knelt before the pope, who remained sitting with his mitre on his head. Before administering the unction, the pope required Napoleon to make his profession of faith, a curious novelty to which we can find no parallel any other form of coronation.

in

THE INVESTING.

The dean of Westminster, after the anointing is concluded, brings the Colobium Sindonis from the altar, and standing before the chair of state, places it upon the sovereign, the archbishop reciting the following prayer:

O God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, by whom kings reign and princes decree justice, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, in thy favour to bless this regal ornament, and grant that thy servant our sovereign, who shall wear it, may shine in thy sight with the ornament of a good life and holy actions, and after this life ended, may enjoy for ever that life and glory which hath no end, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the same way, the sovereign is invested with the super-tunica, girdle, buskins and sandals; but at the coronation of George III. some of these were omitted, in order to curtail the ceremony. The spurs are buckled on by the lord chamberlain. The archbishop then lays the sword of state upon the altar in its purple velvet scabbard, and recites the following prayer:

Hear our prayers, we beseech thee, O Lord, and vouchsafe by thy right hand of majesty to bless and sanctify this sword, wherewith this thy servant, desireth to be girt, that it may be a defence and protection of churches, widows and orphans, and all thy servants, and a terror to those that lie in wait to do mischief; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The archbishop then delivers the sword into the sovereign's hands, on whose side it is girt by the lord chamberlain, the archbishop saying:

Receive this kingly sword, which is hallowed for the defence of the Holy Church, and delivered unto thee by the hands of the bishops, though unworthy, yet consecrated by the authority of the holy apostles; and remember of whom the Psalmist did prophecy, saying, God thyself with thy sword upon thy thigh, O thou most

mighty! and with this sword exercise thou the force of equity, and mightily destroy the growth of iniquity. Protect the holy church of God and his faithful people; defend and help widows and orphans; restore things gone to decay, and maintain those that are restored: that doing this, thou mayest be glorious in the triumph of virtue, and excellent in the ornament of justice, and reign for ever with the Saviour of the world, whose image you bear; who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, world without end. Amen.

In Scotland the sword was girt on the sovereign by the lord high constable; in France, the sword was immediately offered at the altar, and then given to some nobleman of rank, who held it erect during the ceremony. The sword was given in France before the unction. In Pope Clement's ritual, the sword is given only to kings, and all the ceremonials connected with it are omitted in the form for a queen regnant. It is directed that the sword should be girt on by the archbishop, and that the king should then rise up, brandish his sword in a manly manner, wipe it on his left shoulder, and restore it to the scabbard. In the ritual for James I., the delivery of the sceptre and rod, and the performance of homage, precede the giving of the sword; and in Edward VI.'s ritual, it is directed that the sword should be offered upon the altar, and redeemed for one hundred shillings by the premier earl present, who shall, during the rest of the ceremony, bear it naked before the king.

The armil or stole is next placed round the sovereign's neck by the dean of Westminster, the archbishop saying:

Receive the armil of sincerity and wisdom as a token of God's embracing, whereby all thy works may be defended against thine enemies, both bodily and ghostly, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The dean of Westminster then invests the sovereign with the imperial pall or mantle, and when the sovereign sits down, delivers the orb into the right hand, the archbishop saying:

Receive this imperial pall and orb, and remember that the whole world is subject to the power and empire of God, and that no one can happily reign upon earth, who hath not received his authority from heaven.

This form in James I.'s ritual is restricted to the pall, and stands thus:

Receive this imperial pall, which is formed with four corners, to let thee understand that the four corners of the world are subject, &c.

THE CROWNING.

The crown and ring are delivered last according to the ritual of James I., but in nearly all the others the sovereign is crowned immediately after being invested with the imperial robes. The archbishop advances to the altar, raises the crown in his hand for a moment, and then placing it again upon its cushion, pronounces the following benediction:

God, the crown of the faithful, who on the heads of thy saints placest crowns of glory, bless and sanctify this crown, that as the same is adorned with divers precious stones, so this thy servant wearing it may be replenished of thy grace with the manifold gifts of all precious virtues, through the King eternal, thy Son our Lord. Amen.

Before the Reformation, the crown was then lightly sprinkled with holy water, and censed with consecrated incense. The sovereign now sits down in St. Edward's chair, and the archbishop coming from the altar with the crown between his hands, supported by the other bishops present, and the dean of Westminster, reverently places it on the sovereign's head. At this instant the drums beat, the trumpets sound, and the spectators chant "God save the King (or Queen,)" a signal is also given from the battlements of the church for the Park and Tower guns to fire a royal salute. When the acclamations cease, the archishop of Canterbury pronounces the following blessing on the sovereign. The words enclosed in brackets are omitted in the modern forms:

God crown thee with a crown of glory and righteousness, with the honour and virtue of fortitude that [thou] by [our ministry having] a right faith and manifold fruits of good works, thou mayest obtain the crown of an everlasting kingdom, by the gift of Him whose kingdom endureth for ever.

Amen.

The omissions were made at the coronation of James II., who being a Roman Catholic, could not be said, with any propriety, to use the ministry of Protestant prelates. After the benediction, the archbishop offers the following prayer:

O God of Eternity, the commander of all powers, the vanquisher of all enemies, bless this thy servant who boweth his (or her) head unto thy majesty; preserve him (or her) in prosperous felicity; be present with him (or her) whenever he (or she) calleth upon thee; give him (or her,) we beseech thee, the riches of thy grace; fill his (or her) soul with goodness, and crown him (or her) with thy mercy; and let him (or her) always in godly devotion wait upon thee, through thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

In the ritual of James I., the preceding prayer is directed to be read before the crown is placed upon the sovereign's head. When it is concluded, the archbishop pronounces the Comfortare:

Be strong and of good courage, and observe the commandments of the Lord, to walk in his ways, and keep his ceremonies, precepts, testimonies, and judgments, and Almighty God prosper and strengthen thee, whithersoever thou goest. The Lord is my ruler, therefore I shall want nothing.

When the crown is placed upon the king's head, the representatives of the dukes of Aquitain and Normandy put on their caps of estate, and the peers and kings at arms put on their coronets. If there is no consort to be crowned, the peeresses do the same, but if a queenconsort shares in the ceremony, they wait until the crown is placed on her head. When the Comfortare is concluded, the following anthem is sung by the choir :

The king shall rejoice in thy strength, O Lord, exceeding glad shall he be of thy salvation. Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not denied him the request of his lips. For thou hast prevented him with the blessings of goodness, and

hast set a crown of pure gold upon his head. Hallelujah.— (Psalm xxi.)

During the anthem, the sovereign delivers the orb to the dean of Westminster; and going from St. Edward's chair to the altar, offers the sword, which had been previously girt on, in the scabbard. It is immediataly redeemed, by the sovereign's command, for one hundred shillings, and borne naked by some noblemen during the rest of the ceremony.

In the Roman Pontifical it is directed that the king shall receive the crown kneeling from the hands of the metropolitan, who sits all the time in his episcopa. chair. No directions on the subject are given in the French ceremonial which Prynne has inserted in his Signal Loyalty, except that when the crown is placed upon the sovereign's head, it ought to be supported by the barons and bishops. The forms of English coronation always require that the sovereign should sit and the archbishop stand. Napoleon introduced a novelty, in his coronation, derived from the usages of the ancient kings of Lombardy; he placed the crown upon his own head, and he also crowned the empress Josephine with his own hands. The Lombard sovereigns, when they put on their own crown, exclaimed, "God hath given it me: touch it who dares."

INVESTITURE BY THE RING.

When the sovereign has returned from the altar to St. Edward's chair, the master of the jewel-house delivers the ring to the archbishop, who pronounces over it the following blessing:

Bless, O Lord, and sanctify this ring, that thy servant wearing it may be sealed with the ring of faith, and by the power of the Highest be preserved from sin; and let all the blessings which are found in holy Scripture plentifully descend upon him (or her) that whatsoever he (or she) shall sanctify may be holy, and whatever he (or she) blesseth may be blessed. Amen.