might keep his face still towards the king. A loud clapping and huzzaing consequently ensued. After the first course, and before the second, the king's champion, Mr. Dymoke, who enjoys that office, as being lord of the manor of Scrivelsby, in Lincolnshire, entered the hall, completely armed in one of his majesty's best suits of white armour, mounted on a fine white horse, the same his late majesty wore at the battle of Dettingen, richly caparisoned, in the following manner: Two trumpets, with the champion's arms on their banners; the serjeant-trumpet, with his mace on his shoulder; the champion's two esquires, richly habited, one on the right hand with the champion's lance, carried upright; the other on the left hand, with his target, and the champion's arms depicted thereon; accompanied the herald of arms, with a paper in his hand, containing the words of the challenge. The earl marshal, in his robes and coronet, on horseback, with the marshal's staff in his hand; the champion on horseback, with a gauntlet in his right hand, his helmet on his head, adorned with a great plume of feathers, white, blue, and red; the lord high constable, in his robes and coronet, and collar of the order, on horseback, with the constable's staff. Four pages richly apparelled, attendant on the champion. The passage to their majesties' table being cleared by the knight marshal, the herald at arms, with a loud voice proclaimed the champion's challenge, at the lower end of the hall, in the words following: "If any person, of what degree soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay, our Sovereign Lord King George III., King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c., grandson and next heir to our sovereign lord King George II., the last king deceased, to be the right heir to the imperial crown of the realm of Great Britain, or that he ought not to enjoy the same; here is his champion, who saith that he lieth, and is a false traitor, being ready in person to combat with him; and in this quarrel will adventure his life against him, on what day soever shall be appointed." And then the champion throws down his gauntlet; which, having lain some small time, the herald took up and returned it to the champion.* Then they advanced in the same order to the middle of the hall, where the 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 cast down his gauntlet; which, after some time, being taken up, and returned 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 cupbearer, 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, rode out of the hall, taking the bowl and cover with him as his fee. You cannot expect that I should give you a bill of fare, or enumerate the dishes that were provided and sent from the adjacent temporary kitchens, erected in Cotton Garden for this purpose. No less than sixty haunches of venison, with a surprising quantity of all sorts of game, were laid in for this grand feast. The King's table was covered with one hundred and twenty dishes, at three several times, served up by his majesty's band of pensioners; but what chiefly attracted our eyes, was their majesties' desert, in which the confectioner had lavished all his ingenuity in rock work and emblematical figures. The other deserts were no less admirable for their *The origin of this custom is not known, but Rapin appears certain that it is more ancient than the coronation of Richard II. because Sir John Dymoke, who then performed that office, was admitted so to do by virtue of a privilege attached to his manor of Scrivelsby in Lincolnshire. Sir Henry Dymoke, the present representative of the family, was created a baronet, on occasion of his having acted as champion at her present majesty's coronation, being the seventeenth of his family, who, in hereditary descent, had so done. expressive devices. But I must not forget to tell you, that when the company came to be seated, the poor knights of the Bath had been overlooked, and not able provided for them. An airy apology, however, was served up to them instead of a substantial dinner: but the two junior knights, in order to preserve the rank of precedency to their successors, were placed at the head of the judges' table, above all the learned brethren of the coif. The peers were placed on the outermost side of the tables, and the peeresses within nearest the walls. You cannot suppose that there was the greatest order imaginable observed during the dinner, but must conclude, that some of the company were as eager and impatient to satisfy the craving of their appetites, as any of your country squires at a race or assize ordinary. It was pleasant to see the various stratagems made use of by the company in the galleries to come in for a snack of the good things below. The ladies clubbed their handkerchiefs to be tied together to draw.up a chicken, or bottle of wine. Some had been so provident as to bring baskets with them, which were let down, like the prisoners' boxes at Ludgate or the Gate House, with a Pray remember the poor. You will think it high time, that I should bring this long letter to a conclusion. Let it suffice then to acquaint you, that their majesties returned to St. James's a little after ten o'clock at night. After the nobility were departed, the hall doors were thrown open, according to custom, when the people immediately cleared it of all the movables, such as the victuals, cloths, plates, dishes, &c., and, in short, every thing that could stick to their fingers. I need not tell you, that several coronation medals, in silver, were thrown among the populace at the return of the procession. Some of gold were also thrown among the peeresses in the abbey, just after the king was crowned; but they thought it below their dignity to stoop to pick them up. I should not forget telling you that I am well assured the king's crown weighs almost three pounds and a half, and that the great diamond in it fell out in returning to Westminster Hall, but was immediately found and restored. I shall say nothing of the illuminations at night; the news There have been three coronations since of this work. That of George the Fourth, on the 10th d conducted with all the splendour which at fined taste and habits of expense, but ove gloom was cast by the absence of his ill-fat and her endeavours to obtain admission into than one door of which was forcibly shut indignity under which she sunk, and with died of a broken heart, if even that sure accelerated by her own act. She might b absolved, while the conduct of her husband r censured without involving her acquittal. was the victim of the interested ambition o and the king was equally sacrificed to the imbecility of his official advisers. The cheap coronation on 8th of Septemb liam the Fourth, shorn of all extraneous spl suited to the simplicity of his character and resources of the country; while that of her on the 28th of June, 1838, in the gorgeousn of the pageant, far exceeded the ceremoni Fourth, and, though perhaps in some mea the sex and youth of the sovereign, appeare contrast with a deficient revenue and an i creasing mass and spread of pauperism thro THE GHOST. BOOK IV.* COXCOMBS, who vainly make pretence 5 * This, like the other three books of the Ghost, a rhapsodical, poetical, whimsical performance, abounding with the strongest flights of fancy and the keenest strokes of satire, and treating of every thing and nothing. It is, like its author, an eccentric piece of genius, not to be judged by the strict rules of criticism, or to be confined within the narrow bounds of regularity.-St. James's Chronicle. Whether we are to have any more of this Shandy in Hudibrastics, we cannot learn from the 4th part, but we think it probable that this is intended as the conclusion, if it be proper to talk of the conclusion of a work, which has neither beginning, middle, nor end, plan, purpose, nor moral. Nevertheless, as in the inimitable work of his brother Sterne, there are a thousand moral, witty, and excellent passages scattered through this rambling performance, every part of which we have read with pleasure without being well able to say what we were reading; such absolute command over us, such unbounded power has genius! We think it unnecessary to add any specimens to those we have formerly given from this heterogeneous production of a sportive, wild, and arbitrary fancy.-Monthly Review. |
