buskins of untanned leather on his legs, and a shepherd's crook in his hand; but though thus plainly dressed, he was attended by his senators and nobles in their richest robes. When the procession approached, the peasant called out, "Who is this that cometh hither with so much parade and magnificence?" The attendants replied, "This is the prince who claims, as rightful heir, the inheritance of the sovereignty over our good land the province of Carinthia." The peasant then inquired, “Is he just? Doth he seek the welfare of the Carinthian peasants? Is he of free condition and noble birth? Is he worthy of honour for his past conduct, and doth he desire to win honour by future exploits? Is he obedient to the laws, and attached to the ancient usages of Carinthia? Will he be a defender of the pure and holy Catholic faith?" To this the duke's attendants replied, "Such is he, and such he will be." After a long pause, the peasant renewed the conversation by asking, "Has the lord any right to remove me from this my place?" To which question the attendants replied. "Our lord hath purchased this ground for sixty deniers, and he granteth to thee the animals thou hast with thee, the robes which he wears, and immunity of taxes for thyself and thine house. The peasant then descended from the rock, and gave the duke a slight slap in the face. The duke then mounted the rock, and brandished a sword in the form of a cross over the multitude; water was then brought to him in the crown of a peasant's cap, which he drank as a symbol both of his moderation and humility. The duke then laid aside his peasant's dress, and having received his ducal robes, went and received the sacrament in the church of St. Veit.

The stone on which the ancient monarchs of Ireland were inaugurated, was at a very early period removed to Scotland, whence it was brought to England by Edward I.: it is now fixed in the seat of the corona

tion-chair, and we shall describe it more particularly in a future chapter.

It only now remains to mention, that the recognition, in the German forms of coronation, was always connected with the semblance of an election, as we find from the speech made by the archbishop of Cologne, when he presented Otho, who was designated emperor during the life-time of his father, to the general assembly of the German princes: "Behold, I bring you here Otho, chosen by God, and appointed by his father, Henry our lord, and now made king by all the princes of the empire. If this election please you, do you signify the same by holding up your hands to heaven." The people consenting, he was then anointed, and invested with the imperial ensigns.

AMONG the Regalia of England there is no article possessing more historical interest than King Edward's, or, as it is commonly called, ST. EDWARD'S CHAIR, in which the sovereign is seated when the crown is placed upon

his head. It is in shape similar to the high-backed chairs which were fashionable in England about a century ago; its height is six feet seven inches, its depth twenty-five inches, and the breadth of the seat measured withinside is twenty-eight inches. At the height of nine inches from the ground there is a ledge which supports the celebrated Stone of Destiny, which Edward I., or Longshanks, brought from Scotland as a memorial of his conquest of that country. This stone was originally the royal seat of the kings of Ireland; they called it Liafail, or "the stone of destiny," and attributed so much importance to it, that they named the island in honour of it, Innisfail, or "the island of destiny." According to the monkish legends, this was the identical stone which served Jacob as a pillow when he saw the miraculous vision in Bethel; they tell us that it was brought by Gathol, king of the Scuths, or Scots, to Brigantia, a city of Gallicia in Spain, and that it was removed from thence to Ireland by Simon Brech, the leader of a body of Scots, about seven hundred years before the birth of Christ. From these invaders Ireland received the name of Scotia, which it retained until within a century of the English invasion. Fergus, a descendant of Simon Brech, being compelled to leave Ireland in consequence of civil wars, led a body of emigrants to Argyleshire, and brought with him the stone of destiny, which he deposited at Dunstaffnage, about three hundred years before the birth of Christ. All his descendants were installed on this stone seat, and it was believed that when the rightful heir took his seat, the stone emitted loud and harmonious musical sounds, but that it remained silent whenever a pretender attempted to be crowned.

The real history of the stone is scarcely less curious than that ascribed to it in the legend. We learn from sacred history that the earliest altars were made of unhewn stone; indeed, the Chaldee word for altar,

signifies literally, "stones orderly erected," and God himself directs Moses, "If thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it thou hast polluted it." (Exod. xx. 25.) This reverence for unhewn stones led to their being used as idols. We read of the children of Israel in the age of their corruption, that "they set them up images and groves in every high hill and under every green tree." (2 Kings xvii. 10.) Here the Hebrew word Matzebah, which our translators have rendered "image," properly signifies, "a stone pillar." So also in the Levitical law: "Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land to bow down before it: for I am the Lord your God." (Levit. xxvi. 1.) Here the word Matzebah, rendered "standing image," signifies simply a stone pillar. In consequence of these perversions, the erection of the Matzebah was entirely prohibited, when Moses recapitulated the law to the children of Israel.

The worship of stone pillars was very common in the East; Clement of Alexandria declares that rude stones were the object of adoration in those lands where the art of statuary was not understood; Pausanias mentions several such pillars in Boeotia, where they were probably introduced by the Phoenician colonists; and Arnobius declares that the pagans of Northern Africa consecrated pillars of stone for idols so late as the fourth century of the Christian era.

Superstition connected stone seats with the administration of justice, which was regarded as a right delegated to rulers by the gods. This custom lasted to a very late period; a marble bench anciently stood at the upper end of Westminster Hall, where the king in person, and at a subsequent period his chief judges, heard the pleas of those who complained of injury, and