The Sun.
London, England, 1838-06-28 00:00:00

SECOND OFFERING

(a purse of gold), which the Treasurer of the Household de.
livered to the Lord Great Chamberlain, and he to her Ma-
jesty, from whom the Archbishop received it. The Arch.
bishop then said the prayer, " oGod, who dwellest," &c.
Her Majesty then went to her chair on the south side of the
area, and knelt at her faldstool:

When the Archbishop and the Dean, with the Bishop's

assistants, namely, the Preacher, and those who had read
the Litany, and the Epistle and Gospel, had communicated,
her Majesty approached the altar and received the Sacra-
ment, the Archbishop administering the bread, and the Dean ,
of Westminster the cup.
The Queen then received the Crown from the Lord Great
Chamberlain, and put it on, and repaired to her Throne, re?
ceiving again the Sceptre with the Cross in her right hand,
and the Sceptre with the Dove in her left, being there sup-
ported and attended as during the inthronization.
The Archbishop then proceeded with the Communion
Service, at the end of which the choir sang the anthem,
" Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth," &c.,
and the same being concluded, the Archbishop read the final
prayers and pronounced the blessing,
The service being concluded, her Majesty, attended by the
two Bishops her supporters, the Great Officers of State, the
noblemen bearing the four swords before her, and the noble-
men who had carried the regalia then lying upon the altar,
descended into the arena, and passed through the door on the
south side into St. Edward's Chapel; the noblemen, who had
carried the regalia, receiving them from the Dean of West-
minster as they passed by into the Chapel; the organ and
other instruments all the while playing.
Her Majesty being in the Chapel, and standing before the
altar, delivered the sceptre with the dove, which her Majesty
had borne in her left hand, to the Archbishop, who laid tt
upon the altar there.

Her Majesty was thin disrobed of her Royal Imperial
mantle or robe of State, and arrayed in her Royal robe of
purple velvet, by the Lord Great Chamberlain.
The Archbishop then placed the Orb in her Majesty's !eft
hand.

The Noblemen, who had carried the gold er.lrs, and St.
Edward's staff, delivered the same to the Dean, en'! by him
deposited on the altar in the chapel.
Whilst her Majesty was in St. Edward's Chapel the
Officers of Arms arranged the procession for the return, e'
that all were ready to move at the moment when the Queen
left the chapel.
Her Majesty then proceeded out of the Choir, and to the
west door of the Abbey, the Queen wearing her Crown, and
bearing, in her right hand, the sceptre with the cross, and in
her left the orb; their Royal HighnesseS‘ the Princes and
Princesses wearing their coronets. The four swords were
borne before the Queen in the same order as before.
The Dean and Prebendaries, and the Bishops, who had
carried the Bible, the Chalice and the Patina, remained in
the choir. The Noblemen who had severally carried the
crown, the orb, the sceptre with the dove, the spurs, and St.
Edward's staff, walked in the same places as before ; those
who had stages and batons carrying the same; all Peers
wearing their coronets; and the Archbishops and the Bishops
supporting her Majesty wearing their caps; and the 'Kings of
Arms their crowns.

The swords and the regalia were received near the west
door by the officers of the Jewel Office appointed for that
purpose._

Her Majesty and the Princes and Princesses of the Blood.
Royal then returned to the Royal Palace with the same state
as in their proceeding to the Abbey.

THE INTERIOR.
For the information of the uninitiated amongour readers—
the interior of the " Ancient Abbaye" of Westminster being
to many, even of the good citizens of London, " a sealed
book"—it may be necessary to state that the vast pile is in
the form of a cross, the aisles from the Royal entrance running
west and east, and the transepts north and south, the centre
of the building being the theatre where the chief portion of
the august and impressive ceremonies took place ; and where
the young and lovely Queen of these realms fonned to-day the
great point of attraction, " the cynosure of every eye," of the
countless thousands of the elite of the aristocracy and gentry,
of this and every other civilized nation on the face of the globe,
assembled .within the .venerable pile.
From the western entrance, where her Majesty passed
under the organ gallery to the theatre, a raised platform
twenty-four feet wide was erected, with a smaller platform
on either side for the accommodation of those personages who
took a part in the imposing ceremony. In the centre of the
Abbey, and immediately under the lantern, was a square
platform, ascended by four steps, covered with claret-coloured
drapery, richly embroidered in gold. Here was placed the
throne or chair of state, facing the altar, in which her Majesty
received the homage of her people. Its sides were hung with
gold lace of great richness and elegance, the seat and back
being covered with crimson velvet, on which the Royal arms
were splendidly emblazoned, and the pillars, flutings, &c.-
being of burnished gold. There was also a footstool corres-
ponding in every particular with the throne itself. At each
corner of the theatre were semicircular rails, within which the

heralds and yeomen of the guard, bearing their partizans, re-
mained during the ceremony.

At the eastern or opposite extremity of the building was
the altar, surmounted by a lofty canopy, supporting various
emblematical figures in gold. The drapery behind it consisted
of silk damask, extending along the whole of the front gallery,
and draped up with elegant festoons of gold cord and tassels.
On the right of the altar was the offering table, covered with
garter blue Genoa velvet, bordered with lace and fringed with
gold. In front of this table, and close to the theatre, was the
pulpit, elevated on a splendidly gilt and decorated pedestal—
the pulpit and cushion being covered with crimson velvet,
richly fringed with gold lace. The south side of the sacra-
rium was occupied by the Royal box. The drapery here was
of the most costly description, being trimmed with loops of
gold rope, bordered and fringed with gold lace, the interior
lined with white satin, elegantly fluted, and the chairs, which
were of an extremely beautiful and unique pattern, being
also elegantly gilt and ornamented.

Her Majesty's Litany chair and faldstool were placed at the
foot of the stage supporting the throne : the. drapery was of
the same costly material and of corresponding magnificence
with the other arrangements for this august and important
occasion.

In the eastern aisle, immediately above the altar, which
on former occasions was occupied by the choir, was the gal-
lery for the accommodation of the Members of the House of
Commons. The seats, &c., were covered with scarlet cloth
and gold ornaments. Above this was another gallery, rising
nearly to the roof of the building, the seats of which were also
covered with crimson cloth. The fronts of the various gal-
leries were decorated with hangings of the same material,
trimmed with a deep gold fringe, and having the Royal arms
embroidered in gold in the centre. At intervals of about
ten feet, extending along the entire ranges of the galleries,
were triangular pillars, elegantly fluted and finished with gold
mouldings. _ _

The north and south transepts were occupied for about half
their depth with galleries for the accommodation of the
Peeresses and %Veers; these, with the smaller galleries above
them and the vaultings, were finished in the same chaste and
elegant manner. All the galleries, ascending amphitheatri-
ciliy to the roof, afforded a commodious view of the pro-
ceedings to the immense assemblage of spectators.

The nave behind the organ, with its galleries right and left,
the Gothic screen in front, and the Gothic tracery over the
Royal entrance, had a most imposing effect. The gilded shafts
and pinnacles of the organ were in perfect keeping with•the
antique Gothic architecture by which it was surrounded.
Beneath the organ was the gallery for the vocal and instru-
mental performers, affording accommodation fur upwards of
four hundred persons.
The most exquisite taste was displayed in all the arrange-
ments which we have thus briefly, and, we fear, imperfectly
described. The admiration of all parties was elicited, not so
much by the splendour of the decorations, as by the perfect
consistency and keeping of all the parts, applied as they were
to the interior of so ancient a fabric as the Abbey, and har-
monising so completely with the massive grandeur of the time-
stained walls, which were judiciously left in all their original
architectural beauty and simplicity. From the great western
entrance through the nave, along the aisles into the interior of
the theatre, including the choir, north and south transepts,
altar, galleries above and on all sides, there was a perfect uni-
formity of style ; all that was requisite was included; and al-
though gorgeous and magnificent almost beyond description,
there was nothing to offend the eye of the most fastidious, or
in any way to lessen the general effect of the entire.
The most attractive and interesting portion of the Abbey
was the north transept, in which were assembled several hun-
dreds of England's noblest and most lovely dames in their
rooes of estate. This point, more especially when the sun
flung its rays across it, was a perfect blaze of diamonds and
other costly gems.

The doors of the several entrances to the Abbey were
opened precisely at five o'clock, and notwithstanding the im-
mense numbers who even at that early hour had assembled,
such were the excellent arrangements made, that no crowding
or inconvenience took place, all parties being directed by the
police and other attendants stationed along the passages to the
galleries and sittings indicated on their tickets.

In about half an himr the upper and lower Choir Gal-
leries in the West Aisle, and the vaultings over the aisles and
transepts were completely filled, principally by Ladies in full
dress.

The Judges, Vice-Chancellor, and Master of the Rolls, in
their state robes, took their seats at the end of the choir
nearest the Theatre.

At a few minutes past six o'clock the attendants proceeded
from the Western entrance with the plate for the altar, the
arrangements for which had not been completed up to that
hour.

From seven o'clock a continued stream of Peers, Peeresses,
and other distinguished personages, entitled to pass. through
the. Western entrance and up the Aisle, were pouring into the
Abbey, and were conducted by the Heralds and Exons to the
places assigned them, the Peeresses taking their seats accord-
ing to their rank in the North transept, and the Peers in the
same order in the South transept.

The Sheriffs, Aldermen, and the Members of the Corpora.
tion, sat below the .fudges in the Choir, and close to the
Western entrance.

The Members of the House of Commons, who were all in
Court dress or uniform, arrived about half-past nine; and in
a very short time the lower and upper galleries were filled.
Among the distinguished individuals who attracted most
observation in their passage up the aisle were his Royal
Highness the Duke do Nemours and suite, Prince George of
'Cambridge, F,arl Grey, Lord Lyndhurst, the Duke and
Duchess of Buccleugh, the Marchioness of Londonderry, &c.
At ten o'clock the firing of the guns announced the de-
parture of her Majesty from the Palace, and the scene in the
Abbey then became much more interesting and animated.
The sun, which had been obscured during the morning,
at this period poured a .flood of brilliant light through
the lofty gothic windows upon the gorgeous assemblage
beneath: It is impossible to describe the brilliant and pictu-
resque effect of the various costumes—uniforms, robes, Lnd
draperies of every fantastic form and hue glittering with blil-
liant, pearls, and gold and silver lace, which met the eye in
every direction. From the theatre of the vast building to the
vaultings every point was crowded to excess, and all eyes
were strained to catch the first sight of their young and
lovely Sovereign,
. . _

Tong the latest arrivals were the Foreign Ambassadors,
with their suites, forming many gorgeous and varied groups
of uniforms and decorations. They occupied the Eastern
Gallery, opposite the Royal Box.