No. XIII.—Vol. II., p. 93.
“On the 19th of May, 1685, the King (about 11 a clock in the morning) came to the House of Peers in his royal robes, and with his crown off his head, being attended with the great officers of state, and having placed himself on his throne, the Usher of the Black Rod, Sir Thomas Duppa, was sent to bring up the Commons to the bar of the Lords’ House.
The Commons being come, the Lord Keeper standing behind the Chair of State (from whence he usually speaks to the two Houses) acquainted the Commons that his Majesty had commanded him to tell them that it was his royal pleasure, that they should go down to the Lower House, and choose their speaker, and present him at 4 of the clock in the afternoon, to his Majesty at the bar of the Lords’ House, for his approbation.
The Lord Keeper acquainted the Lords and Commons at the same time, that they should, in the mean time, apply themselves to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy and the test, as the law requires, and when that was done in both Houses, his Majesty would then acquaint them with the reasons why he called them to Parliament.
Thereupon the Commons withdrew, and went down to their own House, and (as I have been informed) forthwith chose Sir John Trevor to be their speaker.
In the mean time, the Lords went about the taking of the oath of allegiance, and supremacy, and the test; and in the first place, the Lord Keeper took the oaths and test singly; and then the Lords in their order, beginning with the Barons, and ending at the Archbishop of Canterbury.
When that business was over, the Lords called to go to prayers, and the Bishop of Bath and Wells read prayers, he being Junior Bishop. When prayers were ended, the Lords that were lately created by new patents, were introduced, according to the usual solemnity, that is to say, the Lord Keeper went below the bar, and being attended with the Usher of the Black Rod, and Sir W. Dugdale, King at Arms, and the Lord Marshall, and the Lord Great Chamberlain, and two other Barons (for Barons introduce Barons, and Earls do introduce Earls, &c.), the patent was carried by my Lord Keeper, and laid at his Majesty’s footstool, at the throne, he kneeling; and then he took his patent up, and carried it to his side upon the Woolsack, and then delivered it to the Clerk of the Parliament, who read it, and after the reading of it, he was, by the Lords and Officers aforesaid, brought to his seat upon the Barons’ bench, from thence he went to his place upon the woolsack, which is his seat as Speaker to the Lords’ House.
The rest of the Lords were introduced in the same manner, only they went out of the House to bring in their patents; and so did the Earl Marshall, and the Lord Great Chamberlain, and Sir William Dugdale, and the Usher of the Black Rod go out of the House to fetch them in; but the Lord Keeper did not go out of the House, because he being Speaker, ought not to be absent from the House, while its sitting, and that is the reason why he did not go out.
The Lords that were introduced were these:—First, Lord Keeper; second, Lord Treasurer; third, Lord President; fourth, Duke of Beaufort; three Earls, i.e., Earl Maclesfield, Earl Berkley, Earl Nottingham; three Viscounts, Viscount Hatton, Viscount Weymouth, Viscount Townsend. The Barons that were introduced were Dartmouth, Stawell, Churchill, Wemen; there were more, but I do not now remember their names, but I will hereafter insert them.
Then all those Lords that were introduced took the oath of allegiance and supremacy, and the test; and so went into their seats. And this was about 3 of the clock in the afternoon.