And then the champion threw down his gauntlet; which, having lain some small time, the herald took it up, and redelivered it. Then they advanced in the same order to the middle of the hall, where the same herald made proclamation as before; and lastly, to the foot of the steps, when the herald, and those who preceded him, going to the top of the steps, made proclamation a third time, at the end whereof the champion threw down his gauntlet; which, after some time, being taken up, and re-delivered to him by the herald, he made a low obeisance to his majesty: whereupon the cupbearer, assisted as before, brought to the king a gilt bowl of wine, with a cover; his majesty drank to the champion, and sent him the bowl by the cup-bearer, accompanied with his assistants; which the champion (having put on his gauntlet) received, and retiring a little, drank thereof, and made his humble reverence to his majesty; and being accompanied as before, departed out of the hall, taking the said bowl and cover with him as his fee. Immediately after which, the officers of arms, descending from their gallery, Garter and the two provincial kings of arms, with their coronets on their heads, followed by the heralds and pursuivants, came and stood at the lower end of the hall, and, making their obeisance to his majesty, proeeeded to the middle of the hall, where they made a second obeisance; and, being come to the foot of the steps, and there making a third obeisance, they ascended the steps, and, at the top thereof, Garter cried Largess' thrice, and (having received his majesty's largess) proclaimed the king's stile in Latin, as follows: "Serenissimi, potentissimi, & excellentissimi Monarcha Georgii III. Dei gratiâ, Magnæ Britanniæ, Franciæ, & Upon which, all the officers of arms making their obeisance, Garter the second time proclaimed his majesty's stile in French, as followeth : "Du tres-haut, tres-puissant, & tres-excellent Monarque George III. par la grace de Dieu, Roy de la Grande Bretagne, France, & Irlande, Defenseur de la Foy." The The officers of arms making another reverente, Garter the third time proclaimed the king's stile in English, as followeth : "Of the most high, most mighty, and most excellent Monarch George III. by the grace of God, king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith." After which, they all made their obeisance, and, descending, went backwards to the middle of the hall, still keeping their faces towards the king, and there, crying Largess' thrice, proclaimed the king's stile in Latin, French, and English, as before. And lastly, coming to the lower end of the hall in the same order, they again cried Largess,' and proclaimed his majesty's stile in like manner, and then, repairing to their table, sat down to dinner. Their majesties having dined, rose from table, received again their regalia, which had been held near them all dinnertime: and thus, with their crowns on their heads, and the orb and scepters in their hands, and attended, and their trains borne as before, and the four swords, and scepter with the dove, being borne before his majesty, they withdrew into the court of wards, where the crowns, orb, and scepters being delivered to the dean of Westminster, and master of the jewel-house, their majesties departed in the same manner as they came thither. After which the nobility, and all others who dined in Westminster Hall, severally departed. Among the other services performed on this occasion, was that of chief butler, by the lord mayor; but this privilege will be more fully described, when speaking of the dignities attached to his office. N. B. A little before the royal procession began to march, proceeded that of her royal highness the princess dowager of Wales, from the House of Lords, across Old Palace Yard, on a platform erected for that purpose, to the south cross of Westminster Abbey. She was conducted by the hand by his royal highness Prince William Henry, dressed in white and silver, silver, whose engaging affability and filial complaisance gained, in a moment, the esteem of all the spectators. Her train, which was of silk, was but short, and therefore not borne by any person; and her hair flowed down her shoulders in hanging curls. She had no cap, but only a circlet of diamonds. The rest of the princes and princesses, her highness's children, followed in the following order: His royal highness Prince Henry Frederick, also in white and silver, handing his sister, the Princess Louisa-Anne; who was dressed in a slip with hanging sleeves. Then His royal highness Prince Frederick-William, likewise in white and silver, handing his youngest sister, the Princess Caroline-Matilda, dressed also in a slip with hanging sleeves. The other persons who made up the remainder of this procession, were those who had not a right to walk with their majesties. The celebrated Mr. Bonnel Thornton, wrote an enter taining and familiar detail of the particular circumstances attending the Coronation, in a letter to his friend in the country; which, on account of its peculiar merit, is submitted as a close to our description of that magnificent spectacle : "DEAR SIR, Though I regret leaving you so soon, especially as the weather has since proved so fine, that it makes me long to be with you in the country, yet I honestly confess, that I am heartily glad I came to town as I did. As I have seen it, I declare I would not have missed the sight upon any consideration. The friendship of Mr. Rolles, who procured me a pass-ticket, as they call it, enabled me to be present both in the Hall and the Abbey; and as to the procession out of doors, I had a fine view of it from a one-pair of stairs room, which your neighbour, Sir Edward, had hired at the small price of one hundred guineas, on purpose to oblige his acquaintance. I wish you had been with me; but as you have been been deprived of a sight, which probably very few that were present will ever see again, I will endeavour to describe it to you as minutely as I can, while the circumstances are fresh in my memory, though my description must fall very short of the reality. First, then, conceive to yourself the fronts of the houses, in all the streets that could command the least point of view, lined with scaffolding, like so many galleries or boxes raised one above another to the very roofs. These were covered with carpets and cloths of different colours, which presented a pleasing variety to the eye; and if you consider the brilliant appearance of the spectators who were seated in them (many being richly dressed) you will easily imagine this was no indifferent part of the show. The mob underneath made a pretty contrast to the rest of the company. Add to this, that though we had nothing but wet and cloudy weather for some time before, the day cleared up, and the sun shone auspiciously, as it were in compliment to the grand festival. The platform, on account of the uncertainty of the weather, had a shelving roof, which was covered with a kind of sail-cloth; but near the place where I was, an honest Jack Tar climbed up to the top and stripped off the covering, which gave us not only a more extensive view, but let the light in upon every part of the procession. I should tell you, that a rank of foot soldiers was placed on each side within the platform; and it was not a little surprising to see the officers familiarly conversing and walking arm and arm with many of them, till we were let into the secret, that they were gentlemen who had put on the dresses of common soldiers, for what purpose I need not mention. On the outside were stationed, at proper distances, several parties of horse-guards, whose horses, indeed, somewhat incommoded the people, that pressed incessantly upon them, by their prancing and capering; though, luckily, I do not hear of any great mischief being done. I must confess, it gave me much pain, to see the soldiers, both horse and foot, most unmercifully belabouring the heads of the mob with their broad-swords, bayonets, and muskets; but it was not unpleasant pleasant to observe several tipping the horse soldiers slily from time to time (some with halfpence, and some with silver, as they could muster up the cash) to let them pass between the horses to get nearer the platform; after which these unconscionable gentry drove them back again. As soon as it was day-break (for I chose to go to my place overnight) we were diverted with seeing the coaches and chairs of the nobility and gentry passing along with much ado; and several persons very richly dressed, were obliged to quit their equipages, and be escorted by the soldiers through the mob to their respective places. Several carriages, I am told, received great damage: Mr. Jennings, whom you know, had his chariot broke to pieces; but providentially neither he nor Mrs. Jennings, who were in it, received any hurt. "Their majesties (to the shame of those be it spoken who were not so punctual) came in their chairs from St. James's through the Park to Westminster about nine o'clock. The king went into a room which they call the Court of Wards, and the queen into that belonging to the gentlemanusher of the Black-rod. The nobility and others, who were to walk in the procession, were mustered and ranged by the officers of arms in the Court of Requests, Painted Chamber, and House of Lords, from whence the cavalcade was conducted into Westminster Hall. As you know all the avenues and places about the Hall, you will not be at a loss to understand me. My pass-ticket would have been of no service, if I had not prevailed on one of the guards, by the irresistible argument of half-a-crown, to make way for me through the mob to the Hall-gate, where I got admittance just as their majesties were seated at the upper end, under magnificent canopies. Her majesty's chair was on the left hand of his majesty; and they were attended by the great chamberlain, lord high constable, earl marshal, and other great officers. Four swords, I observed, and as many spurs, were presented in form, and then placed upon a table before the king. VOL. I. No. 21. 3 R "There |