Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-23
CORONATION SUPERSTITIONS

about? A coronation. What is the thing most delightful to have passed A coronation"
 These words are an accurate indica- tion of the close scrutiny which is cast by the public eye upon this great historical event. It arouseS, there fore, but little surprise to learn thai even the tiniest incidents on this great occasion have been remarked and not ed down by the curious; while value altogether disproportionate has been not infrequently assigned to them.
 Naturally, this has proved to be the l case in very marked manner at the coronation of sovereigns whose reigns have subsequently been clouded with disaster and failure, or perhaps, ter minated in a violent and untimely end There was the well known scene al 1 the death bed of Edward the Comics sor, when Harold and his relatives forced their way into the kings bed chamber and demanded the name of | his successor.
 ''Ye know full well,' replied the dy- ing monarch ''that I have bequeathed my kingdom to the Duke of Norman dy, and are there not those here whose | succeSSion?'
 Dissatisfied with this answer, the earl proceeded to repeat the question in still more peremptory terms. "Har- old take it, if such be thy wish" was the reply, "but the gift will be thy ruin Against the duke and his baron l age no power can avail thee" | A few moments more and the king | I-- .11x l. ly crowned and before that year had been gathered to it's rest he himself was lying, blood-stained corpse, be heath a heap of Saxon slain, upon Sen | lac field.
 l Another 70 years and the troubled reign of Stephen commenced. From the very first this reign was marked with events which augured ill for the new sovereign.
 | The usual kiss of peace was forgot ten. the host bestowed at the celebra- tion disappeared in some strange and unaccountable manner. The arch bishop, William de Corbeuil, who but a short time previously had solemnly pledged his word to uphold Queen Maude. and was now deliberately breaking it by crowning the king, died within the year, while the great off cers of church and state, who had ta- ken part in the ceremony, all came to some wretched and miserable end The coronation of Edward II was a scene of desperate confusion. Arch bishop Winchelsey was unable to off ciate. owing to the breakdown of health and his absence at Rome. He accordingly named a commission, con sisting of three prelates, to act in his behalf. One of these. Thomas Wood lock, bishop of Winchester, was ac- tually intrusted by the wretched Ed ward with the duty of crowning him, I in spite of the fact that he had delib- erately played the traitor to the great sovereign who had just passed away.
 Another incident which jared upon the affection felt by the nation for | Edward I was the elevation of Piers Gaveston. the royal fayorite, who had been excluded from the court, to a po- sition superior to that of any of the great magnates of the realm. The arrangements, which Galveston had su- perintended, were of the crudest de- scription, with the result that the 'shaI- lowing of the king and queen was not completed until o'clock in the af- ternoon.
 l When at length the hungry and weary nobles sat down to the corona tion banquet the confusion displayed in the hall seemed to rival that of the abbey. for the food was execrably cooked, and the whole thing was ill., served to a degree.
 Richard II endeavored to throw dust in the eyes of his subjects by a great display of magnificence.
 Still it was hardly to be expected l that the murderer of his own flesh and blood, so to speak, should receive the warmest of welcomes. For the first time it was felt to be necessary to sur round the kings person with a body of 1000 gentlemen, who were recruit ed from the north. The abbot and oth- CT members of the convent met the king as usual at the door of the abbey, but with heavy hearts. for, according to tradition, .'they sang the Te Deum with a faint courage only.
 Above all, the king received the rites of amounting and crowning at the hands of a perjured prelate, for, bare ly three short weeks back, Archbishop Bourchier had pledged ''his ain body and soul'' for the safety of the young Duke of York, now lying, with his brother. the victim of 8 foul crime.
 The melancholy story of the two last named reigns need not be dwelt upon here, nor yet the five brief unhappy years during which Queen Mary ruled over the land At her corona ton terribly evil omen for the cause of Professionalism was remarked Mary, so runs the tale. absolutely declined to be seated in the same chair as that which Edward VI had occupied. Hence it became necessary to provide a sub stitute for this ancient throne of the i land.
 Needless to say, the new one was carefully blessed and sanctiied by his holiness the pope, ere the queen ven tured to trust herself upon it! Once more. it is curious to note. that dur l ing the act of homage the nobles one and ll-sheld both their hands togeth- CT. in manner of lamenting."
 The Stuart dynasty, too, displays a bountiful crop of evil omens. Take the coronation of James II, for in stance.
 Even the preliminary preparations for that ceremony a curious lack of reverence for past traditions is shown, l together with a determination to ride rough-shop over popular opposition. To begin with. the actual service was