Chapter II: Part 2

“But, in mercy to the nation, Divine Providence terminated this cruel reign, by the death of the queen, on the 19th of November, 1558; and Elizabeth’s accession was ushered in with every demonstration of joy.

“Nor did the conduct of this wonderful woman disappoint the expectations raised on her behalf; and her long and prosperous reign was marked by proceedings of wisdom. By an act of oblivion, she quieted the fears of those who had reason to dread her power, released all those confined for conscience sake, and consulted on the best plan for bringing about, and settling the reformed religion. As soon as the parliament met, several bills were passed in favour of the protestant cause.

“The English liturgy was restored; and, in short, all the laws respecting religion, which were made in the reign of king Edward, were revised, and those of queen Mary repealed.

“All offensive popish observances were abolished, and the national worship was modelled to nearly the present standard.

“Thus was the Reformation finally settled, under the wise policy and energetic measures of queen Elizabeth; to whom, under God, the protestants are indebted for their deliverance from superstition and tyranny.”

“Excuse me, Sir,” said Mrs. Spencer, when Mr. Wilmot had finished his narration; “but you spoke of the Lollards as a persecuted sect, and I fancy the girls are ignorant from whence the title was derived. Perhaps you will kindly give them this information, and add a few more particulars of the life of John Wickliffe.”

“The Lollards,” replied Mr. Wilmot, “were so called from Raynard Lollard, who lived in the thirteenth century. He was at first a Franciscan monk, and afterwards a zealous preacher and martyr. After his death, all the reputed heretics were indiscriminately called Lollards, by their sanguinary persecutors. These sects were dreadfully oppressed in France and Flanders; but in England they were, for a time, protected by the powerful influence of the celebrated John Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and many other noblemen, who either secretly or openly espoused their cause, in defiance of all the machinations of the Catholic clergy.

“The rise of this sect in England, under the celebrated John Wickliffe and his followers, may justly be considered as the earliest dawn of the Reformation. There were, indeed, some solitary individuals who had before protested against the growing corruptions of the Romish church; and these, as being reformers at heart, and as having made some honourable, though ineffectual attempts at reformation, deserve to be remembered with honour. The first of these was Robert Groteste, or Great-head, bishop of Lincoln, who is supposed to have been born about A.D. 1175, and flourished in the reign of Henry the Third. He was a man of great learning, fervent piety, and undaunted courage. As soon as he was called to the episcopal chair he began to reform abuses, especially in the religious houses belonging to his diocese. This great and good man both saw and lamented the corrupt state of the church to which he belonged, and turned all his episcopal and personal influence to purify it from these flagrant corruptions. Conscious that Rome was the fountain-head of all, he aimed at cleansing the spring, that the streams issuing from it might be pure also. When any bulls were received from thence, containing instructions contrary to the gospel, and injurious to morality and religion, he tore them in pieces with indignation. Nor was he content with refusing to comply with these instructions; but he wrote to the pope, when in the plenitude of his power, letters of sharp reproof and faithful admonition. When these philippics were received at Rome, the pontiff threatened vengeance against his faithful monitor; which he was only deterred from executing, by the earnest persuasions of his cardinals, and conviction of the public odium he should incur, by sacrificing a man of such exemplary piety and distinguished learning. It is no small honour to this excellent prelate, that he resisted, successfully, the papal power, at a period in which that power seemed to be irresistible, and when the mightiest sovereigns were compelled to crouch before the Roman pontiff.

“The next individual who lifted up a standard against the corruptions of popery, during that period, was Richard Knapwell, a Dominican friar, who maintained, in the year 1286, several propositions which were deemed heretical by the prelates of that age, and most furiously controverted by archbishop Peckham. The greater part of these propositions were unintelligible jargon, relative to the sacrifice of the mass; but the last, which was probably the most obnoxious of the whole, contained a sound Protestant maxim: namely, ‘That, in articles of faith, a man is not bound to set on the authority of the pope, or of any priest or doctor; but that the holy Scriptures, and right reason, are the only foundations of our assent.’ These doctrines were denounced, but it is not known what became of the author of them. Of Thomas Bradwardine, archbishop of Canterbury, I have already told you. But the individual who aimed the most effectual blow at the mighty fabric of papal superstition, was the celebrated John Wickliffe. This primitive reformer delivered lectures on divinity, in Merton College, Oxford. His learning acquired him great reputation; but he soon became disgusted with the vices, ignorance, and rapacity of the clergy, and preached against them with great zeal. His boldness attracted the attention of king Edward the Third, from whom he received several benefices, and by whom he was sent on several embassies to the court of Rome. Here he saw so much to confirm his former opinions, that, on his return, he inveighed, with increased vehemence, against the errors of popery. He soon proceeded so far as to deny the pope’s supremacy, and even to denounce him as antichrist. This effrontery, in an humble ecclesiastic, soon armed against him all the dignitaries, of the church which he had presumed to assail; and subjected him to the thundering anathemas of the pontiff, who commanded him to be apprehended and condemned for his heretical discourses.

“The rector of Lutterworth would soon have been the prey of his mighty adversaries, had not the duke of Lancaster, and lord Henry Percy, then marshal of England, espoused his cause, and afforded him protection. Whether their conduct proceeded from political or religious motives, is a matter of uncertainty; but, whatever might be the inducement, it had the happiest effect; for it not only enabled Wickliffe to pursue his Herculean task, but emboldened many, both of the clergy and laity, to embrace his tenets.

“In a few years the Wickliffites, or Lollards, became exceedingly numerous, notwithstanding the attempts, made by argument and force, to suppress them. The doctrines taught by this reformer were similar to those of the latter reformers, but far less purified from error. They were, however, sufficient to alarm the Roman hierarchy, and make them earnestly desirous of repressing them by force, since it was vain to use arguments.

“The most opprobrious epithets were applied to this most faithful and diligent labourer, who continued, till death, to discharge, with fidelity and zeal, the duties connected with his official station.

“His great work of translating the Holy Scriptures was completed a little before his decease, which took place in the year 1384. This latter event was hailed with delight by his enemies, who fondly imagined that it would lead to the overthrow of his heresy. But they found that it had taken too deep root to be exterminated; and though, during the disturbed years of Richard’s reign, attempts were made to destroy the writings of Wickliffe, and his followers, and to remove all who were suspected of Lollard sentiments, from their benefices, they continued to flourish, and were finally triumphant, as I have before related to you.”

“I am sure Mary Ann and Susan are much obliged to you for the information you have given them,” said Mrs. Spencer; “and I hope they will prove their sense of the obligation, by endeavouring to remember what you have told them.”

The little girls looked assent to their mamma’s observation; and Mary Ann enquired if Mr. Wilmot would object to giving some little account of the Crusades.

“So far from objecting, my dear,” answered her kind cousin, “it gives me pleasure to hear you make enquiries, since it proves that you are interested in my anecdotes.

“The object of the Crusades was to drive the infidels out of the possession of the Holy Land; and the zeal of a fanatical monk, towards the end of the eleventh century, gave rise to this wild undertaking. Peter the Hermit (for so he was named) ran from province to province, with a cross in his hand, exciting kings and people to this holy war, as it was called. His enthusiasm spread with astonishing rapidity: not only princes, and nobles, and warriors; but shepherds and mechanics, women and children, left their peaceful occupations, and hastened to enlist themselves under the banner of their deluded leader. It is asserted by contemporary authors, that six millions of persons, at different times, assumed the badge of the cross. These crosses were worn on their clothes, and their colours distinguished the different nations. The English wore them white, the French red, the Flemish green, the Germans black, and the Italians yellow.

“In the second Crusade a considerable troop of women rode amongst the Germans: they were arrayed with the spear and shield. But the historian satirically remarks, that some love of usual delights had mingled itself with the desire of great exploits; for they were remarkable for the splendour of their dress, and the bold leader was called the golden-footed dame.

“These ladies were, however, of an age to judge for themselves; and however we may smile at their folly, our pity is not excited, as it is for the children of France and Germany, who, seduced by the preaching of fanatics, about the year 1213, thought themselves authorized by Heaven, to attempt the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre; and ran about the country, crying, ‘Lord Jesus Christ restore the cross to us.’ Boys and girls stole from their homes: no bolts, no bars, no fear of fathers, or love of mothers, could hold them back; and the number of youthful converts was thirty thousand. They were accompanied by some fanatical persons, some of whom were taken and hanged at Cologne. The children passed through France, crossed the Alps; and those who survived hunger and thirst, presented themselves at the gates of the sea-ports of Italy and the south of France. Many were driven back to their homes; but seven large ships, full of them, went from Marseilles. Two of the vessels were wrecked on the isle of St. Peter; the rest of the ships went to Bugia and Alexandria, and the master sold the children to slavery. These dreadful facts are mentioned by four contemporary writers.

“In the third crusade, Richard the First, surnamed Cœur de Lion, as I before told you, signalized himself eminently. The very word Richard was dreaded in Syria, so great was the terror he had spread. Syrian mothers used to frighten their children, by telling them that king Richard was coming; and horses, according to vulgar tradition, dreaded the lion-hearted monarch; for, if a courser started, the rider would exclaim, ‘What! do you think king Richard is in the bush?’ In the year 1193, died the sultan Saladin, the Saracen chief; and, as his character was a remarkable one, I shall give you a brief sketch of it. He was in the fifty-seventh year of his age when he expired. During twenty-two years he had reigned over Egypt, and for nineteen years was absolute master of Syria. No Asiatic monarch has filled so large a space, in the annals of Europe, as the antagonist of Cœur de Lion. He was a compound of the dignity and the baseness, the greatness and the littleness of man. As the Moslem hero of the third holy war, he proved himself a valiant soldier and a skilful general. He hated the Christian cause; for he was a zealous Mussulman, and his principles authorized him to make war upon the enemies of the prophet; but human sympathy mollified the rigour of his enthusiasm, and, when his foes were suppliant, he often forgot the sternness of Islamism.

“He was fond of religious exercises and studies; but his mind was so much above the age in which he lived, that he never consulted soothsayers or astrologers.

“He had gained the throne by blood, artifice, and treachery; but, though ambitious, he was not tyrannical: he was mild in his government, and the friend and dispenser of justice. Eager for the possession, but indifferent to the display of power, he was simple in his manners, and unostentatious in deportment. He attempted the arts of conciliation and tuition, to change the religious sentiments of the Egyptian Fatemites; but the intolerant spirit of his religion would sometimes appear; the politician was lost in the zealot; and he inflicted punishment on those who presumed to question any of the dogmas of a Mussulman’s creed.

“But I must refer you,” said Mr. Wilmot, “to Mills’s History of the Crusades, for further particulars of this eventful period: in the meanwhile, it is sufficient for me to say, that, before the expiration of the thirteenth century, the whole band of adventurers were driven from their Asiatic possessions. There were, in all, nine Crusades; in which, according to Voltaire, two millions of human beings perished.”

“It was, indeed,” remarked Mrs. Spencer, “a dreadful waste and effusion of human blood. One beneficial consequence arose, however, from these extravagant excursions, which was neither expected nor intended.

“It was impossible for men to travel through so many lands as the Crusaders did, without imparting some of the improvement or knowledge they had gained, to their respective countries, on their return. The spirit of commerce was by this means fostered and spread, the progress of navigation advanced, and useful information was circulated.”

“Yes,” answered Mr. Wilmot; “and evil was thus wisely overruled for good. But,” added he, “I recollect that I have omitted to give my little cousins any account of the Reformation in Scotland; which, as it commenced in the reign of Edward the Sixth, and was concluded in that of Elizabeth, under the intrepid, and, it must be confessed, austere John Knox, could not, with propriety, be introduced before; especially, as it was not so much my design to interweave the history of individuals, in the sketch I have given, as _to mark the progress of religion, from the first century to the age of Elizabeth_.

“When popery was the established religion in Scotland, this eminent man, (who had been one of the chaplains of king Edward the Sixth,) narrowly escaped with his life, from cardinal Beaton, the archbishop of Glasgow, and bishop Hamilton; and he was afterwards cited before bishop Tunstall, for preaching against the mass; and was obliged to leave England, by the persecution of Protestants, which arose on queen Mary’s accession to the throne. Returning, however, to Scotland, in 1559, just as a public prosecution was carrying on against the Protestants, who were about to be tried at Stirling, (through the treachery of the queen regent, who had promised them protection,) he did not hesitate to join their ranks, and share their dangers. By the most bold and intrepid conduct, he exposed the abuses of popery, and animated the nation against it, by every means in his power; in which he spared no labour, and dreaded no danger.

“He corresponded with Cecil, the able and faithful minister of queen Elizabeth; and by that means, was chiefly instrumental in establishing those negociations between ‘the congregation’ and the English, which terminated in the march of an English army into Scotland, under the orders of queen Elizabeth, to aid the Protestants, and to assist them against the persecutions of the queen regent.

“This army being joined by almost all the principal men of Scotland, proceeded with such vigour and success, that they obliged the French forces, who had been the principal support of the queen regent’s tyranny, to evacuate the kingdom, and thus restored the parliament to its former independence. Of that body a great majority had embraced the Protestant religion; and, encouraged by the ardour and number of their friends, they improved every opportunity which occurred, of overthrowing the whole fabric of popery. They sanctioned the whole confession of faith, submitted to them by Knox and the other reformed ministers. They abolished the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts, and transferred the causes to the cognizance of the civil court; and they prohibited the exercise of religious worship, according to the rites of the Romish church.

“On the death of the queen regent, Mary, queen of Scots, arrived from France, and immediately established the popish service, in her own chapel, which, by her protection and countenance, was much frequented. Knox opposed this, as he did the other evidences, given by Mary, of her attachment to the Romish cause.

“An act of the queen’s privy council having been proclaimed at Edinburgh, immediately on her arrival, forbidding any disturbance to be given to the mass, under pain of death, Knox openly declared against it, in his sermon, on the following Sunday; and on the marriage of the queen with Darnley, he not only preached another sermon, expressing his dislike to the alliance, on account of the religious principles avowed by the young nobleman; but when the latter went to hear him preach, he took occasion to speak his opinions, in terms certainly not the most gentle. Such plain and honest dealing as this, was not very likely to be palatable to a court, and he was accordingly silenced.

“By no means, however, deterred, he went on, in private, with the great work of reformation; and was one of the most active and successful instruments, in delivering Scotland from papal corruption, and priestly domination. He lived to preach against the awful massacre of the Protestants, in Paris, on St. Bartholomew’s-day; and desired that the French ambassador might be informed that he had done so.

“He died the twenty-fourth of November, 1572, and was interred at Edinburgh, several lords attending his funeral; and particularly the earl of Morton, who was on that day chosen regent of Scotland, and who, as soon as he was laid in the grave, exclaimed, ‘There lies one who never feared the face of man—who has been often threatened with dirk and dagger, but yet has ended his days in peace and honour; for he had God’s providence watching over him in a special manner, whenever his life was sought.’

“In judging of the character of John Knox, we must make some allowance for the age in which he lived, and the part he was destined to act. Happily for us, we live in a day when party spirit and religious bigotry are much softened: let us, therefore, endeavour to be thankful for the blessing, and learn to look with charity and brotherly love, on those who may differ from us in their mode of worshipping the Supreme Being.

“But the dinner-bell rings: let us leave the gallery,” said Mr. Wilmot.

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CHAP. IV.

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“WHAT have you found to excite your curiosity there, Susan?” said Mr. Wilmot, observing her eyes fixed upon the full-length picture of a gentleman attired in the costume of the reign of Henry the Eighth.

“I am looking, Sir,” she replied, “at the singular dress of this gentleman.”

“At no period, perhaps, of our national history,” continued Mr. Wilmot, “was extravagance in dress carried to a higher pitch, than in this and the succeeding reign. The various modes of _wearing the hair_, and _cutting the beard_, seem to have afforded much umbrage to Holinshed, who lived at this time; and he enumerates, with amusing gravity, the variety and diversity which prevailed with respect to the latter. Ear-rings of gold, stones, or pearls, were in use amongst the courtiers. ‘But never,’ he mournfully observes, ‘was it merrier with England, than when an Englishman was known abroad by his own cloth; and contented himself at home with his kersey hose, his plain slops; (or small clothes;) his coat, gown, or cloak, of brown, blue, or _puke_; with some pretty furniture of velvet or fur, and a doublet of sad tawny, or black velvet, or other comely silk; without such cuts or gaudy colours as are worn in these days, and never brought in but by consent of the French, who think themselves the gayest men when they have most change of jaggs, and variety of colours about them. Certainly, of all ranks,’ he continues, ‘our merchants have the least altered their attire, and are, therefore, the most to be commended; for, although what they wear is very fine and costly, yet it still represents the ancient gravity suitable for citizens and burgesses.’

“It was very unusual to see any young men above the age of eighteen or twenty, without a dagger either by his side, or at his back; and even burgesses and aged magistrates, whose occupations are generally supposed to be peaceful, were also thus armed. The nobility commonly wore swords or rapiers with their daggers, as did also every servant following his master. Others carried two daggers, or two rapiers in a sheath, always about them; and, when quarrels arose, the consequences were frequently dreadful. These warlike implements were much longer than those used in any other country. In travelling, some carried with them, on their shoulders, staves, some of which were twelve or thirteen feet long, besides the pike of twelve inches; but I must tell you, that these were mostly suspicious characters.

“To such an excess had this love of dress arisen in the reign of Elizabeth, that it was thought necessary to check it by a proclamation, issued in October, 1559. It was, indeed, felt as a serious evil at this period, when the manufactures of England were in so rude a state, that almost every article for the use of the higher classes, was imported from Flanders, France, or Italy, in exchange for the raw commodities of the country, or, perhaps, for money.

“The invectives of divines have placed upon lasting records some transient follies, which might otherwise have sunk into oblivion; and the sermon of bishop Pilkington, a warm polemic of this time, may be quoted as a kind of commentary on the proclamation. He reproves ‘fine-fingered rufflers, with their sable about their necks, corked slippers, trimmed buskins, and warm mittens. These tender Parnels,’ he says, ‘must have one gown for the day, another for the night; one long, another short; one for winter, another for summer; one furred through, another but faced; one for the workday, another for the holiday; one of this colour, another of that; one of cloth, another of silk and damask: change of apparel, one afore dinner, another after; one of Spanish fashion, another of Turkey; and, to be brief, never content with enough, but always devising new fashions and strange.”

‘Yea, a ruffian will have more in his ruff and his hose, than he should spend in a year. He, which ought to go in a russet coat, spends as much on apparel for him and his wife, as his father would have kept a good house with.”

“Miss Aikin conjectures, that the costly furs here mentioned, had probably become fashionable, since a direct intercourse had been opened, in Henry the Eighth’s reign, with Russia; from which country ambassadors had arrived, whose barbaric splendours had astonished the eyes of the good people of London. The affectation of wearing, in turns, the costume of all nations in Europe, with which the queen herself was not a little infected, may be traced partly to the practice of importing articles of dress from those nations, and that of employing foreign tailors in preference to native ones; and partly to the taste for travelling, which, since the revival of letters, had become laudably prevalent among the young nobility and gentry of England.

“In the reign of Elizabeth, also, we find an order of the lord mayor and common council, regulating the dress of apprentices, and directing that they shall not presume to wear any apparel than that received from their masters. It was enacted, that ‘apprentices shall wear no hat, but a woollen cap: they shall not wear ruffles, cuffs, loose collars, nor any thing more than a ruff at the collar, and that not more than a yard and a half long. They must wear no doublets but what are made of canvass, fustian, sackcloth, English leather, or woollen, without any gold, silver, or silk trimmings. They must wear hose of cloth and kersey; but of no other colour than white, blue, or russet. Their breeches must be of the same materials as their doublets, and neither stitched, laced, nor bordered. Their upper coat must be of cloth or leather, without stitching, pinking, edging, or silk trimming. They shall wear no other surtout than a cloth gown or cloak, lined or faced with cotton, cloth, or baize, with a plain, round, fixed collar. No pumps, shoes, or slippers, to be allowed them, but of English leather, without being pinked, edged, or stitched. No girdles or garters to be worn, but what are made of crewel, woollen, thread, or leather. They must wear neither sword nor dagger; but a knife only. All jewels, rings, gold, silver, or silk, are forbidden in any part of their dress. Neither shall they frequent any dancing, fencing, or musical schools, under severe penalties; one of which was, to be publicly whipped at the hall of their company.’”

“During the reign of Henry the Eighth, luxury seems to have increased rapidly,” remarked Mrs. Spencer. “The furniture of the houses, the style of living, and even gardening, appear alike to have undergone a progressive improvement.”

“Yes,” answered Mr. Wilmot: “we find that, about this time, the walls of the houses were either hung with tapestry, arras work, or painted cloths, on which were represented birds, beasts, herbs, &c. Wainscotting with oak, or wood imported from the east, began now to be generally used, and rendered the rooms much more comfortable than formerly. Stoves were not much used, though they began to appear in the houses of the nobility and the wealthy citizens.

“But expensive furniture was most prevalent. ‘Not only,’ says Holinshed, ‘is it not rare to see abundance of arras, rich hangings of tapestry, silver vessels, and such other plate as would furnish several cupboards, to the sum oftentimes of a thousand or two thousand pounds at the least; but the rest of the house was proportionably furnished. In the abodes of knights, gentlemen, merchants, and some other wealthy citizens, it is not unusual to behold a great profusion of tapestry, Turkish work, pewter, brass, fine linen, and costly cupboards of plate, worth five or six hundred or a thousand pounds.’ But the tide of luxury invaded even the lower orders. ‘The inferior artificers, and main farmers, who, by virtue of their old, not of their new leases, (says the chronicler,) learned to garnish also their cupboards with plate, their joined beds with tapestry and silk hangings, and their tables with carpets and fine linen. There are old men yet dwelling in the village where I remain,’ says Holinshed, ‘which have noted three things to be marvellously altered in England, within their sound remembrance; and other three things too, too much increased. One is the multitude of chimneys lately erected: whereas, in their young days, there were not above two or three, if so many, in most up-landish towns of the realms, (the religious houses, and manor places of their lords always excepted, and, peradventure, some great personages,) but each one made his fire against a reredosse in the hall, where he dined and dressed his meat. The second, is the great (although not general) amendment of lodging; for, said they, our fathers, yea, and we also ourselves, have lain full oft on straw pallets, or rough mats, covered only with a sheet or coverlets, made of dagswain[3] or hop-harlots[4]; and a good round log under their heads, instead of a bolster and pillow. If our forefathers had, within seven years after their marriage, purchased a mattress or flock-bed, and added thereto a sack of chaff to rest his head upon, he considered himself to be as well lodged as the lord of the town, who, probably, himself, seldom lay on a bed of down, or whole feathers; so contented were they with simple fare. Indeed, even now[5], in some parts of Bedfordshire, and elsewhere farther in the south, the same plans are pretty much pursued. Pillows were only for an indulgence to the sick. As for servants, if they had any sheet above them, it was well; for rarely had they any thing under their bodies, to protect them from the pricking straws, which often found their way through the canvass of the pallet. The third thing they speak of, is the exchange of vessels; as pewter for treen[6] platters, and silver or tin spoons, for wooden ones; for so common were all sorts of treen ware in old times, that a person could hardly find four pieces of pewter, including the salt-cellar, in a good farmer’s house; and yet, in spite of this frugality, they were scarcely able to live, and pay their rents, without selling a cow, or a horse, or more, although they paid but four pounds, at the uttermost, by the year.’

Footnote 3:

A rough, coarse mantle.

Footnote 4:

Probably hop-sacking.

Footnote 5:

Henry the Eighth’s reign.

Footnote 6:

Wooden and earthen dishes.

“It is impossible not to smile at Holinshed’s enumeration of the evils attendant upon the introduction of chimneys. Colds, catarrhs, &c. are included; whilst he gravely assures us, that whilst they had only reredosses, their heads were free from pain. Smoke being considered not only a sufficient hardener of the timber in the house, but the best medicine to keep the good man and his family from the quack, or catarrhs, which were then but little known.”

Mrs. Spencer smilingly remarked, that she supposed our forefathers would willingly have acquiesced in the observation, that, “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” “But,” she added, “I believe they took their meals at much earlier hours than are at present in fashion.”

“Yes,” answered Mr. Wilmot: “the nobility and gentry dined at eleven o’clock before noon, and supped at five, or between five and six o’clock in the evening. The merchants seldom dined or supped before twelve at noon, or six at night, especially in London. The husbandmen dined at high noon, and supped at seven or eight; but out of term, in our universities, the scholars dined at ten.

“Great silence was observed at the tables of the ‘honourable and wise;’ and it seems that a curious custom prevailed amongst artificers and husbandmen, of each _guest_ bringing his own dish, or so many with him, as his wife and he could agree upon.

“Abundance and unbounded liberality, prevailed at the entertainments of the great. The cooks, at this period, seem to have been mostly Frenchmen, or strangers. Besides the usual meats, and the delicacies that the season afforded, red deer is particularly enumerated. It was usual to reserve the beginning of every dish for the greatest personage sitting at table, to whom it was handed up by the waiters, as order required; from whom it again descended to the lower end, so that every guest tasted of it. Unexpected and numerous visitors flocked to the mansions of the nobility and gentry, and rendered it necessary not only to retain a large retinue of servants, but a very ample supply of provisions.

“The chief part of the food was brought in before them, chiefly on silver vessels, if they were of the degree of barons, bishops, and upwards, and placed on their tables. What was left, was sent down to their serving-men and waiters; and their reversion was bestowed upon the poor, who waited in flocks at their gates to receive the bounty.

“A daily allowance was appointed for their halls, where the chief officers and household servants, (for all were not permitted by custom to sit with their lord,) with such inferior guests as were not high enough to associate with the nobleman himself, took their meals.

“In the houses of the nobles, pots, goblets, jugs of silver, with Venice glasses of all shapes, were commonly in use. In inferior habitations, ‘pots of earth, of various colours and moulds, many of them garnished with silver, were in requisition; and pewter supplied the place of more costly utensils, amongst the still lower ranks. When any one had drank, he made the cup clean by pouring out what remained, and restoring the vessel to the cupboard again. Gentlemen and merchants maintained about an equality at their tables, varying the number of dishes according to the resort of strangers; yet even these maintained an ordinary for their servants, independent of what was left by the family.’ Venison appears to have been with them a favourite, and by no means rare dish; and at certain feasts given by them, they appear to have rivalled the haughty barons, in the variety and sumptuousness of the dishes prepared. Butchers’ meat was rejected with disdain; and some very minute particulars have reached us, of the ornamental parts of these entertainments. Amongst them, jellies of various colours and forms are named. ‘Marchpain wrought with no small curiosity, tarts of various hues and sundry denominations, conserves of old fruits and home bred, suckets, sugar-bread, ginger-bread florentines, with several outlandish confections, altogether seasoned with sugar,’ seem to have borne a conspicuous part.

“We are as ignorant of the excellence of some of these highly-extolled dishes,” said Mr. Wilmot, as he paused for a few moments, “as our ancestors were of many of those fruits and vegetables, which are now familiar to the lowest class. I allude to melons, pompions, gourds, cucumbers, radishes, skirrets, parsnips, turnips, carrots, cabbages, and all kinds of salad herbs. These, from the time of Henry the Fourth, to the latter end of Henry the Seventh, and beginning of Henry the Eighth’s reign, were not only unknown, but were considered as food suitable alone for hogs and other animals. After this period, they not only became plentiful among the higher orders, who were in the habit of sending abroad yearly for new seeds, but found their way commonly to the inferior classes.

“At the same era, gardening received a new impulse; and the ingenuity and care of the florist, is spoken of in terms of high eulogium, together with some little appearance of incredulity, as relates to the practicability of the theories advanced; theories which are now comprehended by the most humble individual. It may also surprise you to learn, that the culture of medicinal herbs formed a very important and useful branch of the gardener’s calendar, at this time; and noblemen and gentlemen devoted to them large plots of ground, and mingled them with the flowers which adorned their parterres.

“The varieties of fruit which were likewise introduced at this epoch, are mentioned with a tone of exultation, that may cause a similar feeling of surprise on your part, my little cousins,” said Mr. Wilmot, “accustomed as you are to regard them as the natural produce of autumn.

“‘Delicate apples, plums, pears, walnuts, and filberts,’ are included in this catalogue; whilst apricots, peaches, almonds, and figs, are spoken of as strange fruit, introduced within the last forty years of the author’s account, and cultivated only in the orchards of the nobility.”

“The word _comfortable_,” said Mrs. Spencer, “understood in no other country so well as in England, could not, I think, have been applied, as characteristic of the mode of living practised by our ancestors.”

“Not according to our modern ideas,” answered Mr. Wilmot; “but I will relate a few more anecdotes, descriptive of ancient customs and manners.

“Previous to the time of Elizabeth, instead of glass, the windows of houses in the country were composed either of lattice made of wicker, or of spars of oak placed in chequer; but in the reign of the ‘maiden queen,’ glass becoming cheaper, this mode of admitting light fell into disuse.”

“I do not wonder that they were glad to exchange,” said Susan: “it must have rendered the houses cold and comfortless.”

“But you forget,” said Mr. Wilmot, “they must have formed nice avenues for the smoke to escape, when there were not any chimneys. But I have omitted to mention a curious fashion, which took its rise from some learned divine, previous to the reign of Henry the Fourth, and which continued long after that of the sixth Henry. It was no other than that of taking away the father’s surname, however honourable or ancient, and substituting that of the town in which the individual was born. Thus, Richard Nottingham, a celebrated friar, was named from an island where he was born, near Gloucester. William Barton, a famous doctor, and chancellor of Oxford in Richard the Second’s reign, from Barton in Lincolnshire. Walter Disse, of Disse in Suffolk, a Carmelite friar, and confessor to the duke and duchess of Lancaster, in Henry the Fourth’s reign. Richard Hampoole, from a town in Yorkshire, a zealous doctor, and afterwards a virtuous hermit, in Henry the Sixth’s days. Hundreds of others followed this example, among whom may be enumerated William Wainfleet, bishop of Winchester, lord chancellor of England, and founder of Magdalen College, Oxford. His original name was Paten; but he altered it to the name of the town of which he was a native. To this whimsical notion may be traced many of our present surnames, such as German, or Germin, which was assumed out of affection to Germany, the country from which their forefathers came. Jute, Jud, and Chute, from the tribe of Judes, one of the German nations who came over with Hengist and Horsa; and Calthrop, Caltrap, and Caltrop, were all but for Caldthorp, signifying a cold town. Paten, Patten, or Patent, is likewise derived from the Saxon word Pate, the sole of the foot, and therefrom Patan, signifying flat-footed.

“Before the Reformation, there were very few free-schools in England. Latin was generally taught to the youths at the monasteries. In the nunneries were taught needle-work, confectionery, surgery, and physic, (surgeons and apothecaries being then very rare,) writing, drawing, &c.

“Before the civil wars, in gentlemen’s houses, at Christmas, the first dish that was brought to table, was a boar’s head with a lemon in its mouth. The first dish that was brought to table on Easter-day, was a red herring, riding away on horseback; that is, a herring served up by the cook in a corn-salad, to look like a man on horseback. A gammon of bacon was eaten at Easter, to show the abhorrence of Judaism, at that solemn commemoration of our Lord’s resurrection.

“In 1486, the reign of Henry the Seventh, a certain number of archers, and other strong, active persons, were constituted by this monarch yeomen of the guard, and were in daily attendance upon his person. This was the first English monarch that instituted a bodyguard; and it was generally thought that he took his precedent from France.

“In 1568, noblemen’s and gentlemen’s coats were made in the same fashion as those of yeomen of the guard; and in 1678, the benchers of the inns of Court still maintained that fashion in the making of their gowns.

“The Normans brought with them civility into England. In those days, upon any occasion of bustle of business, great lords sounded their trumpets, and summoned all those that they held under them. Sir Walter Long, of Draycott, kept a trumpeter, and rode with thirty servants and retainers; from whence took the rise of the sheriff’s trumpets.

“Gentlemen carried prodigious fans, with very long handles: with these their daughters were often corrected. The lord chief justice, Sir Edward Coke, rode the circuit with a fan of this description: the earl of Manchester also used a fan; and both fathers and mothers slashed their daughters with them, when they were grown up women. At Oxford and Cambridge, the rod was frequently used by the tutors and deans; and Dr. Potter, of Trinity College, in the year 1669, or thereabouts, whipped his pupil who had a sword by his side.

“The conversation and habits of these times were starched and formal: gravity often passed for wisdom, and quibbles for wit, even in clergymen’s sermons. The gentry and citizens had little learning of any kind; and their way of bringing up their children was suitable to all the rest. They were as severe as schoolmasters to them, and the schoolmasters were as severe as governors of houses of correction. The child, consequently, dreaded the sight of his parents. Gentlemen of thirty and forty years of age, stood like mutes and bare-headed before them; and the daughters, when grown young women, stood at the cupboard-side, during the whole time of the proud mother’s visit, unless, as the fashion then was, leave was requested that a cushion might be given them to kneel upon, when they had done sufficient penance by standing, and which was brought them by a serving-man.

“Learning seems to have advanced much during Elizabeth’s reign. ‘It was rare to find a courtier unacquainted with any language but his own. The ladies studied Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian. The more elderly among them exercised themselves, some with the needle, some with caul-work, (probably netting,) divers in spinning silk; some in continual reading, either of the Holy Scriptures, or of histories either of their own or foreign countries; divers in writing volumes of their own, or translating the works of others into Latin or English: whilst the younger ones, in the meantime, applied to their lutes, citharmes, pricksong, and all kinds of music. Many of the more ancient, were also skilful in surgery and distillation of waters, besides sundry artificial practices pertaining to the ornature and commendation of their bodies. This,’ adds our author, ‘I will generally say of them all, that, as each of them are cunning in something whereby they keep themselves occupied in the court; there is, in manner, none of them, but when they be at home, can help to supply the ordinary want of the kitchen, with a number of delicate dishes of their own contriving: wherein the portingal is their chief counsellor, as some of them are most commonly with the clerk of the kitchen, &c.’

“‘Every office at court,’ says the same author, (Holinshed,) ‘had a Bible, or the book of the Acts and Monuments of the Church of England, or both; besides some histories and chronicles lying therein, for the exercise of such as come into the same.’”

Mrs. Spencer smiled and said, that the praise bestowed upon the ladies of Elizabeth’s reign, was no small commendation. Learned, accomplished, and domestic, they seemed the very acmé of excellence.

The bell now announced company. Susan and Ann quitted the gallery with reluctance; and not before they had obtained a promise from Mr. Wilmot, that they should visit it on the following day.

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CHAP. V.

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“PERHAPS you would have the kindness, Sir,” said Mrs. Spencer, as she sat at work with her daughters, “to resume the conversation, which was interrupted this morning, and in which we were much interested. I observed written, under a painting in the gallery, ‘Funeral of Henry the Seventh;’ and as it was previous to the reformation, and consequently attended with some ceremonies fallen into disuse in a Protestant realm, I have no doubt we should be much interested in the recital.”

Mr. Wilmot waited not for a second request, but began as follows:

“After all things necessary for the interment and funeral pomp of the late king were sumptuously prepared and done, the corpse of the deceased was brought out of his privy-chamber, where it had rested three days; and every day had three dirges, and masses sung by a mitred prelate.

“From thence it was conveyed into the hall, where it also remained three days, and where a similar service was performed: the same ceremony was observed, for the like space of time, when it was moved into the chapel. In each of these places was a hearse of wax, garnished with banners, attended by nine mourners, who daily made their offerings. Every place where the procession stopped, was hung with black.

“Upon Wednesday, the ninth of May, the corpse was put into a chariot, covered with black cloth of gold, drawn with five coursers, covered with black velvet, garnished with cushions of fine gold; and over the corpse was an image or representation of the late king, apparelled in his rich robes of state, the crown on his head, and the ball and sceptre in his hands, laid on cushions of gold. The chariot was ornamented with banners, scutcheons, and arms, descriptive of the monarch’s titles, dominions, and genealogies.

“The king’s chaplain, and a number of prelates, led the way, praying. Then came the king’s servants in black, followed by the chariot, attended by nine mourners, and lighted by torches, amounting to the number of six hundred, which were carried on either side. In this order they proceeded from Richmond to St. George’s Fields. Here they were met by all the religious men, priests, clerks, &c. within and without the city, who took the lead. The mayor and his brethren, with many of the common council, met the corpse at London Bridge, and escorted it through the city.

“Long torches, placed on each side of the street, with young children standing on stalls, bearing tapers, lent to this funeral pomp additional solemnity; illuminating, with their flickering beams, the remains of him who had paid the debt of mortality, common alike to potentates and subjects.

“Arrived at St. Paul’s, the body was taken out, and conveyed into the choir, where it was placed under a hearse of wax, garnished as before; whilst a solemn dirge was sung, and a sermon preached on the occasion, by the bishop of Rochester.

“Here it rested for the night, and on the following day was removed towards Westminster; Sir Edward Howard bearing the king’s banner, on a courser, trapped in the arms of the deceased monarch. In Westminster was a curious hearse, composed of nine ‘principals[7], all full of lights,’ which were lighted at the coming of the corpse.

Footnote 7:

Principals, in architecture, are corner-posts, which are fixed into
the ground-plates below, and into the roof.

“Six lords bore the coffin from the chariot, and placed it under the hearse, the image lying on the cushion, on a large pall of gold. The hearse was double-railed. Within the first rail sat the mourners; and within the second partition stood knights, bearing banners of saints; and without the same stood officers of arms.

“When the mourners were placed in order, garter king-at-arms cried, ‘For the soul of the noble prince, king Henry the Seventh, lately king of this realm;’ and immediately the choir began ‘_plecabo_,’ and a dirge was sung; which being finished, the mourners departed, and, after taking refreshment, reposed for the night.

“On the next day three masses were solemnly sung by three bishops: at the last was offered the king’s banner, courser, and coat-of-arms, his sword, target, and helm. At the conclusion the mourners made their offerings of rich palls of cloth of gold, and bauderkin, (or cloth of gold, with figures embroidered in silk:) ‘_Libera me_’ was then sung, and the body committed to the earth.

“At this part of the ceremony the king’s treasurer, lord steward, chamberlain, and comptroller of the household, broke their staves and cast them into the grave; garter king-at-arms exclaiming, with a loud voice, ‘Vive le roi Henri le huitième, roi d’Angleterre et de France, sire d’Irlande.’

“The obsequies ended, the party returned to the palace, where a sumptuous feast was provided for them.”

“What a happiness it is,” said Mrs. Spencer, “that we are no longer under the burdensome ceremonies of popery—that we are not required to sing dirges for the dead, nor pay for masses, to deliver their souls from an ideal purgatory.”

“It is so,” replied Mr. Wilmot. “The ensuing coronation,” he continued, “of Henry the Eighth and Katherine, was conducted with circumstances of extraordinary pomp; but it is not my intention to enter into a minute description of it; and I shall only relate to you a few of the pageants that were exhibited on the occasion, and which mark the manners of the age. Amongst others, was a park, artificially constructed, with pales of white and green, wherein were fallow deer; and, in the park, trees, bushes, and ferns, very curiously constructed. The deer were hunted in the presence of the queen and court, and afterwards presented to them. Another device was a palace, in which was a curious fountain, and over it a castle, surmounted with a crown imperial, with battlements of roses and pomegranates, gilded; whilst, under and about the said castle, ran a vine, the grapes and leaves whereof were gilded with fine gold, with white and green lozenges strewed about the castle; and, in every lozenge, either a rose or a pomegranate, and a sheaf or arrows; or else the letters H. and K. in gold, with certain arches and turrets gilded, to support the same castle; whilst, from the mouths of certain beasts, ran white, red, and claret wine.

“Henry the Eighth was remarkably expert at the games then in practice; such as bearing off the ring, wrestling, casting the bar, &c. Shooting, singing, dancing, and music, seem likewise frequently to have engaged him; and it will afford you some idea of the mixture of simplicity and ostentation of the age, when I tell you, that, in the second year of his reign, he rose early on _May-day_, to gather hawthorn and green boughs. Richly dressed himself, and, accompanied by his knights, squires, yeomen, and guard, arrayed in white satin and sarcenet, with bows and arrows, he went shooting into the wood; and returned again to court, every man wearing a green bough in his cap. These rural festivities seem often to have been repeated, and accompanied with more or less splendour. Nor could the royal party have had far to ride, ere they could procure those symbols of the beautiful month they were about to commemorate. For it was only late in the preceding reign, that the gardens, which had been continued, time out of mind, without Moorgate, now called Moorfields, were destroyed, and a plain field made of them, for archers to shoot in. And a few years after the excursion of the youthful monarch, which I have just mentioned, the citizens of London, disliking the enclosures of the common fields about Islington, Shoreditch, Hoxton, and other places near the city, whereby they could not be suffered to exercise their bows, nor other popular games, as they had before been accustomed to, assembled themselves one morning, and went with spades and shovels into the said fields, and there worked so diligently, that all the hedges about town were cast down, and the ditches filled.”

“Another _May morning_ was celebrated with far more variety than that before mentioned. The court lying at Greenwich, the royal party rode out for an airing. Passing by Shooter’s-hill, they observed a company of yeomen, amounting to about two hundred, clad in green, with hoods of the same colour. One of them, calling himself Robin Hood, stepped forwards, and addressing the king, begged permission to shoot before the sovereign. The request being of course granted, he whistled, and instantly the whole band discharged their arrows at once. A second signal called forth a similar proof of skill. These arrows, it seems, whistled as they flew, in consequence of some ingenious contrivance in the head; and the noise was so singular and great, that the illustrious spectators, and their train, expressed both astonishment and delight.

“Robin Hood then requested the company of the distinguished party into the green wood, that they might see how outlaws fared. And the horns were blown, until they came to a wood under Shooter’s-hill, where they found an arbour, composed of boughs, with a hall, a great and an inner chamber, very well made, and covered with flowers and sweet herbs. Robin Hood then addressed the king in these words: ‘Sir, outlaws’ breakfast is venison, and therefore you must be content with such fare as we use.’ Upon which Henry and his consort seated themselves, and were served with venison and wine, to their mutual gratification.

“On their return they were met by two ladies, in a rich chariot, drawn by five horses: a lady was seated on each steed, and they bore on their heads inscriptions, allegorically representing the peculiar attributes of the season; whilst lady May and lady Flora, splendidly attired, sat in the carriage, saluting the king with songs, until he arrived at Greenwich. A great concourse of people were assembled to view this celebration of the day, and appear to have entered fully into the amusement.”

“There is something extremely interesting,” said Mrs. Spencer, “in the sovereign of a great people thus affording himself and his subjects a simple and even elegant recreation.”