The Sun.
London, England, 1823-10-02 00:00:00

CEREMONY OF ROASTING THE OX.

This imposing ceremonial commenced by the solemn proces-
sion of the spitted monster between the hours of five and six, on
Tuesday evening. 'This part of the business was celebrated
with much solemn mimicry, in' form and manner, as by the law
of antiquated custom, and the wisdom of our ancestors to that
intent devised and established. The animal being first duly
prepared according to the craft and mystery of the slaughter-
house,- his protruding sides and. belly firmly bound and con-,
tined within lateral and longitudinal bands of iron, and transfix-
ed by a mighty spit, strengthened by sundry joists of wood and
iron, andadorned with divers bows and streamers of ribbons, is
hoisted into a cart, well lined-with laurel boughs, drawn by four
young horses. II ere,laidout in the inosebecoming position which
the nature of the case will admit, his gilded horns being promi-
nently exposed, a butcher standing on each side, and the
master cook seated at his head, preceded by ainilitary band,
the charity school-boys of the parish, two and two with
wands in their hands, and marshalled by the town beadles, in
state uniforms, with colours flying, and a vast concourse of
the people and boys of the place shouting and following in the
rear, as he triumphantly paraded through the streets. On the
present occasion, the car, copiously hung with laurel, pro.
ceeded up the main street to the lively, most' suitable, and
orthodoLuir of " 0 the roast beef of Old England 1" . Upon
arriving opposite the Castle gates a halt was come to, and an ad-
dition made to the treasure of the cart of two whole sheep, also
decked out for the'sacrifice in.colottred, ribbons. This done, the
whole procession and accompanying multitude faced to the Castle
and the band changing the tune to the National Anthem' and
the people uncoYered, a fervent prayer was put up for a "Long
life to King George the fourth," followed by nine hearty and
prolonged cheers, which made the ancient walls of the Castle
to echo again • returned with good 'effect by the soldiers on
guard within. 'The cavalcade then moved on dOwn the hill to
the end of the street which terminates, with the bridge over the
Thames, marking the boundary of the parish. In returning
by the same route, a halt was made before the house of the
Mayor, a respectable Apothecary in Tharnes.strect, where.,
three cheers were again given to the tulle of " God save the
King." In this manner the tour of the town Was made,
and the carcases finally stowed in .Bachelors' Acre, in.
the centre of which the requisite .erection of brick work
and iron grating had been prepared to dp the last
dikes of cookery. The -arrlval.ol 'the hap ay
lltroop, with
their interesting- cargo, wait noticed by a brisk and w.-,.,-
tamed discharge of emeat• useteights of the,
Acre. This, together with a display of tire-works, was kept up
far some time. No spot could be better adapted for a scene of
this kind, the ground consisting of ,a hollow, commanded on
every side by elevated banks, which enabfe4 the spectator to
witness all the proceedings beneath -him with ease. The fire
was not lighted before midnight, when the " lteeve•! wa,, care-
fully put down amidst the cheers or the populace, and the re-
peateddischarge of 'the guns width welComed its errival in the
Acre. • The spectacle of the itimiense... fire, fifteen fret wide,
throwing a vivid red glare upon the busy groupe around, was
highly picturesque, as Seen from a short distance. Upwards
of a dozen stout men' were engaged to wait lima the spit, and
perform its operations, the turning of which was accomplished
by the aid of two coach-wheels upon which it was rolled by the
means of two men to each wheel. 'The fire consumed at the
rate of a sack of coals per hour, but notwithstanding the ex-
trrordinary heat which this threw out,, .the fire-place in the
morning was surrounded by a moat of muddy water from the
rain which fell during the night. In this state did the cooks
toil throughout the whole of this day, relaxing their speed a
little for the -purpose of bringing their work to the table proper-
ly cooked tomorrow.
Irreditmlay
TUC KING'S. Alt tt I v A 1. A'r Till? CASTLE.

This lond expected event took place at about four o'clock this
afternoon.. Attetlf-past one, a squadron of the Royal Iloree
Guards went olt to escort his Majesty from the Cottage, and
about the
dsaiee ,
same
rse timetna rtelliteed7
intoin fthane ertrotu• nei
imeetine t
- of
yard,teldine,:v,eorer
drawn up on .both sides in rank and .file order, ready to re-
ceive the Royal carriage as it approached' with military
honours.' The remainder of the ground to the Castle
outer o
grand entrance was kept by the Ilium, as well as the carriege
road up to, the entrance of the Long Walk. At half-past two
the Mayor and Corporation, attended by all the principal chi- •
zens and a large proportion of the populace, set out from- the
Town-hall to meet the King. In front of the procession was,
the band of the Horse Guards after whom came the- Charity.
Boys with wands in their hands, and headed by the pro:
per municipal officer's. Then came the Mayor, supported
bey the civil authorities of the town, and followed by the
citizens in pairs, also bearing wands in their hands. After
these • came the town's ' people in considerable numbers,
whose loyalty prompted them to join the throng which
was going to welcome their Sovereign. In N. order, with
the band playing and colours flying, the People poured
out of the town in the • midst of a copious shower of rain which
fell at
.the time. Arrived at the Long Walk, the caval-
code was drawn up on the rising bank on either side of the car-
riage road. Thus formed, the line extended nearly a quarter of
a mile in length, . and offered a very pleating appearance to the
eye. Townsend wason the ground with aparty of twelve of the
most experienced of the London police under his direction. In
the baile rows, and on the outside of the Fete, and thence up to
the Cagle., on either side, were carriages tilled, with laditai, and
horsemen drawn up. Great inconvenience Wes experienced from
the exceeding wetness of the gram, upan which the Deputation
had to stand. for nearly an hour, during whiehl time. consider-
able anxiety was manifested with :reference to his Majesty's
arrival. Many horsemen, and carriages, containing some of
the Royal Household, or bearing gOille of the domestics from
the Cottage, furnished matter for speculation on the one topic
of interest, till their near approachdiseleated the expectation,
which bad been formed. The nature oldie Long Walk stretching
to the distance of snipe miles in a waiving line before the eye, with
its stately avenues of triply planted elms on either side, is limn-
liarly adapted to furnish such occupation upon an occaeion
of this kind. At length a turn of the mad, three miles oil;
brought the-Royal Partyin vi,ew• lie comes, he'cornes!" was
echoed from all sides. Straggles ruined to their place': and the
utmost order and silence iminediatelY prevailed diroughout the
ranks.-His Majeety, preceded and ftillowed by his out.ritlera
and the Oxford Blues, advanced in his travelling barouche
at a quick .-nace till he neared the procession, when he
dowdy deeleneti hi, se„d, in enter to dratify hitt subjects
with a better view of their Monarch. This act Of condescen-
sion was acknowledged by astounding acelaminatione, to the
complete discomfiture of the militsrY band,, which at the same
moment struck up the national anthem, othough 'without it
chance of being heard. The coloura were lowered, as were
also the white wands with which the hands of the front row
were armed ; his Majesty gr acioucly bowing in answer to the
with loyal salutations h which he wee on every side greeted.
The same manifestations of affectionate devotion .marked the
Royal progress through the town. The windows and door-
ways were filled with the fair and the aged, and
adventurous
boys had climbed the chimney heights. Cambric handker.
chiefs were seen floating in the air, Phil laPPin,g 4"r, hands and
hurrahs resounded far and wide, t an immense ' crowd
pressed on with their utmost speed in the rear, in the hope of
intercepting another view of hie Majesty's passage, by taking
a shorter cut than by the horse road. Ilts Majeity did not

Pass by the upper gate into the Castle, up to which the troorl
were ranged to receive him, but by the lower entrance, being
the gate which leads to the Deanery. Upon his Majesty's ens
trance the Royal' Standard was hoisted 'on- .the Royal
Tower, His Grace the Duke of Wellington was in the
carriage with' the king. -In the carriage next following
his
.11Iajesty was his Royal highness the -Duke of .York.,-A
great number of carriages from town arrived at the .Castle in:
the course of the day with the company which formed his Mti-
jesty's dinner party this evening; among these we observed Sir
C. Long and G. Cockburn. The remainder of the day was spent
by all classes in demonstrations of joy of every description. The
evenitfg turned out to be fine, and notwithstanding the disap-
pointtuents of the morning, all seemed resolved to enjoy the plea-,
sures of a light heart. in the evening. - Costly illuminations of
variegated lamps, with appropriate devices, made the principal
Streets as light as at noon -day, anti he were tilled and paraded
-throughout the night by a multitude of merry spints, the
clamours of whose tongues and the din of their lightsome
feet resounded far and near. Many donationt 'were made to
the populace; tending to add to the. -general happiness-which
pervaded the town. Among these was a butt of porter given
by an individual of the name of Adams, who had becomeaffiu-
ent in the situation of head ostler to the White Hart
The extravagant merriment. excited by this gratuitous butt
of liquor beggars description. At nine o'clock a brilliant dis-
play of fireworks was exhibited in the Long Walk, about a
mile from the opening. The night being serene and exceeding-
ly dark, the effect was beautiful in the extreme. This scene of
festivity was kept up to a late hour, when preparations began
to be made for the sports of the ensuing day, of which wore
anon.