Many persons can still remember the coronation of the Emperor Napoleon in 1805. On that occasion a grand banquet was given to all the dignitaries of the Empire and their ladies, nothing being omitted that was calculated to solemnise with sumptuosity such an event.
In 1810 the city of Paris offered to Napoleon and Maria-Louisa (Archduchess of Austria) a banquet as extraordinary as it was costly. A semicircular gallery of the Corinthian order was erected on the whole square of the Hôtel-de-Ville, where above a thousand guests joined the festival.
In 1815 a magnificent entertainment was given to the allied sovereigns by the city of London, where richness of decoration, massive gold and silver plate, and profusion of culinary rarities struck the beholder with wonder.
At the Coronation Banquet of George IV., in 1820, the old customs and privileges were ransacked to give éclat to that solemnity, one of the grandest, and perhaps, the most sumptuous that ever could he imagined in ancient or modern times.
In France, in the year 1824, the coronation of Charles X. was celebrated at Rheims with royal magnificence; the banquet excited the admiration of all present. At that solemnity the Duke of Northumberland was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary from England, and few, if any, ever equalled the liberality of his Grace, or the display he made of his wealth, to represent and honour his sovereign and country at the court of Charles X. The fêtes and banquets given by his Grace—and at which the author was present—were of the most costly if not extravagant description, for we are told that the expenses of that munificent nobleman were not less than £200,000.
The grand banquets and receptions of King Louis Philippe during eighteen years exhibited too much liberality and splendour to be forgotten; and at the marriage of his eldest son, the unfortunate Duke of Orleans, Versailles presented a scene of banqueting and rejoicing unparalleled since the time of Louis XIV.
On her Majesty’s visit to the city of London a banquet was given in the Guildhall, the grandeur of which was scarcely ever exceeded, showing the loyalty, devotedness, and noble hospitality of the wealthiest commercial citizens in the world.
In 1838, at the coronation of Queen Victoria, Buckingham Palace witnessed a most elegant, chaste, and splendid banquet. The Ambassadors Extraordinary, sent from all the foreign courts, were not more conspicuous for the brilliancy of their costumes than the native nobility who graced the festive-board of the youthful Queen of Great Britain.
On this occasion a very elaborate and graceful fountain of massive gold of about three feet in height and two feet in diameter, was prominent on the royal table. It spouted four different sorts of delicious wine into as many shells, from which it dripped into four reservoirs, and was served to the guests by means of a golden ladle. This fountain can be seen, with the regalia, in the Tower of London.
On that joyful day the members of the Reform Club intrusted to our care, at Gwyrdir House, a sumptuous entertainment for fifteen hundred persons, on a scale of liberality deserving of the highest praise.