Evening star., 1901-02-09

next part of the ceremony, the king pass
ing Immediately to the altar, where he
OFFERS to the archbishop an altar cloth OF
gold, which is laid on the altar Then the
king delivers an ingot of gold weighing one
pound, which the archbishop takes and
places in the oblation basin, repeating a
moment later the prayer beginning "Oh,
God. who dwellest in the high and holy
place. AT its conclusion the king returns
to the chair of state and the peers who bore
the regalia place them on the altar. Two
bishops then read the ltany and the arch
bishop, assisted by bishop, hold the COM
munion service.
Administering the Oath.
A short sermon by the archbishop of
York or the bishop of London Is then
preached, and after 1t the oath is admin
istered to the king This is in the form of
d question by the archbishop of Canterbury
and in the course of it the king swears to
uphold the Protestant reformed religion
and to preserve the rights, possessions
and privileges of the clergy" A copy of
this oath, engraved on parchment, is laid
before the king and to it he applies the
royal sign manual AS the parchment
leaves the royal hand the choir sings the
hymn. Come, Holy Ghost, our Souls In
spire," the archbishop reading the first
line. The hymn ended, the archbishop
reads the prayer, "Oh, Lord, Holy Father,
who, by amounting with OIL" ETC.. which Is
succeeded by the anthem "Zadok, the Priest.
and Nathan, the Prophet" With the COM
mencement of the anthem the king pro-
ceeds to the altar and there is disrobed
and seated in St. Edwards chair while
four Knights of the Garter hold above his
head richly embroidered canopy. When
the king rises the archbishop anoints the
royal head and hands in the form of a
cross, with conSecrated oil.
The spurs of gold are presented to the
king and the royal sword having been laid
prayerfully upon the altar, is placed in his
hand with the words, Receive this kingly
sword, brought now from the altar of God.
Here a quaint and ancient ceremony is
performed The king offers the sword upon
the altar and it is at once redeemed by the
prime minister for 100 shillings. AS soon
as he receives it, the prime minister draws
the sword from Its jeweled scabbard and
bears it naked during the remainder Of
the coronation ceremonies.
The dean of Westminster and the lord
great chamberlain then place about the
king the imperial mantle or dalmatic robe
of cloth of gold. Then the archbishop de-
livers the orb. the ruby ring is next put
on and, another custom from out of the
past. the lord of the manor of Worksop
presents his majesty with a pair Of rich
gloves.
Although the sovereign is already heavily
burdened, the two scepters, the scepter roy
al or scepter with the cross and the virge,
and the scepter with the dove, are sue
cessively placed in his hands. One rep
resents klngly power and Justice, the
other equity and mercy.
The Actual Coronation.
The actual crowning follows. The crown,
which is usually formed according to the
sovereign's taste in the matter, is conse-
Grated by the archbishop, who assisted by
the other bishops, places 1t on the royal
head This is signal for all the peers and
peeresses to put on their coronets, the bish
ops their caps and the kings of arms their
crowns. simultaneously the royal salute is
fired and there is a loud blast of trumpets.
And this Is when waiting London learns
that the king is crowned.
Next comes the presentation of the Bible,
the pronouncing of the benediction by the
archbishop and the singing of the TIE Deum,
during which the king passes to the recog
milton chair. By the assistance Of the arch
bishop and his bishops the monarch is
placed on the royal throne and the exhor-
tation Stand firm and hold fast from
henceforth the seat and state Of royal dig
nifty" is pronounced. The formula of the
homage, another relic of the past is re-
peated by the archbishop, then by the otker
lords spiritual. the royal dukes, and then
the senior OF each rank in the peerage for
his own degree; each peer repeating after
his premier, and successfully touching the
royal crown and kissing the soverefgns
hand. The treasurer Of the household at
this juncture distributes the medals struck
to commemorate the occasion.
The administration of the holy sacra-
ment and the benediction conclude the cere-
money, which takes several hours
For a short time after this the king
passes from view, being conducted to King
Edwards Chapel, where he exchanges the
robe of state for the royal robe of purple
velvet, which Is trimmed with ermine and
gold lace. The orb and scepter royal are
then placed in the kings hands.
During the robing the heralds and off,
GERS of arms have reassembled the great
personages in procession and when the
monarch has received his scepter he is con-
Quoted out of the abbey and he returns to
the palace in the same great state as i'm the
triumphal progress to the abbey