294 CONDESCENSION OF HIS MAJESTY. I thank you." Indeed, HIS MAJESTY, during the whole time, seemed in perfect good humour with all the company.* The only etiquette observed on the Terrace is, that when THE KING passes, the ladies and gentlemen withdraw on either side, the latter merely uncovering * The Author, as one of a Deputation of the Body of DisSENTING MINISTERS of the three denominations in and about the Cities of London and Westminster, having had the honour of kissing the King's hand three different times, here gratefully records the affability and condescension of his Majesty on those occasions. The PROTESTANT DISSENTERS have been the steady friends of the Brunswick Family. In the perturbed periods of 1715 and 1745, they were most active, in conjunction with their fellow-subjects, to put down these rebellions, adopting, individually, the sentiment of Horace, with the alteration of the proper name Ego nec tumultum Nec mori per vim metuam tenente GEORGIO terras! PROTESTANT DISSENTERS make not any ostentatious boast of their loyalty; but yielding to no class of subjects in their attachment to the BRITISH CONSTITUTION, they are not ashamed to avow it on every proper occasion. A PATRIOT KING is the Father of his People, and a good FATHER treats with equal regard every member of his family, resembling the great HEAVEnly Parent, of whom it is recorded in Sacred Writ, Gon is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted of him. SETTING OF THE SUN. 295 the head, bows and curtsies being dispensed with on the occasion. A police officer is in attendance, who, with a little switch, keeps individuals from pressing too much on the King when he stops to converse; but this is done with the greatest urbanity. When THE KING returned into the Castle, the company soon dispersed; the setting sun also was rapidly withdrawing its rays, and the face of nature, so cheerful throughout the course of the whole of this delightful day, was about to be enveloped in the shades of darkness; but even this constant alternation of day and night may be converted into a source of moral improvement. And wilt thou go, BRIGHT REGENT of THE DAY? Ere long shall I review thy golden ray, Ere long shalt thou resume thy glorious reign. Oh! VIRTUE, when thine orb droops towards its bed, Soon shall the Grave release thee from its gloom, FAWCETT. Owing to a slight indisposition, THE QUEEN did not make her appearance on the Terrace; but we saw 296 KING ON HORRSEBACK. her on other occasions. His MAJESTY was regular in his attendance at chapel every morning, and seemed seriously engaged in his devotions. About ten o'clock, when the weather is fine, (Sunday excepted),THE KING rides out on horseback; and, considering his age, he mounted his horse with wonderful agility. He is, in his ride, accompanied by two of the Princesses, who have some of their maids of honour following in a landau or phaeton. The KING has several attendants, two of whom are close by him, and one has a little stick, the crooked end of which catches that part of the bridle nearest the curb, so that should the animal, on which his Majesty rides, stumble, instant assistance might be given. Indeed, it is gratifying to the benevolent mind to observe that every attention is paid to the good old Monarch, which may alleviate his infirmities or smooth his descent towards the tomb. One day we met HIS MAJESTY in the Long Walk, together with his retinue, returning from their morning's excursion. It had a singular appearance. The KING himself made a conspicuous figure, whilst the number of attendants, on horseback or in the carriages, reminded me of the Eastern Caravan, where every provision is made for a social and comfortable journey. Into the character of our venerable Monarch, I entered, in my JUBILEE SERMON, preached and published on that memorable occasion. Permit me, however, just to remark, that the BRUNSWICK FAMILY, under whose dynasty we have the happiness to live, have uniformly held sacred the dictates of CONSCIENCE in the worship of the Supreme Being, and are, on this account, entitled to the gratitude of every subject of these realms. And the reign of GEORGE THE THIRD, emblazoned as it recently hath been by military and naval exploits, which have now happily terminated, (in conjunction with the efforts of foreign powers,) by giving peace to a harassed and exhausted world, will, in the eye of Heaven, derive a still purer and more vivid lustre from its spread of the HOLY SCRIPTURES, from its diffusion of knowledge among THE POOR, and from its accelerated augmentation of RELIGIOUS LIBERTY— Glance on the distant north thy careful eye, Where EUROPE's ample plains extend, and trace Arises to the inquiring gaze, and shines The brilliant gem of OCEAN-hail BLEST ISLE, Sweet home of FREEDOM! And many a race of KINGS on Albion's throne, The subjects' friend, the guardian of THE LAWS, TOWNSEND.* * See DEDICATION to the RT. HON. LORD ERSKINE, of the thirteenth edition of The Sketch of the Denominations of the 298 WINDSOR CASTLE. Some historic account of WINDSOR CASTLE Will be expected by you, my young friend, and shall be given with brevity. There It is a circumstance worthy of observation, that when Sweyne, King of Denmark, entered the realm against Alfred, he is said to have subdued all before him, "by reason that there were no forts or castles to stop his progress." And it is also believed, that in consequence of a similar deficiency, William the Conqueror overran the country with the greater facility. The successful hero, however, knowing the value of castles, soon caused them to be erected throughout the kingdom. The Castle of WINDSOR was, it is imagined, one of the first of these. was a Royal Palace at OLD WINDSOR, where Whitsuntide was kept by the court for several successive years. It was removed to the Castle at New Windsor, which William the Conqueror had erected merely as a place of defence; the festival of Whitsuntide being kept there, in 1110. And during the reign of Henry the Second, hither were summoned several of the Parliaments. In 1215, John resided at Windsor Castle, and hence he issued to sign the Magna Charta at Runnymede, for the Barons refused waiting upon him. The two Edwards were partial to this royal spot, and Edward the Third was born at the Castle. Christian World; to which is prefixed an Outline of Atheism, Deism, Theophilanthropism, Judaism and Mahometanism, with a list of the Bible and Missionary Societies; by John Evans. |