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of the numerous foreign vessels which Henry's patronage of commerce had brought into the Thames expressed their admiration of the splendid spectacle by tumultuous shouts of applause. When the queen rode through the city on the following day, choirs of children dressed as angels were stationed in different places, who sang hymns and songs as she passed by. After the coronation an unfortunate accident occurred; the rabble scrambled for the cloth on which the queen walked from the Hall to the Abbey, and in the crush several persons were trodden to death.

HENRY VIII.

Henry VIII. was extremely fond of pageantry, and he was particularly anxious about the ceremonials of his coronation. The Londoners seconded his desires, and when, after having created twenty-four knights of the Bath, he rode through London from the Tower, June 22, 1509, the streets were hung with tapestry and cloth of arras, and a great part of the south side of Cheap and part of Cornhill were hung with cloth of gold. The several companies and civic dignitaries lined the streets, and Hall tells us, "The goldsmiths' stalls unto the end of the Old Change, being replenished with virgins in white, with branches of white wax; the priestes and clearkes in rich copes, with crosses and censers of silver, censing his grace and the queene also as they passed. His grace wore in his uppermost apparell, a robe of crimsin velvet, furred with ermins, his jacket or coat of raised gold, the placard imbrodered with diamonds, rubies, emerauds, great pearles, and other rich stones, a great bauderike about his neck of great balasses. The trapper of his horse damaske gold, with a deepe purple of ermins. His knights and esquires for his bodie in crimsin velvet; and all the gentlemen with other of his chappell, and all his officers and houshold servants

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were apparelled in scarlet. The Queene Katherine was sitting in hir litter, borne by two white palfries, the litter covered and richlie apparelled, and the palfries trapped in white cloth of gold; hir person apparelled in white satin imbroidered, hir haire hanging downe to hir backe, beautifull and goodlie to behold, and on hir head a coronall set with manie rich orient stones."

The coronation was celebrated with brilliant "justs and turneies,” which the king and queen witnessed from "a faire house covered with tapestrie." The pageants exhibited are thus described by Hall. "In the palace was made a curious founteine, and over it a castell, on the top thereof a great crowne imperiall, all the imbatelling with roses and pomegranats gilded. Under and about the said castell, a curious vine, the leives and grapes thereof gilded with fine gold, the walles of the same castell coloured white and green losengis, and in everie losing, either a rose or a pomegranat, and a sheafe of arrowes, or else K and H gilded with fine gold, with certeine arches and turrets gilded to support the said castell. And the targets of the arms of the defendants, appointed for the said justs, thereupon sumptuously set. And out at several places of the said castell, as well on the daie of the coronation, as on the daies of the said justs and turneies, out of the mouths of certeine beasts or gargels did run red, white, and claret wine. The enterprisers of the said justs were, Thomas Lord Howard, heire apparant to to the earle of Surrie; Sir Edward Howard, admiral, his brother; the Lord Richard, brother to Marquis Dorset; Sir Edmund Howard, Sir Thomas Knevet, and Charles Brandon, Esquire."

After a flourish of trumpets a castle was brought in, supported or drawn by men, containing a lady habited as Pallas, "bearing a shield of christall." This pageant was brought before the king, to whom Pallas

presented the knights dependant as her scholars, and requested that his majesty would permit them to defend the lists against all comers, which request was readily granted.

Another band of horsemen now entered, escorting eight knights, "armed at all points, with shields of their owne armes, with rich plumes, and other devises on their head-pieces, their bases and trappers of tissue, cloth of gold, silver and velvet." These were presented to the queen by a gentleman who declared that they were come "to doo feats of armes for the love of ladies," and besought her "to license these knights to prove themselves against Dame Pallas' scholars." The justs then commenced, and were continued until night, but it was not decided to which party the prize of victory belonged.

On the second day a curious pageant was exhibited by the queen's knights. When they entered the lists, there came after them " a number of hornes blowne by men apparelled in greene cloth, with caps and hosen of like sute like foresters, or keepers, and a pageant made like a parke, paled with pales of white and greene, wherein were certeine fallow deare, and in the same parke curious trees made by craft, with bushes, fernes, and other things in like wise wrought, goodlie to behold. The which parke or devise being brought before the queene, had certeine gates thereof opened, the deare ran out thereof into the palace, the greiehounds were let slip and killed the deare, the which deare so killed, were presented to the queene and the ladies by the foresaid knights."

These knights now proclaimed themselves servants of Diana, who had heard accidentally while hunting that the scholars of Dame Pallas were in these parts, with whom they were anxious to prove their valour in a combat to the utterance. The king suspected that there was some grudge between the parties, and refused

his consent, but he awarded that "they should tourneie together, giving but some certaine strokes, which done they departed, and so these justs brake up, and the prises given to everie man after his deserts."

The coronation of Lady Anne Boleyn, June 1, 1533, was equally splendid; the most remarkable portions of it were the pageants erected to honour her procession through the city. In Fenchurch-street, children in the habits of foreign merchants, welcomed the queen to the city with addresses in French and English. In Gracechurch street was a pageant representing Mount Parnassus and the fountain of Helicon, which fountain, with more regard to splendour than classic propriety, poured forth streams of Rhenish wine. On the top of the hill sat Apollo with the Muses round him, playing on appropriate instruments, and at the feet of each muse were epigrams in golden letters, in which every Muse "according to her propertie praised the queene.'

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In Leadenhall-street there was a goodlie pageant with a type and a heavenlie rose, and under the type was a roote of gold, set on a little mounteine, environed with white roses and red; out of the type came downe a falcon all white and sat upon the roote, and incontinent came downe an angell with great melodie, and set a close crowne of gold on the falcon's head." Saint Anne and her family were represented in the same pageant, and one of the children made an oration to the queen. The three Graces sat on the Conduit in Cheap, which ran with wine. Pallas, Juno, and Venus, accompanied by the god Mercury, were rather inappropriately intermingled with the civic authorities; and when the recorder presented the queen with a thousand marks of gold, Mercury, in the name of the goddesses, gave her a ball of gold, divided into three, "signifieing the three giftes, which the three goddesses gave to hir, that is to saie, wisedome, riches, and felicities." The four cardinal virtues having been ba

nished from the city, took their stand upon four turrets erected over the conduit in Fleet-street, just outside Fleet-street. The melodious music of the ladies who represented the virtues "seemed to be an heavenlie noise, and was muchre garded and praised, and beside this the said conduit ran wine, claret and red, all the afternoon." The ceremony of the coronation and subsequent feast, need not be described. "On Mondaie were the justs of the tilt, before the king's gate, where the maior and his brethren had a goodlie standing; but there were verie few speares broke, by reason the horsses would not cope."

EDWARD VI.

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Edward VI. was crowned February 20th, 1546. "He rode through London into Westminster," says Holinshed, "with as great roialtie as might be, the streets being hung, and pageants in divers places erected, to testifie the good willes of the citizens As he passed on the south part of Paule's churchyard, an Argosine came from the battlements of Paule's church upon a cable, being made fast to an anchor by the deane's gate, lieing on his breast, aiding himselfe neither with hand nor foot, and after ascended to the middest of the cable, where he tumbled and plaied manie prettie toies, whereat the king and the nobles had good pastime." Upon this, Holinshed quaintly remarks in the margin, "Paul's steeple laie at anchor.” We have already noticed the remarkable changes made in the ceremonial for this prince's coronation by the lord protector, the duke of Somerset.

At this coronation, when the three swords, for the three kingdoms, were brought to be carried before him, the king observed, that there was yet one wanting, and called for the BIBLE. That," said he, "is the sword of the spirit, and ought in all right to govern us, who use these for the people's safety, by God's appoint

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