all occasions'. Here we see the pagan history and mythology predominating in those spectacles, which were once furnished from the Golden Legend. Instead of saints, prophets, apostles, and confessors, we have Apollo, Mercury, and the Muses. Instead of religious canticles, and texts of scripture, which were usually introduced in the course of these ceremonies, we are entertained with profane poetry, translations from the classics, and occasional verses; with exhortations, not delivered by personified doctors of the church, but by the heathen divinities. It may not be foreign to our purpose, to give the reader some distinct idea of the polite amusements of this reign, among which, the Masque, already mentioned in general terms, seems to have held the first place. It chiefly consisted of music, dancing, gaming, a banquet, and a display of grotesque personages and fantastic dresses. The performers, as I have hinted, were often the king, and the chief of the nobility of both sexes, who under proper disguises executed some preconcerted stratagem, which ended in mirth and good humour. With one of these shews, in 1530, the king formed a scheme to surprise cardinal Wolsey, while he was celebrating a splendid banquet at his palace of Whitehall". At night his majesty in a masque, with twelve more masquers all richly but strangely dressed, privately landed from Westminster at Whitehall stairs. At landing, several small pieces of cannon were fired, which the king had before ordered to be placed on the shore near the house. The cardinal, who was separately seated at the banquet in the presence-chamber under the cloth of state, a great number of ladies and lords being seated at the side-tables, was alarmed at this sudden and unusual noise: and immediately ordered lord Sandys, the king's chamberlain, who was one of the guests, and in the secret, to enquire the reason. Lord 'Hall's CHRONICLE, fol. ccxii. Among the Orations spoken to the Queen, is one too curious to be omitted. At Leadenhall sate saint Anne with her numerous progeny, and Mary Cleophas with her four children. One of the children made 66 a goodlie oration to the queene, of the fruitfulnes of saint Anne, and of her generation; trusting the like fruit should come of hir." It then belonged to Wolsey. Sandys brought answer, that thirteen foreign noblemen of distinction were just arrived, and were then waiting in the great hall below; having been drawn thither by the report of the cardinal's magnificent banquet, and of the beautiful ladies which were present at it. The cardinal ordered them immediately into the banquetting-room, to which they were conducted from the hall with twenty new torches and a concert of drums and fifes. After a proper refreshment, they requested in the French language to dance with the ladies, whom they kissed, and to play with them at mum-chance": producing at the same time a great golden cup filled with many hundred crowns. Having played for some time with the ladies, they designedly lost all that remained in the cup to the cardinal; whose sagacity was not easily to be deceived, and who now began, from some circumstances, to suspect one of them to be the king. On finding their plot in danger, they answered, "If your grace can "point him out, he will readily discover himself." The cardinal pointed to a masque with a black beard, but he was mistaken, for it was sir Edward Nevil. At this, the king could not forbear laughing aloud; and pulling off his own and sir Edward Nevil's masque, convinced the cardinal, with much arch complaisance, that he had for once guessed wrong. The king and the masquers then retired into another apartment to change their apparel: and in the meantime the banquet was removed, and the table covered afresh with perfumed clothes. Soon afterwards the king, with his company, returned, and took his seat under the cardinal's canopy of state. Immediately two hundred dishes* of the most costly cookery and confectionary were served up; the contrivance and success of the royal joke afforded much pleasant conversation, and the night was spent in dancing, dice-playing, banketting and other triumphs. The old chronicler Edward Hall, a cotemporary and "A game of hazard with dice. [Can we imagine that though the Cardinal was giving such a magnificent entertainment, he would have had 200 costly dishes in reserve, ready to set on, if he had not been in the secret about the king's masqued visit? As to the mistake about his person, this might be real or pretended.-ASHBY.] Hollinsh. CHRON. iii. 921, seq. a curious observer, acquaints us, that at Greenwich, in 1512, "on the daie of the Epiphanie at night, the king with eleven others was disguised after the maner of Italie, called a Maske, a thing not seene before in England; they were apparelled in garments long and broad, wrought all with gold, with visors and caps of gold. And after the banket doone, these maskers came in, with six gentlemen disguised in silke, bearing staffe-torches, and desired the ladies to danse; some were content, and some refused; and after they had dansed and communed togither, as the fashion of the maske is, they tooke their leave and departed, and so did the queene and all the ladies P.” I do not find that it was a part of their diversion in these entertainments to display humour and character. Their chief aim seems to have been, to surprise, by the ridiculous and exaggerated oddity of the visors, and by the singularity and splendor of the dresses. Every thing was out of nature and propriety. Frequently the Masque was attended with an exhibition of some gorgeous machinery, resembling the wonders of a modern pantomime. For instance, in the great hall of the palace, the usual place of performance, a vast mountain covered with tall trees arose suddenly, from whose opening caverns issued hermits, pilgrims, shepherds, knights, damsels, and gypsies, who being regaled with spices and wine danced a morisco, or morris-dance. They were then again received into the mountain, which with a symphony of rebecs and recorders closed its caverns; and tumbling to pieces, was replaced by a ship in full sail, or a castle besieged. To be more particular. The following device was shewn in the hall of the palace at Greenwich. A castle was reared, with numerous towers, gates, and battlements; and furnished with every military preparation for sustaining a long siege. On the front was inscribed Le fortresse dangereux. From the windows looked out six ladies, P CHRON. fol. xv. [See supr. Vol. ii. p. 72.] [Of these there was probably about as much, as would be found in a mo dern masquerade, consisting of the king and his court, lords of the bed-chamber and maids of honour.-ASHBY.] cloathed in the richest russet sattin, "laid all over with leaves of gold, and every one knit with laces of blew silk and gold, on their heads coifs and caps all of golde." This castle was moved about the hall; and when the queen had viewed it for a time, the king entered the hall with five knights, in embroidered vestments, spangled and plated with gold, of the most curious and costly workmanship. They assaulted the castle; and the six ladies, finding them to be champions of redoubted prowess, after a parley, yielded their perilous fortress, descended, and danced with their assailants. The ladies then led the knights into the castle, which immediately vanished, and the company retired. Here we see the representation of an action. But all these magnificent mummeries, which were their evening-amusements on festivals, (notwithstanding a parley *, which my historian calls a communication, is here mentioned,) were yet in dumb shew', and without dialogue. But towards the latter part of Henry's reign, much of the old cumbersome state began to be laid aside. This I collect from a set of new regulations given to the royal houshold about the year 1526, by cardinal Wolsey. In the Chapter For keeping the Hall and ordering of the Chapel, it is recited, that by the frequent intermission and disuse of the solemnities of dining and supping in the great hall of the palace, the proper officers had almost forgot their duty, and the manner of conducting that very long and intricate ceremonial. It is therefore ordered, that when his majesty is not at Westminster, and with regard to his palaces in the country, the formalities of the Hall, which 4 Hollinsh. iii. 812. * [About the terms on which to surrender the fortress that six fine ladies had defended.-ASHBY.] But at a most sumptuous Disguising in 1519, in the hall at Greenwich, the figure of FAME is introduced, who, "in French, declared the meaning of the trees, the rocke, and turneie." But as this shew was a political compliment, and many foreigners present, an explanation was necessary. See Hall, CHRON. fol. lxvi. This was in 1512. But in the year 1509, a more rational evening- ought not entirely to fall into desuetude, shall be at least observed when he is at Windsor, Beaulieu, or Newhalls in Essex, Richmond, Hampton-court, Greenwich, Eltham, and Woodstock. And that at these places only, the whole choir of the chapel shall attend. This attempt to revive that which had begun to cease from the nature of things, and from the growth of new manners, perhaps had but little or no lasting effect. And with respect to the Chapel, my record adds, that when the king is on journies or progresses, only six singing boys and six gentlemen of the choir shall make a part of the royal retinue; who "daylie in absence of the residue of the chapel shall have a Masse of our Ladie bifore noon, and on Sondaies and holidaies, masse of the day besides our Ladymasse, and an anthempne in the afternoone: for which purpose, no great carriage of either vestiments or bookes shall require." Henry never seems to have been so truly happy, as when he was engaged in one of these progresses: in other words, moving from one seat to another, and enjoying his ease and amusements in a state of royal relaxation. This we may collect from a curious passage in Hollinshed; who had pleased and perhaps informed us less, had he never deserted the dignity of the historian. "From thence the whole court remooved to Windsor, then beginning his progresse, and exercising himselfe dailie in shooting, singing, dansing, wrestling, casting of the barre, plaieing at the recorders, flute, virginals, in setting of songes, and making of ballades.-And when he came to Oking", there were kept both justes turneies "." I make no apology for these seeming digressions. The manners and the poetry of a country are so nearly connected, that they mutually throw light on each other. The same connection subsists between the state of poetry and |