under the salutes of those holy old gentlemen, the archbishops and
bishops--but the anticipation of the kisses of all the temporal Peers,
old and young, was enough to appall her--there were six hundred of them.
So she issued a proclamation excusing the noble gentlemen from that
onerous duty, and at the coronation only the Royal Dukes, Sussex and
Cambridge, kissed the Queen's rosy cheek, by special kinship privilege.
The others had to be content with her hand. The other omitted ceremony
was one which formerly took place in Westminster Hall--consisting chiefly
of the appearance of a knight armed, mailed and mounted, who as Royal
Champion proceeded to challenge the enemies of the new Sovereign to
mortal combat. This, which had appeared ridiculous in the case of the
burly George IV., would have been something pretty and poetic in that of
the young maiden-Queen, but she doubtless felt that as every Englishman
was disposed to be her champion, the old form would be the idlest,
melodramatic bravado.

The crown which had fitted George and William was too big and heavy for
their niece--so it was taken to pieces, and the jewels re-set in a way to
greatly reduce the size and weight. A description now before me, of the
new crown is too dazzling for me to transcribe. I must keep my eyes for
plainer work; but I can give the value of the bauble--L112,760!--and this
was before the acquisition of the koh-i-noor.

Of the coronation I will try to give a clear, if not a full account.

It was a wonderful time in London when that day of days was ushered in,
by the roar of cannon from the grim old Tower, answered by a battery in
St. James' Park. Such a world of people everywhere! All Great Britain and
much of the Continent seemed to have emptied themselves into this
metropolis, which overflowed with a surging, murmuring tide of humanity.