ce all the royal personages so that none would be
offended, and every peer and peeress would be seated so as to have a
good view of that part of the minster in which the Coronation was to
take place.

The grand procession passed slowly up the long aisle, with its
dignitaries of Church and State, and all its pomp and glitter of jewels
and gorgeous costumes. Then came the Queen. She wore a royal robe of
crimson velvet, trimmed with ermine and gold lace, and on her head was a
circlet of gold. Her tremendously long train was borne by eight young
court ladies, and never did she look quite so girlish and slight and
young as she did in that great procession of older dignitaries. As she
entered the Abbey the choir began the National Anthem, which could
scarcely be heard because of the mighty cheers which burst from the
general assembly, echoing through the dome and arched recesses of the
vast building. Slowly the Queen moved toward the altar, sweetly the
choir boys chanted _Vivat Victoria Regina!_ while moving quietly to a
chair placed between the "chair of homage" and the altar, Victoria knelt
in prayer for a moment, then rose, and the Primate announced in a loud
voice, "I here present unto you Queen Victoria, the undoubted Queen of
this realm, wherefore all of you are come this day to do your homage.
Are you willing to do the same?"

Then the people all shouted, "God save Queen Victoria!" which
"recognition," as it was called, was repeated many times and answered
each time by the beating of drums and the sounding of trumpets.
Throughout all this the Queen stood, turning towards the side from which
the recognition came, and then followed a great number of curious old
rites and ceremonies which always go with a Coronation, even though many
of them have entirely lost their meaning through the lapse of time.
There were prayers and the Litany and a sermon, and then the
administration of the oath of office, and after a long questioning by
the Archbishop, Her Majesty was led to the altar, where, kneeling with
her hand on the Gospels in the Great Bible, she said in clear, solemn
tones which could be heard all through the Abbey:

"The things which I have herebefore promised I will perform and keep. So
help me God."

She then kissed the book and continued to kneel while the choir sang a
hymn, then while she sat in St. Edward's chair, a rich cloth of gold was
held over her head and the Archbishop anointed her with oil in the form
o