Then the lord of the manor of Nether Bilsington presented his Majesty
with three maple cups.
The office of chief butler of England was executed by the Duke of
Norfolk, as Earl of Arundel and lord of the manor of Keninghall, who
received a gold basin and ewer as his fee.
Dinner being concluded, the lord mayor and twelve principal citizens of
London, as assistants to the chief butler of England, accompanied by the
King's cupbearer and assistant, presented to his Majesty wine in a gold
cup; and the King having drunk thereof, returned the gold cup to the
lord mayor as his fee.
The mayor of Oxford, with the eight other burgesses of that city, as
assistants to the lord mayor and citizens of London, as assistant to the
chief butler of England in the office of butler, was conducted to his
Majesty, preceded by the King's cupbearer, and having presented to the
King a bowl of wine, received the three maple cups for his fee.
The lord of the manor of Lyston, pursuant to his claim, then brought up
a charger of wafers to his Majesty's table.
The Duke of Athol, as lord of the Isle of Man, presented his Majesty
with two falcons. Considerable curiosity was excited by the presentment
of these beautiful birds, which sat perfectly tame on the arm of his
grace, completely hooded, and furnished with bells.
The Duke of Montrose, as master of the horse to the King, performed the
office of serjeant of the silver scullery.
The lord of the barony of Bedford performed the office of almoner; and
the office of chief larderer was performed by the deputy of the Earl of
Abergavenny.
After the dessert was served up, the King's health was announced by the
peers, and drank by them and the whole of the persons in the Hall
standing, with three times three. The lord chancellor, overpowered by
his feelings on this propitious occasion, rose, and said it was usual to
drink the health of a subject with three times three, and he thought
that his subjects ought to drink the Sovereign's health with nine times
nine. The choir and additional singers had now been brought forward in
front of the knights commanders, and the national anthem of "God save
the King" was sung with incomparable effect.
The Duke of Norfolk then said, "The King thanks his peers for drinking
his health: he does them the honour to drink their health and that of
his good people." His Majesty rose, and bowing three times to various
parts of the immense concourse--
----"The abstract of his kingdom,"
he drank the health of all present. It was succeeded by long and
continued shouts from all present, during which the King resumed his
seat on his throne.
The King quitted the Hall at a quarter before eight o'clock; afterwards
the company was indiscriminately admitted to partake of such
refreshments as remained on the tables of the peers.
During Tuesday and Wednesday night, in order that no unnecessary
interruption might be experienced in the public thoroughfares during the
daytime, the workmen under the direction of the Board of Works were
busily engaged in raising barriers at different points that commanded
the streets and passes leading to Westminster Hall and Abbey. From
Charing Cross, a stout barrier was placed (about fifteen feet from the
pavement) to Parliament Street, so that the fullest possible room, about
twenty feet in width, should be secured for persons having tickets of
admission to the Hall, the Abbey, or the Coronation Galleries. And a
still stronger barrier was raised along the centre of Parliament Street,
one side only being appropriated to carriages going towards the scene of
universal attraction. Across Bridge Street, as well as in King Street,
and the neighbouring thoroughfares, all the carriage entrances were
wholly blockaded; thus securing the most commodious means to persons
proceeding on foot to the different places for which they possessed
admission tickets. At all these points were stationed constables,
supported by parties of military; and at the several passes were placed
experienced individuals who had been instructed in their various duties
during several days by Mr. Jackson and others, in the long chambers of
the House of Lords, &c. They examined the tickets and the pretensions of
the several persons applying to pass on to the Abbey, Hall, houses, or
galleries.--Still more effectually to qualify them for this duty, they
were previously made acquainted with the mode in which the various
tickets of the lord great chamberlain (Lord Gwydyr) for the Hall, and
the earl marshal of England (Lord Howard, of Effingham, acting deputy),
were prepared, signed, and superscribed.--They were also provided with
good general means of judging of the authenticity of cards for the
different galleries; and even to be guarded against imposture, there was
further authority to keep all the several parties in motion, till they
arrived at their respective destinations. Thus, every arrangement was
made to accomplish the great advantage of clear roads and facilities of
approach; and the regulations adopted at those points, passes, and
barriers already noticed, were provided at the other stations.
All the arrangements were finally made on Wednesday night. The high
bailiff of Westminster (A. Morris, Esq.), the high constable (Mr. Lee),
and the several magistrates of the different Police Offices, Sir Robert
Baker, Mr. Birnie, Mr. Mainwaring, Mr. Raynsford, Mr. Markland, &c.
under the advice, and with the approbation of Lord Sidmouth, agreed upon
and adopted at the office of the home secretary of state, a plan of
general and particular operations. Each magistrate had his different
station allotted to him, with a specified number of the police officers
to attend his commands, and enforce his instructions.
Besides the precautions taken in the several streets, and at the
various thoroughfares, as already described, arrangements of a similar
character were adopted at the several approaches from the river Thames.
In the course of the night, the stairs, landing-places, roads from
wharfs, &c., along the Westminster side of the banks of the Thames, were
closed, with parties to command them, from the Hungerford to the
Horseferry stairs. Some exceptions were made regarding the stairs at
Whitehall, by Lord Liverpool's house, and a temporary landing-place
formed in the course of Wednesday, at the lower end of the speaker's
garden, for the accommodation of the treasury and ordnance barges,
conveying certain great officers of state, some parties of peeresses,
&c., as well as the barges of the lord mayor, aldermen, sheriffs, and
twelve citizens of London, accompanied as they were (by the special
favour of the corporation of London) by the mayor of Oxford, its
recorder, two aldermen, two assistants, &c. And at this entrance proper
precautions were taken by stationing a civil force in the speaker's
gardens; while in the river, such regulations were strengthened by the
parties on board the Thames police-boat, and a gun-brig moored off this
point in the course of Wednesday.