The King had long been making extensive preparations for a magnificent installation of the Order of the Garter, which took place at Windsor Castle on St. George's day, the twenty-third of April; an exhibition, which, as it was enhanced in interest and value by the peculiar care bestowed upon it by His Majesty, proved a strong excitement to public curiosity. To detail the precise ceremonial of this august exhibition is unnecessary; but we may observe, as a curious fact, that the number of knights assembled, which was twenty-six, was not only greater than at any installation of the order which ever yet took place, even than that of the original institution; but that it amounted to precisely the number of the order upon its original foundation by Edward the Third, by whom it was fixed at twenty-five knights, exclusive of the sovereign.

It was the King's particular wish that as many of the old customs should be kept up as possible; and accordingly he gave directions that a baron of beef should be procured, which was done, weighing one hundred and sixty-two pounds. This was roasted on the Sunday previous to the installation, and took upwards of ten hours in dressing; and the novelty of the affair attracted much of His Majesty's attention; so that during the time it was roasting he brought several parties of distinction to view it. In fact, it was so large that no jack would turn it, for which purpose a man was employed;

and it became even necessary to have a silver dish made for serving it up.

To describe all the hurry and bustle of preparation in Windsor, its vicinity, and on the road to it, for several days, is needless; but such was the throng of passengers, that it became at length impossible to obtain relays of horses; and parties of the first consequence were actually, in many instances, forced to become pedestrians, or lose their chance of accommodation at the end of their journey.

The day of installation was ushered in with ringing of bells, and every note of military preparation; and the morning being extremely fine, the whole scene had a most imposing effect; the first ceremony performed being the presentation, by His Majesty, of a pair of silver kettle-drums to the Royal Horse-Guards (in which His Majesty personally held a troop), who, for that purpose, marched from their barracks, and drew up opposite the grand entrance to the castle, where the King made his first appearance a little before eight o'clock; and the kettle-drums having been previously placed there, he addressed Colonel Dorrien, saying, "I present these drums to you as a mark of my esteem for the good conduct of the regiment upon all occasions." The colonel then presented to His Majesty a written address from the regiment; and a coporal having lifted the drums upon a

horse, where a black drummer was prepared to beat them, the band, consisting of eight trumpets, struck up "God save the King;" then the regiment gave a royal salute, and marched through the town with their royal present, playing "Britons strike Home !"

Anxious to guard against all disorder or accident, His Majesty made the most judicious regulations for both the military and civil power; the Royal HorseGuards being placed at the requisition of Sir Richard Ford, the police magistrate, from town.

At ten the procession began, for the particulars of which we must refer to the journals of that year; we may observe, however, that all the arrangements of ceremony, which were very numerous, were prepared by the King's express regulation, the whole of which he adhered to most strictly, behaving with every due attention to the chivalrous spirit and majesty of the scene, during a space of seven hours.

Being all Companions, the knights sat down to the sovereign's table, wearing their caps of state, except when the sovereign drank to them, when they rose up uncovered.

After the repast, the knights retired to the presence-chamber, and the ceremonial was at an end, after a day of splendour the most brilliant, and of chivalrous pomp the most magnificent and impressive.

By the King's express regulation, every possible

facility was given to the company invited, and indeed to all, to view every part of the ceremony, and whilst the repast of the order was going on, the Queen was not forgetful of the other guests, but did the honours of the castle with great attention to the nobility and gentry of both sexes, as far as they could be accommodated in that superb residence.

The extreme and awful reverence which His Majesty always felt for the ceremonies of religion, was never more strongly manifested than during the preparations for this installation. A nobleman, high in favour, having asked in an apparently negligent, though not intentionally disrespectful, manner, whether the new knights would not be obliged to take the sacrament previous to the installation, the King instantly marked his feelings by a change of countenance; and with some appearance of severity, said "No! that religious institution is not to be mixed with our profane ceremonies. Even at the time of my coronation, I was very unwilling to take the sacrament; but when I was assured that it was indispensable, and that I must receive it, before I even approached the communion table, I took off the bauble from my head. The sacrament, my lord, is not to be profaned by our Gothic institutions!"

The Princess of Wales passed some time this spring on a visit to Windsor, where the King paid

her the most marked attention; and at her departure presented her with two beautiful Arabian horses, and an elegant gold service. He also presented his infant grand-daughter with a magnificent tea-service of wrought gold, brilliantly decorated with diamonds and rubies.

His Majesty never heard of any new establishment, public or private, without expressing a wish to examine it; and he particularly manifested this year a desire to see all the improvements recently made at Chelsea Hospital. Accordingly, on the twentieth of June, their majesties, with the princesses and royal dukes, arrived there at an early hour, and investigated every thing most minutely, even to the hall and kitchens, where both the King and Queen mentioned their great satisfaction at the evident proofs that every care was taken of the humble veterans.

They next visited the Royal Military Asylum, and viewed the workshops; after which the children were drawn up in front of the hospital; the boys, to the number of four hundred and seventy-two, going through the different manœuvres of marching, &c. The children then retired to their dining halls, singing a verse of "God save the King," in each; when grace was said, and the little ones sat down to a dinner of beef and plum-pudding, affording great satisfaction to their royal visitors by their apparent comfort, and excellent discipline,