THE QUEEN'S CORONATION.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 26, 19 October 1888, Page 21

THE QUEEN'S CORONATION.

Fl*rY yean ago, on the 28th of Jane, 1838, the crown of these realms was placed upon the head of Queen Victoria. Mr. Greville's version, of what he saw and thought, which was only given to the world fortyseven years after it was penned, will ba perused with interest : — The coronation (which, thank God, is over) went off rery well. The day was fine, without heat or rain — the innumerable multitude which thronged the streets orderly and satisfied. The appearance of the Abbey was beautiful, particularly the benches of i ho peeresses, who were blazing with diamonds. The Queen looked very diminutive, and the effect of the procession itself was spoilt by being too crowded ; there was not interval enough between the Queen and the lordß and others going before her. The Biihop ot London (Blomfisld) preached a very good sermon. The different actors in the ceremonial were very imperfect in their parts, and had neglected to rehearse them. Lord John Tynne, who officiated for the Dean of Westminster, told me tha tno one knew what was to be done except the Archbishop himself (who had rehvarsed), Lord Willoughby (who is experienced in these matters), and the Duke of Wellington, and constantly there was a continual difficulty and embar* aesment, and the Queen never knew what she was to do next. They made her leave her chair and enter into St. Edward's chapel befor* the prayers were concluded, much to the discomfiture of the Arohbishop, She said to Lord John Tynne, " Pray tell me what lam to do, for they don't know ; and at the end, when the orb was put into her band, she said to him, "What am I to do with it? " " Your Majesty is to carry it, if you plea : e, in your hand." "Am IT" the said ; "it is very heavy." The ruby ring was made for her little finger instead of tha fourth, on which the rubric prescribes that it should ba put. When the Archbishop was to put it on, she extended the former, but he said it mußt be on the latter. She said it was too small, and she could not get it on. He said it was right to put it there, and, as he insisted, she yielded, but had first to take off her other rings, and then this was forced on ; but it hurt her very much, and as soon as the ceremony was over, sh« was obliged to bathe her finger in iced water in order to get it off. The noise and confusion were very great when the medals were thrown about by Lord Surrey ; everybody scrambling with all their might and main to get them, and none more vigorously than the Maids of Honour. There was a great demonstration of applause when the Duke of Wellington did homage. Lord Rolle, who is between eighty and ninety, fell down as he was getting up the steps of the throne. Her first impulse w«b to rise ; and when afterwards he came again to do homage, she said, " May I not get up and meet him ? " and then rose from the throne and advanced down ona or two of the steps to prevent his corning vp — an act of graciousness and kindness which made a great sensation. (The Queen sent in the evening to inquire after Lord Rolle.) It is, in fact, the remarkable union of naivete, kindness, good-nature, with propriety and dignity, which makes her so admirable and so endeariog to those about her, as she certainly is. I have been repeatedly told that they are all warmly attached to her, but that all feel the impassibility of for a moment losing sight of the respect which they owe her. She never ceases to be a Queen, but is always the most charming, cheerful, obliging, and unaffected Queen in the world. The procession was very handsome, and the Extraordinary Ambassadors produced some gorgeous equipages. Th« thing best worth seeing was the town itself and the countless multitudes through which the procession passed. Tne Oancellor of; the Exchequer told me that he had been informed £200,000 had been paid for seats alone, and the numbtr of people who bflve floekvi

into London has been estimated at 500,000. It ig said that a million has bad a sight of the show one way or another. These numbers are possibly exaggerated, but they really were prodigious. From Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, by the way they tuok, which mast be two or three miles in length, there was a dense mass of people ; the seats and benches were all full, every window was occupied, the roofs of the houses were covered with spectators, for the most part well-dressed, and from the great space through which they were distributed, there was no extraordinary pressure, and consequently no room for violence or ill-humour.