The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

THE CORONATION OF THE KING OF HUNGARY. Within a four days' journey of our shores there is now in progress a scene such as might have been wit- nessed in the old barbaric world, when Kings were crowned with strange m gnificence; or, rather, there may be seen the preparations for the final act of a play in a vast theatre, where the characters, all dressed for their several parts, are moving about ainid the mechanics and the uncostumed crowd behind the painted canvases, and where who are to be spec- tators mingle still with those who will shortly appear Upon the noards. Pesth and Buda, indeed, resemble nothing so much as a stupendous open-air amphitheatre filled with the actors and the audience in masquerade, and waiting till they are summoned to^their respective Stations, and the spectacle begins. The noise of the tiammers ("If the stage carpenters, the tuning of the orchestra, the hum of the multitude are heard around in the interval before the action of the drama. In the midst of the excitement, while they are all looking for the ceremony which has been ap- proached with such suddenness as to have strained the resources of the management and the actors to the utmost, there is a real sorrow which mars the popular joy. The telegraph will have laid the dry outlines of what has occurred before the world long before these lines can reach England. A calamity for Which every human heart must feel has already fallen on a branch of the Imperial House. The shadow of a greater grief is, still impending over the Emperor him- self. While the pageantry of th" ceremonial which eom-nericed to-day was passing, the news came that the gentle, charming, and gracious girl who seemed Worthy of a happy and lofty destiny had been released from the sufferings inflicted by her cruel accident, and that the Archduchess Mathilde was no more. And before the end of the ceremony comes we may learn 1 that Maximilian of Mexico has perished by the hands Of those who will not care much for being stigmatised by the civilised and Christian world as assassins and murderers, so long as they can gratify their thirst for blood. Should the Emperor of Austria, or, as he must be called here, the King of Hungary, hear of his brother s death, the coronation will not be postponed, but the fetes and rejoicings will be abandoned. "FeUx Aust),ia It would seem as if for a time the House of Hapsburg had fallen upon evil days, but it may be but the darkness before the dawn. For nearly twenty years the Emperor of Austria Bought to rule over Hungary without the consent of the people, but on July 3, 1866, he found that the only way to wield his broken sword was to seek the aid of the Strong arms and fiery hearts of those whom he had besought to hold as his bondsmen. This will probably be the last time in which the Hungarian people, or at least that better part of the people which has kept the national life in the body corporate, will find it necessary to ap- pear in fancy costumes in self-assertion. But except for these armed, pelissed, and jewelled, and booted nobles, it is almost certain the Hungarians would long since have melted away into a sort of Austrian amalgam of all nations. Such a sight as Pesth pre- sents now will probably be never shown again. It is quite impossible to give an idea of the splendour of Some of the dresses, in which, however, the servants Tie with their masters in all except buckles, buttons, and cksps of precious stones. People who furnish miasquerader.s' costumes, ball characters, and proprie- tors to the stage all over the world may look out for rich accessora to their stores from time to time, and may gloat over the fantasies and caprices of these Wonderful Magyar nobles. The Emperor and Empress and the Archdukes are lodged in the Palace of Buda, a modern-looking edi- fice on the height immediately over the suspension bridge built by Tierney Clarke. The centre is a pro- jecting block, (our storeys high, with thirteen windows in front, having wings a storey lower, showing fitteen Windows each on the side facing the river—at the other side looking on the low hillocks, green with the vines from which the Buda wine will be crushed in autumn, Surrounded by the humble whitewashed cabins of the cultivators. It is painted of a light saffron colour, and is in harmony with the colour of the adjacent public buildings and barracks on the heights and on the quay fronting the Danube beneath, which is now lined with numerous steamers. The quay at the Pesth side is bordered .by lofty edifices, hotels and offices, and, from the Palace at Buda to the Town-hall of Pesth, the whole of the route is lined by substantial and well- planned tribunes rising tier above tier, and decorated with ga'-lands, wreaths, lofty standards, colours, and coats of arms. The speed and skill with which these erections have been constructed are remarkable, and the carpenters are just finishing their work like men expert in the art All the public squares and places of Pesth through which the pro- cession is to pass are bordered by them, and when the King comes from the bridge to the mound where he performs the ceremony of sword-waving he will be sur- rounded on all sides by multitudes in every window of the houses, in the steamers on the Danube, and on the tribunes, and will continue his course to the Town- hall between continuous lines of spectators. The price of good seats argues great self-sacrifice and heavy purses combl,ie(i with patriotism and love of spectacle. For a. window looking on the mound the sum of oOl. English is the usual rate, and the persons who will pay such prices will in the vast majority of instances be Hungarians. They have assort of national pride to gratify. Under all their loyalty to the King of Hungary there is the feeling that they have won a victory over the Emperor of Austria. He is vanquished, and in his triumph as their King he acknowledges his submission as the Kaiser of the adjacent Empire with which they are allied. The proceedings to-day were the beginning of the great ceremonies to be observed at the Coronation. At ten o'clock the House of Magnates (or Peers) and the House of Deputies (or Commons) assembled to appoint deputations to wait on the King with their addresses, and to transact business connected with their presenta- tion to His Majesty. For an hour or so before, carriages, driven by wonderfully-attired coachmen, and guarded by stillniore wonderfully attired Chasseurs, went to and fro in the streets to take up their owners, and gor- geous leibhusareri came out like tropical butterflies in the warm sun. congregating around doors and standing in the passages almost aghast at their own splendour. No colourist could give the smallest idea of the richness of some of these uniforms; others were rather extravagant and grotesque than effective. There was a small gathering at the foot of an hotel staircase this morning of positively startling people. One had a tall calpak of gray astrakan fur, with a yellow satin bag, ending in a great tassel of gold lace. On the front of the calpak was a scarlet medallion, bearing in embroidery the badges of the House he served—apples and leaves—his brown face and black moustache contrasted with a white lace frill with long ends the gold-laced collar of his scarlet hussar jacket was crusted with gold from his, shoulders hung a pelisse of green and silver trimmed with gray fox-skin, and worked all over with apples and leaves in Silver his tight pantaloons of flaming red were slashed with silver, and his boots were of yellow Morocco leather, with a band of gold lace and tassels at the top and gilt heels and enormous spurs, the get-up being com- pleted by a heavy curved scimitar, ablaze with all kinds of metallic finery. He and his fellow regarded c-ach other in their new clothes with much curious •wonder, each mirutur novas frondes et rum sua pom a. These were but the "life hussars," or personal at- tendants of a Magyar noble, and were by no means singular for finery among those with whom they stood. r There were men who shone as if they were in armour, in their particoloured clothing, and it was not possible their masters could devise greater glory of attire^ for themselves—at least one might be pardoned for think- ing so. The Chamber of Deputies meetain a building which was constructed temporarily for their use, but which is likely to endure many a year in its simple solidity. Well might gentlemen of England who sit ill at ease in the dark, uncomfortable room which is the nucleus of the vast pile at Westminster, envy the Hungarian Commoner in his spacious, lofty, well-ventilated hall, where every member has plenty of room, where every word spoken by any member in his place can fce heard all over the apartment, where there is ample accommodation for strangers in the body of the hall, and where airy galleries give space for a number of spectators, who are as silent and orderly as if they were oil trial for their lives, and by no means imitate the unseen, but not unheard, vivacity of the inmates of cur Ladies' Gallery. There was a small gathering outbide to see the deputies arrive, but there was no pressure, no great anxiety, nor, indeed, any enthu- siasm. The men in their wide awakes, or flat round felt hats, long frock coats, pantaloons, and Hessian .boots were only distinguished by these peculiarities of attire and by a certain Oriental cast of face from the ordinary crowd of any European city, and the women were dressed in the universal style of porkpie botineterie and crinolined garments which has spread over Europe. Somehow or other the wild looking creatures to be seen in the streets with unkempt locks, short jackets, and very loose wide trousers or tight linen pantaloons, as they happened to be Hungarians or Sclaves, did not venture to gaze on so much finery and did not con- tribute to the spectators. On entering the House the President was found to be reading the protocol of the proceedings of the day, and the seats on both sides were filled by the members in all their splendour. The general effect was not so brilliant as mkht have been expected, because the members sat with uncovered heads but there was a sheen of colour 0"er the sea ts as if a rainbow were playing about On the left of the President Szentivanyi, a Venetian nobleman by Titian looking sort of man, sat a few members in black or sad coloured dresses, who represented the ex- treme Radicals. They have no sympathv for the Coronation, and look upon it as a farce of no merit or entertaining power but though they were gloomy and solemn as Covenanters, they did not eschew long boots, tight pantaloons, and sabres. Deak was not visible, but Miko, Count Bela Szechenyi, (who has done all in his power to promote the comfort of the English visitors), Baron Ambrosy, who served on Benedek's Staff, and the owners of many famous Hungarian names, could be made out in the glitter of the assembly, and the officers of the House, in rich I dresses;with tricolour scarves and cashes, moved in and out from time to time with communications be- tween both Houses. The proceedings were in Hun- garian, and among the many phenomena connected with the present position of the kingdom none is more remarkable than the fact that the Magyar language has been raised almost from the dead within the memory of man. It owes its present use to the father of the Count Bela Szechenyi mentioned above, for up to his time it was scarcely known, or if known, was Lever used in society by the Magyar nobles and was restricted to the peasantry. When he began to speak it he was scarcely understood by his class; he was almost laughed at for his persistence in adopting it in every day life. Now it is, indeed, as much national as is our own speech, although Hungarians have not lost their polyglot powersi and all Magyar gentlemen Eeak German and French and very many of them iglish. As we were going over to the Upp^r House, which sits in a building in which are placed the collections of the Pesth Museum a Magnate announced that the peers had risen, and they were seen issuing out of the lofty portals and descending the steps in a torrent of waving feathers and raiment of many colours, like the contents of some pyrotechnic projectile which has burst aloft and is letting its golden rain and silver stars and many-hued sparklings fall through the night air The Magnates could not, however, outdo the members of the Lower House in their richness and magnificence, although they could boast of finer equipages and a more numerous and embroidered valetaille. Conspicuous among them were prelates who would make a ritualist fall down and worship, so grand were they in purple robes and trappings, and cocked—yes—cocked hats with gold tassels. They all stood together waiting till their carriages came up, and some, imitating the example of various Deputies, were content with open omnibuses, and thus avoided the cab tariff, which is very high, although the authorities who deal with London cabs might come out here to this Hungarian capital and see how much better are the vehicles and horses there than in the greatest capital of the world. The road to the Palace was long and hot over the bridge and past the tribunes, now nearly empty, to the courtyard, where a guard of honour was stationed, and a fine military band com- forted the spectators, who were not very numerous, or who were, at all events, not very dense at any one point of the route till the Palace was reached. The Deputies and Magnates as they arrived were ushered into the apartments assigned to them, whence they were led to the room in which the King and Qiie,-n were stationed, with the great officers of State, the Hungarian noble Guard being on duty in their beau- tiful but fantastic uniform. Here the Magnates first and then the Deputies were presented to the King. The members of both Houses now collected in the Grand H all of Audience, and in solemn procession, preceded by the youngest bishop, bearing the cross, Magnates bearing the globe and sword of State, followed by the Ministers and high officers of the Crown, the King again ap- peared, and, addressing the assembled Lords and Commons, said:— We graciously a'-eept the Inaugural Diploma presented to us by the Magnates and representatives, and return it fur- nished with our signature. The Primate then spoke in suitable terms, to which his Majesty replied in a brief speech. A numerous deputation then waited upon the Em- press, who received them with the ladies of her Court, and made a profound impression by her beauty and grace, to solicit her consent to be crowned Queen of Hungary. The Empress, laying aside the paper that had been placed in her hands for her guidance, expressed herself of her own accord as follows ;— I joyfully accede to the desire of the nation notified to me through you. It is in accordance with my own most fervent wishes, and I bless Providence that has let me 1 ve to see this sublime moment. Assure the Diet of my sincere gratitude and accept my cordial greeting. A deputation then again waited on the Emperor to request his assent to the choice of Count Andrassy, the President of the Ministry, as representative of the Palatine at the coronation. The Emperor replied that he gave his consent willingly, as "it would be im- possible to find a person more deserving of the honour than -Count Julius Andrassy." And the Houses and the deputations withdrew, well pleased with their re- ception, and with the result of the day. In the evening both Houses again met. The Lower House elected a deputation to present the coronation gift, already voted, of 50.000 ducats to each of their Majesties, and it was agreed that the House should meet at half-past five on Saturday morning, and pro- ceed in corpore to Buda, where at seven o'clock they must be present in the church in which the coronation takes place. As the coronation is not only a solemnity, but also a Constitutional and Parliamentary proceed- ing, it is essentially necessary that there should be a sufficient number of representatives present at the ceremony to "form a house." On the approaching: oc- casion there is no doubt that the attendance will be very full. The inaugural diploma, wich the Royal signature, was presented in both Houses. At four o'clock next morning the trans of the fortress of Buda woke all who were asleep, and if noise indoors and out of doors all night con Id keep people awake there were very few of them startled by the noisy summons. The sun rose in a cloudless sky, and a light breeze from the west just threw out the folds of the Imperial standard on the palace and on the forts, where it was hoisted half-mast high, and gave life to the countless flags, pennons, and streamers along the quays and the route of the i,i-ocession. There was a considerable gathering of what may be called directed towards the Buda side by this enticing part of the day's programme, but the people who thronged the tribunes and the windows were of the same class, for the most, part, as those on the Pesth side of the river. It gave a forecast of what was to come to see the magnates here and there at that- early hour mounting their horses in the courtyard below, and riding off to the bridge, attended by their foot- men And as before it was diificult to decide which, master or man, was the liner, it now became a question whether the horse in its trappings was not finer than either. Whole fields of cloth of gold must have been cut up for shabracks. Then such saddle-cloths, such blister- caps, such housings, glittering with jewels, silver, and gmd. with reins of precious metal, in chains and bands—chevrons of solid silver, mounted-with ostrich and golden pheasant and argus plumes. How one of those horses, if it has the least intelligence and sell-respect, will ever submit to ordinary pigskin again cannot be conceived The Magyars will beat their silver plates and ornaments into spoons and remount their jewels and go out in sad-coloured garments, such as might have been obtained in London before the sti ike but, it is hard to expect such self-denial on the part of their steeds. As the minutes flew on the crowd gathered, carriages rolled towards the bridge, and toiled up the slope towards the parish church of Buda. At seven o'clock precisely the ceremonies of the coronation ooimaiced, and a procession of troops was formed, in the ..If. VwL Yere Hjs Majesty the Emperor and Apos- /7, "f' preceded by a bishop on his right with the Apos- !U1<1 on his left preceded by the Royal Hun- » Horse, uncovered, carrying the drawn f,lll\wed >>y the Captains of "Body Guard la'u: her Majesty the Empress and Queen in a state carnage drawn by eight horses, three running footmen, uncovered on each side, and followed by her Mar- shal of the Court, the Chamberlain on duty, and four pages the mistress of the robes in a state carriage, drawn by six horses a .running footman, uncovered, on each side four state carnages, di awn by six horses, in euch three ladies of the bedchamber; two running footmen uncovered to each carriage. I tie carriages, some of them dating from the time of Maria 1 herese, were most splendid. On reaching the church his Majesty, who was in his uniform of Field-Marshal, was assisted from his horse by the "I/ird High Chamberlain, while the Mistress of the Robes assisted her Majesty to descend from the carriage of :<tate, which was of singular magmfleeoce and richness. Within the church, where the Magnates, Deputies. Ministers. and (tiplomatic body were assembled, their Majesties were received by the Primate and the officiating prelates and clergy, and kneeling, were presented by the Primate with the crucifix I and holy water, then rising with the assistance of the Lord Chamberlain and the Mistress of the Rohes they fol- lowed the Primate and the officiating e'ergy to the inner chapel, the trumpets and kettledrum's-sounding. Here the crown jewels were placed in the hands of the barons of the realm, and in the procession which then moved towards the high altar the Crown of St Stephen was borne by the Count Andrassy, as representative of the Palatine. The Ban of Croatia, Baron Sokcevic, carried the glol,e; the Judex Curiae, M. Majlath, the sceptre; the Tavernicns, Baron Sennyey, the pyx; the Royal Hungarian Cupbearer 'the sword of State, and the Royal Hungarian Lord High Cham- berlain the Cross. The Crown jewels were placed on the high altar, and the Archbishop of Kalocsa com- menced the service with the formula of the Church according to the Pontificale Romanum. Addressing the Primate, he spoke the words; Postulitt Sancta Mater Ecclesia Catholica ut priesentem serenissimum FranciscunI .Tosephum ad dignitatem Hungariae Regis sublevetis." Then the Primate responded Scitis ilium dignum et utilem esse ad hanc dignitatem?" And the Archbishop of Kalocsa answered-" Et novimus et credimus." Then His Majesty was led to the altar, and kneeling took the coronation oath, which has been given in the papers. Then His Majesty descended to the lowest step before the altar, and lay prostrate at full length on his face, while the Primate read the Litany, the Bishops giving the responses, all kneeling, During these prayers the Primate rose from his knees, and with his episcopal staff in his left hand twice made the sian of the cross over the prostrate form of His Majesty; the bishops, kneeling, did the Sl me. At the conclusion of the Litany His Majesty was conducted behind the altar, where he laid uside his pelisse, kalpack, and sabre, and prepared for the unction. Returning with his attendants, His Majesty knelt before the alta", and there was anointed with the holy oil by the Prima' e. Tllis part of the ceremony excited much interest. As the primate poured the oil on His Majesty's right arm and between the shouldera he prayed reverently, and when the ceremony was over the King rising went behind the altar where the superfluous, unction was dried, and reappeared after a time and walked to the foot of the throne, where he knelt down and seemed to pray. while he was thus kneeling the Lord High Cham- berlain and Marshal of the Court and officiating prelates ap- proached with the Royal mantle of Stephen and placed it solemnly over his shoulders. This is clearly proved to have been a casula, the work of Gisella, Queen of St. Stephen, made in A.D 1031, and is regarded with the utmost veneration by all Hungarians. It was the gift to the Church originally and has undergone some mutilation. The inscription states; "Casula hsec data et operata est Eccles-se Santse Marise sita; in civitate alba (Stuhlvveissenourg) aiino ab incarnations Christi mxxxi., indiceione xiv. a Stepheno Rege et Gisla Re- gina." When it is out of repair it must be mended by no other hands than those of the Queen herself. Then the High Mass began to the blare of trumpets and the roll of kettle- drums. The Prince Primate read the office to the conclusion of "graduale," when, attended by his prelates, he went, to the altar, where the regalia were deposited. The King, sur- rounded by his officers of high state and dignity, having arisen, was led to the altar, where he knelt lowly and b< wed his head to the Primate, who placed the naked sword of St. Stephen on his hand with the words of the formula:- "Accipe gladium de altari sumptum per nostras manus licet indignas vice tamen SS. Apostolorum consecratas. Tibi regaliter concessum, nostneque benedictionis officio in de- fensionem S. Ecclesioo Dei divinitus ordillatum." The Primate having received back the sword from the Em- peror, who now rose, put it into the sheath and fastened the belt round his loins with the words:— Accingere gladio tuo super femur tuum, potentissime, et attende, quod sancti non in gladio, sed per fidem vicerunt regna." And then the King, standing erect, and turning his face to the people, drew the ancient blade, and with vigorous hand made the steel flash In the light as he cut first in front, then to the right and then to the left, according to tradition, and returned the sword to its sheath, while the artillery thun- dered out a salvo from outside. The King next advancing knelt on the highest step of the altar, and there the Arch- bishop of Gran, as Prince Primate, and Count Andrassy, repre- senting the Palatine, put the Crown of St. Stephen on his head. The world has heard enough of this famous piece. It con- sists of two parts-one sent by Pope Sylvester II, to St. Stephen in 1000 A.D., and used in his coronation, the oiher dating seventy or eighty years later, sent by Michel Dukas, Emperor of the East, to King Gyza, from Byzantium. It is called "holy," "sacred," "apostol ¡cal," and the King of Hun- gary derives his title from the last adjective. It is almost like a trooper's morion in shape, and is enriched with enamels and precious stones. When the regalia were taken b) the insurgents they were buried in 1849, near Orsova, in the Danube, close to the Turkish frontier; but their hiding place was found out, to the great joy of Hungary, after four or five years' seclni-ion in the mud. The Primate, with his hands on tin crown, gave the blessing, and presented His Majesty first with the sceptre in his right and the globe in his left, with the formula, as follows "Accipe virgnm viitutis ac veritatis, qua intelligas, te obnoxium mulcere pios, terrere reprobos." Having done this the Primate removed the sword of St. Stephen from the King's side, and returned it to the Royal Hungarian Cup-bearer, and when that was done the second salvo was fired, and a phase of the ceremony ended. The King was now really to lie enthroned. With the Primate OIl one hand and an Archbishop on the other, the King, pre- ceded by 11 magnates bearing the insignia of Bulgaria, Kumenia, Serbia, L<>domiria. Galicia, Bor ia, Dalmatia, Transylvania, Sclavonia, Croatia, and Hungary—the Heralds, Master "f the Horse, and other high officers, was conducted to the Throne, and took his place with much solemnity. The Primate, standing911 his right., pronounced the words "Sta et retina a ntodo locum quam hue usque paterna successione tenuisti bsereditani jure tibi a Deo delegatum per auctoritatem omnipotentis Dei" Count Andrasay made a sign, and at once the whole assem- bly burst into an "Eljen which was repeated three times wif h thrilling effect. The cannon thundered from the Bloeksberg—the bells of Blida and IVsth burst out into chimes. The King was crowned. As crowned King he pre- sented bis consort to the Primate, and demanded that she should be crowned; and another service commenced, the crown and insignia beng laid on the altar. The service for the Queen was similar to that of the King. A crown was put on her head, but the Royal crown was only held on her right shoulder for a time, after which t was replaced on the head of the King. At one time the King and Queen lay prostrate on their faces as his Majesty had done, and after the ceremonies here were com- plete the Kii g and Queen went in precession through the church gates to the gardo church, where all the royal in- signia except the crown were laid aside, while the King made a number of knights-equite8 awr.ti--diibiiiig them with the sword of St. Stephen. The remainder of the proceedings were extremely interesting and we regret our limited space precludes us from giving an account of them.