THE FUNERAL OF WILLIAM THE FOURTH.
The ceremonies observed at the interment of the corpse of the late King were, with slight variation, the same as those described in the Spectator of last Saturday ; but some of the circumstances of the funeral, apart from the mere ceremonial, may be mentioned. The Queen Dowager was in the Royal closet in St. George's Chapel during the performance of the obsequies. She entered the chapel pri- vately, passing through Sir Jeffery Wyattville's house, along the ter- race belonging to the Canons of Windsor, while the procession was moving along the terraces, thence through Dr. Kent's house, into the Cloisters. Her Majesty was accompanied by several ladies, covered with crape veils. According to one account, she wept bitterly: ac- cording to another, she stood with her arms folded, motionless as a statue, during the whole of the ceremony. She was not distinctly seen from the body of the Chapel, the closet having been carefully darkened. Her uttendant ladies wept all the time. In the closet next to the Queen, were the Earl and Countess of Munster, and Lords Augustus and Frederick Fitzclarcnce. Immediately after the conclusion of the service, Queen Adelaide took her departure to Bushey Park.
The Duke of Sussex, chief mourner, was observed to shed tears copiously. The Duke of Cambridge was not present. Among the distinguished persons who formed part of the funeral procession, be- sides the Ministers of State and the chief officers of the Household, were the Duke of Wellington, Duke of Buccieuch, Duke of Rich- mond, Duke of Beaufort, the Marquis of Westminster, the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Tankerville, Lord Wharneliffe, nine Bishops, and a large number of Peers, Privy Councillors, Knights of various orders, and naval and military officers. After the coffin had been placed in the vault, Sir William Woods, Clarenceux, Deputy to Garter Principal King of Arms, pronounced near the grave the styles of " his late Most Sacred Majesty, of blessed memory," as follows- " Thus it bath pleased Almighty God to take out of this transitory life, unto his divine mercy, the late Most High, Most Mighty, and Most Excellent :Mo- narch, William the Fourth, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter ; King of Hanover, and Duke of Brunswick Lunenburgh. " Let us humbly beseech Almighty God to bless and preserve with long life, health, and honour, and all worldly happiness, the Most High, Most Mighty, amid Most Excellent Princess, our Sovereign Lady, Victoria, now, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defen- der of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. GOD SAVE QUEEN VICTORIA."
After which, the Marquis Conyngham, Lord Chamberlain to his late Majesty, and the Duke of Argyll, his late Majesty's Lord Steward, and other officers of his late Majesty's Household, broke their staves of office, and, kneeling near the grave, deposited the same in the royal vault; whereupon their Royal Highnesses the Princes of the Blood Royal, the Foreign Princes, the Great Officers of State, nobility, and others who composed the procession, retired from the Chapel. The bands of the Grenadier Guards, Scots Fusileer Guards, and Cold- stream Regiment Foot Guards, played the Dead March in " Saul" as the procession moved to the chapel. From four o'clock in the morning until tithe in the evening, guns were fired at intervals of five minutes; and from nine o'clock until the conclusion of the ceremony, minute- guns were fired.
The crowd of persona of various ranks in Windsor was immense; and the crush of those who had tickets to see the procession within the barriers was terrible. Many ladies and some gentlemen fainted ; there was a great destruction of dresses, but no loss of life or limb.
" With all the confusion and inconvenience," says the Times," it turned out, when the holders of admission-cards to view the procession moving down the covered way had taken their places, that without any cliff** double the number could have been accommodated. Perhaps the great number of the applications may account for the fact that so few of them were attended to. The crowd on the Castle Hill, and near the lower gateway, continued very dense until the procession began to move. As soon as that was announced by the discharge of a rocket to the artillery in the Long Walk, they commenced firing at half-minute time. This had the effect of drawing off a considerable portion of the multitude, who went down to witness the proceedings there. It was by this time quite dark ; and nothing could he distinctly seen from the gateway of the Lung Walk but the sombre foliage of the rows of elms, which seemed in the distance like a high wall at each side. The dimness of she pros- pect was, however, relieved for an instant as each successive gun was fired; the flash of which, followed by its rolling volume of white smoke, threw a MO- meotary gleam on the little encampment and its occupants, who, thus becoming alternately visible and invisible, gave to the whole scene a most interesting and picturesque effect. The firing was kept up until another rocket from the Castle announced the conclusion of the sorrowful ceremonials. The two batteries then fired a royal salute ; immediately after which, the encampment was broken up, and the Artillery was moved off to Colobrook. During the whole of the day, the great bell of the Castle, the bells of the parish.church, and that of Eton, continued to toll at intervals of a minute. Divine service was celebrated in the parish-church ; where an excellent sermon, suited to the melancholy occasion, was preached by the Vicar, the Reverend Mr. Gossett. The attendance in the church was most numerous ; and it is unnecessary to add, that the demeanour of the congregation was such as befitted the sacred place in which they were assembled, and the melancholy event which brought them together."
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