do so.

The Oath.-The sermon being at an end, the archbishop prepared to administer the coronation oath. The king rose from his chair of state and, attended by his supporters and the deputy lord great chamberlain, went uncovered to the altar, where, kneeling upon the cushion, and placing his hand on the Holy Gospels, his majesty took the oath.

"Sir, is your majesty willing to take the oath ?"

The king answered,-" I am willing."

The archbishop then ministered these questions; and the king, having a copy of the printed form and order of the coronation service in his hands, answered each question severally, as follows:

Arch. "Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in parliament agreed on, and the respective laws and customs of the same?"

laws of God, the true profession of the gospel, and the protestant reformed religion established by law? And will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the united church of England and Ireland, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established within England and Ireland, and the territories thereunto belonging? And will you preserve unto the bishops and clergy of England and Ireland, and to the united church committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do, or shall appertain to them, or any of them?"

King."All this I promise to

do."

Then the king arising out of his chair, supported as before, and assisted by the lord great chamberlain, the sword of state being carried before him, went to the altar, and there being uncovered made his solemn oath in the sight of all the people, to observe the premises; laying his right hand upon the Holy Gospel in the great Bible, which was before carried in the procession, and was now brought from the altar by the archbishop, and tendered to him as he kneels upon the steps, saying these

words:

"The things which I have herebefore promised I will perform and

King. "I solemnly promise keep. So help me God." so to do."

Arch. "Will you to your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?"

King. "I will."

Arch. "Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the

Then the king kissed the book and signed the oath.

The Anointing.-The king, having thus taken his oath, returned again to the chair, and kneeling at his faldstool, the archbishop begun the hymn Veni, Creator Spiritus, and the choir sang it out.

Anthem

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