The Shasta courier., 1868-04-04
COU RIER
The Ceremony of Presentation to the
Qneen.

To be presented to the Queen is the boast
of English women and men. The presenta-
tioL rooms are on the secoud story, and oc
cupy the entire quadrangle Of St. James,
opening one into the other through the whole
suit. About six levees are held year. 1t
takes hundred men three weeks to prepare
the rooms. Everything is measured by the
inexorable law of etiquette. The dress is
prescribed the material, the length of the
trains, the mode OF dressing the hair, and
the style of the garments. The doors would
be shut in the face of the highest lady in the
land if she departed in the slightest degree
from the well known law. The dress of
the ladies must be velvet, satin, silk, lace, or
tulle. Brides are allowed to wear white
tulle, and widows black tulle but each
must lie trimmed with roses or variegated
ribbons. Peers, ambassadors and military
officers wear their full uniform. Judges
wear wigs, and lawyers appear in gowns of
scarlet and black according to their rank
Bishops and the clergy who have the run of
the Court, come cut in full clerical costume.
The Court dress of - gentlemen" is black
dress coat ard pants, white vest which must
be open, with white craeat. The Master of
Ceremonies prescribes the order for dressing
the hair. Court hair. dressers are few. They
are engaged not only hours but days before
the presentation. Some ladies who can do
no better have their hair fixed from twenty
four to thirty-six hours before the presenta
ton, and do their sleeping in sitting pos
ture. The Throne Room is a right royal
room. There is not seat in it except the
throne and the gided chair at the foot. On
a platform reached by three steps and On
crimson carpet spattcred with gold, stands
gilt gothic chair, surmounted by a crown
This Is the throne. 1t is covered with
canopy of crimson velvet, trimmed with
heavy gold lace. ca the top of the canopy
is IL golden cushit Il on which rests a larger
gold crown. The Throne Room is very long,
nearly two hundred feet Running the
whole length is Il heavy iron fence, full five
feet high; capped with crimson velvet
Between 1t and the wall is a narrow passage
leading from the entrance to the Throne,
through which but one person can pass at a
time. The great throng below, at given
signal, come up the stairway, which is COW
cred with cocoa mating ard worn crimson
carpeting. They enter the great Audience
Room, that opens into the Throne Room.
The Audience Room is very gorgeous with
satin hangings, radiant with vermilion and
gold, but it is all cut up into little cattle
pens, made OF iron railings very high and
strong. They open one into another, the
whole length of the great chamber, making
II zlz gag passage from the entrance to the
Throne Room. These pens are seno rated
by heavy iron gates, guarded by officials,
through which each person has to pass
Precedence is everything. When the signal
is given the rush commences. The fine
ladies become a disorder!y mob. They
crowd ON each other, rend laees, tranple vel
vets and satins under foot, and with all
these guards to keep them orderly, they often
appear in the = Presence" as it is called,
all tattere3 and torn, and in q state of general
dllapidalion.
Back of the throne is the Queens closet
1t Is little dilapidated looking room, low
studded, scantily furnished. but old which
Is the great attraction. Her Majesty is
painfully prompt. At the the exact momet.t
she comes out of her Royal Closet and takes
her stand on the lower step Of the THRONE
On the signal being given Her Majesty's
Minister'S with the Foreign Ambassadors
enter from the private door, file before the
Queen, bow, and take their station in the
centre Of the room where they remain. The
crowd is admitted one by one, passing thro'
all the pens till they approach the Throne
sons are given in this art as on horse back
riding, each lady has to take care Of her train
herself. She throws it over her arm, and in
the carriage the huge pile towers above her
head. She carries it up the stairway to the
audience room. Here Page of the
Prince" as he is called. takes the train,
holds it till she enters the Throne Room
where he drops it.
The party passes up tile narrow pathway
to the place where the Queen stands, makes
low bow, and then backs down the whole
length of the room. The lady cannot turn
her back on the Queen, nor take up her train
1t Is etiquette for the ministers and embas
sadors, who occupy the centre of the room. to
lift the train and pass it down from one to
another while the lady backs down to the
door. The moment she gets outside the
Throne Room she must take care of herself
and reach her carriage the best way she can.
She cannot remain. a strong iron bar pre-
vents her from repeating the luxury of pre-
sentatlon. She draws her finery through the
crowd and disappears, and finds her coach
when she can, which may be half mile off,
for the coaches of the nobility take prece.
dence. The presentation lasts about one
minute. 1t costs months of labor and anx-
iety, and great expense. The finery will be
worn on no other occasion. But the party
has been presented at Court" and will
tell it to her children's children. When the
Queen holds Court it lasts just one hour ex-
acty. During the whole time she stands
like statute, cold, as insensible The
mass file before her as if she was hewn out
of stone.