Star.
London, England, 1821-07-31 00:00:00

dresses and feudal grandeur when the occasion de- 1
mantled it, and that in a degree of splendour which
they averred they had never seen paralleled in Europe.
,4 The duties of service at the Banquet, and of at-
tendance in general, were performed by Pages dressed
very elegantly in Henri euatre coats of scarlet, 'with
gold lace, blue sashes, white silk hose, and white ro-
settcs. There were also Marshal's-men for keeping
order, who wore a similar dress, but of blue, and
having white sashes. Both departments were filled
up almost entirely by young Gentlemen, many of
them of the very first condition, who took these me-1
nisi characters to gain admission to the show. When
I saw many of my young acquaintance thus attend-
ing upon their fathers and kinsmen, the Peers,
Knights, and so forth, I could not help thinking of
Crabbe's lines, with a little alteration :
'Twas schooling pride to see the menial wait,
4 Smile on his father au r. rec,!ive his plate.'
" It must be owned, however, that they proved but
indifferent valets, and were very apt, like the clown'
in the pantomime, to eat the cheer they should have
handed to their masters, and to play other tours de
page, which reminded me of the caution of our pro-
verb, not to man yourself with your kin: The
Peers, for example, had only a cold collation, while
the Aldermen of London feasted on venison and tur-
tle; and such similar errors necessarily befel others
in the confusion of the evening. But these slight
mistakes, which indeed were not known till after.'
wards, had rot the slightest effect on the general
grandeur of the scene.
" I did not see the Procession between the Abbey
and the Hall, In the morning a few voices called,
• Queen, Queen,' as Lord Londonderry passed, and
even when the Sovereign appeared. But these were
only signals for the loud and reiterated acclamations,
in which these tones of discontent were completely
drownod. In the return, no one dissonant voice in-
timated the least dissent from the shouts of gratula-
tion which poured from every quarter; and certainly
never Monarch received a more general welcome
from his assembled subjects.
" You will have from others full accounts of the
variety of entertainments provided for John Bull in
the Parks, the River, in the Theatres, and elsewhere.
Nothing was to be seen or heard but sounds of plea-
sure and festisity; and whoever saw the scene at any
one spot, was convinced that the whole population
of London was assembled there, while others found
a similar concourse of revellers in every different
point. It is computed that about FIVE nuariaeu
TUOUSAND PEOPLE shared in the Festival in one way
or another ; and you may imagine the excellent dis-
position by which the People were animated, when
I tell you, that, excepting a few windows broken by
a small body-guard of ragamuffins, who were in im-
mediate attendance on the Great Lady in the morn-
ing, not the slightest political violence occurred to
disturb the general harmony, and that the assembled
populace seemed t 3 be universally actuated by the
spirit of the day, loyalty, namely, and good humour.
Nothing occurred to damp those happy dispositions;
the weather was most propitious, and the arrange-
ments so perfect, that no accident of any kind is re-
ported as having taken place.—And so concluded
the Coronation of George IV. whom Goo long pre-
serve. Those who witnessed it have seen a scene
calculated to raise the country in their opinion, and
to throw into the shade all scenes of similar magni-
ficence, from the Field of the Cloth of Gold down
to the precut day. " AN EYEWITNESS."

The great losses sustained by the speculators ia
providing scats for spectators at the late Coronation,
constitute a topic of general conversation. The high
prices requited, and other causes, have been assigned
for the disappointment which the parties have suf-
fered ; but the great and principal cause, we appre-
hend, will be found in the excess (tithe supply beyond
the necessary corvumption. It is estimated that ac-
commodation was provided for 70,000 persons; but
admitti•ig the population of the metropolis to be, in-
cluding t;ie temporary influx of strangers, upwards
of 1,200,000, it was not sufficient to produce 70,000
persons of an age and inclination and means to oc-
cupy so many seats, even at a moderate price. The
speculators should have also considered, that the ex-
clusion of females from the Procession would neces-
sarily diminish its attraction. The larger speculators
are, of course, the greater IoA-rs. The Grand Central
Pavii:ati cost nearly £7000;-1:3000 was to be paid
to the Commissioners of Improvement for the site on
which it was erected, and the Proptietors, we under-
stand, hope that the latter sum will not be demanded,
in consequence of their heavy loss. In fact, the mo-
ney taken will not pay the expense of taking down
the building, and defraying the previous advertising
and extri expenditure, excluding altogether the cost
of the niateiials and of constructing the frame-work.
The failure was universal, and the actual losses in
the temporary erections alone, will not fill short of
£lO,OOO anl to these must be added the losses,
upon all the minor and incidental speculations for'
providing refreshments. Legs of lamb, which cost
five or six shillings each, were to be had on the Light
of the Coronation, at the booths, for eighteen pence
and two shilling,. Pastry and savoury pies were to
be bad at one•fourth the first cost, and were subdi-
vided to come within the immediate reach of the chil-
dren's market. Fruit of all kinds was to be had at the
price of the purchaser; joints of meat, and provisions
of every .description, were carried off at little mom e than
the prices of the fuel which had dressed them ; and the
conternation which prevai!...cl above and bciuw the
booths and scaffolds was universal, from the proprietor
down to the attendant servants. Waiters, who had
paid ten, and some twenty guineas each for permis-
sion to wait on the company, were, in many instances,
repaid b••
about as many shillings : their golden har-
vest was blasted, and the dismay that was observable
on every face had often a ludicrous appearance,when
contrasted with the self importance and assumed airs
of the same personages in the morning. "So vanish
human glories," said the poet. There were, however,
those who had reason to congratulate themselves on
their good fortune. During the day, several persons
who had, in the course of the morning entered the
booths on paying 2s. 6d. and who had thereby an op-
Fortuna), of seeing the return of the procession to'
Westminster Abbey, when the medals were showered
about obtained some of the latter. Those who were
sear the platf,rtn, in the front scats of the booths, held
out their hits, and many persons, whose price of ad-
, mission did not exceed 2s. 6d. obtained three or four
sate: :.,clods iu the manner just mentioned.