THE CROWN OF ENGLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 142, 16 June 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE CROWN OF ENGLAND.

Some Curious Customs Connected With it.—Anglo-Israel Interpretation.

There are many curious customs observed that seem singularly out of place and inappropriate in this practical nineteenth century. And yet, no doubt, if it were possible to go back to the origin of these customs, the importance and significance of them would be immediately recognised. • Of late-years, owing to the spread of what) i is known as the Anglo-Israel movement, ■ or the identification of the British and; American nations with that nation of • Israel which has been so long lost, bub j which, according to the Bible, is to take ; such a prominent part in the closing j years of the Christian dispensation, in- \ quiries have been diligently made into the j reasons why'itshouldbe absolutely necessary \ for the satisfactory legal performance of! Britain's coronation ceremony, that the: monarch should have placed under him a rough unsightly piece of granite. This stone, known as the Coronation Stone, has an authentic history of upwards of two thousand years, and during that long period it has always been used for a similar purpose; and not only that, but a lineal descendant of the one crowned on it two thousand years ago has always been found in possession of it. It was first in Ireland, the Irish kings being always crowned upon it. The brother of one of the Irish kings, who had started a kingdom in Scotland on his own account, borrowed the stone from his brother, so as . to make his own coronation ceremony as binding as possible, and then he neglected to return it. From there Edward I. of England removed it to Westminster; Abbey, where'it has remained ever since, j placed immediately under the seat of the; coronation chair. The only sovereign; not) crowned upon it was Mary. She i had a chair sent her specially blessed' by the Pope, and Oliver Cromwell, when; appointed Protector of the Kingdom, sab upon the coronation chair, but was careful' to have the stone removed before the ceremony commenced.' The only plausible solution of this i custom and its significance is given by tha; Anglo-Israelites. They say the stone is! actually the stone upon which Jacob slept j when he saw his wonderful vision, thafoj according to the Bible it is a sort of stone j title deed proving British-Israel's right to i the land promised by God to Abraham, j which includes not only Palestine, but all { that country lying between the Nile and! the Euphrates and from the Mediterranean j Sea to the Persian Gulf—pretty well, in! fact, the country now called Turkey in Asia, j which by the treaty of 1879 is now vir- i tually under the protection of Britain. Tha j Anglo-Israelites, of course, cannot prove! that this stone is Jacob's stone, but; there is no doubt that that is the namej by which it has been known, for many; generations, and by dint of great research j among old histories and Irish legends: they have formulated, to say the least, a most ingenious theory, and one not at all easy to explode. Just at present the Anglo-Israelites are again to the fore in the old country in con-! sequence of the discovery and public discussion that has been for some time carried \ on by a section of the Home press, as to the origin and meaning of what is known as, "Queen Victoria's Epiphany offering of: gold, frankincense and myrrh." Few j . people possibly are aware that there 13j an annual offering of this character made ] to Her Majesty. But such is the fact, and! as this is an inquisitive and a utilitarian age, \ somebody wanted to know what was tha I meaning and the use of it. Of course every- i body knows or ought to know that gold,: frankincense and myrrh were presented to ■ the infant Jesus by the wise men from the i East, gold being symbolical of His Royal. character. Frankincense was an aromatic i used in sacrificial offerings. It appears to j have raised a dense cloud ef smoke over the, tabernacle, symbolising the acceptance of the' sacrifice and affording a covering for the ; people'ssins;itthereforesymboliseddivinity.: Myrrh means bitterness and symbolised; suffering. But how does all this apply to i Her Majesty ? That is at present what no j one can tell. The facts and the circumstances surrounding the facts are now ; published, but no one seems at present to j be able to throw any light upon it. One! writer says: "The Epiphany offerings of' gold, frankincense and myrrh in the Chapel Royal on the part of the Sovereign go back to Edward the Confessor's time, or earlier, and were an ancient custom in the time of Edward I." Another correspondent writes: " Twenty-five or thirty years ago, the offering (I have one of that time now before me) was a handsome box of red silk with the star of Bethlehem on the top ; it was lined with white silk. It contained three bags of red silk lined with white with gold tassels and cords, one containing gold leaf, a second frankincense, and a third myrrh." The cost of this offering was at that time £25, which was looked upon as an unreasonable sum to pay for it; it was therefore proposed to abolish the custom altogether. The Dean of the Chapel, however, suggested that the custom should be continued, but at only a nominal cost. This has since been done, and a writer says: " The actual oblation, as made at the Chapel Pvoyal, is not very lavish. A very small book of gold-leaf, and two little baga of coar3e net gauze, containing about half-an-ounce each of frankincense and myrrh, are enclosed in a cheap wooden box, covered with imitation red morocco leather, the total value being about five shillings." Ifo appears that such a custom p.s this is not observed amongst any other nation. It is evidently a memento of the gift of the Magi; but why it should be perpetuated annually to Britain's rulers nobody seema to know.