year's day, afforded a pretext for exhibitions of a more exhilarating aspect. The untimely fate of this heir of York and Lancaster might invite the moralist to expatiate on the vanity of human expectations, but that the theme is already exhausted, and that the mournful lesson it inculcates is too painfully impressed by every page of human experience. From the moment of his birth, the greate parte of the nobles of this royalme present at this parliament. She was led by the Earl of Oxinford and the Earl of Derby. The Reverend Father in God, the Bishop of Excester, song the mass in pontificalibus, and after Agnus Dei. Then the queene was led as before. The Earles of Shrewsby and of Kente hylde the towel when the queene toke her rights, and the torches were holden by knights, and after mass accompanyed as before; when she was commen into hir grete chamber she stode under her cloth of estate, then thir was ordered a voide of espices and sweet wine: that doon, my lord the queene's chamberlain, in very good wordes, desired, in the queen's name, the people thir present to pray God to send her the good houre; and so she departed to her inner chamber, which was hanged and seyled with riche clothe of blue arras, with fleur-de-lys of gold. In that chambre was a rich bed and palliet, the whiche palliet had a marvellous riche canopé of gold, with velvet pall, garnished with riche red roses; also there was an autar well furnyshed with reliques and á cup-borde of nine stages well and richly garnished. Then she recommended her to the good praiers of the lords, and my lord her chamberland drew the Travis; from thenceforth no manner of officer came into the chambre, but ladies and gentlewomen after the old costume."—A few days after this ceremony, however, a French nobleman of the highest rank was, by special favor, admitted to an audience of Her Highness, with whom he found only the Countess of Derby and the Queen-dowager Elizabeth. when Catherine with a mother's pride presented him as a new-year's gift to her delighted lord, he had been an object of almost idolatrous love and homage.* Innumerable benedictions were showered on his unconscious head, and the prayers of a generous people unavailingly offered for his health and prosperity. Among the feasts and festivals in honor of his birth, was one, of which the memory long survived the term of his ephemeral existence, and in which may be discerned some faint indications of improving taste.† "The * The prince expired on the 22d of February. king," says Hall, "took this sad chance wondrous wisely; and, the more to comfort the queen, he dissembled the matter, and made no great mourning outwardly; but the queen, like a natural woman, made much lamenta tion. "At Westminster," says Hall, "solemn jousts were proclaimed in honor of the queen; and on the twelfth of February, the king and his three aids or supporters, Sir Thomas Knevet, the earl of Devonshire, and Sir Edward Neville entered the hall, each armed cap-à-pee, with a fictitious name quartered on his shield. To the Earl was assigned the allegorical appellation of Bon Vouloir; Sir Thomas Knevet was designated by Bon Espoir; and Sir Edward Neville.by Vaillant Desir; whilst the King, the universal challenger and enterpriser, could be nothing less than Cœur Loyal. By a fantastical device, the tablet in which the names of these quatre chevaliers de la foret were inscribed, was suspended on an artificial tree, to which the following scroll was appended:'The noble lady Renown, considering the good and gracious fortune which it hath pleased God to send her dear and best beloved cousins, the King and Queen of England and of France, that is too say, the birth of a young prince, hath sent eight knights, born in her realm; that is to say, Cœur Noble, Vaillant Desir, Bon Vouloir, et Joyeux Penser, to furnish and coply the certain arti "On the morrow, after dinner," says the chronicler," the company assembled in the hall, when, at the sound of the trumpet, many a nobleman and gentleman vaulted on their steeds, after whom followed certain lords, mounted on palfreys, trapped in cloth of gold; many gentlemen on foot, clad in russet sattin, and yeomen in russet damask, scarlet hose, and yellow caps; then issued the King from his pavilion of cloth of gold." His mettled courser loaded with the same gorgeous drapery, and on his gilded chafrons nodded a graceful plume spangled with gold. The King's three aids appeared in equal state; each, armed cap-a-pee, sat beneath a crimson pavilion. Next followed in procession the nine pages or children of honor, each gallantly bestriding a palfrey, of which the housings were embroidered with words and poesies. Then entered, from the other side of the field, on the part of the defenders, Sir Charles Brandon on horseback, habited as a religious recluse, who, unheralded by trumpet or minstrel, preferred to the Queen his lowly suit that she would be pleased to allow him to run in her presence; the boon was no sooner granted, than eagerly divesting himself of his robe, he exposed to view a complete set of armour; and galloping to the tilt-end of the field, was instantly surrounded by his supporters. Dur cles as followeth; And forasmuch, as after the order and honor of arms, it is not lawful for any man to enterprise arms in so high a presence without his stock and lineage be of nobles descended.'” ing this interval entered singly the esquire, young Henry Guilford, clad in gold and silver tissue, but completely enveloped in a pageant resembling a castle; its glittering walls chequered with mystic rhymes, invoking blessings on the royal pair: behind him came his men, all drest in the same livery of silver tissue, who, having made obeisance to the Queen, passed to the field. Then followed the Mar quis of Dorset, and his brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Boleyn, both habited as pilgrims from St. Jago's shrine, with a train of sable-suited attendants. The procession was closed by several lords in armour, mounted on steeds superbly ornamented. Amidst this martial pomp, appeared pageants of most ludicrous and fantastic incongruity. Arrows were encased in crimson damask; and, amongst other articles was a silver greyhound, bearing a tree of pomegranates, by whose branches it was almost concealed from view. At length the trumpets sounded to the charge; the knights spurred their steeds; lance encountered lance. From the balconies the ladies waved their handkerchiefs, and the concourse of spectators gazed intently on the combat. As usual, the royal party prevailed, and to the King was awarded the first prize: the crowd dispersed, and Henry decorously attended his devout consort to vespers. But not thus were to terminate the pleasures of this laborious day. After supper, the King and his court repaired to the Whitehall, where a spectacle was prepared of which the lower orders were allowed to participate. An interlude was first performed by the children of the chapel; after this, the King, according to ancient usage, conferred on the Irish Chief, O'Neale, the honors of knighthood. Then was heard a symphony; the minstrels played, and the lords and ladies danced; and Henry, observing how much this exhibition interested the spectators, stole away to prepare for them a still higher gratification. And now was attention arrested by a flourish of trumpets: and lo! an enormous machine was wheeled into the hall, completely enveloped in cloth of Arras. At this portentous sight curiosity became intense; when a cavalier suddenly issuing from the pageant, represented to the Queen, that in a certain garden of pleasure, there was a golden arbour, wherein were lords and ladies much desirous to show pastime to the Queen and ladies, if they might be licensed so to do. Permission being granted, the cloth was removed, and discovered a beautiful garden, in which were trees of hawthorn, eglantine, and rosiers, vines and gilliflowers all wrought of gold. In an arbour appeared six ladies, all dressed in silver and satin, on whose heads were bonnets open at the four quarters, and outfrised with flat-gold of damask. The orellets were of roses, wreathed on lampas* doucke, so that the gold showed through *Of this passage the following explanation has been suggested by an author justly celebrated for the ingenuity, the erudition, and good taste that have uniformly |