Finally the doors were opened.  At a quarter after six all the galleries were filled.  The foreign sovereigns were represented by especial ambassadors:  the King of Spain by the Duke of Villa-Hermosa, the Emperor of Austria by Prince Esterhazy, the King of England by the Duke of Northumberland, the Emperor of Russia by the Prince Wolkonski, the King of Prussia by General de Zastrow.  These various personages were objects of curiosity to the crowd, as was Sidi-Mahmoud, ambassador of the Bey of Tunis.  The rich toilets and dazzling jewels of the ladies of the court were admired; all eyes were fixed on the gallery where were the Dauphiness, the Duchess of Berry, and the Duchess and Mademoiselle d’Orleans, all four resplendent with diamonds.  The spectacle was magnificent.  An array of marvels attracted attention.  Behind the altar the sacred vessels in gold, of antique form, the crown in diamonds surmounted by the famous stone, the “Regent,” the other attributes of royalty on a cushion of velvet embroidered with fleurs-de-lis; on the front of the altar the royal mantle, open, not less than twenty-four feet in length; on the altar of green-veined marble, superb candelabra in gold; on the centre of the cross of the church, suspended from the ceiling above the choir and the prie-dieu of the King, an immense canopy of crimson velvet, sown with golden fleurs-de-lis; at the back of the choir, toward the nave, about one hundred and fifty feet from the portal, the gigantic jube with its staircase of thirty steps; upon this the throne; all around a swarm of standards, those of the five companies of the King’s body-guard, and the flag of his foot-guards, borne by the superior officers; on the two sides of the stairway, ranged en Echelon, the flags and standards of the regiments of the guard and of the line in camp under the walls of Rheims; a splendor of light, banishing all regret for the sun, from candelabra at the entrance of the choir, from chandeliers in the galleries, from chandeliers full of candles suspended from the ceiling, from tapers on the columns.

The Cardinals de Clermont-Tonnerre and de La Fare, preceded by the metropolitan chapter, came to seek the King in his apartment in the palace.  The Grand Preceptor knocked at the door of the royal chamber; the Grand Chamberlain said in a loud voice:—­

“What do you seek?” The Cardinal de Clermont-Tonnerre responded:—­

“Charles X., whom God has given us for King.”

Then the ushers opened the doors of the chamber.  The two cardinals entered and saluted the sovereign, who rose from his chair, bowed, and received the holy water.  The Cardinal de Clermont-Tonnerre recited a prayer.  The cortege was formed, and in the following order traversed the great covered gallery which had been built along the right side of the Cathedral:—­