unfortunate voyage to Ireland, and on his return resigned them to the custody of the archbishop of Canterbury at Chester, saying, "It is manifestly the will of God that I should not be anointed with this holy oil; that solemn sacrament is reserved for some more favoured monarch." The archbishop kept these precious treasures until the usurpation of Henry IV., who was the first English sovereign anointed with this precious oil.

tion:

The legend of the Ampulla used at the coronation of the French kings is still more extraordinary. It is said to have been brought from heaven by a dove to St. Remy, when he was performing the ceremony of the coronation of Clovis. Hincmar, in his life of St. Remy, thus narrates the legend:-" And behold a dove, fairer than snow, suddenly brought down a phial in his mouth full of holy oil. All that were present were delighted with the fragrancy of it, and when the archbishop had received it, the dove vanished." Another historian, quoted by Menin, is rather more particular in his rela"When he that bore the chrism was absent and kept off by the people, lo! suddenly no other doubtless than the Holy Spirit appeared, in the visible form of a dove, who carrying the holy oil in his shining bill, laid it down between the hands of the minister." The oil of this mystic vessel was declared by the Romish priests to be undiminished by use, and this was gravely put forward as a standing miracle until the time of the French Revolution. At the coronation of Charles X. the priests had the folly to proclaim in the public papers that a phial containing some of this invaluable unction had been preserved from the destruction of the rest of the Regalia, to anoint the head of a monarch so devoted to the interests of the Romish church.

The original Ampulla given to Thomas à Becket was not destroyed with the rest of the Regalia in the time of the Commonwealth; but it was renovated for the

coronation of Charles II., and at the same time a new spoon was prepared into which the oil is poured by the consecrating prelate. The spoon, like the eagle, is of chased gold, and is adorned with four large pearls in the broadest part of the handle.

Kings were anciently anointed on the head, the bowings of the arms, on both shoulders, between the shoulders, on the breast, and on the hands. There are only three distinct anointings in modern coronations, on the head, breast, and hands, which were said by Becket to indicate glory, holiness, and fortitude. Great importance was attached to this unction, for Shakspeare represents Richard II. declaring on the invasion of Bolingbroke:

Not all the water in the rough rude sea,
Can wash the balm from an anointed king.

The rich IMPERIAL CROWN of gold with which the monarchs of England are crowned, is still called St. Edward's crown, though it was actually made for the coronation of Charles II., the more ancient crown

having been stolen and sold in 1642. It is embellished with pearls and precious stones, as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, and has a mound of gold on the top, enriched with a fillet of gold embellished also with precious stones. Upon the mound is a cross of gold garnished with jewels, and three very large oval pearls, one fixed on the top, and two others pendent on the ends of the cross. It is composed of four crosses pattée, and as many fleurs de lis of gold, all embellished with precious stones. From these crosses arise four circular bars or arches, which meet at the top in form of a cross; having at their intersection a pedestal, on which is fixed the mound already mentioned. The cap within this crown is of purple velvet, lined with white taffeta, and turned up with ermine. On the day of coronation the jewels and precious stones belonging to the Crown of State, so called because it is worn by every sovereign coming in state to parliament, are taken out, fixed in collets, and pinned into the imperial crown;

their places are supplied by mock stones, when the ceremony of the coronation is concluded.

Since the time of Charles II. a very rich crown of

state, to be worn by the sovereign only at the coronation dinner in Westminster Hall, is prepared for every succeeding king or sovereign queen. This is very rich, being embellished with several large diamonds, and a great number of pearls; but it is most distinguished by a very large ruby, set in the middle of one of the four crosses, and estimated at the value of ten thousand pounds, and also by the mound's being one entire stone of a sea-green colour, known by the name of an aquamarine. The cap is of purple velvet, lined with white taffeta, and turned up with ermine, like that of the imperial crown.

A queen-consort wears a circlet proceeding to her coronation, and is crowned with ST. EDGITHA'S CROWN; which is so named in honour of Edgitha, the consort of Edward the Confessor.

The queen's circlet of gold is richly adorned with large diamonds, and has a string of pearls round its upper edge. The cap is purple velvet, lined with white taffeta, and turned up with ermine richly powdered.

The queen's crown, or the crown of St. Edgitha, was originally manufactured for Catherine, the consort of Charles II. It is a rich imperial crown of gold, set with very valuable diamonds, intermixed with other precious stones and pearls. It is composed of crosses and fleurs de lis, with bars and arches, and a mound and cross on the top, like the crown of St. Edward, only smaller and lighter. The cap is of purple velvet,

and turned up with ermine, or minever pure, richly powdered. The crown of St. Edward is used solely for the coronation of a sovereign queen, and cannot be worn by a queen consort.