VISIT OF THE QUEEN TO ST. PAUL'S YESTERDAY was the day appointed by the Queen for her proceeding to St. Paul's to offer up thanks in public for her late signal deliverance from the malice of her enemies. In this public act of devotion and thanksgiving her Majesty followed the example of his late Majesty George the Third, who proceeded to the great Cathedral Church of London on his recovery from his first indisposition, in 1789. On the occasion of the visit of the late King, nor on that of any other public procession that we remember, was the public curiosity and enthusiasm excited to such an extent as yesterday. At an early hour in the morning the streets of the metropolis, in the line through which her Majesty was to pass, became crowded with passengers; some hastening towards the great western entrance of the town, others endeavouring to secure themselves places to see the procession as it passed. The inhabitants of houses in the Strand, Fleet-street, Ludgate-hill, and the other great thoroughfares, seemed to anticipate the effects of the great pressure of the multitude, by stopping up their doors, and baricading the lower parts of their windows. In many places beams were nailed across the door-ways, so that, but for the presence of elegantly dressed females who filled every window long before the approach of the procession, it might be supposed every house was preparing for a siege. The cross streets which led into the great line of thoroughfare within the city, were also stopped by beams; behind them waggons were drawn up, with seats raised one behind another. Of course, in all these situations seats became a marketable commodity. So great was the anxiety to obtain a good view of the procession, either for those who wished to be at ease or were unable to struggle with the crowd, that various sums, from five shillings to two guineas, were given for single stations at the windows. The waggons, of course, admitted spectators on more "reasonable terms;" but arranged as they were in the openings of the cross streets they afforded, as far as seeing was concerned, by no means the least desirable places. In those alleys and courts opening on the thoroughfare, which were not open to carriages, chairs and benches or tables were placed, and they were made quite impassable by persons straining to catch a sight of the way by which the procession might pass. From all parts of the town, horsemen, decorated with white favours, were traversing the streets in small parties towards Hyde Park Corner, the place fixed for the meeting of the honorary guard to accompany her Majesty. From ten o'clock the crowd became excessive: the windows were, filled with well dressed people, and on the tops of the lofty houses, many persons were stationed to get a bird's-eye view of the procession. The crowd in the streets below seemed of themselves to adopt a mode of preserving a passage. They locked arm in arm leaving only a narrow part of the road betwixt them, but they fell back as the carriages approached. Till eleven o'clock the multitude continually increased, and all the courts and alleys in communication with the thoroughfare were crowded by the continual tide of passengers. At an early hour, various bodies of the trades that had addressed her Majesty, bearing appropriate banners, proceed to Hyde Park Corner. At half-past twelve o'clock her Majesty entered St. Paul's, and the great organ began to peal a solemn hymn. She was met at the west door by the choir, who, with the Sheriffs, Under-Sheriffs, and the Deputation of the Common Council, preceded her Majesty up the nave and into the choir of the Cathedral in the following order : Two Marshalmen, Members of the Committee, two and two, Mr. Sheriff Waithman, and Mr. Sheriff Williams, As her Majesty approached, Mr. Atwood the organist, performed a voluntary and one of Mozart's fugues. Her Majesty was led by the Lord Mayor to her seat, Lady Hamilton sat immediately on her left; beyond Lady Hamilton sat Joseph Hume, Esq. M. P. and on her Majesty's right sat Sir Robert Wilson and Mr. Hobhouse, the latter in a Court dress. The Hon. K. Craven sat at the desk under her Majesty. Having left the Queen seated, the Lord Mayor, followed by the Aldermen and City Officers, proceeded to the opposite side of the choir and took his seat, Mr. Alderman Wood being on his left, and Sheriffs Waithman and Williams, and their Under-Sheriffs, on the left of Alderman Wood. The Members of the Corporation who were present then arranged themselves in their proper places. The deputation of Ladies who previously sat on the forms in front of the communion table, now removed to the side seats, on each side of the pulpit. Her Majesty was dressed in white with a large white veil thrown over her head, and which she did not raise off her face during the whole time that she was in the Cathedral. As soon as the Queen was placed in her seat she turned round, and kneeling lowly down, offered up the usual silent prayer. Morning service then commenced, her Majesty kneeling down so as to be invisible during all the prayers. The following are the two last of the Psalms, appointed for the day: PSALM CXL. Eripe me, Domine. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: and preserve me from the wicked man. Who imagine mischief in their hearts: and 'stir up strife all the day long. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: adders poison is under their lips. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the ungodly: preserve me from the wicked men, who are purposed to overthrow my goings. The proud have laid a snare for me, and spread a net abroad with cords: yea, and set traps in my way. I said unto the Lord, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my prayers, O Lord. O Lord God, thou strength of my health: thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. Let not the ungodly have his desire, O Lord: let not his mischievous imagination prosper, least they be too proud. Let the mischief of their own lips fall upon the head of them that compass me about. Let hot burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire, and into the pit, that they never rise up again. A man full of words shall not prosper upon the earth: evil shall hunt the wicked person to overthrow him. Sure I am that the Lord will avenge the poor: and maintain the cause of the helpless. The righteous also shall give thanks unto thy name: and the just shall continue in thy sight. PSALM CXLI. Domine, clamavi. Lord, I call upon thee: haste thee unto me, and consider my voice when I cry unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense: and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and keep the door of my lips. O let not mine heart be inclined to any evil thing: let me not be occupied in ungodly works with the men that work wickedness, lest I eat of such things as please them. me. Let the righteous rather smite me friendly: and reprove But not let their precious balms break my head: yea, 1 will pray yet against their wickedness. I Let their Judges be overthrown in stony places: that they may hear my words, for they are sweet. Our bones lie scattered before the pit: like as when one breaketh and heweth wood upon the earth. But mine eyes look unto thee, O Lord God: in thee is my trust, O cast not out my soul. Keep me from the snare that they have laid for me: and from the traps of the wicked doers. Let the ungodly fall into their own nets together: and let me ever escape them. Complete silence pervaded the choir during the time of service, and owing to the arrangements previously made, and which we have given elsewhere, it was not uncomfortably crowded. The Litany was read according to the improved edition, no mention being made of the Queen's name. The Prayers were read by the Rev. Mr. Hayes, and the Litany by the Rev. Mr. Pridden and the Rev. Mr. Pack. The Service performed was Mr. Nare's, and the Chaunt, Lord Mornington's. In the general" thanksgiving" the officiating clergyman, Mr. Hayes, one of the minor canons of St. Paul's, omitted the particular thanksgiving which at the request of any individual, it is customary to offer up, and which we understand her Majesty desired might be offered up for her on the present occasion. It is said that Mr. Hughes refused, on the ground that the rubric directs that those may be named as` returning thanks who have been previously prayed for, but that the Queen not having been prayed for, could not be named in the thanksgiving. When the Service was concluded, the Deputation of La dies moved towards the door of the choir, and lined a passage, through which her Majesty was to walk on proceeding to her carriage. The Corporation, Choir, &c. &c. preceded the Queen on hér return in the same order as on her entrance-the Lord Mayor walking on the Queen's left, and Mr. Alderman' Wood walking backwards before her Majesty to make way through the people, who pressed round her as she passed, offering up their benedictions and prayers for her past and future protection by Divine Providence. Her Majesty graciously acknowledged these offerings of affection and duty with her accustomed gracefulness and condescension. As the Queen proceeded to the great entrance along the nave, the Deputation of Ladies accompanied her. Any thing like the appearance of St. Paul's Church-yard and Ludgate Hill, as far as the eye could reach, mocks every attempt at description. The houses were absolutely roofed with people, and the fronts of them almost invisible from the crowds that filled the windows, balconies, tops of shops, &c. every individual of whom had a handkerchief or flag, or something else, waving in token of loyalty and devotion to their beloved Queen. HER MAJESTY'S RETURN. A few minutes before two, signals were given of her Majesty's return. All became alacrity and attention. At two precisely the procession began to move. Her Majesty was now seen to great advantage, the carriage being opened. This high gratification gave infinite energy to the joy and exultation of all. Her Majesty seemed deeply affected, and signified her sense of the national homage now done to her innocence and moral courage in the most courteous and gracious manner. The Lord Mayor attended her Majesty to Temple-bar, and then returned, loudly and warmly cheered. The crowd in the Strand continued nearly as thronged as when the procession first passed; in addition to which a vast number of vehicles of every description were stationed close to the footway, the owners of which took advantage of the public feeling by letting out seats and standing room to those who were not fortunate enough to gain admission to any of the houses in the street. For such accommodation, inconvenient as it was, as high as half a crown was in many instances demanded, and readily given. In her passage through the Strand, and on to Hyde Park Corner, her |