The services and ceremonies in the Abbey were beautiful and impressive in the extreme. Enriched with a thousand years' traditions, moulded upon ancient forms of a sacred and essentially religious character, symbolizing and expressing a solemn compact between the Sovereign and his subjects, registering by forms of popular acceptance, homage and ecclesiastical ritual the final consecration of the King to the government of his nation, it was a ceremony of exceeding solemnity as well as of impressive splendour. The great Abbey had been transformed by tier above tier of seats, covered with blue and yellow velvet, and so arranged as to form one dazzling mass of brightness and colour when filled with the peers in their gorgeous robes and peeresses in their crimson velvet mantles, ermine capes and beautiful gowns. As the King and Queen entered the Abbey on this eventful day and moved toward their chairs the choir of trained voices sang with exquisite feeling and sound the anthem: "I was glad when they said unto me, we will go into the house of the Lord." The King at different times during the ceremonies was clad in vestments combining an ecclessiastical character with Royal magnificence. The dalmatic was a robe of cloth of gold, the stole was lined with crimson cloth and richly embroidered, the alb, or sleeveless tunic of fine cambric, was trimmed with beautiful lace. The whole effect was one of harmonized colour and splendour. After brief prayer, kneeling on faldstools in front of their chairs, the King and Queen took their seats and then the Archbishop of Canterbury turned north, south, east and west and, while the King stood, he said to the people: "Sirs, I here present unto you King Edward, the undoubted King of this Realm; wherefore all you who have come this day to do your homage, are you willing to do the same?" Ringing acclamations of "God save the King," to the sound of trumpets strongly blown, greeted this part of the ceremony. The Bible, Patina, Chalice and Regalia were then borne to the Altar, and the Communion service of the Church of England proceeded with. Then followed the taking of the Coronation Oath, the Archbishop of Canterbury first asking His Majesty if he was willing to do so and receiving an affirmative reply. The questions and answers were as follows, the King holding a Bible in his hands: _Archbishop._ Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in Parliament agreed on and the respective laws and customs of the same? _The King._ I solemnly promise to do so. _Archbishop._ Will you to your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments? _The King._ I will.