ENGLISH CORONATION CEREMONIES (continued 3)
Reading edition
That one of the last of the unfortunate race of the Stuarts, Prince Charles, was in London, if not present at the coronation feast, on this occasion, seems to be a fact pretty well established. The Gentleman's Magazine, 1764, (p. 28,) speaks of it as "publicly said, That the young Pretender himself came from Flanders to see the coronation; that he was in Westminster Hall (?) during the ceremony, and in London two or three days before and after it, under the name of Mr. Brown." And Mr. Hume thus writes to one of his literary friends:—"What will surprise you more, Lord Marshal, a few days after the coronation of the present king, told me, that he believed the young Pretender was at that time in London, or, at least, had been so very lately, and had come over to see the show of the coronation, and had actually seen it. I asked my lord the reason for this strange fact. 'Why,' says he, 'a gentleman told me so who saw him there, and whispered in his ear—'Your royal highness is the last of all mortals whom I should expect to see here.'—'It was curiosity that led me,' said the other: 'but I assure you,' added he, 'that the person who is the cause of all this pomp and magnificence, is the man I envy the least.'" A report recently found its way to the public papers, which we have not been able to trace to any authentic source, that a glove was actually thrown from an upper seat in the Hall, as a gage to the king's champion, at this period: that the champion receiving it from his attendants, asked, 'who was his fair foe?' and that the rumour of the day soon connected it with the appearance, and attributed it to the romantic dispositions of the young Chevalier.
Of the late coronation we shall at once consult the best feelings of our own mind, and of the community, by presenting the most copious account we have been able to collect:—