A.D. 1821.] THE KING'S VISIT TO SLANE CASTLE. Never did the warm hearts and the intelligent minds of Irishmen stamp upon the world the true value of their character in a manner so unequivocal or upon an occasion so memorable." The marquis added that he had no doubt that the country would improve, and he felt more satisfaction than he had language to express in assuring them that the present would not be the last visit which his majesty would pay to Ireland. The marquis Conyngham subsequently stated that the king had expressed his determination to pay a triennial visit to Ireland, and to lay an injunction upon his successors to do likewise. When the lord mayor left the chair, alderman Beresford was called to it, and was asked to propose the standing toast of the corporation, "The glorious, pious, and immortal memory." This he firmly refused to do. He was then asked to propose the health of alderman Darley, which he did. The worthy alderman returned thanks, and concluded by giving the interdicted toast, for which he was near losing his salary of one thousand pounds a year as police magistrate, the king being highly indignant at this breach of the compact of conciliation with the Roman catholics. “Thus ended,” said a Dublin journal, "the corporation dinner, which, combining the splendour and magnitude of the preparations, the pomp and magnificence of the entertainment, and the dignity of the guests, with the refulgent charms of the fair spectators, never was equalled, and never will be surpassed in Ireland.” On Friday, the 24th, the king visited the Royal Dublin Society, at Leinster House, the lawn of which was covered with beautiful tents, ranged in semi-circular form round a magnificent marquee, where his majesty was entertained. Three harpers, robed in the antique garb of Irish minstrels, were stationed at the entrance of the tent. He was received by the members, about one hundred and fifty in number, all decorated with the insignia of welcome. The price of admission to this fête champêtre was five guineas for a member and two ladies. The king having looked through the institution, hurried off to Slane Castle, the seat of the marquis Conyngham. He was escorted by a troop of cavalry as far as Finglas, where he dismissed half of them. He changed horses at Ashbourne, travelling at the rate of twelve English miles an hour, and, leaving all his suite far behind, he arrived at Slane at half-past four o'clock. The lord-lieutenant and a number of the nobility were asked there to meet him. On the following day he viewed the obelisk of Old Bridge, where the famous battle of the Boyne was fought, which secured the throne to his family. He was surrounded by thousands of the peasantry, his only guard being lady Conyngham and her daughter. On Sunday he went to Slane church, when he enjoyed another ovation. Among the company invited to meet the king at Slane Castle was the lord chief justice Bushe, then solicitorgeneral. He and the attorney-general, Saurin, went down together, and had barely time to dress for dinner. He had never been seen by the king but once, at the levée. Cn going down stairs he met his majesty coming up. The rencontre was most embarrassing, but it was only for a moment, The king at once said, "Bushe, I believe you . 51 "In one don't know the ways of this house," and taking him under the arm, conducted him to the drawing-room. moment," said Bushe, "I was as much at ease as if I had been his daily companion. I sat opposite to him at dinner. The first words he addressed to me were these (lady Conyngham, who sat next him, had been whispering something in his ear):-' Bushe, you would never guess what lady Conyngham has been saying to me; she has been repeating a passage from one of your speeches against the union.' He saw that I started, and was rather at a loss what to say, and instantly changed the subject by recommending me to try a particular French dish, from which he had been just helped. This,' said he, I can recommend as the perfection of cookery. My cousin, the duke of Gloucester, often produces it for his guests, but always fails in it. It is the same with all his dishes; he has a remarkable talent for giving bad dinners.' The king soon after returned to the union. My early opinion was,' said he, addressing Saurin, 'that you and the solicitor-general's opposition to the measure was well founded, and since I have seen this glorious people, and the effects produced by it, that opinion is confirmed; but,' he added, as if correcting himself, 'I am sure you will agree with me in considering that now the measure is carried you would both feel it your duty to resist any attempt to repeal it with as much zeal as you originally opposed it. But you all committed a great mistake. Instead of direct opposition, you should have made terms, as the Scotch did, and you could have got good terms.' He then summed up some of the principal stipulations of the Scotch union. He had history at his fingers' ends. Saurin said (a very odd remark, as it struck me, to come from him), And the Scotch further stipulated for the establishment of their national religion.' 'You are quite right,' said the king; they secured that point also, but. No, no,' he added, hastily checking himself; you must pay no attention to what I have just said. It would not be right to have it supposed that I entertain an opinion from which inferences might be drawn that would afterwards lead to disappointment.' In the evening, dispatches arrived from England containing an account of the tumultuous proceedings at the queen's funeral. The king expressed, without the slightest reserve, his dissatisfaction at the want of energy shown by the government on the occasion, and contrasted it with the firmness of his father during the riots of 1780. He detailed the particulars of the late king's conduct upon that occasion, who, he said, expressly sent for him to be a witness of it, for the regulation of his own conduct upon any similar emergency. He concluded by suddenly saying, in an altered and broken voice, 'I shall never again see such a man as my father.' The king spoke of the run of luck that he had lately had; his getting round the Land's End just a few minutes before the wind changed, and his consequent arrival at Holyhead two days before the other vessels; his landing in Ireland on his birthday, which had been the wish of his heart; and finally, his glorious reception by the Irish people. Among the lucky incidents, he suppressed the news of the queen's death. The king's accent had the slightest intermixture of the foreign. He has been known to say, 'I wish these catholics were damned or emancipated.' On Monday, the 27th, the king returned to Dublin, and dined with the university. On his arrival, Dr. Barrett, the vice-provost, addressed him in a Latin speech. As usual, very costly preparations were made for his reception, this loyal and wealthy corporation being determined not to be outdone by any other body in Dublin. Among the other ornaments of the dining-hall was the organ, taken from the Spanish Armada, and presented to Trinity College by queen Elizabeth. It was put in repair for this occasion, and attracted no small attention, as the organ loft was occupied by seventy ladies of the highest distinc tion. An ode to the king, specially composed for the occasion, was sung at dinner. It was severely criticised by the London journals, one of which said that the Dublin University was called the "silent sister," but when she opened her mouth it was like Balaam's ass. It is said that the king was more at home among his academic subjects, and altogether more gratified and happy, than at any other public entertainment in Ireland. On Tuesday, the 29th, the installation of the knights companions of the most illustrious order of St. Patrick took place in the cathedral. The most memorable proceedings in the order under this, its second sovereign, were the creation of extra knights, and the circumstance of his majesty having held an investiture and installation in person in the capital of his Irish dominions. In January, 1820, the order lost its most illustrious companion by the death of his royal highness the duke of Kent, earl of Dublin; and two other stalls became void in that year by the decease of the earl of Roden, in June, and of the marquis of Ormond, in August. The chancellor, Dr. Cleaver, archbishop of Dublin, dying in December, 1819, Dr. lord John Beresford, his successor in the archiepiscopal see, was invested as chancellor on the 26th of May, 1820. Another prince of the blood royal was soon after given to the order in place of the duke of Kent, by the election of the sovereign's brother, Ernest Augustus, duke of Cumberland, Teviotdale, earl of Armagh, knight of the garter, and knight of the grand cross of the orders of the Bath and Guelph, afterwards king of Hanover. The two other vacant ribands were conferred upon George Augustus Chichester, second marquis of Donegal, and Du Pre Alexander, second earl of Caledon. At the coronation, in July, 1821, his majesty was pleased to dispense with the statutes, and to declare the six following noblemen extra knights of the order, namely:— Talbot, then lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and grand master of the order; Ormond, Meath, Fingal, Courtown, and Roden. Before the appointment of earl Talbot, no instance had occurred of the grand master, or of a peer of England, who was not also a peer of Ireland, having been elected a knight of the order. The duke of Cumberland was invested by his proxy, Lord Graves, who was knighted on that occasion; and all the other knights elect, except the earl of Caledon, were knighted and invested. On the 28th of the * Curran's "Sketches of the Irish Bar," vol. i., p. 87. same month, the sovereign presided in person at an installation in St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the nine knights elect were installed with the usual ceremonies in the following order :—the duke of Cumberland, who was represented by his proxy, lord Graves, the marquis of Donegal, earl of Caledon, earl Talbot, earl of Ormond, earl of Meath, earl of Fingal, earl of Courtown, and earl of Roden. His majesty appointed the earl of Clanricarde (who was afterwards elected a knight of the order), the earl of Bective (eldest son of the marquis of Headford, K.P.), and the earl of Mount Charles (eldest son of the marquis Conyngham, K.P.), his esquires; and his train was borne by the sons of six other peers of Ireland. The ceremony, to use the words of a contemporary journal, was "of matchless splendour, and had a magical effect, removing for a moment the curtains of time, and transporting the imagination to the golden days of chivalry and romance." During the installation his majesty occupied the archiepiscopal throne; the installed knights sat in their respective stalls, their esquires seated before them. The knights elect sat in front of their several stalls, having also their esquires before them, and the prelate, chancellor, and other officers took the seats prepared for them. It was intended that the procession should, as in 1809 and 1819, proceed from the castle to the cathedral on foot, but in consequence of the state of the weather the knights, esquires, and other officers went in carriages. At the banquet in St. Patrick's Hall, the knights companions sat at the sovereign's table, which crossed the hall, according to the order of their stalls, together with the prelate, chancellor, and registrar. There were also two tables running down the hall, which were occupied by the nobility and other persons of distinction, who had been specially invited, the lord mayor presiding at the one, and the general commanding the forces at the other. The sovereign's esquires attended behind his majesty; the king of arms stood immediately on the right hand of the sovereign; the secretary stood behind the prelate; the genealogist behind the chancellor, and the usher behind the registrar's chair; and the esquires stood behind their respective knights, where they remained during the first course. When it had ended, all the knights companions and officers rose, and Ulster, attended by the officers of arms, having retired to the bottom of the hall, advanced up the centre between the two tables, making their reverences to the sovereign, and, after a flourish of trumpets, he proclaimed that "the knights companions of the most illustrious order of St. Patrick drank to the sovereign's health.” "God save the king" having been sung, Ulster shortly after proclaimed that "the sovereign did the knights of St. Patrick the honour to drink their health," the band playing "St. Patrick's day." After this, Ulster announced that "the knights companions drank the health of his royal highness the duke of York, and of the royal family." Ulster, with the officers of arms, then retired down the hall, each taking their respective stations; and shortly after the sovereign dispensed with the further attendance of the esquires, officers of the order, and the officers of arms, when they proceeded to the apartments where dinner was provided for them. After the dessert, the A.D. 1821.1 DEPARTURE OF THE KING FROM IRELAND. sovereign rose, touched his hat, and gave for a toast "The loyal corporation of the city of Dublin." His majesty retired at half-past seven o'clock, attended by the lordlieutenant and his suite; but on the return of his excellency the festivities continued, and "his majesty's happy return to Dublin, and peace and prosperity to Ireland," and other toasts, were drank with enthusiasm. The general effect of the spectacle is said to have been most splendid; and the installation of the knights of St. Patrick on that occasion will always form a memorable event in the history of Ireland. While his majesty remained in Dublin, he constantly wore the star, riband, and badge of the order of St. Patrick, and usually appeared with a shamrock in his hat. On the 30th the installation ball took place at the Rotunda, the round room of which accommodates about two thousand persons. This was the great day for the ladies, and so we read that the gallant knights of St. Patrick entertained the most illustrious and beautiful women in the land in a style worthy of the Irish nobility, and in such a manner as induced the king to declare that in all he beheld there was so much of splendour, taste, "and," turning to the ladies, "of beauty too, he never witnessed a more charming scene." At the basement of each column, between the windows, mirrors were suspended, which, reflecting in every direction the rich and costly ornaments and the vast assemblage of rank, fashion, and beauty, gave the scene the appearance of some magic structure in oriental romance. The king arrived at ten o'clock, and dancing immediately commenced. It seems the ladies were So overawed by his presence that they became nervous and confused, and forgot their evolutions. At all events, his majesty ungallantly remarked that in whatever else the Irish excelled, they had no pretensions to dancing. He withdrew at eleven o'clock. At one, nine hundred persons sat down to supper, furnished with all that was most excellent in gastronomic art. 53 byterian minister, then bishop of Raphoe, afterwards archbishop of Dublin, who created great ecclesiastical commotion subsequently by a charge, in which he said "the Roman catholics have a church without a religion-the dissenters have a religion without a church." On this day lord Kinsale asserted his hereditary right of appearing before the king with his hat on. On Monday, the 3rd, the king took his departure from Ireland. On his way to Dunleary he paid a visit to lord Powerscourt, driving with his usual rapidity through Dundrum, the Scalp, Enniskerry, and arriving at Powerscourt at three o'clock. Triumphal arches were erected at several points on the road. Among the noblemen there invited to meet him was the earl of Fingall, the chief of the Roman catholic peers. The king, laying his hand on his shoulder, said, "To-morrow you shall see my letter; I think it will please you." A banquet awaited him in the grand saloon of that princely mansion. Entering with the dowager lady Powerscourt leaning on his arm, he ordered the superb chair of state to be removed, and took an ordinary one. He was pleased to take wine with many of the company, and altogether made himself very agreeable. A melody, written by Thomas Moore, for the prince of Wales's birthday, in 1810, was sung on this occasion with great effect. The following stanza, however, was omitted: "Contempt on the minion who calls you disloyal! Tho' fierce to your foe, to your friends you are true; Your fame, your right, Would shrink from the blaze of battle array,- In front would be seen,— Oh, my life on your faith! were you summoned this minute, It being announced that his carriage was ready, lord On Friday, the 31st, the sovereign paid his promised Powerscourt proposed a bumper to his safe return to visit to the Curragh of Kildare, driving rapidly under England. He returned thanks, expressing the delight triumphal arches, amidst the cheers of the peasantry, and he had experienced during his stay in Ireland, and partifollowed by the duke of Leinster, and many other noble-cularly on that day. His majesty reached Dunleary at men and gentlemen, with their tenantry, mounted and seven o'clock, finding the road for two miles covered with carrying banners. The people at the Curragh that day a train of carriages, and crowds on foot. About Dunleary are said to have numbered one hundred and twenty thou- every one of the surrounding eminences was crowded with sand, who all assembled round the stand house, and welcomed people, all conducting themselves with the most perfect the king with a thundering shout. After the races there was order. The pier, nearly an English mile in length, was a grand banquet at two o'clock. Before his departure the occupied by persons of distinction. The harbour and the king presented the duke of Leinster with a costly whip, offing were literally covered by vessels of war, royal yachts, stating that he intended that it should be awarded to the pleasure boats, and a vast number of small craft. owner of the best horse in Ireland, to be run for every year with a stake of a hundred guineas, heavy weight to be carried, in order to encourage the breed of strong horses. The turf club distributed fifty barrels of ale among the peasantry on that day, and they had liberated a week before all that were confined for debt in the county, for sums under fifty pounds, thus making a jubilee of the king's visit. The king was received on alighting by the lord-lieutenant, the lord mayor, and other official personages. He was in the undress of the Windsor uniform, with white trousers and a round hat. The lord mayor presented him with an address from the inhabitants of Dublin, in which it was stated that at his approach discord ceased and every prejudice fled, and that he had vanquished every bad passion in six millions of the Irish people (which, if On Sunday, the 2nd of September, the king attended real, would have been certainly the most important victory divine service at the Chapel Royal, Dublin Castle, when ever achieved by any British king)-" a victory," they the sermon was preached by Dr. Magee, the son of a pres-said, "much more deserving of the laurel crown, now most ENTRY OF GEORGE IV INTO DUBLIN. COPIED BY PERMISSION OF SIR BERNARD BURKE, ULSTER KING OF ARMS. (FROM A PRINT IN HIS POSSESSION). A.D. 1821.] RETURN OF THE KING TO ENGLAND. respectfully presented to your majesty (and intended with all humility to be replaced by one of emeralds) than any of those blood-stained triumphs which have heretofore been honoured by the wreath of the conqueror." Upon receiving the address, his majesty seemed much affected, and he expressed himself to the following purport:-"Gentlemen, I approached your shores with pleasure; I now quit them with regret. May God Almighty bless you all until we again meet!" Mr. O'Connell, at the head of a deputation of ten, then approached the king, and on his knees presented him with a laurel crown. His name had been announced by lord Sidmouth, and his majesty took particular notice of him, shook him cordially by the hand, and accepted the tribute in a manner which indicated that he was much gratified by the gift. This occurred in a tent which had been 55 I can serve Ireland, I shall seize on it with eagerness. I am a man of few words: short adieux are best. God bless you, my friends. God bless you all." He then descended the sloping avenue that led to the royal barge, and jumped into it with great activity. At this moment the police were swept from their stations by the surging multitude, which the attraction of royalty seemed to draw irresistibly into the sea. Four gentlemen clung to the rudder for a considerable time; three of them fell into the water and swam ashore, having their loyalty considerably cooled : another held fast till the king ordered him to be lifted on board. The crowd was so immense that the difficulty of retiring was inconceivable. Files of hussars had to keep the road open for the return of the carriages of the lordlieutenant; pedestrians were obliged to creep for fifty yards under the necks of horses; many of the public 1. The Rotunda 2. Lady Mountjoy, Mrs. Stewart, Hon. Mrs. Knox, Mrs. Arthur Dawson, and party. 3. Residence of Sir Kingston James, Bart., Lord Mayor Elect. 4. Temporary Barrier. Irish Mot o (English), "A Hundred Thousand Welcomes." 5. Countess of Caledon, Lady Blayney, Lady Elizabeth Alexander, Lady Strange, and party. 6. Countess of Farnham, Countess Belmore. I.ady Aylmer, Lady Baird, and party. 7 Prince and Princess Esterhazy, Marchioness of Conyngham, and party. 8. Duchess of Leinster, Marchioness of Downshire, Countess of Antrim, Lady Ennismore, Prince Larderia, Vicomte Chabot, and party 9. The 3rd Light Dragoons, followed by country Gentlemen and Citizens, on horseback and on foot, in regular procession, with flags, &c. &c. 10. Colonel Lindsey, 78th Highlanders. 11. Lord Aylmer, Adjutant-General. 12. LieutenantGeneral Lord Beresford, G.C.B. 13. Sir George Quentin, K.C.H., Aide-de-Camp to his Majesty. 14. Sir D. Baird, G.C.B., &c. &c., Commander of the Forces. 15. Lieutenant-General Lord Blaney. 16. I ieutenant-General Sir E. T. Hammond, K.C.I., and Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal. 17. General Lord Howden, G.C.B. 18. Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B., Cominanding Leinster District. 19. Major-General Sir John Elley, K C.B., Commanding Connaught District. 20. Lord Burgherst, Aide-de-Camp to his Majesty. 21. Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Bolton, K.C.II., King's Equerry. 22. Major-General Bayly, King's Equerry. 23. His Majesty. 24. Marquis of Winchester, Groom of the Stole. 25. Marquis of Headfort, Lord in Waiting. 26. The 78th Highlanders. 27. Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, Private Secretary to his Majesty. 28. Ulster King of Arms, Sir W. Betham. 29. Lord Mayor's State Coach in Waiting. 30. Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Arthur Hill, Aide-de-Camp to the Lord Lieutenant. 31. Earl Talbot, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, preceded by the principal Officers, Lords Spiritual and Temporal, Baronets, Law Officers, Members of the University, Clergy, &c. &c., in their several equipages. 32. City Sword-bearer, Sir James Riddal. 33. City Mace-bearer, Richard Quinton, Esq. 34. First Water Bailiff, Mr. Francis Thorne. 35. City Marshal (with the Keys), J. Stanley, Esq. 36. Second Water Bailiff, Mr. A. Mitchell. 37. City High Constable, Mr. J. Dooley. 38. First City Member, Sir Robert Shaw, Bart. 39. First City Sheriff, Sir Georgo Whitford. 40. Lord Mayor of Dublin, Sir A. B. King, Bart. 41. City Chaplain, Rev. George Blacker. 42. Recorder (with Address), Sir Jonas Greene. 43. Second City Member, Thomas Ellis, Esq. 44. City Sheriff, Sir Nicholas Bradey. 45. Aldermen who had served as Lord Mayor. 46. Aldermen who had not served. 47. Sheriffs, Peers, &c. &c. 48. His Majesty's Footmen. 49. Royal Battle-axe Guards. 50. City ditto. erected for the accommodation of the king. Mr. O'Connell was loudly cheered as he retired from the royal presence. When about to embark, his majesty, appearing much affected, addressed those around him, saying, "My friends, when I arrived in this beautiful country my heart overflowed with joy; it is now depressed with sincere sorrow. I never felt sensations of more delight than since I came to Ireland; I cannot expect to feel any superior, nor many equal, till I have the happiness of seeing you again. Whenever an opportunity offers wherein houses had to shut up because their stock of liquors was exhausted; and water was sold at threepence a quart. The car-drivers, of course, availed themselves of this golden opportunity, and in many cases got from ten shillings to a pound for a sixpenny jaunt. The royal squadron was detained for several days by unfavourable weather. On the 9th it reached Milford Haven; and on the 15th his majesty arrived at his palace in Pall Mall, after an absence of forty days, twenty-two of which were spent in Ireland. The day after the king's |