rope. In the cieling, Charles II. represented in the habit of the order, attended by England, Scotland, and Ireland; Religion and Plenty hold the crown over his head; Mars and Mercury, with the emblems of war and peace, stand on monies of installation belongs unto Garter King at Arms, a principal of ficer of the order, whose peculiar appointment is to maintain and support the dignity, and preserve the honour, of this most noble order of knighthood. On the morning of installation, the knights commissioners appointed by the sovereign to instal the new, or knights elect, mect in the great chamber in the lodgings of the dean of Windsor, dressed in the full habit of the order, where the officers of the order also attend in their habits, and the knights elect come thither in their under habits only, bearing their caps and feathers in their hands. From the dean's hall the first procession of the knights is made into St. George's chapel, and the new knights there rest themselves in chairs behind the altar, and are respectively introduced into the Chapter House, and by the lords commissioners (garter and the other officers attending) are here invested with the surcoat or upper habit of the order, which is buckled over with a girdle of crimson velvet, and the hanger and sword also girded on; the dean at the same time reading the several admonitions appointed by the laws and statutes of the order, which the knights elect here subscribe, and take the oaths required by the statutes. The procession of each knight elect separately, is afterwards made into the choir, attended by the lords commissioners, and other companions of the order, down the north aisle, and preceded by the poor knights, prebends, heralds, pursuivants, and other officers of the order in their several habits, Garter king at arms bearing the robes, great collar, and George, of each knight, on a crimson velvet cushion. On entering the choir, after reverence made to the altar and the sovereign's stall, the knights are conducted to their several seats or stalls, under their respective banners and other ensigns of honour; and with great state and reverence this most solemn part of installation is performed, and here the knight is completely dressed, and invested with the mantle of the order, and the great collar of St. George. After the solemnity of installation, the knights make their solemn offerings at the altar; and, prayers being ended, the grand procession of the knights from the choir in the full habits of their order, with their caps and plumes of feathers on their heads, (which are frequently richly adorned and surrounded with diamonds,) is made round the body of the church, and, passing out at the south door, the procession is continuad in great state through the courts of the Castle into St. George's Hall, preceded by his majesty's music. After the knights have for some time rested in the royal apartments, a sumptuous dinner or banquet is prepared 3 G 2 in on each side. Regal government, upheld by Religion and Eternity, with Justice attended by Fortitude, Temperance, and Prudence, repelling Rebellion and Faction. Toward the throne is represented, in an octagon, St. George's Cross, in St. George's Hall, if the sovereign be present, and in his absence in the great Guard Chamber next adjoining; and the knights are introdueed and dine in the habits of the order, and a band of music attending; Garter king at arms, before dinner is ended, proclaims the style and dignity of each knight; after which the company retire, and the evening is closed with a ball for the ladies in the royal lodgings. This procession of the knights of the Garter, and the whole ceremony of installation, is most noble and stately. The habit of a knight of the Garter, in richness and majesty, surpasses the dress of all other orders of knighthood, and is suitable to the high dignity of this illustrious society, which stands foremost in honour and renown amongst the princes of Europe. It may be proper to observe here, that the order of the Garter was instituted by the most heroic and warlike prince Edward III. king of England and France, A. D. 1349, in the twenty-third year of his reign, for the improvement of military honour and the reward of virtue: it is also called the order of St. George, the renowned patron of England, under whose banner the English army always marched to the field of battle; and the cross of St. George was appointed the ensign of this most noble order: at the same time the sovereign appointed the Garter to be the principal mark of distinction of the order, and to be worn by the knights on the left leg; not from any regard to a lady's garter, as has idly prevailed among the vulgar, and improved by the fancy of poets and painters, contrary to truth and history, but as a tie or band of association in honour and military virtue, to bind the knights companions strictly to himself and each other, in friendship and true agreement, and as an ensign or badge of unity and combination, to promote the honour of God, and the glory and interest of their prince and sovereign. Farther, king Edward, being at this time engaged in prosecuting by arms his right to the crown of France, caused the following French motto, Honi soit qui mal y pense, to be wrought in letters of gold round the garter, declaring thereby the purity and equity of his intention in this his institution, and at the same time to retort shame and defiance upon him that should dare to think ill of his royal intent in this noble institution of honour, and of the just enterprize he had undertaken for the support of his right to that crown. But, for a more general account of the order of the Garter, the reader is referred to Ashmole's History of the Order of the Garter, wherein the institution, laws, and ceremonies, of this most noble establishment of honour are treated of at large, with the statutes of the order, and Cross, encircled with the Garter, within a glory supported by Cupids, with the motto, Honi soit qui mal y pense; the Muses attending in full concert. On the back of the throne a large drapery, on which is painted St. George and the dragon, as large as the life; and on the lower border of the drapery is inscribed, Veniendo restituit rem, in allusion to William III. who is painted in the habit of the order, sitting under a royal canopy, by KNELLER. To the throne is an ascent of five marble steps, to which the painter has added five more with the pencil, with such perfectness as to form a strong deception to the beholder. and a catalogue of the knights companions from the first foundation to Mr. Ashmole's time, by which it is evident that there is no royal or princely family in Europe, but has been of the company of this most illustrious society, which from its first institution, now more than four hundred years since, has flourished with great splendour and glory, and been the most distinguished mark of honour among the princes of Europe, the reward of merit, and great and heroic deeds. A knight of the Garter may be elected; but, according to the statutes of the order, they are not deemed knights companions, nor are they intitled to the full honours of the order, till they have been duly installed with the ceremonies of honour in St. George's Chapel at Windsor; as in the case of the late earl of Halifax, who was elected a knight companion April 23, 1764; but, dying before his installation, is not inserted in the catalogue of knights companions. Since the institution of this order of knighthood, there have been knights elected, eight emperors of Germany, three kings of Sweden, five kings of Denmark, two kings of Prussia, three kings of Spain, six princes of Orange, five kings of France, one king of Scotland, exclusively of James VI. five kings of Portugal, one king of Poland, two kings of Naples, one king of Arragon, three infants of Portugal, one prince of Denmark, two bishops of Osnaburgh, many princes of Luxemburgh, one elector of Brandenburgh, seven electors palatine, two electors of Saxony, two dukes of Lorrain, four dukes of Wirtemburgh, two dukes of Holstein, two dukes of Savoy, &c. &c. &c. The god's great mother, when her heavenly race 2 St. St. George's Hall, is one hundred and eight feet long; and the whole north side is taken up with the Triumph of Edward the Black Prince. At the upper part of the hall is Edward III. the founder of the order, seated on a throne, receiving the kings of France and Scotland prisoners: the Black Prince is seated in the middle of the procession, crowned with laurel, and carried by slaves, preceded by captives; he is attended by the emblems of Victory, Liberty, and other insignia, with the banners of France and Scotland displayed. The painter has indulged his fancy, by closing the procession with the fiction of the countess of Salisbury, in the person of a fine lady making garlands for the prince, and the representation of the Merry Wives of Windsor. In this last, he has humourously introduced himself in a black hood and scarlet cloak. At the lower end of the hall is a noble music gallery, supported by slaves larger than the life, in proper attitudes, said to represent a father and his three sons, taken prisoners by the Black Prince. Over the gallery, on the lower compartment of the cieling, is the collar of the order of the Garter fully displayed. The painting of this room was by VERRIO, in which, as well as in other parts of the palace, he has exhibited the prominence of his absurd stile. ST. GEORGE'S, or THE KING'S CHAPEL. On the cieling is represented the Ascension; and the altar-piece is adorned with a painting of The Last Supper. On the north side of the chapel The Resurrection of Lazarus, and other miracles, by VERRIO; and in a group of spectators, the painter has introduced his own effigy, with those of SIR GODFREY KNELLER, and COOPER, who assisted him in these paintings. The east end of the chapel is taken up with the closets belonging to his majesty and the royal family, The carved work is done by GIBBONS, in lime-tree wood. From this chapel visitors are conducted to the QUEEN'S GUARD CHAMBER, the first room entered, but the last of the state apartments shewn to the public, the others being only opened when the court reside at Windsor. They con sist of many beautiful chambers adorned with paintings by the most eminent masters. THE INNER OR HORN COURT, is so called from a pair of stags horns of a very extraordinary size, taken in the forest, and set up in that court, which is painted in bronze and stone colour. On one side is represented a Roman battle, and on the opposite side a sea fight, with the images of Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury, and Pallas; and in the gallery is a representation of David playing before the ark. ST. GEORGE'S COLLEGIATE CHAPEL, is situated in the middle of the lower court of the Castle, and must not be confounded with ST. GEORGE's, or the KING'S CHAPEL, in the Castle. It is a beautiful structure, in the purest style of Gothic architecture; and was first erected by Edward III. in 1377, for the honour of the Order of the Garter. But however noble the first design, Edward IV. not finding it entirely completed, designed and undertook the present structure. The work was carried on by Henry VII. who finished the body of the chapel; and Sir Reginald Bray, K.G. assisted in ornamenting the chapel and completing the roof. The architecture of the inside has ever been esteemed for its great beauty; the stone roof in particular is reckoned an excellent piece of workmanship. It is an ellipsis supported by Gothic pillars, whose ribs and groins sustain the whole roof, every part of which has some different device. On each side of the choir, are the stalls of the sovereign and knights of the Garter, with the helmet, mantling, crest, and sword of each knight, set up over his stall, on a canopy of antient carving curiously wrought. Over the canopy is affixed the banner of each knight blazoned on silk, and on the back of the stalls are the titles of the knights, with their arms neatly engraved and blazoned on copper, The sovereign's stall, on the right hand of the entrance into the choir, is distinguished by rich ornaments. The prince's stall is on the left, and has no distinction from those of the rest of the knights; the whole society, according to the statutes of the institution, being companions, equal in ho, nour and power. In |