86

SCENE II.-INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE GREY FRIARS, GREENWICH, RESTORED FROM CONTEMPORANEOUS BUILDINGS, IN THE ABSENCE OF ACTUAL VESTIGES.

KING HENRY, DUKE OF NORFOLK, with his marshal's staff, DUKE OF SUFFOLK, LORD CHAMBERLAIN, Noblemen, bearing great standing bowls for the christening gifts; Lords and Ladies, DUCHESS OF NORFOLK, godmother, bearing the child richly habited in a mantle, &c. Train borne by a Lady. The MARCHIONESS OF DORSET, the other godmother. Lord Chancellor, Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, Aldermen, CRANMER, Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop of London and the other Bishops; Trumpeters, Macebearers, Pursuivants, Guards, Garter King-at-Arms -all discovered. At the end of the flourish of

trumpets, GARTER speaks.

Gart. Heaven, from thy endless goodness, send prosperous life, long, and ever happy, to the high and mighty princess of England, Elizabeth!* [Flourish. Cran. [Kneeling.] And to your royal grace, and the

good queen,

My noble partners, and myself, thus pray ;—
All comfort, joy, in this most gracious lady,
Heaven ever laid up to make parents happy,
May hourly fall upon ye!

K. Hen. Thank you, good lcrd archbishop;
What is her name?

Cran.

K. Hen.

Elizabeth.

Stand up, lord.[The KING kisses the Child.

With this kiss take my blessing: Heaven protect thee ! Into whose hands I give thy life.

Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace, 7th September, and christened on the 10th of the same month, 1533.

Let me speak, sir,

Cran.
For Heaven now bids me; and the words I utter
Let none think flattery, for they'll find them truth.
This royal infant, (heaven still move about her!)
Though in her cradle, yet now promises
Upon this land a thousand thousand blessings,
Which time shall bring to ripeness: She shall be
A pattern to all princes living with her,

And all that shall succeed: truth shall nurse her,
Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her:

She shall be lov'd, and fear'd: Her own shall bless her: Her foes shake like a field of beaten corn,

And hang their heads with sorrow. Our children's

children

Shall see this, and bless heaven.

K. Hen.

Thou speakest wonders.
Cran. She shall be to the happiness of England,
An aged princess; many days shall see her,
And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
'Would I had known no more! but she must die,
She must, the saints must have her; yet a virgin,
A most unspotted lily shall she pass

To the ground, and all the world shall mourn her.
K. Hen. O lord archbishop,

This oracle of comfort has so pleas'd me.
That, when I am in heaven, I shall desire
To see what this child does. I thank ye all.
Ye must all see the queen, and she must thank
She will be sick else. This day, no man think
He has business at his house; for all shall stay,
This little one shall make it holiday. (1)

ye,

[Flourish of trumpets as the Curtain falls.

THE END.

HISTORICAL NOTE TO ACT FIFTH.

(1) "The solemnization of that sacred rite was appointed to take place on Wednesday, 10th of September, the fourth day after the birth of the infant princess. On that day the lord mayor, with the aldermen and council of the city of London, dined together at one o'clock, and then, in obedience to their summons, took boat in their chains and robes, and rowed to Greenwich, where many lords, knights, and gentlemen, were assembled to witness the royal ceremonial.

"All the walls between Greenwich palace and the convent of the Grey Friars were hung with arras, and the way strewn with green rushes. The church was likewise hung with arras. Gentlemen with aprons and towels about their necks guarded the font, which stood in the middle of the church, it was of silver, and raised to the height of three steps, and over it was a square canopy of crimson satin fringed with gold-about it, a spaced railed in, covered with red say. Between the choir and chancel, a closet with a fire had been prepared lest the infant should take cold in being disrobed for the font. When all these things were ready the child was brought into the hall of the palace, and the procession set out to the neighbouring church of the Grey Friars; of which building no vestige now remains at Greenwich. The procession began with the lowest rank, the citizens two and two led the way, then gentlemen, esquires, and chaplains, a gradation of precedence, rather decidedly marked, of the three first ranks, whose distinction is by no means definite in the present times; after them the aldermen, and the lord mayor by himself, then the privycouncil in robes, then the peers and prelates, followed by the Earl of Essex, who bore the gilt-covered basins; then the Marquis of Exeter, with the taper of virgin wax; next the Marquis of Dorset, bearing the salt, and the Lady Mary of Norfolk (the betrothed of the young Duke of Richmond), carrying the chrisom, which was very rich with pearls and gems; lastly came the royal infant, in the arms of her greatgrandmother, the dowager Duchess of Norfolk, under a stately canopy which was supported by the uncle of the babe, George Boleyn Lord Rochford, the Lords William and Thomas Howard, the maternal kindred of the mother, and Lord Hussey, a newly made lord of the Boleyn blood. The babe was wrapped in a mantle of purple velvet, with a train of regal length, furred with ermine, which was duly supported by the

Countess of Kent, assisted by the Earl of Wiltshire, the grandfather of the little princess, and the Earl of Derby. On the right of the infant, marched its great uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, with his marshal's staff-on the other, the Duke of Suffolk. The Bishop of London, who performed the ceremony, received the infant at the church door of the Grey Friars, assisted by a grand company of bishops and mitred abbots; and, with all the rites of the Church of Rome, this future great protestant queen received the name of her grandmother, Elizabeth of York. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, was her godfather, and the Duchess of Norfolk and Marchioness of Dorset her godmothers. After Elizabeth had received her name, garter king-at-arms cried aloud :- God, of his infinite goodness, send a prosperous life and long, to the high and mighty Princess of England, Elizabeth!'

"Then a flourish of trumpets sounded, and the royal child was borne to the altar, the Gospel was read over her, and she was confirmed by Cranmer, who, with the other sponsors, presented the christening gifts. He gave her a standing cup of gold, the Duchess of Norfolk a cup of gold fretted with pearls, being completely unconscious of the chemical antipathy between the acidity of wine and the misplaced pearls. The Marchioness of Dorset gave three gilt bowls, pounced, with a cover, and the Marchioness of Exeter three standing bowls, graven and gilt, with covers. Then were brought in wafers, comfits, and hypocras, in such abundance that the company had as much as could be desired.

66

The homeward procession was lighted on its way to the palace with five hundred staff torches, which were carried by the yeomen of the guard and the king's servants, but the infant herself was surrounded by gentlemen bearing flambeaux. The procession returned in the same order that it went out, save that four noble gentlemen carried the sponsor's gifts before the child, with trumpets flourishing all the way preceding them, till they came to the door of the queen's chamber. The king commanded the Duke of Norfolk to thank the lord mayor and citizens heartily in his name for their attendance, and, after they had powerfully refreshed themselves in the royal cellar, they betook themselves to their barges."-Agnes Strickland's "Lives of the Queens of England."

JOHN K. CHAPMAN AND COMPANY, 5, SHOE LANE, AND

PETERBOROUGH COURT, FLEET STREET.