spouses, the lady Cicile, sister to the queene, bearing hir traine, after hir followed 100 ladies and gentlewomen, in right costly apparell, then the maior in a gowne of crimson velvet, and his brethren in scarlet, with the sword borne before the maior, and sate in the quire the masse while, the archbishop of Yorke sate in the deanes place, and offered as cheefe, and after him the duke of Buckingham, &c. Wonderfull it was to behold the riches of apparell worne that day, with the poisant chaines of gold: of which, two were specially noted, to wit, sir T. Brandon, knight. master of the king's horse, which that day ware a chaine valued at 1400. pound: and the other William de Riuers, esquire, master of the king's haukes, whose chaine was valued at a thousand pound : many mo were of 200. 300. and so foorth; these were not noted for the length, but for the greatness of the links. Also the duke of Buckingham ware a gowne wrought of needle worke, and set upon clothe of tissue, furred with sables, the which gowne was valued at 1500. pound. And sir Nicholas Vause, knight, ware a gowne of purple veluet, pight with peeces of gold, so thicke and massy, that it was valued in gold, besides the silke and furre, a thousand pound; which chaines and garments were valued by goldsmithes of best skill, and them that wrought them. The masse being finished, the princesse was led by Henry, duke of Yorke, and a legate of Spaine, by the foresaid pace into the palace going before hir men of honor, to the number of 160. with gentlemen and other. There came vnto the maior sir Richard Crofts, steward of the princes house, which brought him and his brethren the aldermen into the great hall, and at a table upon the west side of the hall, caused them to be set to dinner, where honorably were they serued with 12. dishes to a messe at the first course, 15. the second course, and 18. dishes the third course. In this hall was a cupboord of fiue stages height, being triangled, the which was set with plate valued 1200 pound, the which was neuer mooued at that day; and in the vtter chamber where the princesse dined, was a cupboord of gold plate, garnished with stone and pearle, valued aboue 20000. pound. The Tuesday following the king and queene being all this season at Bainards castell, came vnto Paules, and heard there masse, and then accompanied with many nobles, went into the palace, and there dined with the princesse. This day sir Nicholas Vause ware a collar of Esses, which weyed, as the goldsmiths that made it reported, 800 pound of nobles. And the same day at afternoone, the said princess were conveyed with manie lordes and ladies unto Paules Wharffe, where the said estates took their barges, and were rowed to Westminster, upon whom the choir attended, with the aldermen and fellowship in barges, garnished with banners and other devises, musike, &c."

Stow's Ann. P. 805-7

In the same year, sir John Shaw, the mayor, by a contribution from the several companies of the city, caused to be erected the kitchens and other offices at Guildhall; by the convenience of which, he first entertained his brethren, the aldermen and principal citizens, at a very magnificent banquet in the said hall; which entertainments were formerly given at that of the Grocers. The said mayor also caused his brethren the aldermen, first to accompany him on horseback to the water side, to take barge to West

minster.

On the 25th of January, the espousals of the princess Margaret, by proxy, with James IV. of Scotland being published at Saint Paul's Cross, in London, it occasioned an incredible joy among the citizens, by making of bonfires, ringing of bells, and every thing else that contribute to the public rejoicings: for, by this match the citizens apprehended that all causes of difference would be removed from between the two nations, and a happy translation restored; whereby all dreadful and destructive wars for the future would be happily prevented, to the great advantage of both kingdoms.

The Taylors' company in this same year pur. hased a charter of the king, by which they thenceforwards obtained the style of Merchant Taylors of the city of London.

The citizens, in the year 1505, granted to the king 5000 marks for confirmation of their liberties; 1000 whereof they paid in hand, and covenanted to pay the other 4000 in the course of four years; which is particularly levelled against the encroachments upon the liberties, franchises, and customs of the citizens by foreigners, in buying and selling, and concerning the qualifications of brokers, &c. in the same form as that of Edward III. dated December 4th, in the 50th year of his reign, and that of 1 Richard II. confirmed by parliament, and is dated on the 23rd of July, in the 20th year of his reign.

The archduke Philip, in right of his consort, having succeeded "to the crown of Castile, set out with his queen from Flanders with a considerable fleet on his way thither; but meeting in the channel with a dreadful storm, was forced into Weymouth; from whence he came by land to Windsor to pay his respects to king Henry, who from thence brought him to London to see his capital city; where they were entertained by the mayor and citizens with a pomp and magnificence proper for the accommodation of such illustrious guests.

King Henry, being apprehensive of his approaching end, was seized with a remorse of conscience for his many, great, and grievous exactions; wherefore he attempted to bribe heaven with the spoils of his subjects, and to purchase favour of the Almighty, by making, as he vainly imagined, an atonement fchis past crimes, by hastening the construction, and endowing variou religious foundations with much greater alms than usual; and, at

his own expence discharged all the prisoners in London, whose debts did not exceed forty shillings.

Thomas Knesworth, who had been mayor two years before, and Richard Shoare and Roger Grove, his sheriffs, were accused for abuses committed in their offices; for which they were dragged to the Marshalsea, and confined without any legal process, till they redeemed themselves with the payment of 1,400l. Also Christopher Haws, an alderman of London, was secured for some imaginary crime; but, being a timorous man, soon died of an excess of grief. About the end of April died the lord mayor, sir William Browne, mercer, and was succeeded by sir Lawrence Aylemer; who, in the year following, was imprisoned by Henry's rapacious ministers, in order to extort a sum of money for his liberty; but the death of the king, which soon after happened, delivered him and many others from their troubles and apprehensions.

Henry, once more willing to honor the city of London, sent the mayor a letter; wherein he acquainted him with his having concluded a match between Charles, prince of Castile (afterwards the great emperor Charles V.) and the princess Mary, his youngest daughter. On which occasion he commanded him to make all the public demonstrations of joy imaginable: expressing himself with all the signs of an unfeigned joy, by saying, that now he had built a wall of brass about his kingdom, by having for his sons-in-law the king of Scotland, and a prince of Castile and Burgundy.'

Yet, nevertheless, his rapacious and infamous ministers, Empson and Dudley, continued their grievous extortions and oppressions of the people with the utmost rigor, by a second prosecution of sir William Capel, some time mayor of London, for a neglect in not discovering and prosecuting some false coiners; for which pretended crime he was amerced in 2,000l. But, being a bold man, he would not submit to such vile and arbitrary proceedings, and, instead of paying his fine, highly reflected on those iniquitous ministers, the authors of his troubles; for which he was committed first to the Compter, and then to the Tower of London, where he continued. a prisoner during the king's life.

The odium excited by these acts the king sought to remove by an ostentatious display of charity, to which his apprehensions of the chances of another world unquestionably contributed. He endowed several religious foundations, gave considerable sums to the poor, &c. Still so excessive were the treasures he had amassed, that, on his decease, in April, 1509, as appears from lord Bacon's history of this prince, he left to the value of 1,800,000l. in money, plate, and jewels, locked up in secret vaults beneath his favourite palace of East Sheen, near Richmond.

1

CHAPTER IX.

History of London during the reign of Henry the Eighth.

UPON the demise of Henry VII. on the 21st of April, 1509, his son Henry was proclaimed king in London on the 23rd of April, with the usual solemnities; and two days after, all foreign beggar were banished the city, and compelled to repair to their several parishes.

His majesty, to rivet the affections of the city of London, and of all his subjects, the more securely towards him, committed sir Richard Empson, knight, and Edward Dudley, esquire, sergeant at law, to the Tower. These two were employed by king Henry VII. to raise money, upon penal laws, for filling his coffers, which they did very rigorously in a commission of forfeitures; for which they were now both condemned and attainted by parliament, and, upon the 18th of August, 1510, beheaded on Tower-bill. Divers of their inferior agents, called promoters, were set in the pillory on Cornhill, with papers on their heads, and forced to ride through the city with their faces towards the horses' tails.

Henry's marriage with Catherine, his deceased brother's widow, to whom he had been contracted during the life-time of his father, (a dispensation having been procured from the pope) was solemnized at Greenwich in June, 1509; and, on the 24th of the same month, their majesties were crowned at Westminster with extraordinary pomp. On this occasion, the king and queen, in a magnificent procession, rode from the Tower to Westminster. The city was gorgeously embellished with rich silks and tapestry, and part of Cornhill, and Goldsmiths'-row in Cheapside, with golden brocades; and the lord mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs, together with the city companies in their formalities, attended and adorned this pompous show, whilst the populace incessantly proclaimed their joy. During this whole reign, indeed, the citizens indulged in al! the splendid pageantry and profusely expensive spectacles, which were patronised by the court, and became a characteristic feature of the taste of the age.*

Henry, in the habit and arms of the yeomen of his guard, came into the city on St. John's eve, A. D. 1510, to see the pompous march of the city watch; wherewith he was so highly delighted, that, on the St. Peter's night after, accompanied by his royal con

Hall's Chron.

sort, and attended by the principal nobility, he returned to the city, and in Cheapside stood and saw the stately march of the aforesaid watch; which was performed every St. John Baptist's vigil, and on the vigil of St. Peter and St. Paul, according to ancient custom, in the following magnificent manner:

The march was begun by the city music, followed by the lord mayor's officers in party-coloured liveries; then the sword-bearer on horseback, in beautiful armour, preceded the lord mayor, mounted on a stately horse, richly trapped, attended by a giant, and two pages on horseback; three pageants, morrice-dancers, and footmen; next came the sheriffs, preceded by their officers, and attended by their giants, pages, pageants, and morrice-dancers. Then marched a great body of demi-lancers, in bright armour on stately horses; next followed a body of carabineers, in white fustian coats, with a symbol of the city arms on their backs and breasts; then marched a division of archers, with their bows bent, and shafts of arrows by their side; next followed a party of pikemen, in their corslets and helmets; after whom marched a body of halberdiers, in corslets and helmets; and the march was closed by a great party of billmen with helmets and aprons of mail; and the whole body, consisting of about 2,000 men, had between every division a certain number of musicians, who were answered in their proper places by the like number of drums, with standards and ensigns as veteran troops. This nocturnal march was illuminated by forty cressets, [large lanterns fixed at the ends of poles, and carried over men's shoulders] 200 whereof were defrayed at the city expence, 500 that of the companies, and 240 by the city constables. The march began at the conduit at the west end of Cheap side, and passed through Cheapside, Cornhill, and Leadenhall-street, to Aldgate; whence it returned by Fenchurch-street, Grasschurchstreet, Cornhill, and so back to the conduit. During this march, the houses on each side the said streets were decorated with greens and flowers, wrought into garlands, and intermixed with a great number of lamps.

Sir William Fitz-William was this year disfranchised, because he refused to serve the office of sheriff. He was alderman of Bread-street ward, and retired to Milton, in Northamptonshire. On the fall of the cardinal, his former master, he gave him kind entertainment there at his house in the country For which deed being called before the king and demanded how he durst entertain so great an enemy to the state, his answer was that he had not contemptuously or wilfully done it, but only because he had been his master, and (partly) the means of his great fortunes. The king was so well pleased with his answer, that, saying himself had too few such servants, immediately he knighted him, and afterwards made him a privy-counsellor.

Roger Achiley, the mayor, caused Leaden-hall, the city granary, to be plentifully stored with all sorts of grain, for prevent