^OF-CAUF(%, ^OF-CAll ^> ^x Cs y ^ 01\\ V/^3MNn-3\\V W/A %3AIN "^ilBAINI L! Q ii. 'AHvaarn^ 5JAE-UNIVERS//J AJI7I wo, // AMB ENVIRONS, WINDSOR CASTLE, AND ITS ENVIRONS; INCLUDING ETON COLLEGE. BY LEITCH RITCHIE, ESQ. SECOND EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS, BY EDWARD JESSE, ESQ. EMBELLISHED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS BY THE FIRST ARTISTS. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT-GARDEK MDCCCXLVIIL LONDON : Printed by S. HAKD ALLEN 44 Windsor Castle, from the Home Park . . J. D. HARDING . . SMITH 48 Interior of St. George's Hall T. ALLOM WALLIS , 89 Interior of St. George's Chapel F. MACKENZIE . . MOTTRAM 96 Windsor Castle, from the Clewer Meadow J.D.HARDING .. ALLEN 138 Windsor Castle, from the Eton Playo j p HARDING WlLLMORE 148 Windsor Castle, from the Long Walk .. J.D.HARDING .. VARRALL 206 Waterloo Gallery T. ALLOM LE KEUX 229 Windsor Castle, from the Great Park J. D. HARDING . . WALLIS 260 Ruins, Virginia Water J. D. HARDING .. WATKINS 285 Fishing Temple, Virginia Water J. D. HARDING . . WALLIS 287 Eton, from the Windsor Terrace J. D. HARDING . . PRIOR 294 Eton, from the Playing- Fields J. D. HAKDING . . WlLLMORE 303 WOODCUTS. Designed by Engraved by Windsor Castle, from Bishopsgate W. H. PRIOR LINTON and SMITH, 1 Windsor Castle, from Horton W. H. PRIOR W. G. MASON 20 Arms of the Plantagenets R. THOMSON BONNER 37 Signing of Magna Charta R. THOMSON Charter Island W. H. PRIOR BONNER ORRIN SMITH 38 40 Magna Charta Seal R.THOMSON MASON 48 Edward III W. H. PRIOR .... ORRIN SMITH 49 Arms of the Bishop of Beauvais 60 Wolsey's Head HOLBEIN W. H. PRIOR 97 Fashions in Edward III.'s Time STANDFAST W. LINTON 101 Henry VII 126 Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn STANDFAST W. LINTON 130 Edward VI . 136 Henry VIII. 's Gate, Windsor Castle W. H. PRIOR E. LANDELLS 139 Eton College, from North Terrace, \ ,, 7 w -p-.., E. LANDELLS 145 Eton College and Chapel W. H. PRIOR E. LANDELLS . 147 Henry VIII 148 Queen Elizabeth's Building, Windsor \ \y. H. PRIOR ORRIN SMITH 149 Herne's Oak W. H. PRIOR E. LANDELLS 154 Queen Elizabeth STANDFAST W. LINTON 156 Sir Walter Raleigh STANDFAST W. LINTON . 164 Water Quintain on the Thames From an Old Print, . 179 Costumes of Charles I.'s Time STANDFAST W. LINTON 180 James II 198 Windsor Castle, from Playing- Fields.Eton W. H. PRIOR LINTON 200 East Front, Windsor Castle W. H. PRIOR E. LANDELLS 218 Norman Gate and Round Tower, \ w H P KIO R Windsor Castle / LINTON . 258 Earl of Surrey W. H. PRIOR ORRIN SMITH 262 Eton College . 279 Elms near the Heronry W. H. PRIOR E. LANDELLS 282 Virginia Water W. H. PRIOR E. LANDELLS 288 Gate, Eton College W. H. PRIOR E. LANDELLS 292 Eton Montem B.WILLIAMS B. WILLIAMS 293 Gray, the Poet W. H. PRIOR ORRIN SMITH 298 Eton Montem, in the Time of George III. GRIMM B. WILLIAMS 309 Costumes at Eton Montem WILLIAMS B. WILLIAMS 312 3 Ji,ktuant\ *-a~ 3 WINDSOR CASTLE, FROM BISHOPSGATE. WINDSOR CASTLE. CHAPTER I. KING ARTHUR AND THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. ORIGIN OF MODERN CHIVALRY. ASHMOLfi's EULOGIUM OF KNIGHTHOOD. CON- NEXION OF THE SUBJECT WITH THE HISTORY OF WINDSOR CASTLE. DERIVATION OF THE NAME. WILLIAM THE NORMAN. THE PAWN- BROKER AND THE CRUSADER. IF palaces are " poems in stone," WINDSOR CASTLE is an epic of chivalry. There be heterodox persons, we know, who put not their trust in King Arthur, or who, while believing in the Knights of the Round B 2 WINDSOR CASTLE. Table, give them altogether another locality; but for our part, we would take the word of the renowned chronicler, Sir John Froissart, for a greater matter than this. It is a high advantage to have a central spot where history and tradition meet. The au- thentic story of Windsor may begin only with the Norman William; but there is a vista stretching far away " O'er the dark rereward and abysm of time," which it is as delightful, and it may be as profitable, to contemplate. The knighthood of King Arthur, however, must be regarded rather as a prediction of chivalry than the thing itself; which did not arise, in tangible shape, till about the precise epoch of the erection of Windsor Castle. The authors who have combated so fiercely on the question of the antiquity of chivalry, have contested, as is usually the case, about a mere name. They have confounded the institution of the Holy Order with vassalage and feudal tenure, which existed long before. In our own day, Mr. Pennie, a neglected man of genius, wonders that any one can be so " silly " as to suppose chivalry a comparatively modern institution, since, among the Germans, in the time of Tacitus, a there was great emulation among the followers who should stand highest in the princes' or chiefs' favour, nor did any one hesitate to be seen among these attendants and followers!"* Whitaker, on the other hand, is satis- * Britain's Historical Drama, p. 535. GIANTS AND DRAGONS. 3 fied with making the order originate with King Arthur, in the sixth century. " It was the first," says he, " that had ever been instituted in the island ; and it has been since imitated by all the nations on the continent. By means of this association, Arthur mixed among the provincials a general glow of ingenuous heroism; the first spirit of chivalry that ever appeared in Europe." But O'Halloran denies the impertinent assumption with huge dis- dain; asserting, that Arthur established in Britain only what had been for ages the glory of Ireland ! The military class, in all ages, and in all nations, from the Hindoos to the Germans, have had their ceremonies and investitures; but chivalry, in the sense usually understood by this word, there is every reason to believe originated amidst the disorders of the eleventh century, when monarchy was a mere name, the best part of Europe being parcelled out among independent chiefs, who led their followers to war and pillage, at their pleasure. These were the true giants and dragons of romance ; and it was the mission of the first knights to put down, by the strong hand, a power which there was no public law capable of restraining. Chivalry was a species of priesthood, and its ceremonies were taken as closely as possible from those of the holy sacraments. Bap- tism lent its white robes, its bath, and its godfather; confirmation gave birth to the accolade ; the viaticum to unction; confession and communion were common to both ; the head of the knight, as well as the priest, u2 4 WINDSOR CASTLE. was shaven in front, and his hair cut round. They both enjoyed privileges of nearly the same kind; and the knight, by buying or selling chivalry, could render himself guilty of simony. In England, knights were at first created by high dignitaries of the church, and this custom continued for some time after the conquest, when it was for- bidden by a synod, held in 1102, although the reli- gious ceremonies still continued. These were per- formed with great solemnity at the creation of two hundred and sixty-seven knights at one time, when Edward I. held his famous Whitsuntide. Let not the reader think these details irrelevant; for upon these depend, in no small degree, the honour and dignity of our Castle. Rather let him peruse, with all due reverence, the eulogium pronounced upon chivalry by Mr. Ashmole, in his history of that most noble Order, the cradle of which was Windsor. " In the dignity, honour, and renown of knight- hood, is included somewhat of magnificence more excellent that nobility itself; which, mounting the royal throne, becomes the assertor of civil nobility, and sits as judge at the tribunal therefore. Knight is noted by Camden as a name of dignity, but baron is not so. For if heretofore a baron had not received knighthood, he was written plainly by his Christian name, and that of his family, without any addition but that of Dominus, a term attributed to a knight ; and, in ancient charters, the titles and names of GLORY OF CHIVALRY. 5 knights may be seen set before barons. It bestows gentility, not only upon the meanly born, but upon his descendants, and increases the honour of those well descended. Hereunto agrees the common law: if a villain be made a knight, he is thereby imme- diately enfranchised, and consequently accounted a gentleman; agreeably to the Roman law, where the donation of a gold ring ennobled a slave. Maecenas died a companion of that order; even kings and princes look upon it as an accession their other titles showing dominion and power, this their valour and courage. Geysa, king of Hungary Leopold, marquis of Austria Ottacher, duke of Stiria Fre- derick, duke of Austria and Stiria Godfrey, duke of Brabant, with Henry his son Peter, king of Arragon the emperor Henry III. our William Rufus, Kings Edward III., Henry VI., Henry VII., Edward VI Lewis XL, Francis L, kings of France, and others, received this dignity at the time they enjoyed their other titles. And though it is said the sons of the French king are knights as soon as they receive baptism, yet are they not judged worthy the kingdom unless first solemnly created. And we elsewhere find, that the royal heirs of Arragon were suspended from the crown until they had received the honour of knighthood. And after the Norman conquest, our young princes were sent over to the neighbouring kings to receive this honour. Thus our king, Henry II., was sent to David, king of Scots, and knighted by him in Carlisle ; and Edward, at the age of fifteen 6 WINDSOR CASTLE. years, to Alphonsus XI., king of Castile, for the same dignity. In like manner did foreign princes repair hither to receive the honour from our kings; as Malcolm, king of Scotland, and Alexander, son of William, king of Scotland, knighted by our King John, anno 1212. So was Alexander III. by our King Henry III., at York, anno 1252, and Magnus, king of the Isle of Man, by the same king. All which sufficiently demonstrates the great renown of knighthood, and the honour and esteem which was ever had for that order." To understand the history of Windsor Castle, it is necessary to comprehend the spirit and institutions of chivalry. In its modern origin for, in compliance with the matter-of-fact prejudices of the day, we shall leave King Arthur in the background it was the den of a monstrous dragon, who lay coiled in the midst of its almost impenetrable woods, whence he issued ever and anon to ravage and devour the country. Succeeding him came certain smaller mon- sters, who sometimes felt the lance of the knight- errant, even in their forest lair ; and after them the preux chevaliers themselves held high carouse in the now stately halls of Windsor, whence they sent forth troops of the brave into all quarters of the world, to the rescue of distressed damsels, and the consolation of forlorn widows. The Dragon, par excellence, was the brave Nor- man, who had no sooner crossed the channel, and possessed himself of a great kingdom, as easily as WILLIAM THE NORMAN. t a robber takes a purse upon the highway (and in somewhat the same fashion) than he looked round in search of a site, for an employment quite as necessary as war. William's conquest of England would not have been worth the trouble, had it not been able to furnish him with a forest for hunting; and it fortunately happened, that this important desi- deratum was found at the distance of only a pleasant ride from his capital. The Saxon princes, whose dynasty he had brought to a bloody close, had for- merly a palace in a low situation in the domain, which now drew his attention; but this had been granted by the Confessor in the early part of the century to the monks of Westminster. William, however, had no difficulty in getting back the prize, in lieu of which he assigned some lands in Essex to the monastery. With better taste than his predecessors, he chose a bold brow of the Thames for the site of his hunting seat; and, according to the manners and necessities of the times, the seat, as a matter of course, was constructed as a fortress. The Saxon name of the territory is sup- posed to have been Windleyhopa,* derived, as Cam- dem supposes, from the winding shores of the river. This was gradually changed into Wyndlechera, soft- ened by Leland into Windlesore, and corrupted by us into Windsor. The fortress of William, in order to distinguish it from the other, was called New * The Saxon word was Wynd-shore, and from thence Windsor. See Transactions of the Literary Society for 1847. ED. 8 WINDSOR CASTLE. Windsor, and the site of the palace of the Saxon kings is Old Windsor to this day. We are sorry to be able to give the following elo- quent remarks upon this reign as a quotation from an unknown book. They are from the pen of our friend Thomas Roscoe, and occur in a publication projected by him, with the view of illustrating Wind- sor Castle. The speculation failed at the com- mencement, though, we need hardly add, not for want of talent. " Though firmly seated on his throne, and hold- ing his royal hunts and revels at his new palace- fortress of Windsor, while his fierce chiefs possessed themselves of England's baronial seats and wide domains, it was in vain the Conqueror sought, by fostering repeated rebellions, to strike a last blow at the liberties of the country. The attempt recoiled on his own head; for the example spread from the Anglo-Saxon chiefs to his own barons, to his own rebellious sons, and to his own household. It is true the splendid prize of the adventurers was par- celled out with lavish hand ; military lines of for- tresses and castles were stretched over the allotted districts, and Norman lords took up their stations, like sentinels in a newly captured city. ' Woe to the conquered ! ' might have been the motto inscribed on the Conqueror's banner, that waved over town and tower, when the sun shone, and fruits and harvest no longer ripened for the hopeless countryman. A gloomy silence reigned over plains and valleys : in- FEUDAL SYSTEM. 9 stead of the evening carol and the old British sports, were heard the toll of the curfew bell, the heavy tramp of Norman horse, and the voice of the steel- clad foreigner, debarring the light of heaven, and consigning the people to their nightly tombs. " It was then the roots of our feudal system struck deep into the soil; and upon military proscription was founded that grand and noble system of here- ditary honours, which raised England to such a pin- nacle of fame, gave her a new national existence, a new aristocracy, and a new church ; all the advan- tages of a constitution and popular government, the envy of the world. It is thus, by the wise de- crees of Providence, that good springs out of evil, that British freedom retained its energy in the very heart of tyranny, when England appeared like one vast military settlement, as now the military farms and colonies of Russia; its broad domains held only at lordly pleasure, or granted, for the luxury and enjoyment of the conquerors, in perpetuity to the wild animals of the forest. ' Stet pro ratione vo- luntasj 1 seems to have been the only Norman law put into full force during the first half century after the conquest." William, at his death, bequeathed his possessions to his two sons; England to William, surnamed Rufus, and Normandy to Robert. Neither of these princes is mentioned, at much length, in connexion with Windsor ; and it may be sufficient, therefore, to say that the former was a famous pawnbroker, 10 WINDSOR CASTLE. lending money upon kingdoms, and that the latter, responding to the call of Peter the Hermit, which was at that time heard echoing throughout Europe, pledged his patrimony to his brother for ten thousand marks, and set forth for Jerusalem as a Pilgrim of the Cross. CHAPTER II. JUDGMENT UPON THE CONQUEROR'S FAMILY. COMPLETION OF THE FIRST CASTLE. REMOVAL FROM OLD TO NEW WINDSOR ROYAL ELOQUENCE. THE BEREFT FATHER. " HE NEVER SMILED AGAIN." MANNERS OF THE TIME. PRIVATE WARS. GENERAL CONFUSION. ON the death of William Rufus in the new forest by the hand of Walter Tyrrel, it was observed, as a singular fact, that not only Richard, an elder brother of the king's, had been goj-ed to death by a stag, but that Richard, his nephew, had lost his life in the same place, and by the same means. All men now exclaimed that this was a judgment upon the Conqueror's cruelty, in driving forth the people of that rich and noble dis- trict, to make room for his game, and that heaven had signalized its vengeance by so many fatalities in the lives of his descendants. Rufus, at his death, was only in the fortieth year of his age, and had reigned thirteen years, during which he had com- pleted several unfinished portions of the first Castle COMPLETION OF THE FIRST CASTLE. 11 of Windsor, erected by his father ; and so decorated it with the spoils of the forests, that it resembled rather a vast establishment of gamekeepers than a royal palace. Prince Henry was with his brother in the forest, at the moment he fell slain by an arrow ; and, hurrying to Winchester, he first secured the royal treasure, drawing his sword, and threatening Breteuil, the then chancellor of the exchequer, (an easy office,) with instant death if he refused to obey. He had to con- tend, however, with serious difficulties. Robert, invited by a large body of the nobility, landed in England; and the two brothers at the head of large armies, found themselves engaged in deadly strife. The next morning had decided the fate of a throne ; but, by the unanimous interposition of common friends, an adjustment of differences was arranged. This enabled Henry subsequently to invade Nor- mandy, where a decisive battle was fought, in which he took Eobert and his only son William prisoners, and committed them to strict custody. Having now leisure to consolidate his throne, and, by wise regulations, to attach to him the great inter- ests of the state, the aristocracy, and the army, he directed his attention to the royal castle at Windsor; the additional portions of which, begun both by the Conqueror and William Rufus, especially the lighter parts, adapting it for princely residence, were yet in a half-finished state. To Henry Beauclerk it was first indebted for assuming the character of a palace ; 12 WINDSOR CASTLE. and it was considerably augmented and strengthened by artificers brought over from Normandy. On the completion of these " many goodly buildings," and having well fortified the whole, we are told that, in the tenth year of his reign, he summoned thither all his chief nobility, and held his Whitsuntide with great state and magnificence. "In the year 1110," says Holinshed, "Henry removed his court from Old to New Windsor, which has ever since continued to be one of the chief royal palaces, and is the principal summer residence of our present gracious sovereign, who, besides the princely domain of Windsor, retains in her own hand some of the neighbouring manors, and the adjoining hundred of Brag, Cookham, Begnhurst, and Ripplemere." In 1127, this monarch also held his Whitsuntide here, when David, king of Scotland, and the English barons, swore fealty to the empress Maude, the king's daughter. He was married at Windsor to his second queen, Adelaide, daughter of Godfrey, duke of Lou- vaine, in 1122. But the disputes with Anselm, and the clergy, and the court of Rome, allowed Henry I. but little time to devote to the pleasures of royalty. With the aid of the court of Rome, the malcontents fomented conspi- racies and insurrections both in England and his extensive dominions on the continent. Threatened with rebellion and excommunication, he was at length induced to adopt conciliatory measures by the earnest appeals of his sister, the countess de Blois, a lady of ROYAL ELOQUENCE. 13 singular piety, who was terrified, it is said, at the imminent risk her brother ran of eternal perdition. The French king also presented young William, who had made his escape, before a general council as- sembled at Rheims, and inveighed against the injus- tice of Henry in detaining his father, duke Robert, one of the most distinguished champions who had borne arms for the cross, under the special protection of the holy see. But Henry, with equal vigour and dexterity, despatched his English bishops to the synod, with orders to gain the ear of the pope and his favourites with liberal donations; cautioning them at the same time not to admit any farther claims. "Hasten," he said; "salute pope Calixtus in my name; listen to his apostolic precepts; but beware how you bring any of his new monitions into my kingdom!" The plan succeeded; and, after a con- ference held the same summer between these two wily belligerents, in which the king had recourse to similar means, his holiness facetiously observed, " that of all men with whom he had ever had the pleasure to con- verse, Henry of England was beyond comparison the most eloquent and persuasive." He next defeated the French in a great battle at Brennevilie, com- manded by prince William, the son of Eobert, who fought with the utmost bravery. Henry was in immi- nent danger, being wounded in the head by Crispin, a gallant Norman; yet still undismayed, he arose and struck his enemy to the ground, when his English soldiers, animated by the sight of their monarch's 14 WINDSOR CASTLE. bravery, again charged, and put French, Normans, and Burgundians to the rout. Lewis himself escaped with the utmost difficulty in this memorable action ; and yet we are told that, out of nine hundred horse- men, wearing heavy armour, two only were slain. The armour, in fact, worn by the knights, was almost a complete protection. The great slaughter was among the peasants ; although, it must be confessed, these took every opportunity of running in among the iron-sheathed combatants, when they saw one of their tyrants unhorsed, and lying helpless but unhurt upon the earth, and then searching for a chink in his armour, they stung him to death with their long knives. Henry I. was now one of the most powerful monarchs in Christendom; yet all his good fortune and public prosperity could not protect him from those closing mischances and calamities that seemed to pursue his race. At the moment of his highest success, just reconciled to his family, admired and applauded, if not beloved, by his people, one incident deprived his remaining years of hope and repose. He lost his favourite son, attended by a hundred and forty young noblemen, of the most dis- tinguished families in England and Normandy, all of whom, as well as his natural daughter the countess of Perche, were lost in their passage home, only a few hours after the safe arrival of the king. He is said to have swooned at the intelligence, and was never afterwards seen to smile. THE BEREFT FATHER. 15 It is this incident which called forth one of the most beautiful effusions of Mrs. Hemans : The bark that held a prince went down, The sweeping waves rolled on ; And what was England's glorious crown To him that wept a son ? He lived for life may long be borne, Ere sorrow break its chain : Why comes not death to those who mourn ? He never smiled again ! There stood proud forms around his throne, The stately and the brave, But which could fill the place of one That one beneath the wave ? Before him passed the young and fair, In pleasure's reckless train, But seas dashed o'er his son's bright hair, He never smiled again. He sat where festal bowls went round, He heard the minstrel sing ; He saw the tourney's victor crowned, Amidst the kingly ring ; A murmur of the restless deep Was blent with every strain, A voice of winds that would not sleep, He never smiled again ! Hearts in that time closed o'er the trace Of vows once fondly poured, And strangers took the kinsman's place At many a joyous board ; Graves, which true love had bathed with tears, Were left to Heaven's bright rain, Fresh hopes were born for other years, He never smiled again ! Henry was particularly attached to his new palace- residence of Windsor, and as fond of hunting in its forests as his predecessors. He augmented their 16 WINDSOR CASTLE. precincts, already too great, and also the forest laws. To kill a stag was as criminal as to murder a man; and all dogs kept on the borders were mutilated. He executed justice with rigour, and theft was first made capital in his reign ; he granted a charter to London, and did much to suppress those deadly feuds and liberty of private revenge that often deluged the streets of the city with blood. During the reign of Stephen, we find mention of Windsor Castle under the title of Mota de Windesore, the fortress, in the surety of peace entered into between that prince and Henry II. Besides a disputed succession, the high clergy exacted terms still more destructive of public peace and of the royal authority. The lords assumed the right of fortifying their castles, main- taining a military establishment, and defending them- selves against all enemies, not excepting the king. The laws, bad as they were, losing their force, these edifices spread rapidly on all sides; and each pro- vince, county, and district, became so many petty sovereignties, whose feudal chiefs exercised the royal prerogative of declaring war against each other. Each noble had his vassals and licentious merce- naries, and adventurers flocked to join them from all quarters. Supported by mutual violence and rapine, the unhappy people were the general prey. The wars of the nobles were pursued with unexampled ferocity ; they levied contributions, and coined money ; while the inferior gentry and the inhabitants were reduced to purchase their protection, comply with PRIVATE WARS. 17 their exactions, and even assist them in plundering their neighbours. The appearance of one castle, in any part, imme- diately led to that of its rival; and the aristocratic power rose to its utmost height during the reign of a prince who, having usurped the throne, was obliged to tolerate in his supporters the same injustice and violence to which he owed his power. It is instructive to read by what a slender tenure landed, and nearly all other property, were held, during times when one half the citizens of London would turn out against the other half, and, headed by men of note sometimes by the mayor himself deliberately proceed to break open and pillage the houses ; when untrained bands, and armies of rioters, were afoot on a given signal, setting all authority at defiance ; and when apprentices, trades, gentles, nobles, and ecclesiastics, once together by the ears, kept the old city and its demolished watch and ward in one wild uproar one astounding din. Can we be surprised to hear that very few of the estates in Berkshire, or elsewhere, continued long in the same families, (even in those that possessed them at the period of the conquest,) when the general survey contained in doomsday-book, and begun by Alfred, was continued? The Windsors, indeed, retained the manor of Hay- bourne for three centuries, but their other estates had much earlier passed into other hands. The Mortimers also held several manors in the same county during c 18 WINDSOR CASTLE. several generations. Fitz Aneulf s descended from the Pajanels to the baronial family of Somery, and eventually became divided among coheirs. The Musards were fortunate enough to possess their estates till the reign of Henry III. And soon after the foundation of Reading Abbey, though it became possessed of several manors in the county of Berks, it, too, subsequently shared the fate of so much lay, as well as clerical property. Fuller accordingly observes, in his quaint language, " that the lands of Berkshire are very skittish," and apt to cast their owners, which he imputes not so much to the unruli- ness of the beasts as to the unskilfulness of the riders ; and expresses a hearty wish that the Berkshire gentry may be better settled in their saddles, so that the many sweet places in this county might not be subject to so many mutations. And this amusing author's remark might have been applied, with equal justice, to other parts of England under a system of perpetual changes and transitions in her political, as now in her monetary, alarms and revolutions. Of this truth we scarcely need the shade of the venerable surveyor to assure us, when he observes, that " many neat houses and pleasant seats there be in this country, both on the Hennel and Thames, such as Aldermaston, Englefield, &c. These still rank among the most distinguished in the country, in which also may be placed Bascot Park, Holme Park in Sunning, Padworth-house, Pusey-house, Sandle- ford, and Swallowfield." " Gardeners," continues the WILLIAM AND DAVID OF SCOTLAND. 19 antiquary, " complain that some kinds of flowers and fruits will not grow prosperously, nor thrive kindly, in the suburbs of London. This they impute to the smoke of the city, offensive thereunto. Sure I am, that ancient gentry in this country, sown thick enough in former times, come up but thin in our u Of names which were in days of yore, Few remain here of a great store." It was even then remarked as singular, that not one family, descended in the male line from any of the gentry enumerated in the former lists, was left in the country; and it was believed that Sir H. C. Englefield was the only person so descended who pos- sessed any estate in it. During the bitter wars between Stephen and the empress Maude, Windsor Castle does not appear to have received any accession of strength or beauty; but was considered fortunate to have escaped the devastations of the times, not having sustained even a siege. On the subsequent peace, being now held in point of importance the second fortress in the king- dom, it was committed to the safe custody of the valiant Richard de Lucy. After his accession to the crown, Henry II. held his Easter at Windsor in 1170; where he entertained, with great magnificence, Wil- liam, king of Scotland, and his brother David, both of whom afterwards, by the fortune of war, became his prisoners, and who had now come to congratulate him, as friends, on his return from Brittany. c2 WINDSOR CASTLE. FROM HORTON. CHAPTER III. THE UNNATURAL FAMILY. THE GOVERNOR OF THE CASTLE. ROYAL PENITENCE. WILLIAM OF SCOTLAND IMPRISONED IN WINDSOR CASTLE. POLICY OF HENRY II. DEATH OF PRINCE HENRY. NEW REBELLIONS OF THE UNNATURAL FAMILY. DESPAIR AND DEATH OF THE FATHER. PRE-EMINENTLY able and enlightened as he was, Henry II. was not equal to the fearful crisis in which he found himself, by the revolt of his three sons, sup- ported by the king of France; his refractory barons, the more dangerous hostility of Thomas a Becket, and THE UNNATURAL FAMILY. 21 the intrigues of his own court. He found himself reduced to propose terms to so many enemies, and secure his throne and safety by associating with him his son in the cares of government. In order to give greater dignity to the ceremony, * the king himself officiated at table as one of the retinue ; and observed to his son, "that never king was more royally served." " It is nothing extraordinary," returned the prince to one of his courtiers, " if the son of a count should serve the son of a king." However happy a pleasantry, and even in one sense a compliment, the saying was regarded as a sign of his ambitious temper, and his conduct justified the supposition. In less than a year afterwards, this indulgent father had the deep mortification to behold his son, his royal col- league and successor, in the train of King Lewis of France, his mortal enemy, attended by his two brothers. The meeting between the two rival monarchs, and the rebellious sons, was a strange and painful one, especially to the mind of the king, sus- ceptible at once of the noblest and most tender impressions. Still he appeared rather as a dictator and conqueror, than a suer for peace; for, single- handed, he had just discomfited all his adversaries. Foiled and beaten at every point, Lewis, and the rebellious sons of this truly great monarch, appeared covered with humiliation and confusion ; a shade of * It appears that silk garments were then known in England, and that the coronation robes of the young king and queen cost 871. 10s. 4d. in money of that age. 22 WINDSOR CASTLE. the deepest sorrow passed over his countenance as they advanced; on kneeling to crave his pardon, he raised them up; and, feeling for their disgrace, he proposed to them such terms as they might have been ashamed to ask, and could have been dictated only by the strongest parental affection. During the king's absence, the famous Richard de Lucy, governor of Windsor Castle, and guardian of the realm, distinguished himself by his victories no less than his royal master. The king of Scotland, who had so recently participated in the festivities of the castle, with his brother, and enjoyed with his younger brother the pleasures of the chase and the more animating exercise of the joust, thought proper to break the truce, and committed great devastations in Northumberland. Entrusting his charge of the castle to a faithful officer, the brave governor of Windsor resolved to discharge the higher duties con- fided to him by his sovereign, and marched promptly in pursuit of the Scottish king. He attacked, and drove him before him, compelling him to enter into new and humiliating terms. He then turned his arms against the Earl of Leicester, one of the bitterest enemies of the king, and who had personally threatened his life, and now at the head of a large body of Flemings, supported by numerous malcon- tents, invaded his kingdom. Though inferior in force, the noble governor drew out and harangued his men; "calling to mind the heroic conduct of their monarch, the treachery of his sons and allies, that ROYAL PENITENCE. 23 his eyes were upon them, and his hopes of termi- nating the glorious labours in which he was so long engaged rested upon them." Nothing could resist the ardour of the English ; the unwieldy mass of Flemish (many of them artificers) was broken at the first shock ; ten thousand are said to have been put to the sword, the Earl of Leicester was made prisoner, and the rest submitted on terms of being permitted to return to their country. But the guardian of Windsor Castle, and the kingdom, had still a host of enemies to contend with. Though ably seconded by Geoffrey, bishop of Lin- coln, the king's natural son by the fair Rosamond, and distinguished alike in the cabinet and in the field, he had difficulty to stand his ground till the return of his royal master. At the expiration of the truce, the king of Scot- land again broke into the northern provinces, at the head of eighty thousand men; while Henry's rebel- lious sons and nobles impeded the exertions of De Lucy on every side. In this emergency, the king hastened his return; and, landing at Southampton, he first proceeded to Canterbury, in order to make atonement at the tomb of its deceased archbishop, Thomas a Becket, in compliance with the popular superstition of the times. On approaching the church, he dismounted, walked barefoot, and, pro- strating himself before the saint's shrine, continued in prayer, fasting the entire day, and watching the holy reliques by night. Then, appearing before a 24 WINDSOR CASTLE. chapter of the monks, he took off his robes, put a scourge into the hands of each, and, baring his shoulders, submitted to the lashes inflicted in suc- cession by the holy brotherhood. Next day he ob- tained absolution; and, on reaching London, received intelligence of a great victory over the Scots, ob- tained on the very day of his absolution, which was generally regarded as a confirmation of his sincere reconciliation with heaven, and with his dead enemy. In the last great and important battle, William of Scotland was himself taken prisoner, and conducted no longer a guest to the castle he had before visited in very different circumstances. Having quelled the disturbances in England, Henry entered upon another campaign in Normandy, which he conducted with equal rapidity and success. He again received the submission of his sons, but was careful to grant them less favourable conditions than before, con- fining them to a limited pension, and separate castles which he granted for their place of residence. He exacted also severe terms from the king of Scotland as the price of his liberty, which he granted uncon- ditionally to more than nine hundred knights who had been taken prisoners. William, having so repeatedly broken his engagements, was required to do homage for Scotland and all his other dominions, and engage that all his barons and bishops should take an oath of fealty. He was to deliver up the fortresses of Edin- burgh, Stirling, Berwick, and Roxburgh, till the due performance of the articles. Henry subsequently POLICY OF HENRY II. 25 received the homage of the whole kingdom in the cathedral at York ; and farther required the king and states to make a perpetual cession of the fortresses. By thus taking advantage of his good fortune, and the want of faith of the Scottish king, he struck the first blow at the independence of the country, and opened the way for his successors. Having now displayed all the qualities of a great commander and a statesman, he devoted himself, with no less talent and capacity, to the duties of a legis- lator. His equitable and enlightened administration soon extended the interests, and secured the peace and prosperity, of his widely- spread dominions. He abolished many absurd and oppressive laws; and in the trial by duel or battle, only admitted the parties to challenge by a jury of twelve freeholders, as fixed by the laws of Alfred, and of ancient usage in Eng- land. This has never been abolished; and there is an instance of it even up to the times of Queen Elizabeth/" He made a partition of England into four divisions, and appointed justices to go the cir- cuit, which had an excellent effect in curbing the violence and injustice of the barons, and protecting property. To restore the authority of the govern- ment and the magistracy, he everywhere aimed at destroying the newly-erected castles, and allowed no fortress to remain in the custody of men whom he * As late as the reign of George III., the challenge was given by the brother of Mary Ashford, to Thornton, who had been acquitted of her murder. Ei?. 26 WINDSOR CASTLE. had reason to suspect. At the same time, he fixed an assize of arms, which required all his subjects to put themselves in readiness for defending themselves and their country. Every man of a certain rank was bound to provide a coat of mail, a helmet, a shield, and a lance ; for it would appear that archery, for which the people afterwards became so renowned, was yet far from having the reputation it afterwards acquired ; and the spear and battle-axe were the chief weapons in use. The declining years of this great prince, still intent upon his noble and beneficent labours, were darkened by fresh grief and trouble. His sons, implacable and ungrateful to the last, once more combined with their father's enemies, enemies, too, whose family discords it had been his earnest study to allay. When not engaged in opposing their king, they were in active hostility against each other. But at the castle of Martel, near Turenne, Prince Henry was seized with a fever; and, feeling the sudden approach of death, he was seized with remorse, and sent to his father, expressing his contrition, and his desire to behold him before he died. Apprehensive, from the former con- duct of his son, that he had some concealed design in view, he conceived it his duty not to compromise his safety, by complying with his prayer; but when he heard of his sincere repentance, and his death, such was the shock that he thrice fainted away; and bewailed his cruelty and false fears, which deprived his child of the power of atoning his errors, and NEW UNNATURAL REBELLION. 27 breathing his last sigh in the arms of an affectionate father. As if to add to the poignancy of his sor- rows, the example of their eldest brother's death produced no change in the conduct of his surviving sons. They even broke out into fresh violence ; and Geoffrey, the most subtle and treacherous of them all, requiring that Anjou should be annexed to his dominions of Brittany, fled to the court of France, and levied an army to march against his father. While thus employed, he happened to attend a tour- nament at Paris, where he was run through the body by his antagonist. Soon after his decease, his coun- tess was delivered of a son, the unfortunate young Arthur who fell a victim to the ambition of his un- natural uncle. Kichard, also, at the instigation of the French king, raised the standard of revolt, and even did homage to the king of France; thus involving the veteran chief and king, and one of the tenderest of parents, in a new war with France, and all his enemies. Here at length his usual military fortune deserted him; for he had entered almost heart-broken upon the war he was forced to undertake. The cowardice and corruption of his governors threw a number of fortresses into the enemy's hands; and he was com- pelled to submit to the rigorous terms imposed upon him. Asking for the list of those lords to whom he was bound to grant pardon, he saw at the head of them the name of his son John, whose interests he 28 WINDSOR CASTLE. had ever carefully consulted so that he had even excited the envy of his brothers. Already mortified and broken down, the wretched father burst into exclamations of the deepest despair ; in the words of Job, he cursed the day in which he was born, and, while weeping over the dead, he pronounced a ter- rible malediction on the heads of his surviving children, which he would never afterwards recall. In July, 1189, he breathed his last; and the sole mourner among his children, who followed him to his last home, was a natural son, Geoffrey, who had re- mained in peace, and never offended his father. Richard went to see the dead body of his parent as it lay in state, and, like his brother, was struck with remorse at the sight. It was attested by the wit- nesses, that, at the instant he fixed his eyes upon the serene and pallid features, blood started from the mouth and nostrils ; and, impressed with the popular belief, the prince exclaimed with horror that he was his father's murderer, and vowed to make atonement by all means in his power. Windsor Castle was the favorite residence of the deceased monarch, where he held both his court and parliament, and received both foreign princes and his great nobles with the distinction and magni- ficence becoming a great king. On his return from his continental campaigns, honourable to him alike as a general and a statesman, he lavished peculiar marks of favour on his faithful governor of the fortress and guardian of the realm, the able and enlightened De RICHARD C(EUR DE LION. 29 Lucy. When, in 1175, he had united with him his son Henry in his crown and prerogatives, the two kings held a parliament at Windsor, attended by the judges, deputies of counties and districts, and all the great officers of the state. Henry also kept his ensuing Christmas with the rude magnificence and display peculiar to the times, and all the ancient sports and usages; in which the nobles and gentry of the sur- rounding country assisted with much splendour, at the hunt and tourney, and bestowed lavish gifts on the spectators and the people. After the kingdom was parcelled out into four jurisdictions, another parliament was held at the castle, in 1179, by the two kings; and in 1184 Henry, for the last time, celebrated his Christmas in the same hall of state: his son, who had shared the throne with him, being then dead. CHAPTER IV. RICHARD COEUR DE LION. ORDER OF THE GARTER. LEGEND OF THE LEATHER THONG. THE TWO RIVAL BISHOPS. A NEW GOVERNOR OF THE CASTLE. PRINCE JOHN. HORRIBLE ATROCITY. FIGHTING BISHOPS. ON ascending the throne, Richard I., by his first measures, showed that his repentance for the rebel- lious conduct he had so repeatedly been guilty of towards his father was durable and sincere. He dis- missed his former associates and abettors from his 30 WINDSOR CASTLE. counsels and regard, holding them ever after in hatred and contempt, He confirmed the ministers and all the faithful officers of the late king in their respective trusts; and admitted those to whom he had been attached into his private confidence. This behaviour, it was observed, in a prince so much guided by impulse and passion as Richard Coeur de Lion, might justly be ascribed to the most honourable motives; and, perhaps, the ardour with which he embraced the wild project of the crusade, was embued with a feeling of religious contrition, as well as a resistless love of military glory. He confided the formal government of the kingdom, during his absence, to the queen dowager, whom he released from confine- ment ; and he showered his bounties with too lavish a hand upon his brother John. At the same time, he appointed Hugh de Pudsey, bishop of Durham, and Longchamp, bishop of Ely, and also chancellor, justiciaries and guardians of the realm; who, on the departure of the monarch, took up their residence at Windsor Castle, as one of the places of greatest strength. While Richard thus risked the loss of his kingdom, making every sacrifice to carry through his bold and pious enter- prize, his outward bearing frank, noble, and yet with anything but an air of sanctity called forth some strictures from the preachers of the crusade. Fulk, curate of Neuilly, ventured to reprove him to his face, advising him to reform his vices, espe- cially his pride, avarice, and voluptuousness, which LEGEND OF THE LEATHER THONG. 31 he had the audacity to term the king's three favourite daughters. " You advise me well," was Eichard's reply; " and I hereby make a present of the first to the templars, of the second to the benedictines, and of the third to my prelates." We shall treat, by and by, somewhat at large of the Order of the Garter; but it is necessary to say here, in chronological order, that Richard is sup- posed by some authorities to have been the founder of the institution. " Yet," saith the old chronicler, " in the very book of the first institution which William Dethick, Garter Principal King of Arms, (a gentleman very studious in every thing relating to honour and the nobility,) gave me a sight of, we read thus : * When King Richard led his armies against the Turks and Saracens, Cyprus and Acre, and was weary of such lingering delay, while the siege was carried on with a wonderful deal of trouble, at length, upon a divine inspiration, (by the appa- rition, it was thought, of St. George,) it came into his mind to draw upon the legs of certain chosen knights of his a certain tack of leather, such as he had then ready at hand, whereby, being reminded of that future glory which was then promised them if they conquered, it might be an incitement to push them on to the behaving themselves with cou- rage and resolution, in imitation of the Romans, who had such variety of crowns with which, upon several accounts, they presented and honoured their 32 WINDSOR CASTLE. soldiers, that by instigations of this kind, cowardice might be shaken off, and valour and bravery might arise, and start out with more vigour and resolution/" And he had need of some extraordinary or super- natural aid to support his authority and honour, when he left his castle of Windsor in the joint custody of two lord bishops, and one, a chancellor, made over eight castles with immense territory to his treacherous brother, and sold or alienated much of his royal domains. He had no sooner sailed, than the two prelates broke out into the most violent animosity, and excited alarm and confusion through- out the kingdom. Elated by his good fortune, the more wily Frenchman resolved to anticipate his adversary; and as lord chancellor and lord bishop, uniting powers both temporal and spiritual, and armed with full papal authority, he scrupled not to seize his colleague, put him under arrest, and confine him close prisoner in the tower of the castle of which he had been left in command. He went so far as to insist on the bishop of Durham resigning the earldom of Northumberland, as the price of his liberty. On receiving intelligence of this event, Richard de- spatched letters, requiring him to be set free, and reinstated in his dignities; but the chancellor refused to recall his orders ; alleging, that by his rank he was the best and first judge in the land, and withal keeper of the king's conscience, and his secret wishes. To be governor of the castle, and guardian of the realm, this presumptuous prelate now took upon KING OF THE CASTLE. 33 himself all the dignity and honours of a prince- regent, held his court, his councils, his tourneys, and his hunting parties, with becoming magnificence, treated the old nobility with arrogance, and delighted to mortify them by a studied display of his superior power and riches. When he travelled, he was at- tended by a guard of fifteen hundred mercenaries; and the titles of governor of Windsor Castle, and guardian of the realm, drew all eyes upon him, and nobles and knights thought themselves honoured in being admitted into his train. When he stopped at any castle or monastery, in his royal progress through the kingdom, his retinue, it is stated, was sufficient to devour, in one night, the revenue of several years. King Richard, yet detained in Europe, and in- dignant at the repeated accounts sent over of his extreme arrogance and ostentation, appointed no less than five of the most powerful and influential barons to restrain him : the archbishop of Rouen, the earl of Strigil, Geoffrey Fitz Peter, William Briewere, and Hugh Bardolf; but the lord chancellor, the bishop, the pope's legate, the governor of Windsor Castle, and guardian of the realm, concentrating all these potent personages in one, was more than a fair match for them all. So great, indeed, was the awe inspired by all these itinerant dignitaries travelling in the same person, such the fear excited by his vigour and severity, and respect for his magnificence and osten- D 34 WINDSOR CASTLE. tation, that neither archbishop nor earl ventured to present the king's mandate; and the supreme chancellor, lord of castle and kingdom, continued to issue his mandates, as if he had been the legitimate despot of the land. But his vaulting ambition at last overleaped itself, and fell on the other side. He threw Geoffrey, archbishop of York, into a dungeon ; and Prince John, conceiving it now time to step forth, and take the lion's share of the country's spoils, exclaimed against this breach of ecclesiastical privi- lege, and summoned the governor to appear before a general council of the nobility and prelates assembled at Beading. His descent down the wheel of fortune was just as rapid as his rise ; and, conscience-stricken and craven in heart, he did not even try to rebound. Instead of facing his enemies, he retired to the tower of London; but, taking alarm at the idea of being shut up there, he fled in female disguise, stripped of all his ill-earned honours, and vainly attempted to conciliate and draw Prince John into new schemes who rejected all his overtures, for the single reason, that the " whole is greater than a part." On the fall of its profligate governor, Windsor Castle was delivered, in trust, to the earl of Arundel ; but the disorders of England were in no degree mitigated, though the fame of the king's heroic actions in Palestine filled every mouth. A succession of victories had brought him within sight of Jeru- salem the object of all his efforts ; when the interest and treachery of his allies arrested his onward career, IMPRISONMENT OF RICHARD I. 35 and left him at the mercy of his worst enemies. While the brother in whom he had confided usurped his power and ravaged all the land, his bitterest foe, Philip of France, abetted him in all his treasons ; and, it is even said, received his homage for the crown of England, with a stipulation for part of Normandy. After the disastrous tidings of Richard's imprisonment, which filled England with conster- nation, both these princes resolved to carry into force their nefarious and dishonourable views. While Philip invaded Normandy, John landed in England; and, half by surprise, half by corruption, got pos- session of the castles of Windsor and Wallingford. He then set out for London, where he everywhere spread false tidings of his brother's death, and formally claimed the throne as immediate heir to the deceased king. The reports were disbelieved, his claims rejected, and the justiciaries, seconded by the public voice, took their measures so well, that the prince, finding himself abandoned, withdrew again to the French court, and proclaimed his alli- ance with Philip. The sufferings of Richard, meanwhile, subjected to all kinds of privation and indignity, lingering in an Austrian dungeon, caused the utmost sympathy among all ranks of people. Never was a royal ransom more cheerfully or more rapidly raised ; and subsequent intelligence of his freedom and return, spread the utmost joy throughout his dominions, both in England and on the continent. He reached n2 36 WINDSOR CASTLE. London March 20, 1194, an event which inspired so much confidence in his friends, and terror in his enemies, that the latter either threw themselves on his mercy, or sought safety by flight ; and his most powerful adversary, Philip, wrote the following brief and laconic warning to his old confederate, John: " Now, take care of yourself, for the devil is broken loose." In the ensuing war, so prompt and decisive were Richard's movements, that Prince John, anticipating the result, fled from the French, and threw himself at his injured brother's feet, and was pardoned, at the intercession of the queen-mother. " I forgive him," said the frank-hearted monarch, " and hope I may as easily forget his injuries as he will my pardon." He was aware of his character, and the atrocious acts that stained his reputation as a soldier and a man. A shame to knighthood, he had basely betrayed his trust, and his duties on every side. In last deserting from the French king, he had invited the officers of the garrison to a dinner, in the fortress of Evreux; and, during the entertain- ment, fell upon them, and put them, with the gar- rison, to the sword. He then delivered up the place as a peace-offering to his brother, who now knew and despised him. One of the singular incidents in the ensuing cam- paign was, the capture of the bishop of Beauvois, of high military reputation, a good politician, and a near relative of the French king. Richard, who FIGHTING BISHOPS. 37 ever since the fantastic exploits of his bishop-governor of Windsor, detested these fighting prelates, imme- diately threw him into chains. When the pope, at Philip's intercession, demanded his liberty, and laid claim to him as a spiritual son, the monarch sent to His Holiness the coat of mail, all stained with blood, worn by the bishop in his last battle. Em- ploying, in his turn, the weapons of Scripture against that clerical son, who had used the arms of flesh against his enemies, he addressed the pope in the words of Jacob's sons to the patriarch : " This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no." Such was the ferocity with which this war was carried on, that, on both sides, they put out the eyes of the prisoners, and these bar- barities were continued till the period of Richard's death. CHAPTER V. KING JOHN. HORRIBLE BARBARITY. HENRY III. ROBBERY OF THE CITY OF LONDON. REFINEMENT OF CRUELTY. ANECDOTES. ORIGINAL FORM OF THE CASTLE. FORTIFICATIONS. DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT STAGES. GRAND ENTRANCE. ANGLO-NORMANS AND ANGLO-SAXONS. WINDSOR CASTLE answered more completely the purpose of a fortress in the time of King John, than at any period to which we have yet arrived. He took refuge here during the perilous struggle between him and his barons ; and after Magna Charta had been ex- torted from him at Runnymede, he retired to Windsor to give loose to his mortified feelings, in actions which resemble the freaks of insanity. He caught up clubs and sticks, gnawed them with his teeth, and broke them in pieces, interspersing the farce with oaths and maledictions, execrating his mother, and, like Job, '' cursing his day." Soon, awaking from this frenzy, he gave secret orders to have his castle garrisoned, with the view of breaking faith with his barons, and setting them at defiance; but the scheme being dis- covered, he fled to the Isle of Wight, where he lived for some months with fishermen-pirates, joining them in their expeditions. HORRIBLE BARBARITY. 39 When John showed himself upon the scene again, (for no human being knew what had become of him during these maritime recreations,) his subjects called in Louis, the French king's son, to their assistance; and the combined army besieged Dover and Windsor the latter being bravely defended by Inglehard de Achie with a small garrison. Among the traditions of this castle is one which, even when related of John, almost exceeds belief. He is said to have demanded, as a hostage, the son of De Braouse, a nobleman who had given him some offence. The lady only being at home on the arrival of his messenger, she replied, with the unreflecting courage of a woman, that " her child should not be entrusted to him who could slay his own nephew ;" whereupon the king seized both her and her son, built them up in a closet in Windsor Castle, and starved them to death ! This monster at length proved, by dying, that he had some properties of human na- ture ; and a contemporary historian remarked on the occasion " Hell felt herself defiled by his admission.' Before taking our leave of King John, we may ob- serve, that in the neighbouring parish of Wyrardsbury is Charter Island, on which has been erected by Mr. Harcourt an exceedingly romantic little cottage, where is preserved the stone whereon tradition says that Magna Charta and the Charta de Foresta were signed. Here was that charter seal'd, wherein the crown All marks of arbitrary power lays down ; Tyrant and slave, those names of hate and fear, The happier style of king and subject bear ; Happy when both to the same centre move, When kings give liberty, and subjects love. WINDSOR CASTLE. Upon the level plain, called Runnymede, on the Surrey side of the river, nearly opposite Charter Island, the consent of King John to those great char- ters was extorted. CHARTER ISLAND. Henry III. made large additions to Windsor Castle ; and such was his anxiety on the subject, that, in 1243, a royal commission was issued to Walter de Grey, archbishop of York, directing him to proceed with the construction of the king's chapel, both in winter and summer, till the whole should be completed. This document directs, that " a lofty wooden roof, like the roof of the new work at Litchfield, should be made to appear like stonework, with good ceiling and paint- ing ; that the chapel should be covered with lead, and four gilded images be put up in it, where the king had before directed images of the same kind to be placed ; and that a stone turret should be made in front of the chapel, of sufficient size to hold three or four bells." In 1260, Alexander III. of Scotland, and Henry's ROYAL ROBBERY OF LONDON. 41 favourite daughter Margaret, his queen, visited Wind- sor Castle ; where the latter, being pregnant, remained some time after her husband, and gave birth to a daughter. During the struggle between Henry and his barons, in which the city of London took a part against the king, the young prince Edward, on return- ing from his successful expedition into Wales, marched against the citizens, surprised them in their hive, and seized their military chest, containing ten thousand pounds, which they had placed for safety in the house of the Templars. With this booty he retired in tri- umph to Windsor, where he knew he should be secure. At this period, the king and queen resided in the Tower of London; but the queen, fearing for her safety, would have sought her son's protection at Windsor. The citizens, however, in her passage up the river, prevented her from passing through London Bridge; they endeavoured to sink the royal barge, and compelled her to return to the Tower; whence, however, she subsequently made her escape, and took sanctuary in the palace of the bishop of London at Saint Paul's. Windsor Castle was at length surrendered to the barons, but was again taken by Prince Edward. The king followed him thither the next day, and a stand was made for the royal cause. But this was for the time unsuccessful; and the prince, by the treaty of Lewes, became hostage for his father and uncle, who had both fallen into the hands of the barons. He escaped from his guards, however, and gave battle to 42 WINDSOR CASTLE Montford, the chief of the rebels. In this engagement, a circumstance occurred which is highly characteristic of the time. An old man, clothed in undistinguished armour, was in front of the enemy's ranks as the prince's forces came up, and would have been killed at the first shock, had he not shouted, "Hold! I am Henry of Winchester, your king!" He had been placed there, by a refinement of barbarity, to receive death at the hands of his own son. Montford, how- ever, was himself the victim. He was slain by Prince Edward, his army routed, and the power of the barons being thus broken, peace was at length restored to the distracted country. Henry III. was a distinguished patron of the arts.* * In Mr. Britton's " Architectural Remains of Windsor Castle," he mentions among the works at the Castle in this reign, entries respecting towers, a new kitchen, an oriel, a private chapel, an oratory, and other buildings. It is certain that Henry III. caused the towers now known as the Salisbury and Garter Towers, to be erected, and also the old Bell Tower, or, as it is often called, Julius Caesar's Tower. The crypt of this tower, with its fine groined roof and deeply-recessed loop-holes, is peculiarly deserving the attention of the antiquary ; while the numer- ous inscriptions on its time-worn walls, made by unhappy captives, suggest many a reflection to the moralist. Some vestiges of the old chapel are to be traced in the ecclesiastical buildings on the north side of the lower court. The south ambulatory of the Dean's Cloister, and the door behind the altar of St. George's, are thought by some anti- quarians to be relics of the thirteenth century. The latter is cer- tainly one of the most beautiful specimens we have of the elaborate iron-work of the middle ages, and it is supposed to mark the western extremity of the old chapel, which, in that case, would seem to have covered the site of the present tomb-house. It is a curious fact, that among the writs issued from Windsor during his reign, is one relating to a white bear, which was kept in the Tower of London, for the purpose of catching fish in the river Thames, for the royal table. ED. ANECDOTES. 43 Gothic architecture attained to high perfection in his reign ; during which, one hundred and fifty-seven reli- gious structures arose, including the superb cathedrals of York, Salisbury, and Winchester. Henry was also a great patron of painters ; and many of his mandates are preserved, giving minute directions for the deco- ration of his palace at Winchester. Among them we find rather a singular one, dated 27 Henry III. 29th October, directing John Maunsel, as the king had signified that he had not wages to the amount of two hundred marks, to pawn the more valuable image of Saint Mary, but under condition that it should be deposited in a decent place. Another anecdote is told, but of a very different nature. The king em- ployed a painter to execute a picture, for his palace at Winchester, of an eagle attacked by his young ones, one of them scarcely fledged striving to pick out his eyes. This design represented his own fate, and the crime of his unnatural children; the youngest the half-fledged eagle being his son John, whom he loved the best. While Queen Eleanor was residing at Windsor, a terrific storm occurred, which blew down the chimney of the apartment in which she and her children slept, and injured, more or less, the entire edifice. Eleanor, also, sister to Alphonso, king of Castile, the wife of Edward I., resided at the castle during the life of Henry III., as well as afterwards. Edward I. had four children born, and two who died here. Edward II. and his queen Isabella also resided 44 WINDSOR CASTLE. at Windsor; and within its walls was born, at forty minutes past five in the morning, in the year 1312, and the sixth year of his father's reign, the renowned Edward III., surnamed, from the place of his birth, Edward of Windsor. Four days after, the royal infant was baptized in the chapel of St. Edward, the king of France, and many of the French nobles, requesting in vain that he might take the name of Philip. When the prince was fourteen years of age, his father was assassinated. This brings us to an epoch in the history of Windsor Castle, at which it is necessary to pause. It is impossible to trace the form of the castle previous to Edward III. ; and even William de Wyke- ham, the principal architect of that monarch, has left behind him no records of the stately fabric it was his business to remodel. At its very commence- ment, however, we know, from Doomsday-book, it covered half a hide of land ; and we have seen that Henry I. held there the great festival of Whitsuntide with regal magnificence. We may conclude, there- fore, with Mr. Pyne, in his " Koyal Residences," that Windsor was originally one of the grandest of the Anglo-Norman palaces ; and as there was little variety in the design of structures of that description at the period of the conquest, it will not be very diffi- cult to conjure before our mind's eye the phantom of the first castle. The author we have mentioned considers, with much probability, that in Rochester Castle may be ORIGINAL FORM OF THE CASTLE. 45 traced the early form of Windsor. It was built at the same period, and its ruins stand upon a hill, commanding the Medway, in the same stately manner that the gorgeous palace of Victoria looks down upon the Thames. The latter was probably built, at first, by an inferior artist, since his name is not men- tioned in the records of the time; but, in all essential points, the two edifices were probably not much unlike. Windsor, then, we may suppose, was strongly fortified with outworks. The entrance was approached by means of a lofty staircase, defended midway by a barrier, and terminated by a drawbridge, commu- nicating with the grand portal. Arrived at the portal, the stranger by no means entered the castle itself. He found himself only in a small tower, whence a second avenue led him to a second portal, seated in a wall of solid masonry, twelve feet thick. This second portal was defended by a portcullis, and a pair of ponderous gates. The portcullis was a grating of timber, strengthened with iron, made to slide up and down in grooves of masonry. It filled the whole space of the gateway, and, before the in- vention of cannon, must have been an admirable barrier. In the massive walls were deep niches, con- taining stone seats for the warders. The entrance we have described afforded the only ingress and egress, with the exception of a sally-port, or little narrow doorway placed under the drawbridge, approached but by a scaling ladder, and commanded from the staircase, the first portal, and the machi- 46 WINDSOR CASTLE. eolations above. This, however, was still considered a weak point; and therefore the building was so constructed that, even after an enemy had insinuated himself by the sally-port, he was under the necessity, before he could reach the grand entrance, of threading a narrow winding staircase, which might be defended against him by a single man. On the ground-floor, or the floor under the grand entrance, there were no windows, and but a very few loop-holes, about six inches square. On the first floor, or the floor of the grand entrance, there were still no windows, but narrow loop-holes. Here, how- ever, there were spacious staircases, communicating with the apartments above ; and these were provided with large and lofty windows, but placed so high in the wall, that a weapon projected from below could strike no more than their inner arch. Still ascending, there was the fourth floor from the ground, where the windows were placed as low as the archi- tect's taste demanded, there being no longer any danger from assailants without. The apartments here, as well as the leads of the tower, were furnished with catapultas, warwolves, balistas, and other en- gines of annoyance. The lowest of these floors was about fourteen feet high, and vaulted with stone. It was chiefly used for holding stores. The next floor was upwards of twenty feet in height, and formed the guard-chamber, and the residence of the principal part of the garrison. The next, thirty-two feet in height, con- FORTIFICATIONS. 47 tained the apartments of the commandant and his family; and the remaining floor, sixteen feet high, was usually tenanted only by machines of war. The principal architectural magnificence was la- vished upon the grand entrance, the towers of which, in some Anglo-Norman castles, contained large win- dows ; but when this was the case, a sort of moral defence was had recourse to, which is so character- istic of the epoch and the men, that 'it must not be .omitted. The dungeon of the prisoners, immediately below the vestibule, was opened at the roof, so that the missiles of the besiegers might fall upon their heads ! Such were the castles with which the pride and fears of the Normans encumbered the soil of England ; and such, in all probability, was Windsor Castle in its first epoch. It cannot be denied that the denizens of these castles, though cruel, bloody, and lascivious though, in fact, the actual dragons and giants of romance, whose trade it was to waylay knights and imprison damsels were, in many respects, a superior race to those they had so unceremoniously " pushed from their stools." They were sober, and, when lust or wrath did not interfere, courteous; while the degenerate Anglo-Saxons were clowns and gluttons. It is mentioned, as a proof of the rudeness of the latter, that, in the reign of Canute, a guest who seated himself at the royal table above the place assigned to him, was forcibly transferred to the lowest seat, where he was pelted by the rest of the company with bones. 48 WINDSOR CASTLE. At the commencement of this description of the original form of the castle, we have given an en- graving of its present appearance, as seen from the road between Datchett and Eton ; and annexed we now present a view from the Home Park. We leave the reader to draw the comparison in his own mind between the taste and manners of the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries ! CHAPTER VI. PROGRESS OF CIVILIZATION. WINDSOR CASTLE ASSUMES A NEW FORM. ZEAL OF EDWARD III. IMPRESSMENT OF WORKMEN. ROYAL TRIUMPH OVER DEATH. INSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF THE GARTER. HEATHEN GODS AND CHRISTIAN SAINTS. KING EDWARD'S ROUND TABLE. TRADI- TION OF THE GARTER. THE FAIR MAID OF KENT. UNSUCCESSFUL WOOING OF EDWARD. THE QUEEN'S GARTER. THE lapse of time between William the Conqueror and Edward III. had wrought wonders upon the national taste and national manners. The first dawn of chivalry had become full day; and the stronghold of a dragon was no longer fit for the abode of a preux chevalier. Edward began his architectural labours by demo- lition. The whole of the old castle was pulled down, with the exception of the three towers at the west end of the lower ward, and then the work com- menced in earnest. The progress made in the new structure is not distinctly specified, but may be guessed at by the king's letters patent, appointing various individuals to press artificers and provide materials. These commence in the twenty-third of his reign; but it was not till the thirtieth that William de Wykeham was appointed superintendent of the works. In three years after, he was made 50 WINDSOR CASTLE. surveyor-general not only of this, but also of various other royal buildings. In 1374 the whole structure was completed, com- prising the king's palace, the great hall of St. George, the lodgings on the east and west sides of the upper ward, the keep, or round tower, in the middle ward, the chapel of St. George, the houses for the custos and canons in the lower ward, with the whole of the walls, their towers and gates. The zeal of Edward in the promotion of these works is made evident, by the extraordinary steps he took to obtain a sufficient supply of labour. The sheriffs of different counties were commanded by writs, under a penalty of a hundred pounds, to furnish a certain number of work- men, taking security from them that they should not leave Windsor without the permission of William de Wykeham, who was appointed to return the same security into the court of chancery. " And because divers of these workmen, for gain and advantage, had afterwards clandestinely left Windsor, and were enter- tained by other persons upon greater wages, to the king's great damage, and manifest retarding of his work : writs were therefore directed to the sheriffs of London, with command to make proclamation, to inhibit any person, whether clerk or layman, under forfeit of all they had forfeitable, from employing or retaining any of them; as also to arrest such as had so run away, and commit them to Newgate, and, from time to time, to return their names into chancery. But it happened, at one time, that the king's ROYAL TRIUMPH OVER DEATH. 51 workmen were withdrawn from their fealty by a power which could in nowise be made to submit to the royal authority. This was the pestilence, which carried off the constructors of Windsor in such num- bers, that the work was almost brought to a stand- still. What did the king in this predicament? He issued new writs, commanding the sheriffs, under a penalty of two hundred pounds, to furnish him with others to supply their place. The building therefore went on, in spite of Death himself; and when the windows were at length ready to receive the glass, certain glaziers were kidnapped in like manner, and compelled to work at the king's wages. The first, and most important transaction con- nected with the new castle of Windsor, is the institu- tion of the order of the Garter; and this again is connected, although it must be confessed in somewhat of a mysterious manner, with that of the Round Table. King Arthur died in the year 542; and no further mention is made of this college of chivalry, till after the Norman Conquest, in the time of Stephen. A festival of the Round Table was held at Kenilworth by Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, in the reign of Edward I., the company consisting of a hundred knights and as many ladies ; and Edward III., with the view of restoring this custom, held a joust at Windsor in the eighteenth year of his reign, and in the nineteenth ordained it to be annually kept there at Whitsuntide. He is said, further, to have placed in the castle a veritable Table, two hundred feet in E2 52 WINDSOR CASTLE. diameter, where the knights might have their enter- tainment at his expense ; and the writers who stand up for the antiquity of the order of the Garter, main- tain that it is identical with that of the Round Table. But Barnes, author of " The History of that most victorious monarch Edward III.," not satisfied with tracing the institution to King Arthur, "who was crowned in the year of our Lord 516," and from him backward to the knights of Gaul, who, as we are informed by Athenaaus, used to sit at Round Tables, in order to avoid contention about places, must needs dive into still remoter antiquity. " It is well known to those," quoth he, " who have read anything of the heathen learning," that it was the custom of the Samothracians to initiate certain personages into the mysteries of the potent gods Axierus, Axeocersa, and Axiocermo, which " it was piacular for any but those who had been initiated so much as to name."" The ceremony was performed by tying a blue or purple band round the body, and its effect was to secure the initiated from the power of tempests. Thus, when the Argonauts were in peril at sea, Orpheus had recourse to these magical ceremonies ; and afterwards it became a custom with the Greeks, when similarly situated, to invoke the Samothracian Cabiri. Thus, when Ulysses is nigh perishing at sea, Leucothea presents him with a blue band, with these words : " Behold this sacred azure fillet here : Bind this beneath thy hreast and never fear To drown, or suffer harm, though storms appear." ORIGIN OF THE GARTER. 53 But what has this to do with the order of the Garter? A great deal. If any one be ignorant that the ancient Britons were originally a colony of Phenicians, let him read "Antiqua Britannia Illus- trata;" and, if satisfied on this point, the metamor- phosis of a girdle into a garter, and of the Cabiri, and their associate Mercury into St. George, will appear the easiest thing in the world. Nay, there appears rather a curious similarity between the divine functions of the heathen God and the Christian saint ; for both were powerful to save in storms at sea. St. George, when on the point of martyrdom, be- sought this privilege, as we find in Selden's Titles of Honour : " His hands he held up on high, adown he set his knee. ' Lord/ he said, ' Jesus Christ, this only thing might I see ; Grant me, if it is thy will, that when in faire manere Holds well my day in Aperil, for my love on earth here, That there never fall in his house no harm in all the year, And when in peril of sea, though we shall make his boon, Or in other eases perilous, heal him thereof full soon.' " King Edward's Round Table was consecrated with feasts and tournaments, and baptized with the blood of the brave. On new year's day of 1344, he issued his royal letters of protection, for the safe-coming and return of foreign knights to the solemn jousts which he appointed to be held at Windsor on St. Hilary's day, the nineteenth of the same month. The festival was opened with a splendid supper ; and the next day, and until Lent, all kinds of knightly feats of arms were performed. " The queen and her ladies," says 54 WINDSOR CASTLE. an old historian, "that they might with more conve- nience behold this spectacle, were orderly seated upon a firm ballustrade or scaffold, with rails before it, running all round the lists. And certainly their extraordinary beauties, set so advantageously forth with excessive riches of apparel, did prove a sight as full of pleasant encouragement to the combatants, as the fierce hacklings of men and horses, gallantly armed, were a delightful terror to the feminine beholders." Three years afterwards the order of the Garter was instituted; but on so important a subject, we must speak by the card. " It owes its original, as is confessed on all hands, to Edward III., king of England and France ; yet as to the occasion, there are several opinions which we shall rectify. The vulgar and more general is, that the garter of Joan, countess of Salisbury, dropping casually off as she danced in a solemn ball, King Edward stooping took it up from the ground, whereupon some of his nobles smiling, as at an amorous action, and he observing their sportive humour, turned it off with a reply in French ' Honi soit qui mal y pense ; ' but withal added, in disdain of their laughter, that shortly they should see that garter advanced to so high an honour and renown, as to account themselves happy to wear it. " But upon examination of this tradition, let others judge what, credit it bears to establish its be- lief; for Sir John Froissart, the only writer of the age THE GARTER. 55 that treats of this institution, assigns no such original : nor, two hundred years after, is there any such thing to the purpose in our other historians, till Polydore Virgil took occasion to say something of it; but had it been fact, some French historian or other would not have neglected to register it at a convenient time, with a scoff and ridicule, since that nation was so ready to deride king Henry V.'s design of invading them with a return of tennis balls. In the original statutes of this order, there is not the least conjecture to countenance the conceit of such a feminine insti- tution; no, not so much as laying an obligation on the knights-companions to defend the quarrels of ladies, (as some orders then in being enjoined;) nor doth the author of that tract, entitled ' Institutio Clarissimi Ordinis Militaris a praenobili subligaculo nuncupati,' prefaced to the Black Book of the Garter, let fall the manifest passage to ground it on. " As to what Polydore says, he is not so confident to ascertain the person whose garter it was; but, cautiously declining that, says it was either the queen's or the king's mistress's ; if it were the latter, yet doth he admit her name and title, both which (on what authority we find not) are supplied by modern historians, who call her Joan, Countess of Salisbury, the same elsewhere celebrated as the fair maid of Kent, (whom Edward the black prince afterwards married;) whereas no historian ever gave the least inuendo that king Edward III. ever courted her as a mistress. Selden points at her, when he calls the 56 WINDSOR CASTLE. lady from whom the garter slipped Countess of Kent and Salisbury ; but about the time when this order was founded, she in truth was dignified with neither honour; for although she was daughter to Thomas of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, and being some time the reputed wife of William Montague, second Earl of Salisbury, yet then she could not properly be ac- counted Countess of Salisbury. She was actually wife to Thomas Holl, (and one of the first founders of the order,) nor was she yet, though afterwards, Countess of Kent, because her brother, Join, Earl of Kent, at the institution, survived, and died not till 26 Edward III. " That there was a Countess of Salisbury with whom Edward III. became greatly enamoured, Froissart reports after this manner, that this king havipg relieved a castle of the earl's in the north, wherein his countess had been besieged by the Scots, (the earl himself being at that time prisoner inFrance,) upon sight of her extraordinary beauty, he fell in love with her; but she so virtuously demeaned her- self, during his abode there, that he declined further solicitation. However, some time after, the king, out of desire to see her, proclaimed solemn justs in London, whither the countess and other ladies, being invited, came up. This castle, it seems, was Wark- upon-Tweed, in Northumberland, which King Edward had formerly bestowed on her husband, for his good service past, when he first espoused her, being then but a knight. Although it should be admitted that FAIR MAID OF KENT. 57 this countess was the king's mistress, yet it must be remarked that she was wife to William Montague, Kt., created Earl of Salisbury anno 11 Edward III., mother to William, the before-mentioned second earl, that her Christian name was Catherine, not Alice, as Froissart, not Joan, as others call her, daughter to William Gramston, that she expired 28 Edward III. But that the whole may appear what indeed it is, a mere fable, we shall insert the judgment of Dr. Heylin, who took great pains in this particular. ' This,' says he, ' I took to be a vain and idle romance, derogatory both to the founder and the order, first published by Polydore Virgil, a stranger to the affairs of England, and by him taken upon no better ground thsmfama vulgi, the tradition of the common people, too trifling a foundation to such a building.' " Of the same contexture as the former is another tradition, in Andrew de Chesne, that the queen de- parting from the king to her own apartments, and he, following soon after, chanced to espy a blue garter lying on the ground, (supposed to have slipped from her leg,) whilst some of his attendants carelessly passed by it, as disdaining to stoop at such a trifle; but he, knowing the owner, commanded it to be given to him; at the receipt of which he said, You make but small account of this Garter, but within a few months, I '11 cause the best of you to reverence it alike. Some suppose that the motto was the queen's answer, when the king asked her what men would 58 WINDSOR CASTLE. conjecture of her, upon losing her garter in such a manner." So far Elias Ashmole, the Windsor Herald; but King Edward's love passages with the Countess of Salisbury must be treated more at length. Wark Castle had been presented by him to the Earl of Salisbury, when Sir William Montacute, as a recom- pense for his valour and loyal services; and it would appear that the beauty and noble qualities of his cele- brated countess inspired his followers in that chivalrous age with more than an ordinary degree of courage and devotion. During the defence of the castle against the Scots, King Edward arrived in the neighbourhood. The besiegers withdrew in turn, and the countess was honoured by a visit from the victorious monarch. In Froissart's words, " every one was delighted with her : the king could not take his eyes off her, as he thought he had never before seen so beautiful or sprightly a lady ; so that a spark of fine love struck upon his heart, which lasted a long time, for he did not believe that the whole world produced any other lady so worthy of being beloved." After awhile, the king, unable to conceal his emo- tion, had the boldness to acknowledge his love; but the lady appears to have been proof against the allurements of royalty. " ' Sweet sir/ replied the countess, ' do not amuse yourself in laughing at, or tempting me; for I can- not believe you dream what you have just said, or that so noble and gallant a prince as you are, would EDWARD'S WOOING. 59 ever think to dishonour me or ray husband, who is so valiant a knight, who has served you faithfully, and who, on your account, now lies in prison. Certainly, sir, this would not add to your glory; nor would you be the better for it. Such a thought has never once entered my mind, and I trust in God it never will, for any man living : and if I were so culpable, it is you who ought to blame me, and have my body punished through strict justice.' " The king left his room, and came to the hall ; where, after he had washed his hands, he seated him- self with his knights to the dinner, as did the lady also : but the king ate very little, and was the whole time pensive, casting his eyes, whenever he had an opportunity, towards the countess. Such behaviour surprised his friends; for they were not accustomed to it, and had never seen the like before. They imagined, therefore, that it was by reason of the Scots having escaped him. " The king remained at the castle the whole day, without knowing what to do with himself. Sometimes he remonstrated with himself, that honour and loyalty forbid him to admit such treason and false- hood into his heart, as to wish to dishonour so vir- tuous a lady, and so gallant a knight as her husband was, and who had ever so faithfully served him. At other times his passion was so strong, that his honour and loyalty were not thought of. Thus did he pass that day and a sleepless night, irf debating the matter in his own mind. b'O WINDSOR CASTLE. " At day-break he arose, drew out his whole army, decamped and followed the Scots, to chase them out of his kingdom. Upon taking leave of the countess, he said, ' My dear lady, God preserve you until I return; and I intreat that you will think well of what I have said, and have the goodness to give me a different answer.' ' Dear sir,' replied the countess, ' God of his infinite goodness preserve you, and drive from your heart such villainous thoughts, for I am, and always shall be, ready to serve you, consistently with my own honour and with yours.' ' CHAPTER VII. LOVE AND GALLANTRY OF CHIVALRY. THE COURS D AMOUR. LOVE CASES FOR THE CASUISTS. OFFICERS OF THE COURTS OF LOVE. EQUALITY OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER. MOTTOS AND DEVICES. PATRONS OF THE GARTER. LEGEND OF ST. GEORGE. STATUTES OF THE ORDER OF THE GARTER. THE POINTS OF REPROACH. WARD'S chivalric institution of the Garter is not the only order \vhich is supposed, erroneously or not, to have had its origin in love or gallantry. The order of the Golden Fleece is another; and that of the Annun- ciade of Savoy. The latter was instituted in 1362, under the title of the Dollar, in honour of the fifteen divine mysteries of the Rosary; but Favin calls it the order of the Snares of Love, asserting 62 WINDSOR CASTLE. that its intention was to commemorate a bracelet sent to the Earl of Savoy by his mistress, made of the tresses of her hair, plaited in love-knots. The importance attached to women by the rules of knighthood softened the manners of the age, while the magnificence of its displays a consequence, no doubt, of the entrance of the fair sex upon the scene revived and encouraged the arts. Love, how- ever, was carried to extravagance, like everything else; and, in our prosaic day, it is difficult even to imagine the fantastic nature of its worship. The Cours d' Amour are perhaps the most surviving insti- tutions mentioned in history. They were established, in dernier ressort, for the decision of questions con- nected with gallantry, such questions being con- sidered of too much importance to be left open to argument. Their origin is traced by M. Le Grand d'Aussi to the Jeux Partis of the troubadours, con- sisting of amorous questions argued by two inter- locutors, and decided upon by a third, somewhat in the manner of the eclogues of Virgil. Of these questions take the following as a specimen, although it must be premised that they are chosen as the most delicate. Which would you prefer, that your mistress died, or was married to another? Supposing you to have an appointment with the lady of your love, whether would you rather see me leaving her house as you entered, or entering her house as you left it? THE COURS D'AMOUR. 63 I love a woman whom I cannot bend, and another offers me her heart. Ought I to renounce the former for the sake of the latter? It is proposed to you to enjoy the intimate society of your mistress for a single day, and never again to see her in your life, or else to see her every day, and never enjoy a moment's familiar intercourse with her. Which do you choose? Such questions as these, when proposed by the poets, were argued so long and so fiercely, that the idea was conceived of a court which should have power to determine them ; and hence the Cours d n A- mour, established by associations of ladies, knights, and poets, in the various towns. The decisions of these courts were always held sacred, for ladies were usually the presiding judges ! But even the jurisdiction of these courts of love was no longer confined to abstract decisions. It extended itself to real cases, summoned offenders before it, determined their degree of culpability, and inflicted punishment. Steel-clad warriors surren- dered themselves without resistance to this extraordi- nary power; and sovereign princes including our own Lion-king were proud of presiding at the tri- bunal. The custom, originating in France, spread from country to country; and Frederic Barbarossa established a court of love in his dominions ! In the reign of Charles VI., of France, this institution, under the patronage of Queen Isabella, so famous for her gallantries, reached its highest prosperity; and its G4 WINDSOR CASTLE. offices of presidents, counsellors, masters of requests, auditors, knights of honour, secretaries, &c. were filled by princes of the blood, grandees, magistrates, and even ecclesiastics. In the west also, when the popes resided at Avignon, this extraordinary tribunal flourished, and Innocent VI. himself caused a sitting to be held in honour of some distinguished guests. But to return to Edward III., and his new order of chivalry; we give Ashmole's own account of the institution, who is exceedingly uneasy at the idea of its being thought to have anything to do with so frivolous a matter as a lady's garter. We may say, however, from ourselves, that the Windsor Herald formed his opinion of that mystic article at the court of Charles II., but had he lived in the days of chivalry, he would have felt it to be an ensign under which the best and bravest in Christendom might have been proud to bleed. "It is further observable, that the French king, Philip de Valoys, in emulation of this seminary at Windsor, set up a Kound Table at his court, and invited knights and valiant men of arms out of Italy and Almaine thither, lest they should repair to our king, Edward III.; which, meeting with success, proved a countermine to his main design; who, perceiving that his hospitality towards strange knights, upon account of reviving King Arthur's Round Table, was too general, nor did sufficiently ingratiate them to his person, but being uncon- KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER. 65 strained and at liberty, did after their departure take what side they pleased in the ensuing wars: he at length resolved on a projection more particular and select, and such as might oblige those whom he thought fit to make his associates in a lasting bond of friendship and honour : and having issued forth his own garter for the signal of a battle, that was crowned with success, (which is conceived to be the battle of Cressy, fought about three years after his erecting the Round Table,) upon so remarkable a victory he thence took occasion to institute this order, and gave the garter pre-eminence among the ensigns of it; whence that select number, whom he incorporated into a fraternity, are styled Equites Aureae Periscelidis, and vulgarly, Knights of the Gar- ter. By this symbol, he designed to bind the Knights and followers of it mutually unto one another, and all of them jointly to himself, as sovereign of the order. Nor was his expectation frustrated: for it did not serve only as a vehement spur and incentive to honour and martial virtue, but also a golden bond of unity and internal society ; and for this consider- ation, Camden aptly calls it a badge of unity and concord." The robes and ornaments of the knights were originally all alike, in order to show their equality and brotherhood in chivalry. The great collar of the order was made of equal weight, and contained the same number of links. The garter was blue, from the colour, it is said, of the arms of France, to which F 66 WINDSOR CASTLE. Edward laid claim; and the motto, ** Honi soil qui mal y pense" retorted (in the opinion of some writers) shame and defiance upon him who should think amiss of the just enterprise he had undertaken for the recovery of his right. Everything in that age had its motto and device; and Edward in particular was so fond of them, that his plate, bed, household furni- ture, shield, and even the harness of his horses, were covered with emblems, of which it would now be in vain to attempt to trace the meaning. On a doublet of the king, for instance, was traced the motto, "It is as it is;" but the one wrought upon the surcoat and shield he used at tournaments is more intelligible Hay, hay, the wythe swan, By God's soul, I am the man ! Authors differ as to the exact period of the insti- tution of the Garter ; but the probability seems to be, that some of them confound the project with the accomplishment. Edward probably thought of the new order as a rejoinder to the French king, who had set up an opposition Round Table ; but it was not till he had been flushed with triumph, after the battles of Cressy, Nevil's Cross, and the surrender of Calais, that he perfected the idea. This, according to the best authority, was in the twenty-third year of his reign ; and to make the occasion more solemn, he sent his heralds into Germany, France, Scotland, Hainault, Flanders, and Brabant, to invite to Windsor all Knights and esquires who desired to show their LEGEND OF ST. GEORGE. 67 prowess. The invitation was accepted by a numerous company of gallant men, who came from all quarters to signalize their valour; and Edward's queen was present in person, attended by three hundred of the fairest ladies in Europe, all most gorgeously arrayed. The heavenly patrons, under whose protection the king placed the order, were the Holy Trinity, the blessed Virgin Mary, the most holy St. George, of Cappadocia, and St. Edward the Confessor. In pro- cess of time, however, St. George came to be in a more immediate manner the protector of the Garter; and indeed, according to Selden, he was the spiritual cham- pion of all England. Edward himself gives him the title of patron of this country in one of his patents, and so also does Henry VIII. in the preamble of his statutes. Nay, King Arthur, if we may believe Harding, had the portrait of this saint painted on one of his banners only two hundred years after his mar- tyrdom : but, notwithstanding all, it is necessary to confess that there be heretics who deny that there was any such saint at all ! The following legend of St. George is from the Legenda Aurea : " Saynt George was a knyght, born at Capadose. On a time he came to a province of Lylia, to a cyte whych is said Sylene, and by this cyte was a stayne or ponde lyke a sea, wherin was a dragon, whych envenymed alle the centre, and the peple of the cyte gave to him every day two sheep to fede him, and when sheep fayled, there was taken a man and a F'2 68 WINDSOR CASTLE. sheep. Thenne was an ordanince made in the toune, that there should be taken the chyldren and yung peple of them of the toune by lotte, and it so happed that the lotte fyl upon the Kynge's daughter, whereof the Kynge was sory, and sayd, for the love of Goddes, take golde and silver, and alle that I have, and let me have my daughter; and the peple sayd, how, syr, ye that have made and ordayned the lawe, and our chyldren be now dead, and now ye wold do the con- trarye ; your daughter shall be gy ven, or else we will brenne you and your holdes. When the Kynge saw he might no more doo, he began to weep, and returned to the peple, and demanded eight dayes respite ; and when the eight dayes were passed, thence dyd the Kynge arraye his daughter like as she should be weeded, and ledde her to the place where the dragon was. When she was there, Saynt George passed by, and demanded of the ladye what she made there ; and she sayde, go ye your wayes, fayre young man, that ye perish not also." The legend then relates that the dragon appeared, "and Saynt George, upon his horse, bore himself against the dragon, and smote him with his spere, and threw him to the ground, and delivered the ladye to her fader, who was baptised, and alle his peple." It says, further, "that Saynt George was afterwards be- headed, by order of the Emperor Dacien, in the yeare of our Lord 287. 1 ' And concludes, " This blessed holy martyr, Saynt George, is patrone of this roiaume of Englonde, and the crye of men of warre, in the wor- ST. EDWARD, 69 ship of whom is founded the noble order of the Garter, and also a noble college in the castle of Wyndsor, by Kynges of Englonde, in whych college is the harte of Saynt George, whych Sygysmunde, the Emperor of Almeyne, brought and gave for a great and precious relique to Kynge Harry the Fifth ; and also the sayd Sygysmunde was a broder of the sayd garter; and also here is a heyre of hys hede; whych college is nobly endowed to the honour and worship of Almighty God, and his blessed martyr Saynt George." Du Chesne, the French historian, asserts that it was by the intervention of this saint that Edward gained the battle of Cressy ; and he refers the foundation of St. George's chapel to the monarch's gratitude. As for the other protector of the order, St. Edward, he was frequently invoked by the founder; an instance of which is given by Walsingham. At the siege of Calais, in 1349, when the English were baffled by the enemy, the king, in great anger and grief, drew his sword, and passionately exclaimed, " Ha, St. Edward ! Ha, St. George ! " whereupon his soldiers followed him vehemently, and rushing upon the French, committed great slaughter. The original of the statutes of the order is lost; but sufficient materials exist in a transcript made in the time of Henry V., and in the Black Book of the Garter, to show with sufficient precision the idea of the founder. The first seven statutes relate to the sovereignty of the order, vested in the sovereigns of England, to the 70 WINDSOR CASTLE. qualification of knights, that they shall be gentlemen of blood and without reproach, and to the institution of canons, priests, and poor knights. The eighth and ninth regulate the attendance at festivals. 10th. "That they meet in St. George's Chapel yearly, on the eve of St. George, at the hour of three in the afternoon; and if they come not at the time assigned, without a just excuse, which the sovereign or his deputy allows, their penalty is to be according to the ordinance of the chapter; which is, that they shall not enter into the chapter door for that time, but stay without, and shall have no voice in anything that is done in the said chapter; and if they come not before the beginning of the vespers, they shall not enter into their stalls, but shall tarry below the said stalls in the choristers' places during vespers. The like penalty is ordained for not coming to the mass or morning service betimes, and at vespers on St. George's day ; and whosoever shall absent himself wholly from this solemnity, without sufficient excuse from the sovereign, or his deputy, he is not to enter within his stall the next feast after, but shall stay below, and before his stall, as it is said at vespers, and in the morrow's procession must walk before the three pro- cessional crosses, [now the choristers,] and at mass [service] shall sit below until the offering, and he to offer last. After which he is to come before the sove- reign or his deputy's stall, and ask pardon, which reinstates him in his stall. Absenting himself the next second time upon the feast, without leave, he has STATUTES OF THE GARTER. 71 no stall allowed him, until he hath given and offered a jewel upon St. George's altar, to the value of twenty marks, which is to be double every year until a reconciliation." * * * # 12. "If any knight companion appears publicly without his dignifying garter, upon challenging the same, is to pay half a mark to the custos and college." % -x- *- * 15. " They were to leave their robes at Windsor always, to be ready for them there upon any sudden occasions that might evene." 16. " Journeying near Windsor, in honour of the place, unless lawful cause obstructs, they must take it in their way, and assuming the habit of the order the canons wore, devoutly to meet and conduct them into the chapel ; where, if it happens to be time of divine service, they are to hear the same ; if not, they are to be detained no longer than while the canons shall sing the psalm ' de profundis' for the defunct, and during their own offering. But if any had ridden through the town, without visiting the chapel, and offering there, for every neglect he must walk one mile on foot from the said chapel to show his obedience, and offer a halfpenny in honour of St. George." 17. " Upon first notice of the death of any of the order, the sovereign shall ordain a thousand masses, every foreign prince shall cause eight hundred, a prince of Wales seven hundred, a duke six hundred, an earl three hundred, every baron two hundred, and 72 WINDSOR CASTLE. every knight bachelor one hundred masses, to be cele- brated for the good of the soul departed; which neglected for a quarter of a year after notice of such death, the masses are to be doubled ; upon half a year's neglect, again doubled; and so from time to time in like form till the end of the year, and then the year's to be doubled. 1 ' The rest contain minute directions : and among others, that no knight-companion is to quit the kingdom without licence from the sovereign. Henry V. and Henry VIII. added to those statutes; and the compilation of the latter princes is recorded in the Black Book, a copy of which was appointed to be given to every succeeding knight. From this we may extract the statute explaining the qualification of a knight, that he shall be " without reproach." " And as touchyng or concernyng any manner of reproche, forasmoche as there be divers and many sundry poyntis of reproche, there shall be here declared but three poyutis of them oonly, as it is declared in manner and fourme folowyng. " The first poynt of reproach is, that if any knyght (as God defende) be convaynqued or attaynted of errour against the Christen faith Catholique, or had for any suche offence suffred any payne or punicion publique. " The second poynt of reproche is, that if any knyghte (as God defende) had been array ned, con- victed, or attaynted of high treason. " The third poynt of reproche is, that if any knyght depart or flee away from battayle or tournie, HABITS AND ENSIGNS. 73 beyng with his soverayne lord, his lieutenant or deputie, or other capetayne, having the king's power royal and auctoritie; and whereas banners, estandatz or pennons, have been displaied, and thei preceded to fight, he that then reniously and cowardly flieth or departeth away from them, ought to be esteemed and judged to have reproche, and never worth! to be elected knyght of the said company, (as God forbid,) do commyte any suche reproche ; that then he shall be departed and disgraded of the said order, at the. next chaptier ensuyng, if it soo shall please the sove- rayne and the company." CHAPTER VIII. HABITS AND ENSIGNS OF THE ORDER OF THE GARTER. THE GARTER. THE MANTLE. THE SURCOAT. THE HOOD. THE COLLAR. THE GEORGE. THE LESSER GEORGE. PROCESSION OF THE KNIGHTS ELECT TO WIND- SOR. THE OFFERING. INVESTITURE WITH THE KOBE. GIRDING WITH THE SWORD. THE OATH. INVESTITURE WITH THE OTHER INSIGNIA. GRAND FESTIVAL OF THE ORDER. CEREMONY ^OF THE DEGRADATION OF A KNIGHT-COMPANION. THE habit and ensigns of the order of the garter are in six parts; the four first, viz., the garter, mantle, surcoat, and hood, assigned to the knights 1 companies by the founder; and the two last, the George and collar, by Henry VIII. The materials of the original garter are not known, but those sent to sovereign princes by Philip and Mary, and later sove- 74 WINDSOR CASTLE. reigns, was richly wrought with gold and precious stones. That of Gustavus Adolphus contained four hundred and eleven diamonds, the motto being traced in small diamonds ; such likewise was the case with the garter worn by Charles I., at his execution. This latter, subsequently to the tragedy, was sold to Ireton, lord mayor of London; but after the restoration, recovered by the crown by a process at law. The mantle was originally of woollen cloth ; and probably continued so till the reign of Henry VI., when velvet first appears. The colour was originally blue, but seems to have been changed at the fancy of different sovereigns. The surcoat was a tunic, fastened round the body with a girdle, and reaching a little below the knee. The hood, intended at first to defend the head and shoulders from the weather, was still retained, hang- ing upon the back, after a cap or hat came to be worn. The hood was of the same stuff as the surcoat ; the hat of black velvet, adorned with white feathers. " This custom of wearing caps and feathers," says Ashmole, " at the grand solemnities of the order, had for some time been omitted; and, therefore, in a chapter held the 13th of April, anno 10 Jac. I., this commendable custom was re-established." To these may be added the cross and star. The collar was ordered to contain thirty ounces of gold, troy weight, neither more nor less ; but a slight difference was made in the case of some of the later sovereigns. It is expressly prohibited by the laws of PROCESSION OF THE KNIGHTS. 75 the order that the collar should be ornamented with precious stones. Not so the George, a figure hanging from the middle of the collar, representing Saint George in his conflict with the dragon, which is allowed to be adorned in as costly a manner as the owner chooses. The lesser George was a model of the saint, worn on the breast within the ennobled garter, to distinguish the knights-companions from other gentlemen, who wore gold chains, the ordinary ensigns of knighthood. This George was suspended round the neck by a blue ribbon. We have now to describe, as briefly as may be, from the verbose Ashmole, the ceremonies of installation. The knights elect proceeded from London to their installation at Windsor, in a solemn and stately ca- valcade, which was performed on horseback, with the greatest grandeur, whether we refer to the number of their honourable friends, who, on gallant coursers, rode along with them, or the multitude of their own attendants, well mounted, the magnificence of whose apparel, jewels, gold chains, rich .embroideries, and plumes of feathers, of their lord's colours, dazzled the eyes of the spectators. Corresponding to this pompous show was the feast, which contained in it all manner of stateliness and plenty, as well of provision, as other incidents that might increase its glory, in which the elect knights, who kept it at their own expense, strove not only to outvie their predecessors, but to excel one another; so that all ambassadors and strangers esteemed it one 76 WINDSOR CASTLE. of the goodliest and noblest sights that was to be seen in Christendom. But to make the splendour of the cavalcade no less conspicuous to the city of London, than to the town and castle of Windsor, the knights elect took up their lodgings, sometimes in the Strand, sometimes in Salis- bury Court, in Holborn, or within the city ; and took care to pass through some great thoroughfares, that the people might the better see the show. King James I., observing the excesses the elect knights ran into upon this occasion, and willing to check the growing inconveniences, at the installation of Francis, Earl of Rutland, Sir George Villars, knight (afterwards Duke of Buckingham), and the Viscount Lisle, anno 14 of his reign, forbade livery coats, for saving charge and avoiding emulation; and shortly after, in a chapter at Whitehall, anno 16, with the consent of the knights-companions then assembled, in order to put some restraint upon the number of attendants, he decreed that each of the knights-companions should have fifty persons to attend him to the annual solemnities of the order, and no more. The offering of the knights-commissioners, coming to the castle on the eve of the installation, is founded upon an article of Edward III., which runs to this effect : that if any of the knights-companions, being upon a journey, should accidentally pass by Windsor Castle, he is to turn in thither, in honour of the place, and prepare himself to enter into the chapel CEREMONY OF INVESTITURE. 77 to offer; first putting on his mantle, without which he must never presume to enter; but upon emer- gencies and allowable causes he is to be excused. This offering was made in gold or silver. The ceremonies of receiving an elect knight being over, he disrobes himself of his upper garment, then the surcoat and kirtle is taken from the table, with which he is invested; and, during this ceremony, the following words of admonition, entered at the end of King Henry VIII.'s book of English statutes, are read or spoken. " Take this robe of purple, to the increase of your honour, and in token, or sign, of the most honourable order you have received ; wherewith you being de- fended, may be bold, not only strong to fight, but also to offer yourself to shed your blood for Christ's faith, the liberties of the church, and the just and ne- cessary defence of them that are oppressed and needy." After this, his sword is close girt about him over his surcoat, by the commissioners (or the assistants to the lieutenant, or some of the knights-companions), and sometimes, in the way of assistance, Garter himself does this service; and, as soon as the cere- mony is over, the sovereign, or his lieutenant, proceeds into the choir, leaving the elect knight behind them. The knight elect proceeds from the chapter-house along the north aisle, and enters the west door of the choir in solemn order ; but his place in this pro- cession is changed, for here he is led between two knights-companions. 78 WINDSOR CASTLE. Whilst the oath is administering, the elect knight holds his right hand on the holy evangelists; and when the register has pronounced the words, he immediately responses, " I will, so help me God," and then takes off his hand, reverently kissing the book; and by this ceremony seals his obligation to the statutes of this most noble order. The form of the ancient oath appointed by the statutes of institution, to be taken by a knight-sub- ject, was very short, but comprehensive : " That he should well and faithfully observe, to the utmost of his power, all the statutes of the order ;" till, to- wards the end of King Edward IV.'s reign, it was decreed, That all the knights-companions then alive, and all such as should afterwards be admitted into the order, should be obliged to subjoin the words following : " That they would aid, support, and defend, with all their power, the royal college of St. George, within the castle of Windsor, as well in its possessions, as in all other things whatsoever;" which, being drawn in form, was entered in the black book, but has since received many alterations. As soon as the knight elect has taken the oath, he is led to his appointed stall, and placed before it. In the interim, Garter, advancing into the lower row of stalls, to the place where the elect knight stood when he took the oath, presents from thence the mantle, collar, and book of statutes, to those who led him, who invest the knight elect first with the mantle, by putting it on his shoulders. CEREMONY OF INVESTITURE. 79 While the ceremony of investiture with the mantle is performing, the words of admonition proper thereto are pronounced, as follows : " Take this mantle of heavenly colours, in sign and token of the most honourable order you have re- ceived, and to the increase of your honour, signed and marked, as you see, with a red escutcheon of our Lord's cross, to the intent that you, being always defended by the virtue and strength thereof, may pass through your enemies, and them also over- come and vanquish, so that at the last, for your worthy and approved acts, you may, after this temporal chivalry, come to eternal triumphant joys in heaven." Next, the commissioners, assistants, or knights- companions, lay the hood on the knight's right shoulder, over the mantle, and bringing the tippet athwart his breast, tuck it under the girdle, at which his sword hangs; and, lastly, tie the collar about his shoulder, over his mantle and hood; and at this part of the investiture, the following words of admonition are likewise pronounced : " To the increase of your honour, and in token of the honourable order you have received, take this collar about your neck, with the image of the holy martyr, and Christ's knight, St. George, by whose aid you being defended, may pass through the pros- perities and adversities of this world, that having here the victory, as well of your ghostly as bodily enemies, you may not only receive the glory and 80 WINDSOR CASTLE. renown of temporal chivalry, but also, at the last, the endless and everlasting reward of victory."" As soon as the investiture with the mantle, hood, and collar, is over, those appointed deliver the book of statutes to the newly-invested knight. This book the knight is to keep safe in his own custody, for his instruction in the laws and ceremonies of this most noble order. They likewise give him the black velvet cap adorned with plumes of white feathers. All things relating to the full investiture being ended, there remains only, to complete this great ceremony, the installation itself, which is performed in the manner following. The new invested knight then standing before his stall, and turning towards the high altar, makes humble obeisance that way, and then towards the sovereign, or, if absent, to- wards his stall; which done, the commissioners, knights-assistants, or knights-companions, receive and embrace him with great civility, as their fellow and companion, and set him down in his assigned stall with professions of esteem, and wishes for his honour and happiness. The whole is ended by a grand dinner. The grand festival of the order was appointed by the original statutes, to be held on the 23rd of April, St. George's day : but succeeding sovereigns assumed the privilege of changing the day at their conve- nience. The whole solemnity ought to occupy three days. GRAND FESTIVAL. 81 The ceremonial is commenced by a chapter, held, we shall say, on St. George's eve; and when that is ended, the knights proceed from the chapterhouse to the choir, to hear vespers, where they are joined by the alms-knights, prebends, heralds, &c. The knights afterwards sup together, and when the meal is finished, the sovereign appoints the hour of meeting on the following morning. The proceedings of the second day are commenced by the knights marching in magnificent procession to the chapel, of which the " Windsor Herald " remarks : " In this grand proceeding (procession), the habits entertain the beholders with a very delightful pro- spect, being so ordered that the grave are placed between those that are rich and gallant; and to add to the greater show of this solemn ceremony, the registers of the order make mention of divers persons of rank and quality, who put themselves on the duty of attendance on their sovereign, because related to his service, though, in reference to the order, not so concerned as to be taken into the proceeding; such are divers of the nobility, sometimes great ladies, many considerable officers of the household, and other courtiers, all richly habited and attired. " To complete the pomp of this great solemnity, we may (in the last place) fitly remember the music, as a part thereof, the choirs of the sovereign's chapel at St. James's and at Windsor being united, all singing the sacred hymn together, while the grand procession devoutly passeth ; and on their return to G 82 WINDSOR CASTLE. the choir door, the alms-knights first advance into it, and, after double reverences, ascend above the haut pas to the altar." Then comes the solemn offering in gold and silver, made by the knights, and afterwards the grand feast. When they are seated at table, upon Garter's beginning to cry largess, all the knights-companions, unless kings and great princes, if any be present, stand up uncovered, till he has made an end (which custom, it seems, 7 Car. I., was discontinued for some time). Then Garter proceeds, and proclaims the sovereign's styles and titles of honour, first in Latin, after in French, and lastly in English; he and the officers of arms making a reverence between ; and at the end join together in crying largess thrice, and then all make reverence together. Hereupon, the treasurer of the household puts the sovereign's largess, which is ten pounds in gold, into Garter's hat; and this is afterwards divided among the officers of arms, according to custom. This being finished, all the officers of arms retire about three yards backward, keeping their faces towards the sovereign, and there make a reverence, and so a second, and thence retire out of the hall to dinner. But where any knight-companion happens to be installed at this grand feast, and is present at dinner, then Garter, and the officers of arms, proceed in order (after they have proclaimed the sovereign's style), from the lower end of the hall, till they come DEGRADATION OF A KNIGHT. 83 before the newly-installed knight's place, and there Garter cries largess once, and proclaims his style in English only, and then retires to dinner. The ceremonies of the third day consist merely of a procession as before to the chapel, when the knights again hear divine service. We have now only to add the ceremony of the degradation of a knight-companion. " The ensigns of the order are not to be withdrawn from a knight, during life, unless guilty of some of those marks of reproach, set down in King Henry VIII.'s statutes, viz., heresy, treason, or flying from battle. It has sometimes been found, that pro- digality has been made a fourth point, where a knight has so wasted his estate, as to be incapable of sup- porting his dignity. The pretence for divesting Wil- liam, Lord Paget, 6 Edward VI., was, his not being a gentleman of blood, both by father an4 mother. But felony comes not within the compass of this statute, as not being expressly mentioned among the re- proaches there summed up ; and so it was adjudged in a chapter, 14 Jac. I., in the case of Robert Earl of Somerset, then lately condemned for that fact, whereon his hatchments were not removed. " When a knight-companion is found guilty of the offences mentioned in Bang Henry VIII.'s statutes, he is usually degraded at the next chapter, of which the sovereign gives the knights-companions previous notice ; and then commands Garter to attend such of them as are appointed to go to the convict knight, G 2 84 WINDSOR CASTLE. who, in a solemn manner, first takes from him the George and ribbon, and then his garter. And at the ensuing feast of St. George, or sooner, if the sovereign appoint it, publication of his crimes and degradation is made by Garter. " Next, Garter, by warrant to that purpose, takes down his achievement, on which service he is vested in his coat of arms, and the officers of arms standing about him, the black-rod also present. First Garter reads aloud the instruments of degradation, after which one of the heralds, who is placed ready on a ladder set to* the back of the convict knight's stall, at the words expelled, and put from among the arms, takes his crest, and violently casts it down into the choir, after that his banner and sword; and when the publication is read out, all the officers of arms spurn the achievements out of the choir, into the body of the church, first the sword, then the banner, and last of all the crest, so out of the west door, thence to the bridge, and over into the ditch; and thus it was done at the degradation of Edward, duke of Buckingham, 13 Henry VIII. Their plates are likewise taken down from their stalls, and carried away. " Degradation not being alone thought sufficient, it was debated in chapter 32, Henry VIIL, whether the names of such knights-companions as were con- victed of treason, should remain in the registers, or be razed out: where the sovereign determined, that wheresoever the actions or names of such offenders CHARACTER OF EDWARD III. 85 should be found, these words [vah proditor ! ] should be written in the margin; by which means the register would be preserved fair, and not defaced with razures or blots. " In the close of this section we may observe, that some knights-companions, who have suffered degra- dation, have lived to be restored thereto : being re- elected, and re-invested, and their achievements set up again, by the indulgence of the next reign, as were the lord page's I Mary, and the Marquis of Nor- thampton, 1 Elizabeth, as likewise the Duke of Norfolk, 1 Mary." [We may conclude this account of the reign of Ed- ward III. by observing, that, passionately fond as he was of the pomp and circumstances of war, and ex- orbitant in his ambition, he nevertheless appears to have used every means to introduce a more social and refined spirit into his country, and to have lost no opportunity of advancing his subjects in the dignity of civilized beings. The foundation of the Order of the Garter may be mentioned as an illustration of this remark. The mixture of religious and military ceremony of which it is composed, strange as it ap- pears to us, is in fact the great proof of the wisdom of the founder. By connecting it with the former high source, he curbed the licentiousness of the nobles, and gave a more important character to his new institution ; while, by making it the proudest reward which a sovereign could confer upon a sub- ject, he excited a love of glory among them, and, by 86 WINDSOR CASTLE. reserving to himself the power of conferring an obli- gation, bound them closer to him by the additional tie of interest. The progressive improvements at Windsor were a continued source of interest to Edward during his reign. Indeed he valued himself so much upon being the restorer of this superb palace, that, it is said, he was greatly annoyed when it was reported to him that William of Wykeham took the whole credit to him- self, and caused these well-known words, " Hoc fecit Wykeham," to be cut on one of the walls.* The rebuilding the greater portion of the castle, with other improvements, occupied eighteen years. Of the general appearance of it some idea may be formed from a consideration of the style of archi- tecture which prevailed in the fourteenth century, combined with some historical statements. It is certain that at this period a great change took place in the construction of baronial residences. More elegance was shewn, and less solidity. Towers were grouped of various shapes, and those on each side of the gateway were generally conspicuous by their lofty proportions. The loop-hole gave place to the glazed window, and even to the elegant oriel. This im- proved character of the architecture not only shewed an increased state, but was a proof of a more peaceful condition of society. * He got out of his difficulty by saying that he did not mean to imply that he had made the Castle, but that the Castle had made him what he then was. REBUILDING OF WINDSOR CASTLE. 87 Of the external appearance of Windsor Castle in Edward IIL's reign, no remains have been spared but the Norman gateway, and the old towers on the western walls. Two interesting relics of the interior of the castle are still remaining, the groined vault- ing which forms the basement of the Devil's tower, and that which runs along the north side of the quadrangle under the guard-chamber of St. George's Hall. There is also a most beautiful groined roof under the Bell or Caesar's tower, known to and seen by few. It is much to be regretted, that instead of the pre- sent uniform and gloomy style of architecture which pervades Windsor, consequent on the recent restora- tions, specimens of the various styles of architecture of the different reigns in which alterations had been made, had not been left. Had this been done, it would have added greatly to the interest of the Castle. So little, however, were the ancient relics thought of, that the stone on which Wykeham engraved his motto was destroyed, and an ancient chair, probably of the time of Edward III., and which was in St. George's Hall, was allowed to be removed, and is now said to be at Hatfield ! A useful but a melancholy lesson may be learnt by reflecting on the magnificence of Windsor Castle, as restored by Edward III., with the scenes of splendour and gaiety which took place in it, and contrasting these with the humbling and obscure end of that monarch. When his queen Philippa died, Alice Ferrers, a lady of her household, became the royal 88 WINDSOR CASTLE. mistress. When his distemper became so violent, that no hope of his recovery remained, all his attendants forsook him, as a bankrupt no longer able to requite their services. The ungrateful Alice, waiting till she perceived him in the agonies of death, was so inhu- man as to strip him of his rings and jewels, and leave him without one domestic to close his eyes, and do the last offices to his breathless corpse. In this deplorable condition, bereft of comfort and assistance, the mighty Edward lay expiring, when a priest, not quite so savage as the rest of his domestics, ap- proached his bed, and finding him still breathing, began to administer some comfort to his soul. Edward had not yet lost all perception, when he found himself thus abandoned and forlorn in the last moments of his life. He was just able to express a deep sense of sorrow and contrition for the errors of his conduct, and died pronouncing the name of Jesus ! It is perhaps impossible to have a more striking in- stance of the nothingness of human grandeur, or to find a picture more humiliating and affecting. It was well observed by one who, on returning from a visit to the splendid apartments of the Castle, passed the tomb- house where the remains of so many kings and princes are deposited, that if each visitor, after leaving those gorgeous rooms, was to be conducted there, and intro- duced into the cold and dreary chambers beneath, he would learn a salutary lesson of the vanity of earthly greatness. It should be mentioned, that two interesting relics INTERESTING RELICS. 89 of Edward III. are still to be seen in the Chapter House of St. George's Chapel. One is a full-length picture of that king, in the robes of the order, and holding in his hand a sword, to which are attached the crowns of France and Scotland. The following inscription surrounds the painting : " Edwardus Tertius, invictissimus Anglise Rex, hujus capellse et nobilissimi ordinis Garterii Fun- dator." The second object of interest connected with Edward is the Sword of State which belonged to him, and which measures the enormous length of six feet nine inches.] ED. We cannot better close this chapter than by pre- senting a view of the interior of Saint George's Hall, where the high feast of the order is kept at the present day. CHAPTER IX. ORIGIN OF THE POOR KNIGHTS OF WINDSOR. THEIR DUTY. STATUTES OF THE POOR KNIGHTS. ANNUAL ALLOWANCE. ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL. WE must now devote a few pages to the Poor Knights of Windsor; and, as is meet, follow the authority of the Windsor Herald : " Then, King Edward III., out of the great regard he had to military honour, and those who had bravely behaved themselves in his wars, yet after chanced to fall in decay, made a provision for their relief and comfortable subsistence in old age, for providing for them in this his foundation, and making a coalition in one joint body with the custos and canons; these he called milites pauperes, and we, poor alms-knights. The stated number at first were twenty-four, equal to the custos and canons at the first election. But shortly after, on his instituting the order of the garter, two more were added, (as there was to the first canons,) to make the complete number of the knights-companions of that order, which were twenty- six, as we find stated at the ordination of the col- lege, by the Bishop of Winchester, the pope's delegate. " The intention of the founder was for those that were real objects of charity, as he describes them, viz., poor knights', infirm in body, indigent and decayed, or as the statutes of the garter qualify them, such as through adverse turns of fortune, POOR KNIGHTS OF WINDSOR. 91 were reduced to that extremity that they had not wherewithal to sustain themselves, to live so genteelly as was suitable for a military condition, which, for greater caution, was reiterated in the statutes of King Hen. V., Hen. VIII., and in the orders of Queen Elizabeth, for it was expressed, in case of any estate of 20/. per annum devolved on them, such knights were to be discharged the college, and they were to proceed to a new election. " At the first each knight-companion of the order presented his alms-knight, but ever after their election was to be at the disposal of the sovereign. Their habit was a red mantle, with the escutcheon of St. George, without any garter to surround it. Their exhibition, after their first election, was twelvepence a-piece every day they were at service in the chapel, or resident in the college, besides forty shillings per annum for other contingencies, it being the stated allowance appointed to each of the canons-residents." The duty of these knights was to pray for the sove- reign, and the knights-companions, and to be every day present at high mass, the masses of the Virgin Mary, and at vespers and compline ; in default whereof they were to be mulcted in their twelve-pence. But this allowance, in consequence of certain disputes be- tween them and the ecclesiastics, was withdrawn, in the reign of Edward IV., and how they subsisted till the reign of Henry VIII., is altogether unknown. " In this interval it is observed that several persons of rank and distinction became alms-knights; some 92 WINDSOR CASTLE. of which were rendered great objects of charity, among which number was Sir Robert Champlayne, a valiant knight, an honour to our nation, for his renowned and martial services abroad. He was King Henry YI.'s party in the civil war against Edward IV. Immedi- ately after whose coming to the crown he left Eng- land, and travelled into Hungary, (with an equipage of three servants and four horses,) where, in the assistance of Mathons Corvinius, king of Hungary, against the Turks, he behaved himself very gallantly ; but prosperous fortune not always attending him, he received many wounds, and at length was taken prisoner, lost all, and forced to pay 1500 ducats for his ransom, for the attestation of which he had the great seals of the king of Hungary, the archbishop of Crete, legate de Satere, in Hungary, the emperor of Germany, the king of Sicily, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, and the duke of Burgundy ; and lastly, a declaration thereof under the privy seal of King Edward IV. And being reduced to so low an ebb of fortune, he was, through Henry VII.'s favour, admitted an alms-knight. " But some obtained admittance, probably out of devotion, rather than poverty, as Thomas Hulme clarenceux king of arms, temp. Edward IV., Lodowick Carly, the king's physician, and John Mewtes, secre- tary of the French tongue, both temp. Henry VII., and Bartholomew Westly, made second baron of the exche- quer, 1 Henry VIII." Henry VIII. projected the restoration of the thir- STATUTES OF THE POOR KNIGHTS. 93 teen original knights ; and Queen Elizabeth devised for the government of the charity, the following rules : " Impr. That there be thirteen poor knights, all gentlemen, one whereof to be governor, that have spent their time in the wars, or other service of the realm, having little or nothing to live upon, to be elected by the sovereign and successors. "2. It. The governor and knights must be unmar- ried, yet that the crown may dispense withal; and upon their marrying are to lose their place. " 3. It. None deformed, and convicted of heresy, felony, or any notable crime, is to be admitted of the thirteen, and after admittance, so convicted, to be expelled. " 4. It. Each knight to have yearly, for their live- ries, a red gown of four yards, and a mantle of blue or purple of five yards, at Qs. 8d. per yard. " 5. It. An escutcheon of St. George embroidered without the garter, to be upon the left shoulder of the mantle. "6. It. The charges of the cloth, making, lining, and embroidering to be paid by the dean and chapter, out of the revenue of the foundation. "7. It. That the knights attend morning and afternoon divine service, within the college in their ordinary apparel, without a reasonable let, to be allowed by the governor. " 8. It. That they keep their lodgings appointed, and table in a common hall appointed, and to have their provisions by a common purse, except for a 94 WINDSOR CASTLE. reasonable cause, may be licensed to the contrary by the dean, and that licence not to endure for above twenty days in a year, excepting only for sickness. " 9. It. They are not to haunt the town, nor public houses, nor call any woman into their lodgings, with- out reasonable cause and licence of the dean. "10. It. Twelve of them to be obedient to him appointed to be governor, and all thirteen to the dean and chapter, in the observance of these statutes. "11. It. The thirteen knights to have places in the church, where the deans and canons shall think best, to hear the divine service together. "12. It. To be present at the quarterly service, for the memory of the patrons and founder of the col- lege, and especially of King Henry VIII., and Queen Elizabeth, and have each of them, at that time, twenty pence, and the governor, two shillings. The said service to be the Sundays next before the quarter days, the Annunciation, Saint John Baptist, Michael- mas, and Christmas. "13. It. Any of the twelve knights, disobeying the governor, in any of these statutes, to incur the forfeiture the dean and chapter shall put on him, the governor to report the offence, which if more heinous, the dean and chapter are to give a warning, and register the same, and after a second warning, expul- sion is to follow ; the like punishment to the governor, disobeying the dean and chapter in the observance of these statutes. " 14. It. The penalties of the punished to be em- STATUTES OF THE POOR KNIGHTS. 95 ployed by the dean and chapter at their discretion, upon any of the ministers or choristers of the church. "15. It. Upon the king or queen's coming to or going from Windsor, the thirteen knights are to stand before their doors in their apparel, and do obedience. "16. It. At the keeping of the feast of St. George, they are to stand likewise in their apparel before their doors, at the coming and going out of the lieutenant, and of the other knights-companions. " 17. It. At every feast of St. George, they shall sit in their apparel at one table, and have allowance of meat and drink at the royal charges. "18. It. They are daily in their prayers to pray for the sovereign, and the knights-companions. " 19. It. They are always to lie in their lodging, and upon lying out of them and the college, without licence from the dean, to forfeit twelve pence. " 20. It. If lands or revenues of 2(J/. per annum fall to any of the poor knights, he is to be removed, and another put into his place. "21. It. They are every day (excepting cause of sickness) to be present at divine service in the college, as aforesaid, and receive a daily distribution of twelve pence per day, to be paid them monthly, if it may be, or at least in such sort as the other ministers of the chapel be paid ; and he that shall absent him- self one day, without leave from the dean, shall lose his distribution of twelve pence. "22. It. The governor is to keep a book, and register the absentees, and other defaulters of the 96 WINDSOR CASTLE. statutes, whereof he shall deliver one to the dean, and another to the steward, or him that payeth the poor knights, who, by order of the dean, is to make proper defalcations at the time of paying them. "23. It. The dean once a-year is to appoint a day and hour, at which the poor knights are warned to be present, to hear these statutes read, and any knight absenting himself after that warning, and without licence, is to forfeit six shillings and eight pence. " 24. It. Any elected poor knight before he takes any commodity of his room, shall take a corporal oath before the dean, to be faithful and true to the crown, and that for the time of their tarrying there, to truly observe the statutes and ordinances upon the penalties contained in the said statutes." The twenty-fifth article is a dispensation for those poor knights chosen before those statutes, who were not certainly known gentlemen, yet men well reported for honesty, and meet to be relieved; but with an intent that none hereafter be admitted, unless a gentleman born, agreeable to the first order. The annual allowance of each, upon this new establishment, is eighteen pounds five shillings, to be paid by the dean of Windsor, (but their governor has three pounds six shillings and eight pence more,) besides their gown and mantle mentioned in their statutes. King James I. doubled this pension, and made it payable out of the exchequer quarterly. * * It will surprise many when they are informed that while the in- comes of the clergy of St. George's Chapel has increased to a large THE TOMB-HOUSE. 97 Saint George's chapel, to which these knights may be said to belong, was founded originally by King Henry I., and dedicated to King Edward the Con- fessor. This structure, however, was pulled down by Edward III., and erected anew; and then again by Edward IV., whose erection was at least the nucleus of the elegant edifice of to-day. Near the east end of the chapel was a little fabric of free-stone, raised by Cardinal Wolsey, called the Tomb-house, where he intended to erect a monument for Henry VIII. It was dis- mantled, however, in 1646, by command of the long parlia- ment. Charles I. in- tended to enlarge it as a final resting-place for himself and his suc- cessors; but at that time the unhappy monarch thought he would have died in his own bed ! It was extent, that of the poor knights remains nearly the same as when the foundation took place. To be sure, they are now called military knights by the grace and favour of King William IV., and this is all that has been done for them during a lapse of very many years. Neither are the junior canons and the choristers much better off now than they originally were. The vast increase in the value of the estates belonging to St. George's Chapel, would, it might be thought, have led to an increase of the paltry incomes of the parties referred to. H WOLSEY'S HEAD. 98 WINDSOR CASTLE. ordered otherwise ; and his body with much difficulty found a place in the choir of the chapel, in the same vault with those of Henry VIII. and his last queen. [The history of the Royal Tomb-House, or as it was called, Wolsey's Chapel, is somewhat interesting. It was built by Henry VII. (not by Cardinal Wolsey) as a mausoleum for his own remains, and those of his successors. This plan was, however, abandoned, and the beautiful chapel at Westminster was erected for that purpose. Henry VIII. made a grant of the building to Cardinal Wolsey, who caused a splendid cenotaph to be commenced beneath its roof, the completion of which was prevented by the disgrace of this magnificent prelate. Such was appa- rently the ambition of Wolsey that, not content with perpetuating his memory by the splendid palace of Hampton, and those " twins of learning Oxford and Ipswich, 1 ' he seems to have thought nothing gained unless his grave should be the resting place of kings, while his monument would rise in gorgeous magnifi- cence amidst the royal, though more modest memo- rials, at his feet. This sumptuous mausoleum is described as having consisted of white and black marble, eight large brazen columns being placed round it, and nearer the tomb, four others in the i shape of candlesticks ; and Lord Bacon, in his Life of Henry VIII., observes, that it far exceeded that of Henry VII. at Westminster. According to this historian, the tomb, at the dis- grace of Wolsey, was so far advanced, that Beneditto, HISTORY OF ROYAL TOMB-HOUSE. 99 a statuary at Florence, had already received 4250 ducats for his labours, between the years 1524 and 1529, besides the sum of 380/. 18s. having been paid for gilding only a part of it. In 1646, the whole of the ornaments were seized upon by the parliamentary forces, and converted into money. Dr. Sanderson, in his Life of Charles I., observes that, " the curious, costly, elaborate tomb, erected at the immense charge of Cardinal Wolsey, was sold by order of parliament, under the description of defaced brass, for 600/., and the money given to Colonel Venn, who was then gover- nor of Windsor Castle." The sarcophagus, however, of black marble, under which the cardinal intended to slumber, was preserved ; and after lying neglected for many years, was at length appropriated as a covering for Nelson's tomb in St. Paul's cathedral; so that one of England's greatest heroes now rests under the iden- tical slab intended for England's proudest churchman. This interesting story of Wolsey's chapel, connects Windsor, as has been well observed,"" with his pros- perity and his fall his pride and humiliation. As we stand and look upon the hoary edifice, visions of the past flit before us, and we seem to see the Car- dinal in gold and velvet, seated on his mule, richly caparisoned, slowly riding up to the castle from the new gateway of his master, followed by a long train of attendants, and pausing to look at his own chapel, and to inspect the works; dreaming, no doubt, that the sun of his glory would never set, and that the * Stoton's " Windsor in the Olden Time." H 2 100 WINDSOR CASTLE. splendours of his life would linger round his tomb : but then the scene changes, and we see him at Leicester broken down with misfortune, illness, and despair. How great is the contrast, and how well has it been described ! " Lodged in the abbey, where the reverend abbot With all his convent, honourably received him, To whom he gave these words : ' O father abbot, An old man, broken with the storms of state, Is come to lay his weary bones among ye ; Give him a little earth, for charity.' " By order of James II. the chapel, which was then a mere shell, was splendidly fitted up for the per- formance of Divine worship, according to the Roman Catholic Church; and the genius of Verrio was employed in adorning its walls and ceiling. In a popular commotion, caused by the King's openly receiving the Pope's nuncio, these paintings were much injured by the rabble, and the building itself was considerably defaced by their intemperate zeal, It remained in this state of desolation till the reign of George III., when the exterior was repaired, and a vault made under it for the reception of himself and family. This vault now contains the remains of George III. and his queen, the princess Amelia, the princess Charlotte, the duke of Kent, the duke of York, George IV., William IV., the princess Augusta, and the bodies of the princes Octavius and Alfred, who died in their infancy, and which were removed thither from Westminster Abbey. A subterraneous passage leads from St. George's Chapel to this vault.] ED. CHAPTER X. FRENCH FASHIONS. THE CAPTIVES OF WINDSOR. RICHARD II. ANNE OF BOHEMIA. TOURNAMENT. IMPORTANCE ATTACHED TO THE ORDER OF THE GARTER. FAMOUS APPEAL OF HIGH TREASON. THE CITIZENS OF LONDON. HENRY IV. PLOT AGAINST THE USURPER'S LIFE. GROTESQUE FASHIONS OF THE AGE. THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. THE conquests of Edward III. were the means of introducing the French fashions into England. In. the Persone's Tale of Chaucer some curious details are given ; but the satirist appears to find fault alike with the scantiness and fulness fashionable at the time. The latter he considers as so much good cloth robbed from the poor, while he is shocked by the 102 WINDSOR CASTLE. indecency of the former disclosing to him, as it were, " the hinder part of a sheap, in the ful of the mone." The party-coloured style is also an abomina- tion; the stocking white and red, or black and blue, giving the idea of the poor beau being afflicted with some terrible disease. Nor does he omit to mention the fondness of the citizenesses for interlarding their discourse with French phrases a sin we know nothing of in our sensible era seeming to hint that the French of Paris and that of London were very different languages ! " And French she spoke full feteously, After the scale of Stratford at Bowe : The French of Paris was to her unknowe." It was at that time a mark of politeness, as it is now, to speak French with purity. It had been the language of the court, and the public deeds, ever since the time of Edward the Confessor, who was educated in Normandy; and it continued to be the language of the tribunals till 1367, when Edward III. permitted the trials to take place in English. Sir Valeran de Luxembourg, Count de St. Pol, was made prisoner in a battle between Andres and Calais, and was purchased in the fashion of the time by King Edward, from the lord de Gomegines, who had set on foot the expedition. The king shut up his bargain in Windsor Castle, and on several occasions wished to exchange him for the Captal de Buch, then a prisoner in France. His overtures, however, were disregarded ; and the young count was fain to amuse CAPTIVES OF WINDSOR. 103 himself, during his captivity, with hawking and making love. It happened that the mother of King Bichard resided at that time at Windsor; and her daughter, the beautiful Maude Holland, had frequent opportunities of meeting the gallant Frenchman. In those days, unless under peculiar circumstances, a noble prisoner was treated like a guest : and, in the present case, it was no impediment to the course of true love that the gentleman was a captive. To make a long story short, Maude confessed to her mother that she could not help loving the count, and that she herself had taken captivity captive. So a treaty of marriage was entered into between them, and the union afterwards completed, the king gene- rously remitting one half of the count's ransom. In 1357, the Black Prince brought captive to Windsor John, king of France, his son Philip, and many of the French nobility, who had fallen into his hands the preceding year, at the battle of Poictiers. So immense was the cavalcade in passing through London, that it lasted from three o'clock in the morning till noon. The citizens hung their balconies with rich tapestry, and displayed at the windows all their wealth in plate, and more especially armour, including a multitude of " bows, arrows, shields, hel- mets, corslets, breast and back pieces, coats of mail, gauntlets, vambraces, swords, spears, battle axes, harness for horses, and other armour, offensive and defensive, such as had never been displayed before." The next year, at the festival of St. George, 104 WINDSOR CASTLE. Edward gave a fete at Windsor, in honour of his royal prisoners, which exceeded in splendour every other display of the kind during his reign. Among other strangers of distinction, the queen of Scotland visited our castle on this occasion, arrayed in her richest robes. The king also sought to amuse his captives with the chace in Windsor forest ; but King John would not be comforted, replying to the exhor- tations of his entertainers from Scripture " How shall we sing a song in a strange land?" He was at length permitted to return to France, undertaking to pay a large ransom, and in the meantime leaving hostages. The money, however, was not forthcoming; some of his hostages escaped ; and John, in the true spirit of knighthood, returned to captivity. But this chivalrous feeling was not confined to princes. During the reigns of David and Edward, it was customary for the prisoners taken by the English and Scottish armies to be liberated, on their merely promising either to pay ransom, or to surrender themselves again if summoned. In 1369, Queen Philippa died at Windsor. Richard II. frequently kept his court at this palace ; and it was here that de la Pole, his lord high chan- cellor, was imprisoned, till he had restored the sums he was convicted of embezzling. The king was, at first, highly incensed at the interference of parliament with his favourite, and declared that he would not, at their desire, remove the meanest scullion from his kitchen. KING JOHN OF FRANCE. 105 Anne of Bohemia or rather her father for her was courted by King Richard a whole year before he obtained her for his bride. The affair was at length arranged, and the young lady set out for the court of her future husband, escorted by a hundred spears. The Normans, however, lay in wait for her in the channel, and her journey, which lasted more than a month, was performed in the midst of adventures and misgivings. She at length arrived in safety; the marriage took place in the chapel of the palace at Westminster; and afterwards the "happy pair" re- moved to Windsor, where the chronicles say they kept " an open and noble house." In 1390, an occurrence took place which shows the importance attached to the order of the Garter, inas- much as the installation of a foreign knight had very nearly occasioned a war between France^ and England. News of the festivities and rejoicings with which Queen Isabella had been greeted on her arrival in Paris, exited the emulation of the English court ; and, after some debating, a grand tournament was ap- pointed to be held by sixty knights, on the Sunday and Monday following Michaelmas day. Accom- panied by sixty noble ladies, all gorgeously dressed, the knights paraded through the streets of London, down Cheapside to Smithfield. There did they wait during Sunday which was called the feast of all challengers the arrival of any foreign knight who might be desirous of tilting. The following day they were prepared to tilt courteously with blunted lances 106 WINDSOR CASTLE. against all comers. The prize for the successful knight among the opponents being a rich crown of gold; that for the tenants of the lists a massive golden clasp, to be presented according to the judg- ment of the ladies, and from their fair hands, the queen and all her court being present. Among the most distinguished nobles, the young and gallant Count d'Ostrevant came over from Hainault, desirous of being acquainted with Kichard II., to whom, by the mother's side, he was cousin. His visit, however, was against the wishes of his father, the Count Waleran de St. Pol, whose anger was afterwards much increased, on learning that his son had been invested with the order of the Garter. The young count was the hero of the tournament, the prize being adjudged to him by the ladies, lords and heralds. We learn, that, " On Saturday the king and his court left London for Windsor, whither the Count d'Ostrevant, the Count de St. Pol, and the foreign knights who had been present at the feasts, were invited. All accepted the invitation, and went to Windsor. " The entertainments were very magnificent in the dinners and suppers King Richard made, for he thought he could not pay honour enough to his cousin, the Count d'Ostrevant. He was solicited by the king and his uncles to be one of the companions of the order of the blue Garter, as the chapel of St. George, the patron, was at Windsor. In answer to their request, he said he would consider of it, and in- TOURNAMENT. 1 07 stantly consulted the lord de Gomegines, and the bas- tard Fierbras de Vertain, who were far from discou- raging him to accept the order. He returned to the king, and was admitted a knight-companion of the Garter, to the great surprise of the French knights then present. They murmured together, and said, * This Count d'Ostrevant plainly shows that his heart is more inclined to England than France, when he thus accepts the order of the Garter, which is the device of the kings of England. He is purchasing the ill will of the court of France, and of my lord of Burgundy, whose daughter he has married; and a time may come for him to repent of it. 1 " Rumour, which magnifies everything, carried to the king of France, his brother, and uncles, every particular that had passed at this feast in England. Those who had been there confirmed it : nothing was forgotten, but rather additions made, with the intent of doing mischief in preference to good. They told that William of Hainault, who called himself Count d'Ostrevant, had taken great pains to honour this feast; that he had had the prize given him at the tournament in preference to many other foreign knights, and that he was loud in the praise of the English, and was become the liege man to the king of England, by taking the oaths, and accepting the order of the blue Garter in the chapel of St. George, at Windsor which order had been established by King Edward, and his son, the prince of Wales ; that no one could be admitted a knight-companion of that 108 WINDSOR CASTLE. order, without making oath never to bear arms against the crown of England, and this oath the Count d'Ostrevant had taken, without the smallest reservation." In 1398, on a scaffold erected within the castle, the famous appeal for high treason was preferred before the king, by Henry of Lancaster, duke of Hereford, against Thomas Mowbray, duke of Nor- folk; and it was determined that the affair should be settled by single combat, according to the rules of chivalry. Shakspeare, in his tragedy of " King Richard II.," lays the scene of this appeal in the palace at London, but in other respects keeps close to historical autho- rity, and indeed takes whole passages almost verbatim from Holinshed. The speeches of the two rivals, according to a custom of chivalry not very consonant to the spirit of the institution, are full of boasts and bullyings. Bolingbroke begins by calling his rival a traitor and a miscreant, and Norfolk is not behind- hand in abuse. " Setting aside his high blood's royalty, And let him be no kinsman to my liege, I do defy him, and I spit at him ; Call him a slanderous coward, and a villain, Which to maintain I would allow him odds, And meet him, were I tied to run a-foot, Even to the frozen ridges of the Alps, Or any other ground inhabitable, Wherever Englishman durst set his foot. Bolingbroke. Pale trembling coward, there I throw my gage, Disclaiming here the kindred of a king ; APPEAL OF HIGH TREASON. 109 And lay aside my high blood's royalty, Which fear, not reverence, makes thee to except. If guilty dread hath left thee so much strength, As to take up mine honour's power, then stoop." The gage was a glove, an important article in warlike and legal forms, and which was not assumed by the ladies as a part of their dress, till after the Reformation. Challenging by the glove was con- tinued down to the reign of Elizabeth. The field chosen for the combat by Richard II., was a place near Coventry, and thither the king arid his court repaired on the 29th of April. The challenger first presented himself at the lists, mounted on a white horse, with his sword drawn, and on being inter- rogated by the marshal of the field, replied, " I am Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, come hither against Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, a false traitor to God, to the king, the realm, and myself." He was then permitted to enter, first sheathing his sword, pulling down his beaver, and crossing himself on the forehead. He seated himself in a chair of green velvet, and speedily the king made his appear- ance on the field, attended by his peers, and ten thousand men-at-arms. Having seated himself in a chair of state, proclamation was made of the cause of the meeting; and the Duke of Norfolk immediately presented himself, mounted on a barbed horse, with a coat of arms of crimson velvet, embroidered with lions and mulberry trees of silver, and having taken his oath, was permitted to enter the lists, 110 WINDSOR CASTLE. exclaiming, " God defend the right ! " The lances being measured by the marshal, one was delivered to each; and, after a proclamation made by a herald to prepare for battle, the trumpets sounded, and the two combatants rushed to the charge. At this mo- ment, however, the king threw down his warder, the heralds interposed, and instead of being afforded an opportunity of shedding each other's blood, they were both sentenced to be banished. The whole scene is arranged by Shakspeare, in strict conformity with the customs of the duel. " Bolingbroke. Your will be done ! this must my comfort be, The sun that warms you here, shall shine on me ; And these his golden beams to you here lent, Shall point on me, and gild my banishment." About this period, the citizens of London had been so contumacious as to refuse a loan to the king of ten thousand pounds ; and Richard, waiting till a visit in the city had given him some pretext, sum- moned the lord-mayor, sheriffs, aldermen, and twenty- four of the principal citizens to appear before him at Windsor Castle. The Londoners lost their courage in the king's presence, and instead of defending themselves from the charges that were made against them, began to accuse one another; whereupon Richard, without ceremony, ordered them all into custody, assigning the lord-mayor the honour of Windsor for a prison. When the usurper, Henry IV., held his state at Windsor, intelligence reached him of a plot against THE CITIZENS OF LONDON. Ill his life, which was discovered by the intended assas- sin's own parents. The conspiracy was planned by the abbot of Westminster, and the murder was to have been perpetrated by the Duke of Aumerle. He, however, while visiting his father, the Duke of York, was observed one day at dinner to have a paper apparently intended to be concealed in his bosom; and on being questioned, exhibited so much confusion, that his father snatched it from him sud- denly, and from its contents became acquainted with the plot. Upon this, the Duke of Aumerle imme- diately set off for Windsor, and had just obtained a pardon from the king, purchased by his disclosure of the whole conspiracy, when the Duke of York arrived for the purpose of denouncing his own son as well as the rest. The conspirators suspecting that their scheme was discovered, threw off the mask, and as- sembling their armed followers, approached Windsor, but not till the king had retired for greater security, to the Tower of London. After numerous vicis- situdes and hair-breadth escapes, this unfortunate band were separated, some fell fighting with des- perate courage, and these were afterwards beheaded, and thus furnished trophies to be sent to London ; a few found a temporary safety in flight, but we learn that of all who were impeached, the bishop of Carlisle was alone pardoned. The remainder were condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered, and their heads exposed on London Bridge. Shortly before the final overthrow of the weak 112 WINDSOR CASTLE. and unfortunate Kichard II., a tournament was held at Windsor, with all the customary pomp and splen- dour. But the nobles were already accustomed to treat the unpopular monarch with small show of courtesy, and the pageant was but thinly attended. Here, too, at the Castle of Windsor, Richard left his queen and her retinue, on his departure for Ire- land; from whence he returned to a prison, and a bloody grave. In this reign, the dress of the nobility was ex- ceedingly sumptuous. The prelates, more especially, indulged in the most ostentatious luxury ; and among the laity, one individual is mentioned Sir John Arundel who had fifty-two new suits of cloth of gold tissue. In that of Henry IV., the beaux wore the points of their shoes of such a length that they were obliged to fasten them to their knees with chains. Later, these chains were made of gold and silver, and the tops of the shoes were carved like a church window. But, as if in order to balance this ex- travagance, alchemy appears in the same reign to have fallen into disrepute; at least the king issued an edict against it, containing this sentence: "None from henceforth shall use to multiply gold or silver, or use the craft of multiplication; and if any the same do, he shall incur the penalty of felony." This was repealed, however, by Henry VI., in a record which shows not only his full belief in the supposed art, but his confident expectation of arriving at the FASHIONS OF THE AGE. 113 secret. He tells his subjects, that the happy hour is drawing nigh, and that, as soon as he shall be master of the STONE, he will pay all the debts of the nation in real gold and silver. The study of alchemy is so much interwoven with English history, that we may not be thought to wander very far from the matter before us, if we cite the opinion of Gibbon, in order to contrast it with a curious passage, on the same subject, in Mr. D'Israeli's " Curiosities of Literature." " The ancient books of alchemy," says the his- torian, " so liberally ascribed to Pythagoras, to Solomon, or to Hermes, were the pious frauds of more recent adepts. The Greeks were inattentive either to the use or the abuse of chemistry. In that immense register where Pliny has depicted the discoveries, the arts, and the errors of mankind, there is not the least mention of the transmutation of metals; and the persecution of Diocletian, is the first authentic event in the history of alchemy. The conquest of Egypt by the Arabs diffused that vain science over the globe. Congenial to the avarice of the human heart, it was studied in China, as in Europe, with equal eagerness, and equal success. The darkness of the middle ages ensured a favour- able reception to every tale of wonder; and the revival of learning gave new vigour to hope, and suggested more specious arts to deception. Philo- sophy, with the aid of experience, has at length banished the study of alchemy; and the present 114 WINDSOR CASTLE. age, however desirous of riches, is content to earn them by the humble means of commerce and in- dustry." " Modern chemistry," says Mr. D'Israeli, " is not without a hope, not to say a certainty, of verifying the golden visions of the alchemists. Dr. Girtanner of Gottingen, not long ago, adventured the following prophecy : ' In the nineteenth century the transmu- tation of metals will be generally known and prac- tised. Every chemist and every artist will make gold; kitchen utensils will be of silver, and even gold, which will contribute more than anything else to prolong life, poisoned at present by the oxides of copper, lead, and iron, which we swallow with our food.' Phil. Mag. Vol. vi. p. 383. This sublime chemist, though he does not venture to predict that universal elixir which is to prolong life at pleasure, yet approximates to it. A chemical friend writes to me, that ' the metals seem to be composite bodies, which nature is perpetually preparing; and it may be reserved for the future researches of science to trace, and perhaps to imitate, some of these curious operations.' Sir Humphrey Davy told me that he did not consider this undiscovered art an impossible thing, but which, should it be discovered, would certainly be useless." We would ourselves add, with all due deference to the wisdom of the age, that this " undiscovered art," supposing it to be possible of attainment, is far from being an object unworthy of ambition. If PHILOSOPHER'S STONE. 115 gold, indeed, as we have observed elsewhere, were to become as plentiful as iron, the only effect would be, that, in commerce, men would be forced to adopt some rarer substance as the conventional represen- tation of property : gold would then sink to its intrinsic value, which is much lower than that of iron. But it is not to be supposed that such a secret would all on a sudden be diffused over the world. The discoverer, and his heirs, perhaps to a remote generation, would be the first to profit by it they would realize the dream of the alchemists, and actually possess unlimited wealth! The ob- jections to this supposed art did not escape the Searchers of the middle ages, although they did not deign a reply. Secrecy was their grand object; and they would hardly have rejoiced at making a step even in advance, had it not been shrouded in a mystery impenetrable to other men. It was only the more common manipulations used in their expe- riments which were entrusted to the pen; the more important, as we gather from Cornelius Agrippa, being never committed to paper, " sed spirittt spiritui paucis sacrisque verbis infunduntur" i2 116 WINDSOR CASTLE. CHAPTER XL JAMES I. OF SCOTLAND A CAPTIVE AT WINDSOR. HEROIC FIDELITY. HENRY V. THE VERITABLE HEART OF ST. GEORGE. CHARTISM OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. EDWARD IV., OR THE ROYAL RAKE. THE TWO KINGS. RICHARD III. HENRY VII. ROYAL CASTAWAYS AT WINDSOR. IN the year 1405, Windsor Castle received as a prisoner a youth of thirteen, who was doomed to re- main in bondage for nearly twenty years. He was afterwards famous in history under the name of James I. of Scotland; and, in all probability, this long imprisonment, however distasteful to himself, was highly beneficial to his country. The English monarch deserves great credit for the pains that were taken with the young prisoner's education. He more than fulfilled his promise, sarcastically made, to in- struct him in French. James was on his way to France for education ; but Henry, remarking that he himself understood French, and was much nearer at hand, ordered him to be carried to Windsor. It may be observed, however, that instruction was not given gratuitously ; for, on his release, the sum of 40,000/. was charged for his ransom and maintenance. In the solitudes of Windsor, James became the " admirable Crichton" of princes. He excelled not JAMES I. OF SCOTLAND. 117 only in athletic exercises, and the use of the sword and spear, in the feats of tilts and tournaments, and in wrestling, archery, and the sports of the field ; but also in grammar, oratory, music, jurisprudence, and philosophy, if we may believe Boethius, he was pre- eminent. "He was well learnet to ficht with the sword," says he, (in the translation of Bellenden,) " to just, to turney, to worsyl, to sing and dance, was an expert musicinar, richt crafty in playing baith of lute and harp, and sindry other instruments of musik." In addition to these accomplishments, he was a poet of no mean pretensions : " Amid the bards whom Scotia holds to fame, She boasts, nor vainly boasts, her James's name ; And less, sweet bard, a crown thy glory shows, Than the fair laurels that adorn thy brows." But James was not so completely taken up with warlike sports, and the worship of the muse, as to have no time left for something of still more importance. The young captive fell in love; and at that moment, we dare swear, the sense of every other sort of capti- vity departed. His world was thenceforward divided into "where she was and where she was not;" and even the divisions of time depended upon her absence or presence :? " To see her part, and follow I nae might, Methought the day was turned into nyte." The lady of his love was Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Duke of Somerset, and grand-daughter of John of Gaunt, " time-honoured Lancaster." The " Queen's 118 WINDSOR CASTLE. Quair" was written in her honour, and sets forth her praise, his love, and its happy issue, in the allegorical manner then in fashion. Mr. Tytler describes it as a very remarkable work, in its invention, fancy, powers of description, and simplicity of sentiment ; while Mr. Ellis adds, that it is not inferior, in poetical merit, to any similar production of Chaucer. " It was the misfortune of James," says Dr. Robert- son, " that his maxims and manners were too refined for the age in which he lived. Happy, had he reigned in a kingdom more civilized! His love of peace, of justice, and of elegance, would have rendered his schemes successful ; and, instead of perishing because he had attempted too much, a grateful people would have applauded and seconded his efforts to reform and improve them." He married his mistress, was restored to his kingdom, and passed some busy years in endeavouring to civilize his country. One evening he was sitting at supper with his beloved, and still beautiful Joan, (for he was then only in his forty- fourth year,) when the steps of murderers were heard without. On this occasion was exhibited an instance of heroic fidelity, which has been often mentioned. Catherine Douglas, a fair and high-born maid-of- honour attending upon the queen, flew to fasten the door ; she found that the bolt was gone, and the noble girl thrust her own delicate arm into the staple. So tender an obstacle could gain but a minute. The arm was crushed to pieces ; the murderers rushed in ; and James fell by their swords in the meridian of his age, HEROIC FIDELITY. 119 although poor Joan had roused her like a lioness to defend her love, and was wounded in the vain attempt. Many of our readers will remember that Sir Walter Scott, slightly altering this anecdote of Catherine Douglas, and engrafting it on the character of an attendant of Mary Queen of Scots, has enriched with it a chapter of one of his matchless romances. [The early affection and the mournful fate of this ornament of the Scottish throne, the unfortunate James, have shed a soft but melancholy hue around the tower of Windsor; and often as the beautiful composition of Washington Irving is read, that rain- bow hue of love and sadness will shine on the reader's soul. He has a fine passage on the subject : " There is a charm about the spot that has been printed by the footsteps of departed beauty, and con- secrated by the inspirations of the poet, which is heightened rather than impaired by the lapse of ages. It is, indeed, the gift of poetry to hallow every place in which it moves ; to breathe round nature an odour more exquisite than the perfume of the rose; and to shed over it a tint more magical than the blush of the morning." A few years ago we might have visited the round tower; paced the deserted chamber; leant on the window where James looked out ; gazed on the suit of armour hanging up in the hall, and reflected on days gone by : but, alas ! the walls have been dismantled ; the floors pulled up and swept away, and no compen- sation left for the loss of that shell of antique beauty 120 WINDSOR CASTLE. which once hallowed the place, and added to the romantic charms with which poetry had hallowed the spot.] Henry V. continued his father's attentions to the prince when he was at Windsor ; but, excepting per- sonal bravery and the love of music, there was pro- bably little in common between them. Henry was not frequently at Windsor, and his name, therefore, may be briefly mentioned in connection with our castle. In 1416, however, the reception there of Sigismund, Emperor of Germany, forms an event that must not be altogether overlooked. This prince had promised to bring with him the veritable heart of St. George, as a present to the chapel ; and it may be imagined that a more than ordinary sensation was excited by the imperial visit. The heart, however, it appears, was forgotten after all; but Sigismund, not- withstanding, was received with great magnificence, and was installed a Knight of the Garter in the chapel of St. George. In 1422, Henry, while before the walls of Meaux, received intelligence that a son had been born to him at Windsor. The child was named after his father, and lived to become a burthen to himself and a dis- grace to the English throne. Henry seemed to con- sider his birthplace as an evil omen ; for, turning to his chamberlain, Fitz Hugh, as the news was brought to him, he is reported to have used these remarkable words "I, Henry, born at Monmouth, shall small time reign, and much get; and Henry, born at HEART OF ST. GEORGE. 121 Windsor, shall long reign, and all lose: but as God will, so be it." The reign of Henry VI. was distinguished, among other calamities, by the insurrection of John Cade the chartism of the fifteenth century. The difference between the intelligence of the masses then and now cannot escape notice; but, at the same time, a very curious relation seems to exist between the ideas of the followers of Cade, and those of the more ignorant part of our physical force men of the present day. Shakspeare has drawn the former to the life. " Geo. I tell thee, Jack Cade the clothier means to dress the commonwealth, and turn it, and set a new nap upon it. John. So he had need, for 'tis threadbare. Well, I say, it was never merry world in England since gentlemen came up. Geo. miserable age ! Virtue is not regarded in handicrafts' men. John. The nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons. Geo. Nay, more; the kings are no good work- men. John. Tr,ue, and yet it was said, Labour in thy vocation : which is as much as to say, let the magis- trates be labouring men; therefore should we be magistrates. Geo. Thou hast hit it : for there is no better sign of a brave mind than a hard hand." And again : 122 WINDSOR CASTLE. " Cade. We, John Cade, so termed of our supposed father, Dick. Or rather, of stealing a cade of herrings. [aside. Cade. Therefore I am of honourable house. Dick. Ay, by my faith, the field is honourable; and there he was born, under a hedge; for his father had never a house but the cage. [aside. Cade. I am able to endure much. Smith. No question of that; for I have seen him whipt three market days together. [aside. Cade. I fear neither sword nor fire. Dick. He need not fear the sword, for his coat is of proof. [aside. Smith. But methinks he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i'the hand for stealing of sheep. [aside. Cade. Be brave, then; for your captain is brave, and vows reformation. There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny ; the three hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony to drink small beer ; all the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass/' Edward IV. resided frequently at Windsor. In 1482, he received there the Lord Mayor and Alder- men of London. They hunted with the king in Windsor Forest; and, at their departure, he charged them with a large present of venison for the principal citizens a fact which may be considered to imply the JACK CADE. 123 existence at that time of a taste which remains in full force to this day. Philip de Comines, the contempo- rary of the king, gives a very naif account of his character : " What greatly contributed," says he, " to his entering London, as soon as he appeared at its gates, was, the great debts this prince had con- tracted, which made his creditors gladly assist him ; and the high favour in which he was held by the bourgeoises, into whose good graces he had frequently glided, and who gained over to him their husbands, who, for the tranquillity of their lives, were glad to depose or raise monarchs. Many ladies and rich citizens' wives, of whom formerly he had great pri- vacies and familiar acquaintance, gained over to him their husbands and relations. " He had been, during the last twelve years, more accustomed to his pleasure and ease than any other prince of his time. He had nothing in his thoughts but les dames, and at the same time gave splendid entertainments; so that it is not surprising that his person was as jolly as any I ever saw. He was then young, and as handsome as any man of his age ; but he has since become enormously fat." One would hardly think that the question here was of one of the most cruel and heartless villains on record ! Edward was at Windsor when the tale was brought to him of some hasty expressions used by his brother, the Duke of Clarence, on the execution of one of his friends for an offence of the most trifling nature. The king immediately determined on the 124 WINDSOR CASTLE. destruction of his brother, or else made this circum- stance a pretext for carrying into execution a pre- viously meditated murder. The duke was arraigned before the House of Peers ; and, Edward appearing in person against him, he was of course condemned. Being offered his choice of the manner in which he was to die, he fixed upon a true toper's death, and was drowned in a butt of malmsey in the Tower. And yet hear how pleasantly honest Philip dis- courses of an interview between the monster Edward and his own sovereign the King of France not thinking that the ghost of Clarence was all the while standing by, and breathing forth these words as cold as ice, in the midst of the interlocution " Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow Despair and die ! " " When the ceremony of the oath was concluded, our king, who was desirous of being friendly, began to say to the King of England, in a laughing way, that he must come to Paris, and be jovial amongst our ladies ; and that he would give him the Cardinal de Bourbon for his confessor, who was very willing to absolve him of any sin perchance he might commit. The King of England seemed very well pleased at the invitation, and laughed heartily; for he knew that the said cardinal was unfort bon compagnon. " When the king was returning, he spoke on the road to me ; and said that he did not like to find the King of England so much inclined to come to Paris. ' He is/ said he, ' a very handsome king; he likes the THE TWO KINGS. 125 women too much. He may probably find one at Paris that may make him like to come too often, or stay too long. His predecessors have already been too much at Paris and in Normandy ; ' and that ' his company was not agreeable this side of the sea ; but that, beyond the sea, he wished to be bon fr&re et amy? "* Richard III. made only one visit to Windsor during his possession of the crown; but on that occasion he held a solemn feast of St. George, and installed seven companions of the Garter. In the second year of his reign, he caused the body of Henry VI. to be removed from Chertsey to Windsor, and there solemnly interred. Elizabeth, wife to Edward IV., was also buried here. Henry VII. frequently held his Court at Wind- sor, and took a considerable part in improving the castle, and carrying on the construction of St. George's Chapel. In the third year of his reign, he held his Easter there with great pomp, and on the Sunday after kept the feast of St. George, his mother and the queen attending the ceremony, dressed in the military robes of the Garter. On the Sunday after, * In the year 1789, the coffin of Edward was discovered by some workmen. It was of lead, seven feet long, and was much compressed in some parts, and a little decayed. On opening it, the entire skeleton was found, measuring six feet three inches and a half in length. Some brown hair was also found lying near the skull and neck. The coffin contained a liquid, which at the feet was three inches deep, and which Dr. Lind, who examined it, pronounced to be the result of the decomposition of the body. See Gough's "Monumental Antiquities." ED. 126 WINDSOR CASTLE. a chapter was held for the installation of the Earl of Shrewsbury, on which occasion a more than usually splendid entertain- ment was given in St. George's Hall. "Also this year," says Holinshed (1495) " at the charges of Master John Tate, Alderman of London, was the church of St. Anthony founded, and annexed unto the college of Wind- sor, wherein was erected one notable and free school to the furtherance of learning, and a number of poor people (by the name of alms- men, which were poor, aged, and decayed house- holders) relieved, to the great commendation of that worthy man, who so lived in worship, that his death by his worthy doings maketh him still alive; for he was not forgetful to beautify the good state of this city, in which, by wealth, he had tasted of God's blessings." In 1506, Philip, King of Castile, and his queen, having been cast upon the English shore by a violent storm, were invited to Windsor, and feasted with great magnificence. " All things," says the chronicler, " were sweetly, gracefully, royally done." HENRY VII . ROYAL CASTAWAYS AT WINDSOR. 127 Henry led his guest in person from apartment to apartment, till, on arriving at a bed-room more gorgeous than the rest, the Spaniard conjured him to stop, as he found himself unworthy of such magnifi- cence. Banquets, balls, and the chase, were the order of the day for several weeks ; and among the other princely ceremonies, not the least was the installation of the stranger as a Knight of the Garter. [It was during his visit at Windsor, that the fol- lowing conversation occurred, illustrative of the crafty disposition of Henry VII. : " Sir," said Henry to Philip, " you have been saved upon my coast of England. I hope you will not suffer me to be wrecked on yours." The latter asked what he meant. " I mean," said the king, " that hair-brained, wild fellow, the Earl of Suffolk, who is protected in your dominions." " I thought," replied Philip, " your felicity had been above such thoughts; but if it trouble you, I will banish him." " These hornets," said the king, " are best in their nests, and worst when they fly abroad. Let him be delivered to me." "That," said Philip, "can I not do with my honour, and less with yours, for you will be thought to have used me as a prisoner." " Then," said the king, with ready shrewdness and craft, "the matter is at an end; for I will take that dishonour upon me, and so your honour is saved." 128 WINDSOR CASTLE. Philip closed the conversation with equal quickness, and more honourable address. " Sir, you give law to me, so will I to you. You shall have him; but, upon your honour, you shall not take his life." The very ill-fated man in question was John de la Pole, the nephew of Edward IV.; he was com- mitted to the Tower on his arrival in England. The king kept his word of promise during the short sequel of his own reign, but left directions for per- petrating the perfidious murder among the dying injunctions to his son. The command was not exe- cuted till the 30th of April, 1515, when Henry VIII. was about to invade France. It being said, that " the people were so well affected to the House of York, as that they might take Edmund de la Pole out of the Tower, and set him up," it was thought fit that he should be despatched out of the way, and he was accordingly beheaded.] In the year 1506, died Elizabeth, Queen of Castile, who, leaving no son, the crown descended to the princess Jane, her eldest daughter by King Ferdinand, married to Philip, Archduke of Austria. Early in the following January, the queen and her husband called by courtesy King of Castile embarked from Flanders, for Spain; but their numerous fleet was scattered by a tempest, and the greater portion of it, including the royal vessel, driven on the coast of England. " When King Henry was informed of his land- ROYAL CASTAWAYS AT WINDSOR. 129 ing, he was right glad thereof, and swore unto Sir John Carew and to Sir Thomas Trenchard, that they should entertain him in the most honourable sort they could devise, till he might come himself to welcome him. Beside this, he sent the Earl of Arundel, with many lords and knights, to attend upon him ; which earl (according to the king's letters) received him with three hundred horses, all by torchlight, to the great admiration of the strangers. " King Philip, seeing no remedy but that he must needs tarry, would no longer gaze after King Henry's coming, but took his journey towards Windsor Castle, where the king lay : and five miles from Windsor, the prince of Wales, accompanied with five earls, and divers lords and knights, and others, to the number of five hundred persons, gorgeously appa- relled, received him after the most honourable fashion. And within half a mile of Windsor, the king, accom- panied with the duke of Buckingham, and a great part of the nobility of this realm, welcomed him, and so conveyed him to the Castle of Windsor, where he was made companion of the noble order of the Garter. After him came to Windsor his wife, Queen Jane, sister to the princess dowager, late wife to Prince Arthur." R HENRY VIII. ANNE BOLETN. CHAPTER XII. THE DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. THE PRIEST AND THE BOTCHER. THE DUKE OF SHOREDITCH. FALL OF THE PRICE OF RELICS. FASHION. DIARY OF EDWARD VI. PHILIP AND MARY. HENTZNER*S DESCRIPTION OF WINDSOR CASTLE. HENKY VIII. contributed his share to the improve- ment of Windsor; and it was there he is said to have composed his book on the Seven Sacraments, in return for which the Pope bestowed upon him the title of Defender of the Faith. In 1518, the festival of St. George was held here with great magnificence; but in the fourteenth year of Henry's reign, a still grander scene was presented THE PRIEST AND BUTCHER. 131 when the emperor of Germany visited Windsor, for the express purpose, it is said, of being personally installed a knight of the Garter. " On the 1st of September, 1532," says Holin- shed, " being Sunday, the king being come to Wind- sor, created the Lady Ann Bullen marchioness of Pembroke, and gave to her one thousand pounds land by the year ; and that solemnly finished, he rode to the college, where, after that service was ended, a new league was concluded and sworn between the king and the French king, Messire Pomoraie, the French ambassador, being present." " In the time of this rebellion (in the north), a priest that, by a butcher dwelling withing five miles of Windsor, had been procured to preach in favour of the rebels, and the butcher (as well for procuring the priest thereto, as for words spoken as he sold his meat at Windsor) were hanged : the priest on a tree at the foot of Windsor Bridge, and the butcher on a pair of new gallows set up before the castle gate, at the end of the same bridge. The words which the butcher spoke were these. When one bade him less for the carcase of a sheep than he thought he could make of it, ' Nay, by God's soul (said he), I had rather the good fellows of the north had it, and a score more of the best I have, than I would so sell it.' This priest and butcher, being accused on a Monday, in the morning, whilst the king's army was in the field, and the king himself lying at Windsor, they confessed their faults upon their examinations, and K 2 132 WINDSOR CASTLE. by the law-martial they were adjudged to death, and suffered as before is mentioned." Another anecdote of this ferocious prince ascribes the title, assumed for many years by the captain of the band of archers of London, to a sally of gaiety on the part of Henry. An archer, it appears, of the name of Barlo, exhibited so much skill at a shooting match held at Windsor, that the king called him the duke of Shoreditch, probably from his place of resi- dence. A title given by a monarch, even in joke, is not forgotten ; and this one was claimed of right by the captain of the band of archers, who, on his part, was liberal of such honours to the leaders of the divi- sions. On one occasion, this duke of Shoreditch was attended by the marquises of Clerkenwell, Islington, Hogsden, Pancras, and Shacklewell. and a numerous train, all fantastically habited. Lord Herbert, in his Life of Henry VIII. , notices the great fall in the price of relics, at the dissolution of the monasteries, " The respect given to relics, and some pretended miracles, fell, insomuch as I find by our records, that a piece of St. Andrew's finger, (covered only with an ounce of silver,) being laid to pledge for a monastery for forty pounds, was left unredeemed at the dissolution of the house ; the king's commissioners, who, upon surrender of any founda- tion, undertook to pay the debts, refusing to return the prize again." That is, they did not choose to return the forty pounds, to receive a piece of the finger of St. Andrew. BLOOD OF CHRIST. 133 " About this time," says Mr. D'Israeli, " the pro- perty of relics sunk to a South Sea bubble; for shortly after the artifice of the rood of grace, at Boxley in Kent, was fully opened to the eye of the populace; and a far-famed relic at Hales, in Glou- cestershire, of the blood of Christ, was at the same time exhibited. It was shown in a phial, and it was believed that none could see it that were in mortal sin; and after many trials usually repeated to the same person, the deluded pilgrims at length went away fully satisfied. This relic was the blood of a duck, renewed every week, and put in a phial ; one side was opaque, and the other transparent; the monk turned either side to the pilgrim as he thought proper. The success of the pilgrim depended on the oblations he made ; those who were scanty in their offerings were longest to get sight of the blood : when a man was in despair, he usually became generous ! " At an earlier period of our history, relics were in still higher repute. " Our Henry III., who was deeply tainted with the superstition of the age, summoned all the great in the kingdom to meet at London. This summons excited the most general curiosity, and multitudes appeared. The king then acquainted them that the great master of the Knights Templars had sent him a phial con- taining a small portion of the precious blood of Christ, which he had shed upon the cross; and attested to be genuine, by the seals of the patriarch of Jerusalem and others! He commanded a procession the following 134 WINDSOR CASTLE. day; and the historian adds, that although the road between St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey was very deep and miry, the king kept his eyes constantly fixed on the phial. Two monks received it, and deposited the phial in the abbey, ' which made all England shine with glory, dedicating it to God and St. Edward.' " Henry, it may be added, was the author of an important innovation, also noticed by Mr. D'Israeli. He caused his own beard, as we are told by the author of " The Art of Poesie," and those of his courtiers, to be polled, and the hair cut short ; but, in the reign of Elizabeth, the old fashion came again into vogue, the gentlemen wearing their long hair trailing on their shoulders. In his will, Henry provides that " his body should be buried in the quere of the college of Windesour, midway between the stalle and the high altar ;" where " an honourable tombe should be sette up, which was then onward, and almost ready." This tomb, how- ever, was never erected ; although land, of considerable value, was given to the college for the purpose. He also gave express directions in his will, that he should be buried near his '"' true and loveing wief Queen Jane." This indicates the affection which he- cherished for her memory, and may be contrasted with his inhuman treatment of his other wives. Of the well-known diary of the young prince, Mr. D'Israeli speaks as follows : " The diary of Edward VI. , written with his own hand, conveys a notion of that precocity of intellect, ROYAL DIARY. 135 in that early educated prince, which would not suffer his infirm health to relax in his royal duties. This prince was solemnly struck with the feeling that he was not seated on a throne to be a trifler or a sensualist: and this simplicity of mind is very re- markable in the entries of his diary; where, on one occasion, to remind himself of the causes of his secret proffer of friendship, to aid the Emperor of Germany with men against the Turk, and to keep it, at present, a secret from the French court, the young monarch inserts, ' This intent was done to get some friends. The reasonings be in my desk. 1 So zealous was he to have before him a state of public affairs, that often in the middle of the month he recals to mind passages that he had omitted in the beginning : what was done every day of moment he retired into his study to set down. Even James II. wrote with his own hand the daily occurrences of his times, his reflections, and his conjectures. Adversity had schooled him into reflec- tion, and softened into humanity a species of bigotry ; and it is something in his favour, that, after his abdi- cation, he collected his thoughts, and mortified him- self by the penance of a diary. Could a Clive or a Cromwell have composed one ? Neither of these men could suffer solitude and darkness ; they started at their casual recollections. What would they have done, had memory marshalled their crimes, and ar- ranged them in the terrors of chronology?" Edward VI. resided for some time at Windsor, but only through compulsion. He imagined he was not 136 WINDSOR CASTLE. safe at Hampton Court, and, by the advice of the duke of Somerset removed to Windsor, where the inhabitants of the town were armed for his protection. It was here that Ed- ward received a remon- strance from the chan- cellor and others of the council, complaining of the Protector, and re- commending his dis- missal. The young king being advised by the archbishop of Canter- bury to submit, he did so, and sent the duke's friends, with whom he had surrounded his per- son, to the Tower. In the fourth year of Ed- ward, the king of France was installed at Windsor a knight of the Garter. [In Hugget's MSS. in the Sloane collection, vol. ii. page 122, is a curious passage, showing that some very interesting property belonging to St. George's Chapel had been sold by the Dean and Canons in Edward VI. 's reign, for their own private uses, amounting to 1529/. 4s. a large sum in those days. " They sold the palls of the horses of Kings Henry VII. and VIII. and Edward IV. the organ and pipes, two plates of copper upon the graves, King Ed- EDWAKD VI. PHILIP AND MARY. 137 ward III.'s cap of maintenance, the sword and girdle of pearl and stone, the duke of Suffolk's sword, &c." The parties who thus sequestred the property, alleged that they were put to certain expenses for repairs, &c. ; but Mr. Hugget treats this as a mere excuse, and adds, " Henry VII. left by his will to the college, a great image of St. George, of gold, poising two hundred and sixty ounces, garnished with rubies, pearls, sapphires, and other stones ; perhaps this was sold also.] " As soon as the feasting and solemnity of the marriage (of Mary to Philip of Spain) was ended, the king and queen departed from Winchester, and by easy journeys came to Windsor Castle, where, the 1st of August, being Sunday, he was stalled according to the order of the Garter, and there kept St. George's feast himself in his royal estate, and the earl of Sussex was also at the same time stalled in the order. At which time an herald took down the arms of England at Windsor, and in the place of them would have set the arms of Spain, but was commanded to set them up again by certain lords. The 7th of August was made a general hunting, with a toile raised of four or five miles in length, so that many a deer that day was brought to the quarry." Here this unhappy pair remained in cold and gloomy state, the objects of fear and detestation. Of the two, Philip was the more humane; but his .man- ners were equally reserved, and almost equally re- pulsive. Yet this man was a patron of art; and 138 WINDSOR CASTLE. extended the most generous protection to Sir Antonio More, the painter of a well-known portrait of the lady Elizabeth while a prisoner at Hatfield, and many other esteemed pieces. [It was in this reign that the houses of the military knights, on the south side of the lower ward, assumed their present form, the square or governor's tower, and some portions of the structure to the east, were previously standing as we now see them. Indeed this is probably one of the oldest portions of the castle, and it is supposed that the original chapel formerly stood on this site. The alterations on the south side of the lower ward were made with materials brought from other buildings. Some of the stone came from Bead- ing Abbey, and " old apparails for chimnies" from Suffolk Place. At the same time, a reservoir was formed in the upper court of the castle, where water was brought from a great distance, and thence con- veyed by pipes over all the building. It was sur- mounted by a magnificent fountain, consisting of a canopy on columns in the Gothic style, decorated with heraldic ornaments, and a dragon discharging water into a basin beneath. A minute account of these works may be found in the Ashmolean MSS.] We are now enabled, for the first time, to give a somewhat minute description of the castle, and of the impressions it made upon a foreign traveller^ who visited England in the reign of Elizabeth. We shall give the description in his own words, which Horace ELIZABETHAN WINDSOR. 139 Walpole thought worthy of being reprinted at Straw- berry Hill ; and, as we have done on a former occa- sion, we shall place at the beginning and conclusion a view of the castle as it at present stands, in order to give the reader the benefit of the comparison. HENTZNER'S DESCRIPTION OF WINDSOR CASTLE. KING HENRY THE EIGHTH'S GATE, WINDSOR CASTLE. WINDSOR, a royal castle, supposed to have been begun by King Arthur, its buildings much increased by Edward III. The situation is entirely Avorthy of being a royal residence, a more beautiful being scarce to be found ; for, from the brow of a gentle rising, it 140 WINDSOR CASTLE. enjoys the prospect of an even and green country; its front commands a valley extending every way, and chequered with arable lands and pasturage, clothed up and down with groves, and watered by that gentlest of rivers, the Thames; behind rise several hills, but neither very steep nor very high, crowded with woods, and seemingly designed by na- ture herself for the purpose of hunting. The kings of England, invited by the deliciousness of the place, very often retire hither. And here was born the con- queror of France, the glorious King Edward III., who built the castle new from the ground, and thoroughly fortified it with trenches and towers of square stone; and having soon after subdued in battle John king of France, and David king of Scotland, he detained them both prisoners here at the same time. This castle, besides being a royal palace, and having some magni- ficent tombs of the kings of England, is famous for the ceremonies belonging to the knights of the Garter ; this order was instituted by Edward III., the same who triumphed so illustriously over King John of France. The knights of the Garter are strictly chosen for their military virtues, and antiquity of family : they are bound by solemn oath and vow to mutual and perpetual friendship among themselves, and to the not avoiding any danger whatever, or even death itself, to support by their joint efforts the honour of the society. They are styled companions of the Garter, from their wearing below the left knee a purple garter, inscribed in letters of gold, with POOR KNIGHTS. 141 "Honi soit qui mal y pense;" i. e., Evil to him that evil thinks. This they wear upon the left leg, in memory of one which, happening to untie, was let fall by a great lady, passionately beloved by Edward, while she was dancing, and was immediately snatched up by the king ; who, to do honour to the lady, not out of any trifling gallantry, but with a most serious and honourable purpose, dedicated it to the legs of the most distinguished nobility. The ceremonies of this society are celebrated every year at Windsor, on St. George's day, the tutelar saint of the order, the king presiding ; and the custom is, that the knights- companions should hang up their helmet and shield, with their arms emblazoned on it, in some conspicu- ous part of the church. There are three principal and very large courts in Windsor Castle which give great pleasure to the beholders: the first is enclosed with most elegant buildings of white stone, flat-roofed, and covered with lead ; here the knights of the Garter are lodged ; in the middle is a detached house, remarkable for its high towers, which the governor inhabits. In this is the public kitchen, well furnished with proper uten- sils, besides a spacious dining-room, where all the poor knights eat at the same table; for into this society of the Garter, the king elects, at his own choice, certain persons, who must be gentlemen of three descents, and such as, for the age and straight- ness of their fortunes, are fitter for saying their prayers than for the service of war ; to each of them 142 WINDSOR CASTLE. is assigned a pension of 18/. per annum, and clothes ; the chief institution of so magnificent a foundation is, that they should say their daily prayers to God for the king's safety, and the happy administration of the kingdom, to which purpose they attend the ser- vice, meeting twice a day in the chapel. The left side of this court is ornamented by a most beautiful chapel, of one hundred and thirty-four paces in length, and sixteen in breadth; in this are eighteen seats, fitted up in the time of Edward III., for an equal number of knights. This venerable building is deco- rated with the noble monuments of Edward IV., Henry VI. and VIII., and of his wife, Queen Jane. It receives from royal liberality the annual sum of 2000 and that still much increased by the munifi- cence of Edward III. and Henry VII. The greatest princes in Christendom have taken it for the highest honour to be admitted into the order of the Garter ; and, since its first institution, about twenty kings, be- sides those of England, who were sovereigns of it, not to mention dukes, and persons of the greatest figure, have been of it. It consists of twenty-six companions. In the inward choir of the chapel are hung sixteen coats of arms, swords, and banners ; among which are those of Charles V. and Eodolphus II., emperors; of Philip of Spain; Henry III. of France; Frede- rick II. of Denmark, &c. ; of Casimir Count Palatine of the Khine; and other Christian princes who have been chosen into this order. In the back choir, or additional chapel, are shown SECOND COURT. 143 preparations made by Cardinal Wolsey, who was afterwards capitally punished,* for his own tomb, consisting of eight large brazen columns placed round it, and nearer the tomb four others in the shape of candlesticks; the tomb itself is of white and black marble : all which are reserved, according to report, for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth; the expenses already made for that purpose are estimated at up- wards of 60,000/. In the same chapel is the surcoat of Edward III.,f and the tomb of Edward Fines, Earl of Lincoln, Baron Clinton and Lay, knight of the most noble order of the Garter, and formerly Lord High Admiral of England. The second court at Windsor Castle stands upon higher ground, and is enclosed with walls of great strength, and beautified with fine buildings, and a tower, (it was an ancient castle,) of which the old annals speak in this manner: King Edward, A.D. 1359, began a new building in that part of Windsor Castle where he was born, for which reason he took care it should be decorated with finer and larger edifices than the rest. In this part were kept pri- soners John king of France, and David king of Scots, over whom Edward triumphed at one and the same time. It was by their advice, struck with the advan- tage of the situation, and with the sums paid for their * " This was a strange blunder to be made so near the time about so remarkable a person, unless he concluded that whoever displeased Henry VIII. was of course put to death." WALPOLE. f " This is a mistake ; it was the surcoat of Edward IV., enriched with rubies, and was preserved here until the civil wars." WALPOLE. 144 WINDSOR CASTLE. ransom, that by degrees this castle stretched to such magnificence, as to appear no longer a fortress, but a town of proper extent, and inexpugnable to any human force. This particular part of the castle was built at the sole expense of the king of Scotland, except one tower, which, from its having been erected by the bishop of Winchester, prelate of the order, is called Winchester Tower.* There are a hundred steps to it, so ingeniously contrived, that horses can easily ascend them; it is a hundred and fifty paces in cir- cuit; within it are preserved all manner of arms, necessary for the defence of the place. The third court is much the largest of any, built at the expense of the captive king of France. As it stands higher, so it greatly excels the two former in splendour and elegance. It has a hundred and forty- eight paces in length, and ninety-seven in breadth ; in the middle of it is a fountain of very clear water, brought under ground, at an excessive expense, from the distance of four miles. Towards the east are mag- nificent apartments, destined for the use of the royal household ; towards the west is a tennis-court, for the amusement of the court; on the north side are the royal apartments, consisting of magnificent chambers, halls, and bathing-rooms, f and a private chapel, the roof of which is embellished with golden roses and fleurs des lis ; in this, too, is that very large banquet- * " This is confounded with the round tower." WALPOLE. t " It is not clear what the author means by Hypocaustis ; I have translated it bathing-rooms ; it might mean only chambers with stoves." WALPOLE. TERRACE WALK. 145 ing room, seventy-eight paces long, and thirty wide, in which the Knights of the Garter annually celebrate the memory of their tutelar saint, St. George, with solemn and most pompous service. " Queen Elizabeth made the Terrace Walk on the north side of the Castle, from which there is a plea- sant prospect down upon Eton College, the Thames, ETON COLLEGE FROM THE NORTH TERRACE, WINDSOR. and neighbouring country."* From hence runs a walk of incredible beauty, three hundred and eighty paces in length, set on each side with supporters of wood, which sustain a balcony, from which the nobility and persons of distinction can take the pleasure of seeing hunting and hawking in a sufficient space ; for the fields and meadows, clad with a variety of plants and flowers, swell gradually into hills of perpetual verdure quite * Pope's Windsor L 146 WINDSOR CASTLE. up to the castle, and at bottom stretch out in an ex- tended plain, that strikes the beholders with delight. Besides what has been already mentioned, there are worthy of notice here two bathing-rooms, ceiled and wainscoted with looking-glass ; the chamber in which Henry VI. was born ; Queen Elizabeth's bedchamber, where is a table of red marble with white streaks ; a gallery everywhere ornamented with emblems and figures; a chamber in which are the royal beds of Henry VII. and his queen, of Edward VI., of Henry VIIL, and of Anne Boleyn, all of them eleven foot square, and covered with quilts shining with gold and silver ; Queen Elizabeth's bed, with curious coverings of embroidery, but not quite so large or long as the others; a piece of tapestry, in which is represented Clovis, King of France, with an angel presenting to him the fleur de lis, to be borne in his arms; for, before this time, the Kings of France bore three toads in their shields, instead of which they afterwards placed three fleurs de lis on a blue field. This antique tapestry is said to have been taken from a King of France, whilst the English were masters there. We were shewn here, among other things the horn of a unicorn, of above eight spans and a half in length, valued at above 10,000/. ; the bird of Paradise, three spans long, three fingers broad, having a blue bill of the length of half an inch, the upper part of its head yellow, the nether part of a * * * * colour ; * a little * " The original is aptici; it is impossible to guess what colour he meant." WALPOLE. ETON COLLEGE. 147 lower from each side of its throat stuck out some red- dish feathers, as well as from its back and the rest of its body ; its wings, of a yellow colour, are twice as long as the bird itself; from its back grow out length- ways two fibres of nerves, bigger at their end, but like a pretty strong thread, of a leaden colour, inclin- ing to black, with which, as it has no feet, it is said to fasten itself to trees when it wants to rest: a cushion most curiously wrought by Queen Elizabeth's own hands. " In the precincts of Windsor, on the other side of the Thames, the banks of which are joined by a wooden bridge, is Eton College, a famous school for polite letters, founded by Henry VI., where, besides a master, eight fellows, and chanter, sixty boys are maintained gratis ; the students are taught gram- L 2 148 WINDSOR CASTLE. mar, and remain at the school until they are suffi- ciently advanced to be sent to the University of Cambridge. As we returned to our inn, we met a party of country people celebrating harvest home: their last load of corn was crowned with flowers, and they carried an image richly dressed, probably in- tended to represent Ceres, which they kept moving about, while men and women, mostly servants, riding through the streets in a cart, shouted as loud as they could till they arrived at the barn. The farmers here do not bind up their corn in sheaves, as they do with us ; but as soon as they have reaped or mowed it, put it into carts, and convey it to their barns." HENRY VIII. QUEEN ELIZABETH'S BUILDING, WINDSOR CASTLE. CHAPTER XIII. ELIZABETH. HER CELEBRATED TERRACE. HER LITERARY OCCU- PATIONS AT WINDSOR. HER INFLUENCE ON LITERATURE AND FASHION. MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. HERNE THE HUNTER. PERSONAL VANITY OF ELIZABETH. SILK STOCKINGS. CLEAR-STARCHING. BATHS OF WINE AND MILK. EDICT AGAINST UGLY PORTRAITS OF THE QUEEN. DESCRIPTIONS OF ELIZABETH BY DIFFERENT AUTHORITIES. A BEAU OF HER TIME. CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH BY A FOREIGNER. QUEEN ELIZABETH had the good taste to delight much in Windsor Castle. The celebrated terrace was her work, and under it a garden, whose meanders and labyrinths are still faintly discernible. On this ter- race she was accustomed to walk for an hour before dinner, unless prevented by the wind ; for it must be said, that our lion-queen had an especial aversion to 150 WINDSOR CASTLE. wind, or rather perhaps to its effects upon her com- plexion. Rain she cared nothing about, or rather it was an object of preference, as she took great pleasure in walking upon the terrace under an umbrella, while the shower pattered around her. The outer gate on the hill next the town was built in her fourteenth year, 1572, as appears by an inscription over it. At Windsor she amused herself with translating "Boe- thius de Consolatione," about which some minute details are preserved. " The Queen's Majestic being at Windsor, in the thirty-fifth yere of her raigne, upon the 10th of October, 1593, began her translation of * Boethius de Consolatione Philosophise,' and ended it on the 8th of November then next following, which were thirty dayes. Of which tyme there are to be accompted thirteen dayes, parte in Sondayes and other holy dayes, and parte in her Majestic ryding abrode, upon which her Majestic did forbeare to translate. So that thir- teen dayes being deducted from thirty, remayneth seventeen dayes, in which tyme her Majestic finished her translation. And in those seventeen dayes, her Majestic did not exceed one hour and a half at a tyme in following her translating." The second account, by Mr. Bowyer, is as follows: " The computation of the dayes and houres in which your Majestic began and finished the transla- tion of Boethius : your Majestic began your translation of Boethius the 10th day of October, 1593, and ended it the 5th of November next immediately following, "MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR." 151 which were fyve and twenty dayes in all. Out of which twenty-five dayes are to be taken foure Son- dayes, three other holly dayes, and six dayes on which your Majestic ryd abrode to take the ayre; and on those dayes did forbeare to translate, amounting together to thirteen dayes. Which thirteen being deducted from twenty-five, remayneth there but twelve dayes. And then accompting twoo hours only bestowed every daye one with another in the trans- lating, the computation fallith out that in foure and twenty houres your Majestic began and ended your translation." W. Bowyer, Keeper of the Records in the Tower. It cannot be doubted that the queen's love of letters impressed itself upon the literature of the time; and, in like manner, her excessive vanity and passion for dress exercised a striking effect upon the national manners. Most of Shakspeare's commentators admit the tradition, that the " Merry Wives of Windsor " was written at her command ; and if this be true, it was in all probability out of compliment to Elizabeth that the great dramatist chose her favourite residence as the scene of a piece which is, in some respects, one of the most remarkable productions of his genius. The scene of the mock fairies is the Little Park, as we may gather from Page proposing to "couch in the castle-ditch till we see the light of our fairies." This lies on the east and north side of the castle; and on the south-east of the park stood the oak of Herne, the Hunter. 152 WINDSOR CASTLE. [The editor cannot pass over this cursory notice of Hernds Oak, without referring to the many interest- ing discussions (at least they were so to him) which have taken place between him and several other parties, as to the identity of the present tree. We have recently seen the efforts which have been made to rescue from destruction a little low-ceiled room, with four white-washed walls and an old piece of wainscot, because it was hallowed by the genius of Shakspeare; and this has shed a splendour over the old walls more dazzling than tapestries, and more in- teresting than the pride and pomp of kingly palaces. Nor can the blasted oak of Windsor Park be viewed with indifference. It has also been immortalized by Shakspeare. The difficulty is to establish its iden- tity, and this rests on the question whether his late Majesty George III. did or did not cut down the real Herne's oak. This has been discussed, and the editor hopes with good temper, in the columns of the "Times" newspaper, in the pages of the " Gentleman's Magazine," in his own " Gleanings in Natural His- tory," and his " Scenes and Tales of Country Life;" nor can he help thinking that he has had by far the best of the argument. That Shakspeare had some particular oak in view, with " a pit hard by," when he wrote his " Merry Wives of Windsor," cannot be doubted. That a tree was cut down which many supposed to have been the real Herne's oak, is equally certain, and this was said to have been done by George III. by mistake. HERNE THE HUNTER. 153 Now there is the best authority for stating that the king invariably denied that the tree had been cut down ; and the editor has the authority of the late Mr. Engall, the bailiff of the park, for saying that the present tree was placed under his especial care, as Herne's oak, by the king himself. His Majesty was also heard frequently to declare, that he had ordered an oak tree to be cut down near the present one, because many persons confounded it with the tree still in existence, and called it Herne's, which he said it was not. Mr. Gilpin, in his work on " Forest Scenery," tells us that Herne's oak is still supposed to exist. He adds, that " in the Little Park of Windsor there is a walk, known by the name of Queen Elizabeth's Walk. It consists," he adds, " of elms, among which is a single oak, taken into the row, as if particularly meant to be distinguished at the time when the walk or avenue was made. It is a large tree, measuring twenty-four feet in circumference." Mr. Knight, in some notes in his " Pictorial Shak- speare," observes, that this oak is of small girth. This may be the case on comparing it with some neigh- bouring pollards ; but it is a maiden oak, and conse- quently its girth is very great. It is hoped that this short notice (for I have only brought forward a few of my arguments in favour of the identity of the present tree) will not be either uninteresting or unacceptable to the admirers of our immortal bard; and that I shall receive their thanks 154 WINDSOR CASTLE. for my endeavours to prove the claim which this tree has to be called " Herne's oak," An oak, dry and dead, Still clad with reliques of its trophies old, Lifting to heaven its aged, hoary head With wreathed roots, and naked arms And trunk all rotten and unsound. SPENCER.] HERNE'S OAK. Tradition relates that Herne was a keeper of the forest in the time of Elizabeth, who, having committed some crime which would have occasioned his dismissal, hung himself upon the tree. It seems plain to us, however, that the story of Herne must have already belonged to the antique world in the time of Shak- speare. The poet would not have made the satyrs and ELIZABETH'S PAGEANTRIES. 155 fairies dance about the self-given gallows of a park- keeper, who tucked himself up to one of its branches, on a mere matter of business ; nor would the said satyrs and fairies tell of their midnight dance round any tree of recent celebrity as a thing of custom. " Away, disperse : but, till 'tis one o'clock, Our dance of custom round about the oak Of Herne the Hunter, let us not forget." The whole scene refers to some bygone date, which, whatever may have been its acted circumstances, was. rendered poetical by the veil of distance. " And nightly, meadow-fairies, look you sing, Like to the Garter's compass, in a ring : The expression that it bears, green let it be, More fertile-fresh than all the field to see ; And, Honi soit qui maly pense, write, In emerald tufts, flowers purple, blue, and white : Like sapphire, pearl, and rich embroidery, Buckled below fair knighthood's bended knee : . Fairies use flowers for their charactery." Elizabeth, who delighted in pageantries of all sorts, could not fail to shew especial favour to the stage ; and, in fact, in her reign it first began to assume a regular form. The " properties" seem to have been of pretty nearly the same kind as those of our own day. There are various accounts preserved, in which charges are entered for making scenes of " divers cities and towns, the emperours' pallace, and other devisses;" for " sarsnett and other stuff," and "can- vas to cover the towers without, and other provision for a play;" for " a maske," a rock overheld for the nine Muses to sing upon, with " a vayne of sarsnett 156 WINDSOR CASTLE. drawn upp and downe upon them;" for "towns and charetts," also " for the goddesses and devisses of the hevens and clouds." These representations were per- formed by the children of the choir, some of whom became so famous as actors, that they were sent for by the nobility on fete occasions. It appears by these accounts, that 6/. 13s. 4e?. was the regular sum paid to the master of the children at Windsor for the performance ; although on one occasion he received 3/. 6*. Sd. in addition as a reward. ELIZABETH, The personal vanity of Elizabeth, and her absolute want of taste, produced a very extraordinary effect upon the dress of the Court, as may be seen in the SILK STOCKINGS. 157 works of art of the time. A lady was defended by a tight bodice, reaching from the shoulders so far down that she could hardly walk ; while her hooped farthingale below, and her wire ruff, towering from her neck beyond the crown of her head, must have formed altogether a complete security from the ap- proaches of the ungentle sex. But Stowe, the tailor, though better known in his quality of chronicler, is the great authority in matters of this kind ; and we quote his account of a circumstance which must be held to form an important era in the history of female dress. " In the second yeere of Queen Elizabeth, 1560," saith John, " her silke woman, Mistris Montague, pre- sented her Majestic, for a new yeare's gift, a paire of black knit silke stockings, the which, after a few days' wearing, pleased her Highness so well that she sent for Mistris Montague, and asked her where she had them ; and if she could help her to any more ; who answered, saying, ' I made them very carefully of pur- pose only for your Majestic ; and seeing these please you so well, I will presently set more in hand.' ' Do so,' quoth the queen ; ' for indeed I like silke stock- ings so well, because they are pleasant, fine, and delicate; that henceforth I will weare no more cloth stockings :' and, from that time to her death, the queen never more wore any cloth hose, but only silke stockings ; for you shall understand, that King Henry the Eighth did weare onely cloath hose, or hose cut out of ell broade taffety, or that by great chance there 158 WINDSOR CASTLE. came a paire of Spanish silke stockings from Spain. King Edward the Sixth had a payr of long Spanish silke stockings sent him for a great present. Dukes' daughters," adds the chronicler, " then wore gownes of satten of Bridges (Bruges) upon solemn dayes. Cushens and window pillows of welvet and damaske, formerly only princely furniture, now be very plente- ous in most citizens' houses." " Milliners or haberdashers," says Stowe again, pur- suing this important subject, " had not then any gloves embroydered, or trimmed with gold, or silke; neither gold or embroydered girdles and hangers, neither could they make any costly wash or perfume, until about the fifteenth yeare of the queene, the Eight Honourable Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, came from Italy, and brought with him gloves, sweet bagges, a perfumed leather jerkin, and other pleasant things ; and that yeare the queene had a pair of per- fumed gloves trimmed only with four tuffes, or roses of coloured silke. The queene took such pleasure in those gloves, that she was pictured with those gloves upon her hands, and for many yeares after it was called the ' Earl of Oxford's perfume.' ' It may be important, also, to observe, that only four years after Queen Elizabeth began to wear silk stockings, the avatar of clear-starcher from Flanders took place, and threw the whole sex feminine into ecstacy. " In the yeare 1564, Mistris Dinghen Van den Plasse, borne at Faenen in Flaunders, daughter to a ROYAL VANITY. 159 worshipful knight of that province, with her husband, came to London for their better safties, and there professed herself a starcher, wherein she excelled, unto whom her owne nation presently repaired, and payed her very liberally for her worke. Some very few of the best and most curious wives of that time, observ- ing the neatness and delicacy of the Dutch for white- ness and fine wearing of linen, made them cambricke ruffs, and sent them to Mistris Dinghen to starch, and after awhile made them ruffs of laun, which was at that time a stuff so strange, and wonderful, and thereupon arose a general scoffe or by-word, that shortly they would make ruffs of a spider's web ; and then they began to send their daughters and nearest kinswomen to Mistris Dinghen to learn how to starch ; her usual price was, at that time, foure or five pound to teach them how to starch, and twenty shillings how to seeth starch." Although Elizabeth was very vain of her plain face, she did not disdain to use a thousand arts to improve it; and as she was a not less passionate admirer of masculine beauty, the very men began to bedaub themselves with paint, in imitation of the women. The most approved method of adding to the charms of the complexion was by bathing in wine, after the pores of the skin had been opened for the medicament by the use of the warm bath. This, however, was resorted to by the more passees beauties the wine not only making the face " faire and roddy," but smoothing, perhaps by its astringent 160 WINDSOR CASTLE. qualities, the wrinkles of time. Younger women bathed in milk to preserve the sleekness of their skin ; and it is worthy of remark, that the former wash was used so freely by the Queen of Scots, that her jailer, the Earl of Shrewsbury, complained of it as more expensive than his allowance would afford. Mary, at this time, was only twenty-six years of age ! It may be imagined, that, if Elizabeth was vain of her person, and careful to improve it, she must have been in the same proportion incensed at the clumsy attempts of the painters to give the world a copy of her beauty. This gave rise to a proclamation, which is one of the most amusing documents in the archives of the nation. It declares that, "Forasmuch as through the natural desire that all sorts of subjects and people, both noble and mean, have to procure the portrait and picture of the queen's Majesty, great nombre of painters, and some printers, and gravers, have already, and do dayly attempt to make in divers manners portraictures of her Majestic, in paynting, graving, pryntirig, wherein is evidently shewn that hytherto none hath sufficiently expressed the naturall representation of her Majestie's person, favor, or grace, but for the most part have all so erred therein, as thereof dayly complaints are made amongst her Majestie's loving subjects, in so much that for redress hereof her Majestic hath lately bene so instantly and so importunately sued unto by the Lords of her Con- sell and others of her nobility, in respect of the gret disorder herein used, not only to be content that some EDICT AGAINST UGLY PORTRAITS. 161 speciall coning paynter myght be permitted access to her Majesty, whereof she hath bene allweise of her own right disposition very unwylling, but also to pro- hibit all manner of other persons to draw, paynt, grave, or portrayit her Majestie's personage or visage for a tyme, until, by some perfect patron [pattern] and example, the same may be by others followed. Therefor her Majestic being herein, as it were, over- come with the contynuall requests of so many of her nobility and lords whom she cannot deny, is pleased that for thir contentations, some coning person, mete therefor, shall shortly make a pourtraict of her person or visage to be participated to others for the satisfac- tion of her loving subjects, and furdermore com- mandeth all manner of persons in the mean tyme to forbear from paynting, graving, or prynting, or mak- ing of any pourtraict of her Majestic, untill some speciall person that shall be by her allowed shall have first finished a pourtraicture thereof; after which fynished, her Majestic will be content that all other paynters, prynters, or gravers, that shall be known men of understanding, and so thereto lycensed by the hed officers of the plaices where they shall dwell, (as reason is that every person should not, without consi- deration, attempt the same,) shall or may at their pleasures follow the first patron or pourtraicture. And for that her Majestic perceiveth that a grete number of her loving subjects are much greved, and take much offence with the errors and deformities allredy committed by sondry persons in this behalf, M 162 WINDSOR CASTLE. she straitly chargeth all her officers and ministers to see to the due observation hereof, and as soon as may be to reform the errors allredy committed, and in the mean tyme to forbydd and prohibit the shewing and publication of such as are apparently deformed, untill they may be reformed which are reformable." But, after all, if we are to believe the pen-and-ink portrait-makers, she required nothing but fidelity from the pencil. Sir Francis Bacon, in his " Felecetie of Queen Elizabeth," tells us, that " she was tall of stature, of comely limbs, and excellent feature in her coun- tenance; majesty sate under the veil of sweetness, and her health was sound and prosperous." Speed declares, that " her royall actions and princely qualities of minde were seated in such a body for state, stature, beauty, and majesty, as best be- fitted an empresse." Sir Richard Baker, in his "Chronicle," describes her thus : " She was of stature indifferent tall, slender, and straight ; fair of complexion ; her hair inclining to a pale yellow ; her forehead large and fair ; her eyes lively and sweet, but short sighted; her nose some- what rising in the midst ; the whole compass of her countenance somewhat long, yet of admirable beauty ; but the beauty of her mind was far more admirable, which she was particularly happy in expressing, both by speech and writing. If a collection could be made of her apothegms and extemporal orations, it would certainly excel anything extant on that head." ELIZABETH'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 163 Fuller's character of the queen is in these words : " She was of person tall; of hair and complexion fair; well favoured, but high nosed ; of limbes and feature neat ; of a stately and majestic deportment. She had a piercing eye, wherewith she used to touch what metall strangers were made which came into her pre- sence. But, as she counted it as a pleasant conquest, with her majestic look to dash strangers out of coun- tenance, so was she merciful in pursuing those whom she overcame ; and afterwards would cherish and comfort them with her smiles, if perceiving towardli- nesse and an ingenious modestie in them. She much affected rich and costly apparel ; and if jewels had ever just cause to be proud, it was with her wearing them." But we must not represent the royal mistress of Windsor merely in her character as a beauty. Eliza- beth was also a great huntress, and could strike down a deer with any lord of her court. A letter is pre- served addressed to the archbishop of Canterbury, respecting " a great and fat stagge killed with her owen hand," which the queen desires to be sent to the prelate. She was also a skilful archer, and parti- cularly fond of bull baiting, bear baiting, and such lady-like amusements. Having given some notion of what kind of female figures were seen in those days sailing through the princely halls of Windsor, in order to complete the picture we must say a word touching the men. The most remarkable part of the male dress was M 2 164 WINDSOR CASTLE. that which modern affectation expresses by the word inexpressible. The article was made to correspond with the ladies' hoop; and when a gentleman sat SIR WAITER RALEIGH. down (we hope there is no offence to modesty in indicating this action) he embedded himself in a cushion of rags and feathers, sewed up in the myste- rious garment! A gallant thus sitting in the rotun- dity of a moderate-sized balloon was charming ; and, if to this be added a monstrous ruff, and a gilt rapier nearly as long as himself, he was irresistible. The two latter appendages, however, were disapproved of by the queen ; the former for its offence to the eye, and the latter for its hurt to the life ; and this caused her Majesty, as we are informed by Stowe, " to make CHARACTER OF THE ENGLISH. 165 proclamation against them both, and to place selected grave citizens at every gate, to cut the ruffs and break the rapiers' points of all passengers that exceeded a yeard in length of their rapiers, and a nayle of a yeard in depth of their ruffes." Let us conclude this chapter by a character given of the nation by a contemporary traveller, whom we have before quoted. " The English," says he, " are serious, like the Ger- mans, and lovers of show : they excel in dancing and music, for they are active and lively, though of a thicker make than the French. They cut their hair close on the middle of the head, letting it grow on either side ; they are good sailors, and better pirates, cunning, treacherous, and thievish ; about three hun- dred are said to be hanged annually at London ; they give the wall as the place of honour ; hawking is the general sport of the gentry ; they are more polite in eating than the French, devouring less bread and more meat, which they roast in perfection ; they put a deal of sugar in their drink ; their beds are covered with tapestry, even those of the farmers; they are often molested with scurvy, said to have first crept into England with the Norman Conquest. In the field they are powerful, successful against their enemies, impatient of anything like slavery ; vastly fond of great noises that fill the ear, such as the firing of cannon, drums, and the ringing of bells ; so that it is common for a number of them, that have got a glass in their heads, to go up into some belfry, and ring the bells for 166 WINDSOR CASTLE. hours together for the sake of exercise. If they see a foreigner very well made, or particularly handsome, they will say, it is a pity lie is not an ENGLISHMAN." [Elizabeth was a much more frequent visitor at Wind- sor Castle than most of her ancestors. Here she might be seen by her liege subjects, in a morning, hunting the deer, and, as an especial compliment, cutting its throat with her own hand ; and, in an evening, joining with her most favoured courtiers in the stately dances of the period. Here she often presided at the whipping of the blinded bear, and the tying of the ape to a horse's back ; or chatted about the toiirnure of a courtier's leg with her maids of honour, over a breakfast of beef and ale. These circumstances must be taken as charac- teristics of the age in which she lived, and not as the natural tastes of Elizabeth ; for, whatever may have been her faults, coarseness of mind at least cannot be attributed to her as one of them. The following extract from the " Report of the Works for the year 1580," will shew the inconvenient state of the Castle at that period : " The maids of honour desired to have their cham- bers ceiled, and the partitions that is of boards to be made higher, for that the servants looked over." And, about the same time, it is said that certain young noblemen and gentlemen were guilty of similar indeco- rous behaviour, being fond of peeping over these boards, to the great annoyance of the ladies when at their toilet, whereat her Majesty was highly displeased, and severely reproved them. From other parts of the ELIZABETHAN WINDSOR. 167 " Eeport," it seems that the chamber for the squires of the body was " ruinous and cold," and that some part of the Castle roof was so much out of repair, that the rain beat in. Her Majesty, too, complained of the dinner being cold when brought on the table; in ex- planation of which, it is stated, that the bakehouse was so far from the Castle, (it was then in Peascod- street,) that it was impossible the provision could be placed hot on the royal board. " The Windsor of the time of Elizabeth," says Mr. C. Knight, referring to Shakspeare's ' Merry Wives of Windsor,' " is presented to us as the quiet country- town, sleeping under the shadow of its neighbour, the Castle. Amidst its gabled houses, separated by pretty gardens, from which the elm, the chesnut, and the lime throw their branches across the unpaved road, we find a goodly company, with little to do but gossip and laugh, and make sport of each other's cholers and weaknesses. We see Master Page l training his fallow greyhounds/ and we go with Master Ford ' a-birding.' We listen to the pribbles and prabbles of Sir Hugh Evans and Justice Shallow with a quiet satisfaction, for they talk as unartificial men ordinarily talk, with- out much wisdom, but with good temper and sincerity. We find ourselves in the days of ancient hospitality, when men could make their fellows welcome without ostentatious display; and half a dozen neighbours could ' drink down all unkindness" 1 over a hot venison pasty." Queen Elizabeth is said to have walked on the north 168 WINDSOR CASTLE. terrace of the Castle an hour every day. This superb walk, which is perhaps unrivalled, was her own crea- tion. We can almost fancy her, in the costume in which she is represented in her pictures her favourite book of prayer, (which was bound in solid gold,) suspended to her girdle by a golden chain ; while she herself was engaged with the grave Burleigh in plan- ning new schemes for the good of her subjects; or whiling away the time in more sprightly converse with the courtly Leicester, or the unfortunate Essex. This walk has been admired and celebrated by every foreigner.] CHAPTEK XIV. JAMES I. VISIT OF THE KING OF DENMARK. THE GOODLY ANCIENT GENTLEMEN. INSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF BARONETS. ITS ORIGIN. ASHMOLE'S ACCOUNT OF THE INSTITUTION. CONTROVERSY RESPECT- ING THE CHARACTER OF JAMES. MR. o'lSRAELl's DEFENCE. WITCHES. JAMES I. visited Windsor frequently, but his name is not connected with the castle by any remarkable associations. The sojourn in England of Christian IV., king of Denmark, is the most brilliant part of his reign, as regards court pageantry ; but we do not find that any of these exhibitions were held in our castle, although the royal stranger was sumptuously enter- tained there. His Danish majesty, however, as we GOODLY ANCIENT GENTLEMEN. 169 are informed in "England's farewell to the King of Denmark," on visiting the royal residence, " heere was presented to him the Knights of Windsore ; being all goodly gentlemen, and such as had served Queen Elizabeth in her wars ; and, for service done, preferred in their latter yeares to this place of rest, and are called by name of King James' Knights of Windsore. These goodly ancient gentlemen being in their roabes of purple and scarlet, with the garter and Sainct George's cross upon them. Which goodly and chari- table manner, when the King of Denmarke was possest withal, and the order of their first foundation and con- tinuance, the King highly commended the founder, and in charitie wisht the successors to the worlde's end might continue so honourable an action as that : whereof, by God's grace, there is no doubt; his Ma- jesty from his first comming, having so graciously and most bountifully shewed his zeale to that honourable action by augmenting their portions which were pos- sest of these places." In 1611, King James instituted the order of Baronets, which title obtained the rank of the an- cient Vavasours. The ostensible motive for this creation was the defence of the province of Ulster; all those who accepted the title coming under promise, that they " should be aiding towards the building of churches, towns, and castles ; should proffer their lives, fortunes, and estates, to hazard in the perform- ance of this duty ; and that, when any spark of rebel- lion, or other hostile invasion, should attempt to dis- 170 WINDSOR CASTLE. turb the peace of this kingdom or province, that they themselves should be ready to. defend it; and that each of them maintain and keep thirty foot-soldiers there." The necessity of raising money, however, seems to have been the real inducement. The Earl of Salisbury is said to have been the inventor of the plan; and Sir Anthony Walden, describes him as arguing with the king " that he should find his English subjects like asses on whom he might lay any burden; and should neither need bit nor bridle but their own asses' ears." And on James fearing that it would discontent the rest of the gentry " Tush, Sir," said he; "you want the money, that will do you good; the honour will do them very little harm." But this anecdote, as Mr. Nichols remarks, if it is at all to be credited, seems rather to apply to the " Knights of forty pound James made at the corona- tion." Others say that Sir Robert Cotton, the founder of the Cottonian library, was the inventor of this lesser nobility. Of this order the historian of the Garter discourses as follows " This leads us to the degree of baronets, who seem allied to knighthood, by having granted them the addition of Sir to be set before their names ; but this gives them not the dignity of knighthood; nor can they properly be called knights until they be actually knighted. "It is a degree erected Anno 9 Jac. 1., and the grant made by letters patent under the great seal of England. It is hereditary to them, and the heirs BARONETS. 171 male of their bodies lawfully begotten, for ever ; and by a subsequent decree of the said king, precedence is granted to them before all bannerets, except such as should be made by the king under his standard, displayed in an army royal in open war, and the king personally present, and next to and immediately after the younger sons of viscounts and barons. The ground for erecting this degree was partly martial; for though themselves were not enjoined personal service in the wars, yet each baronet was to maintain thirty foot-soldiers for three years in Ireland, after the rate of eightpence per day, for the defence of that kingdom, and chiefly to secure the plantation of Ulster. " They were at least to be descended from a grand- father, on the father's side, that bore arms, and had a revenue of WOOL per annum, or lands of old rents of equal value with 1000/. per annum of improved lands, or at least two parts of three of such estate in pos- session ; the other third in reversion expectant upon one life held only in jointure. " The year after, King James II. added some new privileges and ornaments, namely, to knight those already made that were no knights; and the heirs hereafter of every baronet should, at the age of one and twenty years, receive knighthood; likewise, that all baronets might bear in canton, or in an escut- cheon, the arms of Ulster ; and farther, to have place in the armies of the king in the gross, near about the the royal standard. 172 WINDSOR CASTLE. " Since the institution of baronets in England, there have been made divers in Ireland after the like form. And the knights of Nova Scotia, in the West Indies, were ordained in imitation of baronets in England, by the said James, A.D. 1622, for the planting that country by Scotch colonies, and the degree made like- wise hereditary. " These latter wear an orange tawny riband as their badge, to distinguish them from other knights ; and it appears, there was intention, 1627, to move his then majesty, that all baronets and knights bache- lors might wear ribands of several colours, some badge or jewels in such sort as did the Knights of the Bath, to distinguish the one from the other. But that matter dropt." We are too well acquainted with the duty of an humble chronicler to enter into the controversy touch- ing the character of James; but, nevertheless, we cannot think that all the ingenuity of his defenders has been able to render it respectable. His flying off to Denmark in search of his betrothed seems to have been nothing else than a "sudden sally," as Dr. Robertson calls it, and " a wide deviation from his general character; although later writers have seen in it a specimen of the romantic, similar to the expe- dition of his son Charles into Spain. " Among the flouts and gibes," says Mr. D'Israeli, " so freely bespattering the personal character of James the First, is one of his coldness and neglect of his queen. It would, however, be difficult to prove CHARACTER OF JAMES I. 173 any known fact, that James was not as indulgent as a husband as he was as a father. Yet even a writer so well informed as Daines Barrington, who, as a lawyer, could not refrain from lauding the royal sage during his visit to Denmark, on his marriage, for having borrowed three statutes from the Danish code, found the king's name so provocative of sarcasm, that he could not forbear observing, that James * spent more time in those courts of judicature than in attend- ing upon his destined consort.' * Men of all sorts have taken a pride to gird at me,' might this monarch have exclaimed. But ' every thing has two handles,' saith the ancient adage. Had an austere Puritan chosen to observe, that James I., when abroad, had lived jovially; and had this historian then dropped silently the interesting circumstance of the king's ' spending his time in the Danish courts of judicature,' the fact would have borne him out in his reproof ; and Francis Osborne, indeed, had censured James for giving marks of his uxoriousness ! There was no deficient gallantry in the conduct of James the First to his queen ; the very circumstance, that when the princess of Denmark was driven back by a storm to Norway, the king resolved to hasten to her, and con- summate his marriage in Denmark, was itself as romantic an expedition as afterwards that of his son's into Spain, and betrays no mark of that tame pusil- lanimity with which he stands overcharged." The single instance of gallantry to his queen is not particularly surprising. James was fond of spectacles, 174 WINDSOR CASTLE and it was impossible even for him not to catch some portion of the spirit of a court which in the words of a contemporary, was " a continued maskarado, where she and her ladies, like so many sea-nymphs, or Neriades, appeared often in various dresses, to the ravishment of the beholders ; the King himself not being a little delighted with such fluent elegancies as made the night more glorious than the day." The anecdote alluded to is given by Mr. D'Israeli. " That James the First," says he, " was fondly in- dulgent to his queen, and could perform an act of chivalric gallantry with all the generosity of passion, and the ingenuity of an elegant mind, a pleasing anecdote which I have discovered in an unpublished letter of the day, will shew. I give it in the words of the writer : " 'August, 1613. " ' At their last being at Theobald's, about a fort- night ago, the queen, shooting at a deer, mistook her mark, and killed Jewel, the king's most principal and special hound ; at which the king stormed exceedingly awhile ; but after he knew who did it he was soon pacified, and with much kindness wished her not to be troubled with it, for he would love her never the worse ; and the next day sent her a diamond, worth two thousand pounds, as a legacy from his dead dog. Love and kindness increase daily between them.' " Such is the history of a contemporary living at court, very opposite to that representation of the cold- ness and neglect with which the king's character has WITCHES. 175 been so freely aspersed; and such, too, is the true portrait of James the First in domestic life. His sensations were thoughtless and impetuous; and he would ungracefully thunder out an oath, which a puritan would set down in his ' tables,' while he omitted to note that this king's forgiveness and for- getfulness of personal injuries were sure to follow the feeling they had excited." James's ferocious zeal against witchcraft is the greatest blot upon his character, and we do not think Mr. Nichols has succeeded in wiping it off. James was a practical persecutor, not a theorist, on demon- ology ; and, if he did not believe and devoutly too in all the nonsense he advanced even as evidence, his conduct was all the more detestable. The proof in his favour of Dr. Hutchinsoii, goes but a little way. " In the collection that I have made," says the doctor, "it is observable, that in one hundred and three years from the statute against witchcraft in the 33rd of Henry VIII. , till 1644, when we were in the midst of our civil wars, I find but about fifteen exe- cuted. But, in the sixteen years following, while the government was in other hands, there were an hundred and nine, if not more, condemned and hanged." That is to say, that from 1541 till nineteen years after James's death, in the time of the Commonwealth, this disproportion existed ; but it should be recollected, that these statistics apply to England, and that James, more especially about the year 1591, committed the 176 WINDSOR CASTLE. most fearful barbarities of this kind upon his Scottish subjects. United with this fierce credulity, he exhibited ex- treme childishness in his amusements, and generally in his intercourse with society ; but we give, as a curiosity, an extract from one of his letters, dis- tinguished at the same time by kind and natural feeling. When the king's two "sweete boys," Prince Charles and his " sweete Steenie gossoppe " were in Spain, James wrote to them from Windsor. The letter was addressed to both, and affords a good specimen of his style and manner. " My Babie shall receive the tilt- ing-staffe now bravelie set forth, and fit for a wooer, but in good faith the weather will be so hoatte therein, before ye can use it, that I wolde wish ye rather to forbeare it, for I feare my Babie may catche a fever by it; and my Steenie gossoppe must be comming hoame before the hoarses can be readdie to runne. My sweete Babies, for God's sake, and youre deare dade's, putte not yourselfis in hazarde by any violent exercise as long as ye are therein. I am presentlie to goe in hande with the provyding of Jewells for my Babie to give in presents, by whiche I hoape shall save him a goode deale of money." He sent six jewels for Buckingham to give away at his parting, which was expected to be previous to that of the prince, and adds on the subject " The watche is the richest .and fittest for some old ladie in my opinion ; but the ring is the farre noblest." CONDUCT OF THE FAIR SEX. 177 We have seen the importance to which women attained in the time of chivalry, but in this reign, if we are to believe a contemporary writer, their assumption seems to have gone beyond all bounds. " Our pulpits ring continually of the impudence and insolence of women ; and to help forward, the players have likewise taken them to task, and so to the ballads and ballad-singers; so that they can come nowhere but their ears tingle. And if this will not serve, the king threatens to fall upon their husbands, parents, or friends, that have, or should have, power over them, and make them pay for it." [James I., during his residence at Windsor, amused himself with his favourite diversion of hunting, for which this neighbourhood was so well adapted. In " Norden's Survey " we have a minute account of the number of parks included in the royal demesnes, their respective admeasurements, the number of deer, &c. He tells us, that the little park measured three miles and three-eighths round, and contained about 280 acres of good ground. It was stocked with fallow deer to the amount of 240, and with 68 antlers, and 30 bucks. The great park, he states, measured ten miles and a quarter, and contained 3650 acres. "The walks," he observes, "not having separation, the deer so interchase, that the number in each walk can never hardly be distinguished ; but the whole number within the park are, by the wood- man, supposed to be 1800 deer, whereof about 500 are bucks." N 178 WINDSOR CASTLE. All the parks, which covered the country round to a great extent, embracing a circumference of seventy-seven miles, extended, on one side, as far as Guildford, and on the other to Henley. One incident, in the reign of James L, should not be omitted, as it may help to set at rest a question which may probably arise between the crown and the dean and chapter of St. George's. In 1603, a part of the castle wall, near the royal chapel, was blown down, and a dispute arose as to who should repair it. The Crown contended that, since the part of the castle where the breach had been made was given, by Edward III., to the college of St. George, and since they possessed revenues to maintain it in repair, and had opened windows in the walls, and made drains, which occasioned the breach, they were bound to bear the expense of repairing it. On the part of the dean and chapter, it was con- tended, that the wall was much more ancient than the foundation of the college ; that it was higher than the houses adjoining ; that it was built for the defence of the castle ; that they had no property in it ; that the charter of Edward had freed them from the charges of repairing the Castle; that the wall had fallen in, not through any fault of theirs, but through the lapse of years; and that, if they were forced to repair it, a precedent would be set which would involve them in expenses for repairs, at a future time, beyond their power to defray. The cause being COLLEGE OF ST. GEORGE. 179 heard, at their request, before the barons of the exchequer, on the 21st of February, 1606, more than two years after the wall had been broken down, it was decided in favour of the college. The king was to repair the breach, and the lights and casements in the walls, which had been there before, were still to be retained by the dean and canons, but they were to repair them at their own expense.] N 2 CO8TDMES OP CHABUES I,'S TIME. CHAPTER XV. CHARLES I. ROYAL ROMANCE. MAN'S LOVE AND WOMAN'S LOVE. THE INFANTA OF SPAIN AND HENRIETTA OF FRANCE. CONFLICT OF THE GRACE-SAYERS. WINDSOR THE PRISON OF ITS MASTER. WEEKLY NEWS- PAPERS OF THE TIME. THE CASTLE REPAIRED AND EMBELLISHED BY CHARLES II. THE NEW QUEEN AND HER TRAIN OF UGLINESSES. BAR- BARA VILLIERS. THE BRUTAL HUSBAND. CANNIBAL LOYALISTS. EVELYN'S ACCOUNT OF WINDSOR. JAMES n. THE romantic expedition of Charles I. into Spain, was a very different matter from the " sudden sally " of his father on a business of the same nature. The details of the former adventure are better known abroad than in this country ; and we think it would ROYAL WOOING. 181 repay the labour of some more competent pen than has yet made the attempt, to collect and reproduce them in a work of historical fiction. James's motives for granting his consent to the expedition were pro- bably not all of an interested nature. His own voyage, and the Raid of Ruthven, were the two grand incidents of his personal history; and as the latter haunted his memory with images of terror to the latest moment of his life, so the former, associated with ideas of triumph, and celebrated by his courtiers as a feat of knightly daring, must have been dwelt upon with corresponding complacency. Kings wear, like other men, " The electric chain with which we are darkly bound ;" and, in examining their motives, we should never forget that they are part and parcel of human nature. The infanta was prepared to expect her royal lover and to see in him, through his disguise, a young, handsome, and accomplished prince. She wore, it is said, a blue ribbon on her arm, that he might distin- guish her among the crowd of ladies ; and when she felt that for the first time those eyes, which had already become true stars of love to her woman's imagination, were fixed upon her, it is recorded that a deep blush rose into her face. In a day or two after the first interview, Charles joined in the sport of running at the ring, when his mistress was among the spectators, and won at the first course. The citizens of Madrid forgot their religious bigotry at this moment; and all cried out that their infanta 182 WINDSOR CASTLE. ought to be given at once to his arms. It was no state love on the part of Charles. He was observed to gaze upon her face with the same long, passionate, melancholy look which Douglas is described by the great romancer as fixing upon the beautiful and unfor- tunate Queen of Scots; and, on one occasion, he leaped over the walls of her garden to endeavour to obtain speech of her. He watched in the street for hours together, in places where he expected she might pass; and overwhelmed with gifts everybody whom he hoped to render of any assistance to his designs. But, notwithstanding all this, when the match (which had made so much progress that a Catholic church was built at St. James's for the Spanish prin- cess) was broken off by state intrigues, Charles ap- pears to have felt but little. So true it is, that " love is but an episode in the life of a man ! " The poor infanta was studying with great zeal the language of her new country ; and already in common conversa- tion was called the princess of England. What were her real feelings on the departure of the Stranger can of course only be guessed at; but one expression is on record which broke from the heart of the woman, and the Spanish girl (for at that moment the prin- cess was nothing) " Had he really loved me, he never would have left me ! " That Charles did love her, can hardly be disputed, but it was after the fashion of a man; and in a very short time, instead of the infanta of Spain, he carried to Windsor the princess Henrietta of France. GRACE-SAYING EXTRAORDINARY. 183 We shall not dwell upon this unhappy marriage. If Henrietta had not been a bigot, she would merely have been a light and vain woman; but, as it was, she aggravated all the evils of a miserable reign, and contributed her full share towards sending her hus- band to the scaffold. To such a height did the Protestant and Catholic jealousies rise, that officers were stationed at the door of the queen's chapel, to prevent English converts from entering; and, on those occasions, the French sometimes drew their swords to defend them. " The king and queen," says a MS. of the time, " dining together in the presence, Mr. Hacket (chap- lain to the Lord Keeper Williams) being then to say grace, the confessor would have prevented him, but that Hacket shoved him away; whereupon the con- fessor went to the queen's side, and was about to say grace again, but that the king pulling the dishes unto him, and the carvers falling to their business, hin- dered. When dinner was done, the confessor thought, standing before the queen, to have been before Mr. Hacket, but Mr. Hacket again got the start. The confessor, nevertheless, begins his grace as loud as Mr. Hacket, with such a confusion, that the king in great passion instantly rose from the table, and, tak- ing the queen by the hand, retired into the bed- chamber." Another MS. mentions, that " the priests had also made her dabble in the dirt in a foul morning from Somerset House to St. James, her Luciferian confessor 184 WINDSOR CASTLE. riding along by her in his coach ! They have made her go barefoot, to spin, to eat her meat out of dishes, to wait at the table of servants, and many other ridi- culous and absurd penances. And if they dare thus insult (adds the writer) over the daughter, sister, and wife of so great kings, what slavery would they not make us, the people, to undergo!" Soon after the breaking out of the civil war, the castle was garrisoned by the Parliament, and Colonel Venn appointed governor the same man who after- wards sat in judgment upon its master. In 1642, Prince Eupert made an unsuccessful attack upon it, and it continued in the Parliament's hands during the whole war. In 1648, it was the prison of Charles I., who kept there " his sorrowful and last Christmas." We have looked into the numerous pamphlets of the day, in search of some particulars of this captivity which might be found interesting in their connection with Windsor, but in vain. The search, however, was neither uninstructive nor unamusing. Among the pamphlets in the British Museum are sundry weekly newspapers. They are of the smallest quarto, con- taining two, four, and sometimes more leaves, and embrace, like those of to-day, sundry details of news, both foreign and domestic. Like those of to-day, also, they indulge in prodigious exaggeration; which is amusingly exemplified in one entitled " Terrible and bloody news from Windsor;" for, notwithstanding its title, this pamphlet appears to be a true newspaper. WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS. 185 The fearful intelligence it communicates is, that on Charles being led into his ancestral palace a prisoner, some inhabitants of the town celebrated his arrival by drinking healths ; whereupon they were attacked, and their carousal spoiled by the military. An extract or two will probably be acceptable. From " The Perfect Weekly Account," Wednesday, Dec. 2, 1648: " Fryday. Both houses observed this as a day of humiliation and prayer, to seeke the Lord for a blessing on their future proceedings in relation towards the settlement of this kingdome. There was this sessions fifteen condemned to dy, and the last nyght they got weapons conveyed into the prison to them, and then taking advantage of the keeper as he opened the door to let one come in to speak with them, they threw him down stairs, and violently rushed out of the prison, and sixteen went clear away, one stayed behind, but he was before reprieved." " Satturday. Two men rid the woodden horse at the Royal Exchange, with a paper on their breast signify- ing their oflence thus : that they having newly enlisted themselves for souldiers, did imprison without any authority citizens and grocers of London, pretending that they had some heinous matters against them, let others take warning by this example, and not think to shelter themselves in the army for their own wicked ends. There be others which be gotten into souldiers' habit which are got on purpose to do mischief, and have it thought to be done by souldiers." From " Mercurius Melancholius, communicating the 186 WINDSOR CASTLE. generall affaires of theKingdome:" " His Majestie is at Windsor, and was brought thither by Colonel Har- rison. There his Majestie is hurried up and down at the pleasure of trayters, and committed to the power of the basest of his vassalls. First, he is sold by the Scots to their fellow-rebells of England, and betrayed from Newcastle to Holdonby : thence he was snatched by a more bloodie sort of rebells, and shut up in a more close prison, in Carisbrook Castle in the Isle of Wight : thence by Colonel Ewers (sometime a kitchen- boy), and Joyce a tailor, and Ralph a shoo-maker, that practised to pryson his Majestie in Carisbrook Castle : he was conveyed to Hurst Castle, a nastie prison, and scarce fit to be kannell for a dog ; and now to Windsor, which, though of itself it be a most statelie build- ing, yet for these seven yeares it has been a receptacle for nastie souldiers ; where he now remains, lockt up from all the common comforts of the world, and the society of any but his most deadly and implacable enemies." From " The Kingdome's Weekly Intelligencer:" " From Windsor it was this day certified that the king is in health, and that he had this day received a booke from Master William Sedgewick, who did kisse his Majestie's hand, and was blamed by an old servant of the King's then present, for being so sharpe with the king in his discourse. The king is lodged in a very mean place. In the time of night his doore is secured with strong bolts, and his person with strong guards that do attend him." [Charles built a gate at the east PRISONERS AT WINDSOR. 187 end of the terrace : " the very gate," says a modern writer, "beneath whose pediment walked the guard that held him in captivity."] In the same year of the king's confinement, Major- general Browne, having offended his masters, the Parliament, was imprisoned at Windsor; and, in 1656, Judge Jenkins was removed thence to Abing- don, after an imprisonment of several years. In 1659, the Castle was surrendered to a party of horse under Colonel Ingoldby and Major Wildman. In 1660, the Earl of Lauderdale, the Earl of Lindsay, and Lord Sinclair, were discharged from it after a long imprisonment. [During Charles I.'s reign, a pyramid, or lantern, was placed on the front of the castle, and a clock provided by David Ramsey, that illustrious clock- maker, whom Sir Walter Scott has immortalized in his " Fortunes of Nigel." The clock was removed from the old tower in the late improvements. The bell bore the date of 1636, with the inscription " God save our King Charles ! God save my lord, the king !" and the royal arms, having the rose and thistle. When Windsor Castle became a garrison of the parliamentary army, and Colonel Venn, afterwards one of Charles's judges, appointed the governor, what a contrast presented itself ! When we consider that fabric, the proud residence of so many kings, and the very emblem of monarchy itself, becoming the scene of the shouts and blasphemies of a republican rabble! Nothing that was sacred in religion, or 188 WINDSOR CASTLE. beautiful in arts, escaped the wantonness or avarice of this sacrilegious mob ! The tombs of their kings were mutilated, and the statues and paintings of the best masters became the property of Jews and specu- lators. Whatever would fetch gold was transferred to the best bidder, and whatever was not marketable became the object of destruction. The niches on the exterior of St. George's chapel, are now, alas, still empty, a melancholy memento of the horrors and barbarism which must ever follow a national con- vulsion. Christopher Wren, the father of the celebrated architect, was at this time dean of Windsor, and exerted himself in recovering as many of the records of the chapel as he could procure. " He had the good fortune," says Granger, "to redeem the three registers distinguished by the names of the black, blue, and red, which were carefully preserved by him till his death. They were afterwards in the custody of his son, who, soon after the restoration, delivered them to Dr. Brune Ry ves, then dean of Windsor." Mr. Houghton, in his very interesting work, " Windsor in the Olden Time/' has published some letters from Charles I., written during his imprison- ment, to a person named Dowcett, an inhabitant of Windsor, who was intrusted with various communica- tions to the friends of the king. The MSS. from which these letters are printed is in the handwriting of James Jennings, of Windsor, a friend of Dowcett, who allowed him to copy them. He was carpenter to CASTLE REPAIRED BY CHARLES II. 189 Charles II., and died in 1739, at the advanced age of 104 years. Dowcett states with respect to this correspondence " This is all the letters which I could save of his late Majestic, for I was forced to burn a matter of twenty when I was prisonner att Caris- brooke Castle." There is one passage in these letters very charac- teristic of Charles. He says " Let your wyfe assure all my friends that, by the grace of God, I will neither be cheated nor frighted from my grounds."] Charles I. had done something towards the com- pletion of this noble building, for he constructed the gate leading to the park ; but, during the civil con- vulsions, it was threatened with utter destruction, and only escaped with having its beauty defaced, and its ornaments carried off. Much was left for his suc- cessor to do ; and much was done by him. Charles II. repaired and embellished it ; he decorated the rooms with paintings ; established a magazine of arms ; and continued the terrace round the eastern and southern sides of the upper court. This walk is faced with a rampart of free stone, and is said, like the northern terrace, to be not far inferior in magnificence to the celebrated terrace of the seraglio at Constantinople. Such was the state of ruin in which the chapel in particular was left, that it is given as a reason why Charles II. could not find his father's body, that even those who had buried it " could not well fix upon any object in so desolate a place to assist their future re- collection."" All the wainscot, railings, and partitions, 190 WINDSOR CASTLE. were broken down by the garrison, and the monuments had been defaced before the royal body was conveyed thither, by Cromwell's order.* [Cromwell, after his elevation to the Protectorship, frequently resided at Windsor. The consciousness, however, that his family would not long remain in possession of the power which he should leave them, prevented him probably from making any additions, or particular improvements, to the Castle. An old writer gives a vivid description of the usurper: a coat of mail concealed beneath his dress his steps slow, as he sauntered along the terrace of the Castle and his mind apparently abstracted in thought while he occasionally threw furtive glances on each side of him, as if in perpetual dread of the stroke or bullet of his assassin. What a contrast between this man and his high-minded victim! The latter, unfor- tunate in life, and miserable in his end, was still calm, and even cheerful, in all his misfortunes; the former, prosperous in all his undertakings, was wretched even in his prosperity. Charles, having been ong inured to the frowns of fortune, looked upon death as his best friend. Cromwell, on whom ad- versity never lowered, was the prey of a morbid con- science, and died on the very day which he had always mentioned as the most fortunate of his life. Charles descended to the grave in silence, and almost in secrecy. Cromwell was buried with the pomp of the * Even horses were picketed in the chapel, and some of the iron fastenings for this purpose lately remained. ED. QUEEN HENRIETTA. 191 proudest kings ; yet his body was shortly re-interred beneath the public gibbet, and his skull is even now an object of curiosity in the Museum of the University of Oxford.] Charles II., with the fatality which pursued the dregs of his race, chose a Catholic wife ; and the Infanta of Portugal came over to reign at Windsor. " The queen arrived," says Evelyn, in his Diary, " with a train of Portuguese ladies, in their monstrous fardingales, or guard-infantas ; their complexions oli- vader, and sufficiently disagreable ; her Majesty in the same habit ; her foretop long, and turned aside very strangely : she was yet of the handsomest counte- nance of all the rest, and though low of stature prettily shaped; languishing and excellent eyes; her teeth wronging her mouth by sticking a little too far out ; for the rest lovely enough." In the portrait by Sir Peter Lely, nevertheless, engraved in Lodge's Portraits, with the exception of her eyes and fore- head, she is represented as any thing but handsome. No sooner was she established, than Charles brought into her room the infamous Barbara Villiers, after- wards Countess of Castlemaine, and Duchess of Cleveland, with whom he had been living for some time in open shame. The queen appeared to receive her rival with the same grace as the rest of the com- pany ; but, on sitting down in her chair, her colour changed, tears gushed from her eyes, her nose bled, and she fainted away. This only seemed to enrage her brutal husband ; he ceased from that moment to 192 WINDSOR CASTLE. treat her with the slightest form of respect ; and even in her presence conversed exclusively with Barbara Villiers. The queen struggled for a while ; but, being destitute of strength of mind, soon gave way, and sunk into the opposite extreme of servility and mean- ness. She at length joined with a strange desperation in all the mad frolics of the time, " going about masked," as Burnet tells us, " and coming into houses unknown, and dancing there with a kind of wild frolic. Once,"" he continues, " her chairmen, not knowing who she was, went from her : so she was alone, and much dis- turbed, and came to Whitehall in a hackney coach; some say it was in a cart." Charles, at length, seriously thought of getting rid of her altogether; and many projects were discussed by him and Buck- ingham with that view. One was, to get her per- suaded by her confessor to become a nun ; and another deliberately proposed by the duke, who offered his own services in perpetrating the villany that she should be carried off to the plantations in the West Indies, that it might be given out, in order to enable the king to sue for a divorce, that she had deserted him. [We almost look with complacency upon the charac- ter of the usurper himself, when we see the second Charles holding his voluptuous revels in the very halls which had been the prison of his father ; in those very apartments where he had moralized over his own broken fortunes, and wept over those of his children ; ENTHUSIASTIC LOYALISTS. 193 where he had probably communed with his Maker, and prepared himself for that death which he must have anticipated, either by the hands of the headsman or the assassin. Within the precincts of Windsor, the greatest admirer of Charles II. can hardly think upon his memory without disgust. His good nature is forgotten, his gallantry and high breeding become matters of reproach, and his wit construed into buf- foonery and bad taste.] His restoration, however, was hailed on the part of many of his subjects with a species of devout enthu- siasm which might well have turned a steadier brain. But, of all the excesses to which these feelings gave rise, perhaps the following is the most outrageous, as well as the most disgusting. It is stated in Whitelock's Memorials, that in Berkshire, (in May, 1650,) " five drunkards agreed to drink the king's health in their blood; and that each of them should cut off a piece of his flesh, and fry it upon the gridiron, which was done by four of them ; of whom one did bleed so exceedingly, that they were fain to send for a chirurgeon, and so were discovered. The wife of one of them, hearing that her husband was among them, came to the room, and, taking up a pair of tongs, laid about her, and so saved the cutting of her husband's flesh." The only account we can find of the actual im- provements, or alterations, made in the castle by Charles, is scattered through the voluminous memoirs of Evelyn; his contemporary, Pepys, limiting his 194 WINDSOR CASTLE. notice to some foolish exclamations, as foolishly ex- pressed. In the following extracts will be found every thing of interest on the subject in Evelyn. " We dined at Windsor, and saw the castle and the chapell of St. George, where they have laid our blessed martyr King Charles in the vault just before the altar. The church and workmanship in stone is admirable. The castle itselfe large in circumference, but y e roomes melancholy and of ancient magnificence. The keepe or mounte hath, besides its incomparable prospect, a very profound well ; and the terrace to- wards Eaton, with the park, meandering Thames, and sweete meadows, yield one of y e most delightful prospects." 1670. "Windsor was now going to be repaired, being exceedingly ragged ruinous. Prince Rupert the Constable had begun to trim up the keepe or high round tower, and handsomely adorned the hall with furniture of armes, which was very singular, by so disposing of y e pikes, muskets, pistols, bandeliers, holsters, and drums, back, breast, and head pieces, as was very extraordinary. Thus those huge steepe stayres ascending to it had the walls invested with this martial furniture all new and bright, and so dis- posing the bandaliers, holsters, and drums, as to repre- sent festoons, and that without any confusion, trophy- like. From the hall we went into his bed-chamber, and other rooms hung with tapestrie, curious and effeminate pictures, so extreamely different from the other, which presented nothing but warr and horror." EVELYN AT WINDSOR. 195 " The statue of the king cast in copper, on a rich pedestal of white marble, executed by Gibbons, at the expense of Toby Rustal, a page of the back stairs, who by his wonderful frugality had arrived to a greate estate in money, and did many works of charity, as well as this of gratitude to his master, w ch cost him WOOL He is a very simple and ignorant, but honest and loyal creature."* 1683. " That which was new at Windsor since I was last there, and was surprising to me, was that incomparable fresca painting in St. George's Hall, representing the legend of St. George, and triumph of the Black Prince, and his reception by Edward III. ; the valte or roofe not totally finished ; then the Resur- rection in the chapell, where the figure of the ascension is in my opinion comparable to any painting of the most famous Roman masters; the last supper, also, over the altar. I like the contrivance of the unseen organ behind the altar, nor lesse the stupendous and beyond all description the incomparable carving of our Gibbons, who is, without controversie, the greatest master, both for invention and rarenesse, that the world ever had in any age ; nor doubt I at all that he will prove as greate a master in the statuary art. * Rustal was, at one time, housekeeper of Hampton Court Palace, where there was a curious portrait of him, recently transferred to Wind- sor Castle. On the hoof of the horse is cast, " Josiah Ibach, strada Bremensis, 1679, fudit." There is not much to be admired either about the horse or its rider, but the pedestal has always been highly and justly praised. Lord Orford says of it : " The fruits, fish, and implements of shipping are exquisite ; the man and horse may serve to draw a pas- senger's eye to the pedestal." It is by Gibbons. ED. o 2 196 WINDSOR CASTLE. " Verrio's invention is admirable, his ordnance full and flowing, antiq and baronial; his figures move; and if the walls hold (which is the only doubt, by reason of the salts which in time and in this moist climate prejudice) the work will preserve his name to ages. " There was now the terrace brought about round the old castle; the grass made cleane, even, and curiously turfd; the avenues to the new parke, and other walkes, planted with elmes and limes, and a pretty canal, and receptacle for fowl; nor less ob- servable and famous is the throwing so large a quan- tity of excellent water to the enormous height of the castle, for the use of the whole house, by an extra- ordinary invention of Sir Samuel Morland." [It may be remarked, in addition to these ob- servations, that Charles II. had lived so much abroad, that he had acquired a taste for foreign architecture. Windsor, therefore, was made to resemble Versailles, in some respects, French taste being introduced in the restoration of the castle. The architect was Hugh May, and both he and his successor, Sir Christopher Wren, either were ignorant of the beauties of the Gothic style, or else despised our early English archi- tecture. The castle was, in consequence, transmuted into an incongruous imitation of a foreign palace. A new building was added, called the Star building, from its having a large star in front ; and the whole of the external walls, extending from it to the Devil's tower, on the south side, was made to present a VERRIO, THE PAINTER. 197 mere flat surface of stonework, with towers pared down to an insipid outline, mean circular windows being divided across the middle by a balustrade. The ceilings by Verrio, some of which remain, were amongst the ornaments of the interior. There is a curious anecdote of this artist related by Lord Orford, viz., that while Verrio was employed at Windsor, he quarrelled with Mrs. Marriott, his housekeeper, and borrowed her ugly face for one of the furies, in order to gratify his personal pique. To please the court, he introduced Lord Shaftesbury among the demons of faction, distributing libels. There is also a study for a proposed ceiling by Verrio, now at Hampton Court, in which he introduced Sir Godfrey Kneller, Mr. May, surveyor of the works, and himself, in long periwigs, as spectators of our Saviour healing the sick ! The castle, completely transformed, and furnished in the French and Italian taste, was a favourite residence of Charles, and the scene of many a revel. A theatre was fitted up, and French comedians acted in it. Nell Gwyn resided first near Bray, and afterwards in a house close to the castle, and her bed may still be seen at that excellent hotel in the town "The Castle."] James II. occasionally resided at Windsor, but we can find nothing of any interest in his history in con- nexion with the castle, except the fact, very minutely mentioned by Burnet, that it very narrowly missed the honour of being the cradle of his real or pre- 198 WINDSOR CASTLE. tended son. The queen had made every preparation for getting over the interesting matter at Windsor; but, suddenly changing her mind, she flew post-haste to St. James's where, almost on the instant of her arrival, she pre- sented her lord with a son previously pre- sented to herself, as the good bishop hints in a warming-pan. [James II. certainly completed the altera- tions in the castle which had been begun JAMES and left unfinished by his brother. James also employed Verrio to paint the roof of Wolsey's chapel. It exhibited the king in the robes of the Garter, seated on an arch, treading down a hydra, while Mars was crushing Faction, Fury, and Rebellion ; Juno and Peace were pourtrayed placing a crown on the monarch's head, with many other allegorical devices. Mass was celebrated in it, and Evelyn notices the fact thus: "Sept. 6th, 1685. Went to hear a Frenchman, who preached before the king and queen, in that splendid chapel next St. George's Hall. Their majesties going to mass, I withdrew, to consider the stupendous painting of the hall." It was at Windsor that the king received the pope's JAMES II. 199 nuncio, a circumstance which was probably the chief cause of his losing his crown. The public reception of the nuncio took place on the 3rd of July, and the Duke of Somerset received order to be in attendance on the occasion, to introduce the dignitary. He begged to be excused, on the ground that compliance would bring him within the statute of treason. " Do you not know," said James, " that I am above the law?" "Your majesty may be," replied the duke; " but I am not." He was dismissed the court.] From this period, till the reign of the two last Georges, we find nothing of any moment concerning our castle. With George IV., however, began a new era; and under his auspices Windsor attained to a degree of splendour and completeness, which is al- together without parallel in Europe. [When the Prince of Orange had landed in Eng- land, he remained for a short time at Henley-on- Thames, and from thence removed to Windsor Castle, where the blow was struck which removed James II. from the throne. The following warrant was there prepared and served on him : " We desire you, the Lord Marquis of Halifax, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and the Lord Delamere, to tell the king, that it is thought convenient, for the greater quiet of the city, and for the greater safety of his person, that he do remove to Ham, where he shall be attended by his guards, who shall be ready to preserve him from any disturbance. Given at Wind sor, the 17th Dec. 1688."] WINDSOR CASTLE FBOM PLATING FIELDS, ETON. CHAPTER XVI. CHANGES IN TASTE SPECIMEN OF BAD TASTE. ROUND TOWER. SIR J. WYATVILLE. EXTERNAL APPEARANCE OF THE CASTLE. PRINCIPAL GATEWAY. UPPER WARD. ENTRANCE TO THE STATE APARTMENTS. QUEEN'S BALL ROOM. INTRODUCTION OF VERRIO TO WINDSOR. ANEC- DOTES. GRINLING GIBBONS. PICTURES IN THE QUEEN'S BALL ROOM. COUNTESS OF CARLISLE. DUCHESS OF RICHMOND. COUNTESS OF DORSET. LADY VENETIA DIGBY. CAREW AND KILLIGREW. HEN- RIETTA MARIA. CHARLES I. WE have seen that Windsor Castle bears marks of the hand of almost every English monarch, from William the Conqueror downwards.* The principal names connected with this edifice are those of Wil- liam, Henry I., Edward III. and IV., Henry VII. * Every one must regret that specimens of the different alterations made by the several monarchs were not preserved from time to time. They would have added much to the interesting old castle, both as regards the antiquary and the spectator generally. ED. CHANGES IN TASTE. 201 and VIIL, Elizabeth, Charles I. and II. , Georges III. and IV., and William IV. Specimens are still to be seen of the taste of nearly all these monarchs. " At the north-west extremity of the curtain walls," says Mr. Britton, " in the lower ward, is an example of real Norman design, called Caesar's, or the Bell Tower; whilst the dynasties of the Plantagenets. Lancasterians, Yorkists, Tudors, Stuarts, and Hano- verians, are all to be identified in other parts of those extensive castellated and Christian buildings." From the time of Charles II. however, if we except the pictures introduced by James II., and a painted staircase begun by Queen Anne, and finished by George I., the castle appears to have been neglected till George III. This prince repaired, and superbly decorated the chapel. The keep, however, was till his time surrounded by a fosse, in the depths of which grew many majestic trees, whose branches almost reached to the battlements; and we cannot help join- ing Mr. Hakewell in his lamentations for the loss of a feature which must have given it " the characteristic and solemn dignity which age alone can produce." * George IV. could not remedy this deed, although it was talked of, we believe, in the time of his succes- sor; but he may be said, in all essential respects, to be the reconstructor of the castle as it now stands. George IV., whatever may have been his vices and fol- lies, was in the main a man of taste; and, although * The fosse is now a flower and kitchen-garden, with an apple and pear orchard. 202 WINDSOR CASTLE. somewhat too fond of glitter and bizarreries, this per- versity was corrected by the genius of his architect, in whom were united those rare qualities which are capable of reconciling vastness with convenience, and splendour with refinement. The elder Wyatt appears to have been a common person, and as such exceedingly well suited to the calibre of his master, George III.; nay, we are of opinion that an artist of higher talent would have been of no use, from the impossibility of conquering the bad taste of the king. The fourth George, on the other hand, possessed from nature those glimpses and revealings of the beautiful and noble, which induced him to doubt his own kingly infallibility, when his ideas were combated by others ; and, in the younger Wyatt, he luckily found a man conscious of his own superiority in matters of art, and determined to assert the rights of his genius. This accomplished architect deserves, and has obtained, much praise for the skilful manner in which he reconciled the existing contradic- tions, and added to the beauty and majesty of the edifice, without destroying its original characteristics. This is the . grand merit of such a work. In general, and it happened so with Windsor every succeed- ing age adds its peculiarities to the last, and thus renders grotesque what it affects to preserve. His task, therefore, was a very difficult one; it having been agreed on all hands, that the alterations, from the Tudor dynasty downwards, were, with hardly an exception, bad. A portion of them were altogether ROUND TOWER. 203 taken down, and, in consequence of the decay of the main timbers, new floors and ceilings, with new parti- tion walls, were found necessary. In fact, the whole of the upper ward is so much changed in appearance, that, were it not for its peculiarity of situation, and the grand distinctive feature of the Round Tower, the castle could hardly be recognised as the same which was the palace of George III. But even the Round Tower of that epoch may be said to have served only as the foundation of the present. It did not reach so high as the new but- tresses; and the Flag Tower, which adds so much to the effect, was altogether wanting. This latter appen- dage, indeed, provoked much criticism at the time ; but the architect triumphantly answered all objections, by exhibiting a model of the castle, with the flag-tower removable at pleasure. This we have seen ourselves, and, according to our judgment, there can be no question as to the high value of the improvement.* St. George's Gateway, by which the public enter to view the quadrangle, is entirely a new construction, as well as the portion of the building which connects * We cannot concur in these remarks. Many persons think that the old keep has been improved in external beauty. We are not one of them. On the contrary, we think that it has lost much of that local interest and characteristic appearance it formerly possessed. It has cer- tainly acquired many feet in elevation, and its antique rooms have been converted into comfortable sleeping apartments ; but we can scarcely refrain from sighing, when we find the old tapestry stripped from its walls, the pieces of old armour no longer rusting on their pegs, and those halls turned to modern uses, which were once the prisons of the great and the unfortunate. It is, in fact, no longer the Round Tower of former ages. ED. 204 WINDSOR CASTLE. that gateway with the tower of King Edward III. The turret which rises on the left hand above the tower does not nearly reach the summit. Beyond this, still proceeding along the southern point, was the principal entrance, a mean gateway in an obscure situation; which is now entirely closed, and the line of building continued, with beautiful Gothic windows, till we reach the present royal gateway, flanked by the York and Lancaster towers. From this, the buildings, constituting the apartments of the house- hold and guests, have been raised a story to the end of the facade, and surmounted by battlements. A turret, which rose midway, has been cut down to a level with the rest of the line ; and instead of a low, plain tower which terminated the front in this direc- tion, a lofty and magnificent structure, with battle- ments and machicolations, has arisen, which receives the name, and is the peculiar abode of its present royal mistress. Turning the angle, we find the eastern front hardly less altered. Between Victoria Tower, and the Prince of Wales's Tower, there are two others, Clarence and Chester; all completely different from the old plan, which we have compared minutely with the new. This fagade was disfigured by round win- dows, entirely out of keeping with the character of the edifice; and these have now vanished, and are replaced by magnificent Gothic windows. The upper coping of the roofs are embattled; and battlements also carried along the terrace. BRUNSWICK TOWER. 205 In the northern front, a lofty and handsome pile, called Brunswick Tower, serves to give effect to the perspective. In this faqade are Cornwall Tower, King George IV.'s Tower, and Queen Elizabeth's Gallery; with two Norman towers, forming a gate- way into the middle ward. These last were formerly surmounted by most unsightly domes, resembling inverted basons, which are now replaced by battle- ments, and the low gateway between, with which the bayonets of the soldiers used to come in collision entirely reconstructed. We must not conclude this survey of the external improvements, without remark- ing, that as you proceed through the Norman Gate- way into the middle ward, you see before you, at a little distance commencing the lower ward, Winches- ter Tower, so called in honour of the famous architect of Edward III., and now inhabited by the rebuilder of the castle. George IV. pressed upon the acceptance of the latter some more convenient portion of the buildings for a domicile; but Sir Jeffrey preferred associating his name with that of his predecessor. This dirty and half-ruinous nook he has converted, by the magic of his art, into one of its ornaments ; while the interior is laid out in convenient, and even hand- some rooms, fit for a family of respectability. The portion of the castle where the Round Tower stands is usually designated as the middle ward, although at present there is no barrier between it and the lower. The lower ward, to which we shall here- after more particularly refer, contains, besides several 206 WINDSOR CASTLE. towers, the Chapel of St. George, the Royal Tomb- house, and the habitations of the disservants of the chapel, poor knights, &c. Here the external changes are few. The circumference of the castle, according to Batty Langley's plan, is four thousand one hundred and eighty feet, or nearly one mile; and it is fourteen hundred and eighty feet long from east to west. The superficial area within the walls is twelve acres, two roods, and thirty poles. Measured roughly with the compasses on Sir Jeffrey's plan, the south, or principal front, is about thirteen hundred feet long, the north sixteen hundred feet, and the average breadth, from east to west, from four to five hundred feet. This rapid survey may perhaps enable the reader, with the assistance of the plates, to form some idea of the castle in its external appearance; but it will not be so easy a matter to give even a general impression of the interior arrangement of an edifice which con- tains upwards of five hundred apartments in the Upper Ward alone. The principal approach is from the Home Park, through a lofty gateway, flanked by the York and Lancaster towers, two noble structures, one hundred feet high, and crowned with projecting battlements. This gateway is in a line with the Long Walk, an avenue of fine elms ; and from the part of the avenue where the statue of George III. stands, a superb and somewhat peculiar view of the castle is obtained, as may be seen in the accompanying engraving. The APPROACH TO THE CASTLE. 207 gateway is one of the constructions of George IV., and the first stone was laid by himself in person, on the 12th of August, 1828, when the name of the architect was changed from Wyatt to Wyatville, in order, it is presumed, to distinguish him from his uncle, Mr. Wyatt, the less talented architect of George III. King George IWs Gateway conducts into the Upper Ward, which is a hollow quadrangle, entered also through St. George's gate, at the south-west, and the ancient Norman gateway at the west. The first of these entrances is sacred to the royal family, and the second to distinguished visitors. The public are not admitted into the quadrangle; but from a pathway, enclosed, from St. George's Gateway along the base of the Kound Tower, they are permitted to view it. The first floor of the eastern side of the quadrangle is occu- pied by the rooms appropriated to the royal family; those on the south are for the reception of distin- guished visitors, and for the lodgings of the household ; and the state apartments, including St. George's Hall, the Waterloo Gallery, the Audience Room, the Pre- sence Chamber, the Throne Room, the Grand Staircase, and others, are to the north. On the west the qua- drangle is bounded only by the enclosure of the path we have mentioned. We now propose giving a brief sketch of these apartments, in the order in which they are shewn to the public. Entering by a door under a Gothic porch, adjoining to King John's tower, a staircase conducts the visitor 208 WINDSOR CASTLE. to a small oaken vestibule; from which spot is seen a splendid portrait of Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, the archi- tect by whose happy talent this princely residence of the British monarchs has been made to surpass in grandeur and magnificence all the other castellated buildings in Europe. The Queen's Ball Room is a very splendid apart- ment. The original ceiling of this room was painted by Verrio, the favourite artist of Charles II., whose introduction to the task is thus described in Mr. Pyne's magnificent work on the " Eoyal Residences." " The style of internal decoration in the mansions of the great in England had been improving in gran- deur during the two preceding reigns. Under the patronage of James I., a manufactory of tapestry had been established at Mortlake, conducted by Sir Francis Crane, from the looms of which the most superb hang- ings were wrought, in imitation of the designs of emi- nent painters. These supplied decorations for the apartments at Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, White- hall, St. James's, Nonsuch, Greenwich, and other royal seats, and at the mansions of the principal nobility. King James gave 2,000/. towards this establishment at Mortlake ; and Charles I., for a debt of 6,000/. due to Sir Francis Crane, granted him an annuity of 1,000, and a further sum of 2,000/. annually, for ten years, for the advancement of his manufactory. To so great a degree of excellence had this ingenious art arrived, that the pictures of the first masters were copied with spirit and fidelity by the loom. Some of ANECDOTES OF VERRIO. 209 the subjects produced considerable sums ; Williams, archbishop of York, paid to Sir Francis, 2,500/. for the Four Seasons, and many other distinguished per- sons gave large prices for similar works. " Charles II., appearing desirous to restore this manufactory, which had been suppressed by the com- monwealth, invited over Yerrio, a Neapolitan artist of exuberant fancy, to make designs for its looms: but the king, changing his mind, retained him to paint the ceiling and walls of his palace at Windsor ; a most fortunate circumstance for Verrio, as he found in his royal master a kind and generous patron, who not only rewarded him liberally for his works, but appointed him head-gardener at Windsor, and allowed him a house in the park. "Verrio was extravagant and imprudent; he kept a splendid table, and was constantly in debt. After the death of the king, he met another liberal patron in the Earl of Exeter, by whom he was employed at Burleigh for twelve years. In the neighbourhood of Stamford, his prodigality left him no good reputation, although the earl allowed him a handsome salary, pro- vided him with a table, a coach, and several servants. He appears also to have been on very familiar terms with his indulgent master, the king, with whom he presumed to be jocular, when he wanted money to sup- port his extravagance. The king, on one occasion, in answer to his application, said, " Why, Verrio, you received but lately an advance of a thousand pounds ; you spend more money than would keep my family." p 210 WINDSOR CASTLE. "True, sire," answered Verrio; "but does your ma- jesty keep an open table, as I do?" On the same occasion, he had the effrontery to say, " I am so short in cash that I am not able to pay my workmen ; and your majesty and I have learned by experience, that pedlars and painters cannot give credit long." : " The good-natured frankness of the king led him to smile at these sallies from ingenious and eccentric men. The reign of Charles was the age for humor- ists, and Verrio was a man who perpetuated his pri- vate pique, without respect to persons, by making those who had given him offence to personate demons, or sensual characters, in the allegories which his pro- lific pencil designed. At Chatsworth, where he was employed to paint the history of Mars and Venus, he borrowed the countenance of a dean for Bacchus, be- striding a barrel : with equal audacity he introduced a metropolitan bishop in a picture; and Windsor Castle displays some similar instances of his rudeness and wit." * Verrio had several assistants in these works, among whom was Louis Laguerre, who is coupled with his employer, in that unpropitious line of Pope " Where sprawl the saints of Verrio and Laguerre." Verrio outlived his faculties for painting, and received a pension of 200/. a-year, from "the good Queen Anne." He died at Hampton Court, in 1707. His able coadjutor, Grinling Gibbons, too, had the assistance of inge- nious artists in his department ; these were, Selden, a pupil of his, who lost his life at Petworth, in generously attempting to save a curious carv- ing of his master's, when that seat was on fire ; Watson, another dis- ciple ; Dicnot, of Brussels ; and Laurens, of Mechlin : all skilful carvers. Gibbous died in Bow Street, Covent Garden, in 1721. GRINLING GIBBONS. 211 Grinling Gibbons, another artist possessing extra- ordinary talent in his department, and the same who is praised so enthusiastically by Evelyn, was patron- ized by the king, and had a large share in the im- provements at Windsor Castle. "Much of the beauty and grandeure of the state apartements is derived from his ornamental carvings in wood, which display a rich invention and exquisite skill in a profusion of groups of fish, foul, fruit, and flowers, and various other ornaments in the purest taste.- The chapel of the castle abounds with his elegant works, and many carvings, serving as bordures to the pictures in the royal collection, the labour of his hand, possess suffi- cient merit to excite the admiration of every con- noisseur." Lord Orford, the biographer of Gibbons, elegantly expresses an opinion of his happy talent. The noble author says, " He gave to wood the loose and airy lightness of flowers, and chained together the various productions of the elements with the free disorder natural to each species." " Nearly the whole of the improvements that were designed by King Charles were completed under his direction; some of the state apartments were hung with tapestry, and most were adorned with pictures and other rich furniture. No sovereign, since the illustrious Edward III., had expended so much upon the castle as Charles II., nor had any prince shewn so great an attachment to the spot; for here the social monarch spent his summer months, surrounded by a court more distinguished for levity and wit, than for r2 212 WINDSOR CASTLE. those moral qualities, without which the charms of wit, aided by every external grace, can add nothing to the dignity of a throne." In the ceiling of the Queen's Ball Room, Mars, at- tended by the principal heathen deities, was seen offering an olive-branch to Charles II., as the pacifi- cator of the globe ; Britain and Europe were repre- sented in the characters of Perseus and Andromeda, and round the cornice were the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and the Four Seasons : but all this is now re- moved, and the roof presents only gilded panelings and ornaments. The effect of the ceiling harmonizes finely with the colour of the walls; and the noble Gothic windows contribute to render this one of the most striking apartments in the palace. The walls were formerly hung with Brussels tapestry ; and two fine chandeliers seen in the adjoining room, added to the splendour of the effect. These were made by a silversmith at Hanover, by the order of George I., who was so highly pleased with the execution, that he presented the maker with five hundred pounds. Among the portraits which adorn the walls, that of the Countess of Carlisle, in her cherry-coloured satin, is one of the most prominent. She stands by a marble fountain, from which a Cupid is pouring water into a bason, for the countess to wash her hands. Of this lady, Grainger says, " She holds the next place to Sacharissa in the poems of Waller, and appears there to much greater advantage than she does in the por- A GRATEFUL COURTIER. 213 traits of Vandyke. It was not so much the beauty of this celebrated lady, as the sprightliness of her wit, and the charm of her behaviour, that rendered her an object of general admiration. But her greatest ad- mirers could not help seeing her vanity and affecta- tion; though all were forced to acknowledge, that, if ever these foibles were amiable, they were so in the Countess of Carlisle. In 1636, she became a dowager. Mr. Waller has addressed an elegant copy of verses to her in mourning. She died in 1660, and was buried near her father at Petworth." A whole length portrait of the Duchess of Rich- mond, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham, repre- sents a much handsomer woman, but one whose distinction is owing more to her husband's character than her own. The Duke of Richmond was Lord Steward of the Household to Charles I. and High Admiral of Scotland ; and is remarkable as having exhibited undoubted tokens of the rarest virtue of a courtier fidelity. The king, io whom he was nearly allied, sent him abroad for instruction; and on his return, though still very young, made him a privy counsellor, and soon after married him to the daughter of his unworthy favourite, with a dowry of twenty thousand pounds. The duke was grateful. He lent this very sum to his sovereign, when his evil days had arrived ; engaged his three brothers in the royal cause, in which they all perished ; offered himself to suffer in his master's stead; and followed the mutilated re- mains of Charles to Windsor. 114 WINDSOR CASTLE. The portrait of the Countess of Dorset also recalls to remembrance a devoted servant of Charles I. Lord Clarendon says of the earl, that " his person was graceful and vigorous, his wit sparkling ; that he had a very discerning spirit, and was a man of an obliging nature, much honour and generosity, and entire fidelity to the crown." As the Duke of Rich- mond is said to have died prematurely of grief for the loss of his royal friend, so the Earl of Dorset never stirred out of his house in Salisbury Court, Fleet-street, after the king's death. The portrait of Madame de St. Croix is one of the best. She is ascending a step, with her head turned, so as to exhibit a very sweet and beautiful face. Her white satin gown, black robe, and jew- elled ornaments, have a rich effect; but the picture is admired by connoisseurs for its harmony of colouring, and the exquisite management of light and shade. The portrait of Lady Anastasia Venetia Digby is remarkable for its beauty, and is painted by Van- dyke with more than usual carefulness. Walpole says, that Randolph's poems contain an eulogy and epitaph on Lady Venetia, in which her beauty is highly spoken of. She died suddenly, being found dead in her bed; and a monument of black marble, with her bust in gilded copper, was erected to her memory by her husband, Sir Kenelm, in Christ Church, without Newgate, but it was destroyed in the fire of London. The half-length portraits of Carew and Killegrew, CAREW AND KILLEGREW. 115 the former of whom belonged to the privy chamber of Charles I., and the latter, who was page of honour to * the same monarch, and afterwards gentleman of the bedchamber to Charles II. Killegrew was a wit and a jester, and as such was a privileged person. One day he went into his majesty's chamber dressed like a pilgrim, and informed him, that being tired of the world, he was resolved to get out of it, and betake himself to the lower regions. " For what purpose ? " demanded the king. " To implore his Satanic majesty," replied Killegrew, " to send Oliver Crom- well to take charge of the English government, his successor being always employed in other matters." History does not say that Charles derived any benefit from the lesson. Killegrew, notwithstanding the rivalship of his brother wit, Carew, married the lady Cecilia Crofts. He was made Master of the Revels by Charles II., " an ancient office which conferred the privilege of granting licences to all trumpeters, drum- mers, and fifers, within this realm, who, without his consent, cannot sound, beat, or play, at or to any opera, play, dumb show, models, or rope-dancing; or to mountebanks, prize-players, or any other show, plays, or public exhibition or entertainment whatso- ever, at or in any place within this kingdom," without incurring the penalty of fine or imprisonment. The office of master of the revels was created in 1546, and at a later period, was included in that of serjeant trumpeter. Killegrew died in 1682, "bewailed by his friends, and wept by the poor." 216 WINDSOR CASTLE. The portraits of Henrietta Maria exhibit the great improvement in costume made by the taste of this age. The English Court was in her time the most polished, and the most profligate in Europe. The retinue sent to Paris to escort her to her new home is said to have been the most splendid that ever left England ; and the Duke of Buckingham at its head, exhausted the luxury of the age to do honour to the occasion. His wardrobe included " seven rich suits, embroidered and laced with silver, besides one rich white satin uncut velvet suit, set all over, both suit and cloak, with diamonds of the value of eighty thou- sand pounds; also a sword, girdle, hat-band, and spurs with diamonds; another rich suit of purple satin embroidered all over with rich orient pearls, of the value of twenty thousand pounds. He was attended by twenty privy gentlemen, seven grooms of his chamber, thirty chief yeomen, and two master cooks ; of his own servants for the household, twenty- five second cooks, fourteen yeomen of the second ranks, seventeen grooms to them, forty-five labourers selleters belonging to the kitchen : twelve pages, three suits a-piece; six huntsmen, two rich suits; twelve grooms, six riders, besides eight others to attend the stable. Three rich velvet coaches inside, without with gold lace all over; eight horses to each coach, and six coaches richly suited; twenty-two watermen, suited in sky-coloured taffeta, all gilded, with archers. Besides these, were one marquis, six earls, many gentlemen of distinguished rank, and twenty-four PORTRAIT OF CHARLES I. 217 knights, all of whom had each six or seven footmen and as many pages. The whole train that went to . France to attend the queen, amounted to nearly seven hundred persons." The portrait of Charles I. represents the king mounted on a white horse, with his equerry on foot holding his majesty's helmet. The armour is much admired and the horse wonderfully correct. The king's head has evidently been cut out, and after- wards replaced; a circumstance which is accounted for by the supposition, that, when the collection was announced for sale, some zealous lover of royalty adopted this mode of preserving the head of his sacred majesty from desecration, and restored it after the restoration. It appears to us, however, to be at least equally probable, that the decollation was per- petrated by the new masters of Windsor, either in triumph or derision. Lord Orford conjectured, probably from the seam, that this picture was not Vandyke's at all. The picture of Charles I. and his family is one of the most celebrated of Vandyke's productions ; "the ' grouping of the figures being simple and unaffected, the likenesses faithful, the dresses elegantly designed, the colouring harmonious, and the execution happily uniting the most spirited pencilling with the highest finish." EAST FRONT, WINDSOR CASTLE. CHAPTER XVII. THE QUEEN'S DRAWING-ROOM. QUEEN'S CLOSET. DUKE OF HAMILTON. KING'S CLOSET. THE BLACKSMITH PAINTER. ANECDOTE OF THE PRIN- CESS CHARLOTTE. EMPEROR CHARLES V. STEENWYCK's PRISON SCENE. KING'S COUNCIL ROOM. DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. LUTHER. PRINCE RUPERT. THE Queen's Drawing-room has a ceiling of stucco, richly embellished with margins of oak and palm en- twined ; in the centre a large octagon panel surrounded with the oak, shamrock, rose, and thistle. In the centre of the cove are richly emblazoned shields, con- taining the arms of England and Saxe-Meiningen, surmounted with the royal crown. Other shields at the end of the room contain the initials W. E. and A. R. The paintings in this room are all by Zucarelli, and consist of the Meeting of Isaac and Rebecca, the Finding of Moses, Jacob watering the Flock, and QUEEN'S CLOSET. 219 eleven Italian landscapes, all of large dimensions, and all forming fine specimens of the artist. The Finding of Moses was painted by Zucarelli in the inner room of the old Eoyal Academy, granted for his use on the occasion. The subject was chosen by the artist him- self, with the king's permission ; but the Meeting of Isaac and Rebecca is superior in composition, and was the foundation of the artist's fortune in England. The latter picture, and all Zucarelli's landscape and architectural pieces in the royal collection, with the exception of the Finding of Moses, were painted for a private individual, Mr. Smith, the British consul at Venice, who was a most munificent patron of the arts. The Queen's Closet is a small oblong room, with the ceiling enriched with festoons of fruit and flowers. Medallions in the cove contain the words, " Adelaide Eegina, 1836," surmounted by the royal crown. Two large glasses, with silver frames, silver tables and chandeliers, small gilded chairs with hangings of light blue silk, give an air at once of sumptuousness and elegance to the room; which is adorned besides by numerous valuable pictures. Among these is a fine half-length by Hanneman of the Duke of Hamilton, master of the horse to Charles I. ; and he the rather requires to be mentioned here, as he was imprisoned at Windsor, after the king's death, together with the Earl of Holland and Lord Capel. Their imprisonment, however, was brief. They were removed to the house of Sir Thomas Cotton at West- minster Hall, where they remained till their execution. 220 WINDSOR CASTLE. On the scaffold, the duke complained of the " injustice that was done him, and that he was put to death for obeying the laws of his country ; which if he had not done, he must have been put to death." " He ac- knowledged the obligation he had to the king," says Lord Clarendon, " and seemed not sorry for the grati- tude he had expressed, how dear soever it cost him." The brother and successor of this nobleman was also a martyr to the cause of royalty, although he had at first taken a part against Charles. He was mortally wounded at the fight at Worcester, and died the next day; expressing pleasure, as Clarendon tells us, " that he had the honour to lose his life in his Majesty's service, and thereby wipe out the memory of his former transgressions, which he always professed were odious to himself." The portraits of the Duke of Norfolk and Edward VI., by Holbein, are fine specimens. The duke was the father of the renowned Earl of Surrey, and ap- peared destined to suffer the fate of his son ; but the night before his intended execution, the ungrateful tyrant died. Edward VI., the founder of Christ's Hospital, bore no resemblance in character to his father. He was crowned king in his tenth year, and died in his sixteenth. The King's Closet was enlarged by George III., and the legend of St. George and the Dragon substituted on the ceiling for the story of Jupiter and Leda. The former, also, is now removed; and the star of the Garter appears in the centre, with other gilded orna- LEGEND OF THE MISERS. 221 ments round the roof, and the letters W. K. This room is rich in pictures by the most celebrated masters. Everybody knows the legend attached to one of these, The Misers, by Matsys; how Matsys was a blacksmith at Antwerp, and how he loved the daugh- ter of an artist, and how the latter declared, in the pride and poetry of the pencil, that none but a painter should marry his daughter, and how the poor blacksmith, putting his trust in all-holy Love, and upheld by his own deep faith, sat down to paint, and how he at length produced this picture of The Misers, which won the hand of his mistress, as well as name and fortune. This is no fabulous legend. Its truth is attested by a document which, though it cannot be depended on where the characters of men are concerned, would not lie for the sake of deifying human love an epitaph. It is inscribed on the monument of Matsys in the cathedral of Ant- werp " Connubialis amorde Mulcibre fecit Apelkm" An anecdote, however, of this picture, connected with the late Princess Charlotte, is less known. A gentleman made a very elaborate drawing from it, and was introduced to the princess at Warwick House, for the purpose of exhibiting his copy of the picture at Windsor. Her Royal Highness had seen the original only once in her life, and that was eight years before; but she told the copyist at once that he had made a mistake in the colouring that one of the misers was represented in the colour worn 222 WINDSOR CASTLE. by the other. This criticism, strange to say, turned out to be correct, the gentleman having coloured his piece from memory. The portrait of the Emperor Charles V. is a copy from Titian. This prince, when at Windsor, had some thoughts of marrying the Lady Mary, a daugh- ter of Henry VIII.; but he changed his mind, and subsequently allied himself with the crown of Por- tugal. In 1588, he retired from his throne to a monastery, where such marks of his masculine under- standing as were left by disease sunk and disappeared in the monkish gloom. " He resolved to celebrate his own obsequies before his death. He ordered his tomb to be erected in the chapel of the monastery. His domestics marched thither in funeral procession, with black tapers in their hands. He himself fol- lowed in his shroud. He was laid in his coffin with much solemnity. The service for the dead was chanted, and Charles joined in the prayers which were offered up for the rest of his soul, mingling his tears with those which his attendants shed, as if they had been celebrating a real funeral. The cere- mony closed with sprinkling holy water on the coffin in the usual form; and all the attendants retiring, the doors of the chapel were shut. Then Charles rose out of the coffin, and withdrew to his apartment, full of those awful sentiments which such a singular solemnity was calculated to inspire." Dr. Robertson considered that his death was occasioned by the cere- mony" an act as wild and uncommon as any that ODD ANACHRONISMS. 223 superstition ever suggested to a weak and disordered fancy." The sketch of The Supper, by Rubens, though full of spirit, is chiefly remarkable by an odd anachronism. An old man, with a reverend beard, is looking on at the scene through a pair of spectacles, which he is carefully holding upon his nose with his left hand. A dog gnawing a bone in the foreground is as much out of keeping with the elevated character of the piece as the spectacles are out of time. The Prison Scene, by Steenwyck (St. Peter de- livered from prison), is injured, also, by the ana- chronism of a pack of cards lying upon the ground, and the appearance of modern muskets among the Roman implements of war. It is, notwithstanding, a fine composition. The angel is leading the apostle from his cell, while the guards are lying asleep in different parts of the prison. The massive chamber, staircase, and vaulted roofs, with the dull dungeon- light, which half brings them out, and half leaves them in gloom, afford a favourable specimen of the peculiarities of the artist's genius. The King's Council-room is a magnificent apart- ment, both in size and decoration. The old ceiling was by Verrio, and represented Charles II., in his robes of state, sitting upon a throne, receiving the offerings of the four quarters of the globe ; a canopy over his head, supported by Neptune, Jupiter, and Time, and the Genius of France paying homage to 224 WINDSOR CASTLE. the British monarch. All this, however, has dis- appeared; the cross of the Garter, and the letters C. R., 1660, being now the principal ornaments. Among the numerous paintings is the portrait of a great man, Marlborough, who, from a court page, became one of the most distinguished of the English generals. He was employed by Charles II., James II., William III., and Queen Anne, and became the favourite of George I. He was created an earl by King William, a duke by Queen Anne, and the palace of Blenheim was erected for his abode at the expense of the nation. He died at Windsor Lodge, in 1722. A portrait, by Holbein, of the miner's son who became the great champion of the Reformation, claims moral kindred with the above. Luther, when a young man, was walking with another, when a flash of lightning struck his companion dead. This was the origin of the religious bent of his mind. Henry VIII. wrote a treatise against his opinions, of which the pope said, " If those whom the king addressed had been men, instead of the worst of devils, they must have been converted!" A portrait of Prince Rupert, who endeavoured in vain to deliver Windsor from the Parliament, is a well painted picture by Honthorst. Rupert was some- thing more than a soldier or a prince, as is related by Mr. Pyne, in the following paragraph. " Soon after the commencement of the civil war, Prince Rupert came from Holland, and offered his PRINCE RUPERT. 225 services to his uncle, Charles I. The military ex- ploits of this prince in the royal cause proved him a hero, but his want of discretion prevented him from acquiring the reputation of a good general. His un- accountable surrender of the city of Bristol to Fairfax, gave King Charles so much displeasure, that he deprived him of his appointments, and dismissed him from his presence. He obtained the favour of Charles II., by whom he was employed, and acquired great glory by his valour in several naval actions. His reputation was not derived alone from his intrepidity in war ; he was an excellent chemist, a good mechanic, and was complimented by foreign artists for his skill in painting. The discovery of the art of engraving in mezzotinto is ascribed to him, the hint for which he is said to have taken from perceiving a soldier scraping a rusty fusil. Wallerant Vaillant, a painter, whom he maintained, assisted him in his experiments, and the prince executed the first engraving in this new art. Many of his latter years were passed in Windsor Castle, of which he was governor; and here he employed himself in the prosecution of chemical and philosophical experiments. He was a member of the Koyal Society, and received the thanks of that scientific body for his valuable communications in natural philosophy. The prince died at his house in Spring Gardens, November 29, 1682." Q CHAPTER XVIII. KING'S DRAWING-ROOM. PICTURES BY RUBENS. THE VESTIBULE. BATTLE OF POICTIERS. QUEEN PHILIPPA. THRONE ROOM. PICTURE OF THE INSTALLATION OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE GARTER. BALL-ROOM. WATERLOO GALLERY. ST. GEORGE'S HALL. GUARD CHAMBER. AN- CIENT ARMS AND ENGINES OF WAR. QUEEN'S PRESENCE CHAMBER. QUEEN'S AUDIENCE CHAMBER. THE ceiling of the King's Drawing-room is in separate panels, the centre embellished with a star and oaken wreath, and a handsome border running round the room, composed of the rose, thistle, and shamrock. The cove has numerous circles entwined with palm, laurel, and oak ; in the centre of which the letters G. R., with the royal arms, are heightened with gold. The pictures are all by Rubens, and most of them are well known. The portrait of the Duke Albert of Saxony is admired for the magical effect of the light falling obliquely on the horse and rider, which, unin- terrupted by the level landscape in the distance, stand in relief against the sky. At the grand entry of Prince Ferdinand into Ant- werp, in 1635, several triumphal arches were erected, and ornamented with allegorical paintings, intended to illustrate the victories of the prince. These, of course, must have been executed hastily, to suit the temporary occasion ; but one of them, notwithstand- ing, the Battle of Nordlingen, by Rubens, is in this room, and challenges admiration by its composition and colouring. The prince and the King of Hungary BATTLE OF POICTffiRS. 227 are represented on horseback, on a height, cheering on their troops to victory over the Swedes. The Vestibule is ornamented with the star and oaken wreath richly gilded, and the walls of polished wainscot are hung with the masterpieces of West. A bust of Queen Philippa stands on the projecting fire-place, in an angle of the room; and one of her husband Edward HL, on a corresponding abutment in the opposite angle. Of the battles represented on the walls, that of Pole tiers is unquestionably the most honourable to the English arms. It was this extraordinary day when sixty thousand men were defeated by twelve thousand ! which gave the chivalrous King John of France to his prison-palace of Windsor. The picture contains authentic portraits of the most distinguished combat- ants, and the armorial bearings are all carefully dis- tinguished. The Surrender of Calais, and the Battle of Neville's Gross, are both honourable memorials of Queen Phi- lippa, the wife of Edward of Windsor. In the former she is mounted on a white charger, commanding the troops in the absence of her husband, and animating them to a battle which ended in the defeat and cap- ture of the gallant King David of Scotland. In the latter, she is no longer a warrior-queen, but a gentle, generous woman, commanding by entreaties and ex- postulations, and triumphing in her very weakness. The Throne Room is a very splendid apartment, with a highly decorated ceiling, the centre composed 228 WINDSOR CASTLE. of circles of the Garter, connected by medallions of St. George and the Dragon, embossed in gold and silver. There is here a piece by West, which is perhaps the most important picture existing illustrative of English history. The scene is the interior of St. George's Chapel, at Windsor, when the Bishops of Winchester and Salisbury are performing high mass, with Ed- ward III., Philippa, and the knights kneeling round the altar. In the gallery are the royal children, the captive King of Scots, the bishop of St. Andrews, and some French prisoners. The spectators include a galaxy of female beauty, in conformity with the pen- and-ink picture of Froissart. Many of the figures are portraits, such as Edward III., Philippa, the Black Prince, the King of Scots, the beautiful Countess of Kildare, and all the royal children. This room leads into the Ball Eoom, which again communicates, by two other doors, with St. George's Hall and the Waterloo Gallery ; the four apartments presenting collectively a scene of magnificence which is probably unrivalled in Europe. The Ball Eoom is ninety feet long, thirty-four broad, and thirty-three high; the Waterloo Gallery, ninety-eight feet long, forty-seven feet broad, and forty-five feet high; St. George's Hall, two hundred feet long, thirty-four feet broad, and thirty feet high. The Ball Kooin is superbly adorned with mirrors, and the walls hung with Gobelin tapestry, represent- ing the legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece."' 5 " The * It is not generally known, that this fine Gobelin tapestry was sent WATERLOO GALLERY. 229 walls and roof are almost amass of gilding; but in such delicate designs that no idea of tawdriness or overloading is conveyed. On the north is a grand Gothic window, commanding a fine view. The Waterloo Gallery is so well described in the annexed engraving, that we need do little more than call the reader's attention to it. We must say, how- ever, that it is a pity the talented artist did not omit the chandeliers, which, although shewn to the greatest possible advantage in the plate, are a positive dis- figurement to the room. They are tawdry, Vauxhall affairs, hung up as monuments of the bad taste of William IV., who was far from sharing either in the vices or accomplishments of his predecessor. We understand that their removal is now only deferred by the Queen's not knowing where to put them.* This apartment is also called the Waterloo Cham- ber; but the word gallery is more appropriate, inas- much as it is in fact a gallery of portraits of the persons who were connected either in an immediate or accessory manner with the battle of Waterloo. St. George's Hall has been greatly changed in appearance, and probably greatly improved, by the removal of Verrio's ceiling, containing an allegorical panegyric on Charles II. The new ceiling is in the by Louis XVI. to decorate the apartments of his queen, the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, in her progress to Paris, at the time of her marriage. The tapestry was afterwards given by Charles X. to his late majesty, George IV. ED. * They have been removed, and well deserved the remarks made on them. ED. 230 WINDSOR CASTLE. Gothic style, from a design by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville; in form, it is a flat Gothic arch, and the ribs, or mouldings which divide its compartments, spring from corbels on the walls. The entire ceiling is divided into fifteen bays, each of which is subdivided into twenty- four smaller ones, and these contain each two shields, emblazoned with the armorial bearings of all the Knights of the Garter, from the institution of the order down to the present time."* On the corbels are repre- sented knights in complete armour, with the shields of the first twenty-six Knights of the Garter ; the two at the eastern end being Edward III. and the Black Prince. On the southern side of this majestic hall are thirteen lofty Gothic windows, and in the opposite wall corresponding recesses, containing portraits of the last twelve sovereigns of England James I., Charles I., Charles II., James II., Mary, William III., Anne, George I., George II., George III., George IV., and William IV. A view of the Hall in its present state will be found in this volume. The Guard Chamber, the same we believe that was formerly called the King's Guard Chamber, is now completely altered. The length is seventy-eight feet, the breadth thirty-one, and the height thirty-one. The most striking object as you enter, is a bronze bust of Lord Nelson, on a pedestal composed of a portion of * There are however two exceptions. The armorial bearings of the Dukes of Ormond and Monmouth were obliterated, by command of his late majesty William IV., as traitors to their country. This obliteration is to be regretted, as the collection of the Arms of the Knights of the Garter is now imperfect. ED. QUEEN ANNE'S CLOSET. 231 the mast of the Victory, with the British flags drooping over it. On either side are busts of Maryborough and Wellington. Figures in antique armour are placed in recesses, representing Charles I. when Prince of Wales, Henry Prince of Wales, Lord Howard, the Duke of Brunswick, the Earl of Essex, and Prince Rupert. Under a glass dome is a silver target, inlaid with gold, presented to Henry VIII. by Francis I. on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, the work of Benvenuto Cellini, and considered a fine specimen. When Queen Anne was sitting in her closet, which commanded a fine view over the northern terrace of the castle, she received the news of the victory of Blenheim; and for several years in that closet was deposited the banner of France a flag of white sarcenet, embroidered with three fleurs de lis. It was afterwards kept in the Queen's Presence Chamber, on an elegant buhl table ; but it now hangs over the bust of the hero in the Guard Chamber. The Duke of Wellington's tri-colour hangs in like manner over his bust ; and the estates of Blenheim and Strathfieldsaye are held upon the tenure of these banners being pre- sented every year at Windsor Castle the former on the 2nd of August, before twelve o'clock, and the latter on the 18th of June. " The Armoury, or Guard Chamber," says Mr.Pyne, "constituted a most important feature in the economy of the ancient baronial castle, and had its separate establishment. The arms of the Anglo-Normans and English, between the eleventh and thirteenth centu- 232 WINDSOR CASTLE. ries, were chiefly swords, daggers, bows and arrows, to which Richard Cceur de Lion is supposed to have added the crossbow, a missile that would discharge an arrow with effect upwards of two hundred and twenty yards; and battle-axes, which they derived from the Saxons. Of the more powerful military engines then in use, were the scorpion or large stationary crossbow, the onegar or wildass, the balista, catapult, trebuchet, and the beughe or bible ; these possessed great power in projecting large masses of stones; the bricolle, which discharged large heavy darts with square heads, the petrarie, and mangonel, an engine of such vast power, that one of our chroniclers mentions a prisoner being projected from one over the wall of a lofty castle by the besiegers ; the warwolf, which was anciently a frame formed of heavy beams, to destroy assailants at a gate, by falling on them in the manner of portcullis, and towards modern times the same name was applied to an instrument for throwing stones ; the engine d verges, which, says an old French author, had the honour of being employed in company with bombardas cannon ; the espringal, which threw darts that had brass plates instead of feathers, to ren- der their flight steady : besides these, were the gattus or cathouse, the belfry, and sow, which were covered machines, used to protect soldiers in their attacks upon the gates or walls of the castles of their enemies. " The invention of gunpowder, which began to be much used about the middle of the fourteenth cen- tury, caused some change in the system of war, and ANCIENT ENGINES OF WAR. 233 in the construction of military weapons, both missile and defensive : yet vast movable towers remained in use. Froissart relates, that the English used a machine of this kind, which contained one hundred knights, and as many archers ; it was covered with boiled leather to prevent fire; and being on wheels, when the ditch was filled in, was rolled close to the walls of a fortress, by which means the place was taken. " The Greek wildfire was occasionally used long after the discovery of gunpowder, which it is supposed was ill-manufactured, and made but in small quan- tities, until custom had brought it into general use. Edward the Black Prince is said to have set fire to Removentine by Greek fire. The best cannon then in use were awkwardly cast, and wider at the mouth than at the chamber. At the siege of Calais, * gun- ners and ar tillers' appear in the list of the English, encamped before that place in 1347. " In the military reign of Edward III., the forming and discriminating of the various ranks of soldiers were much improved. The men at arms, or lancers, constituted the main strength of the army ; these were ' encased like lobsters,' the very joints of their armour being defended by iron plates; to despatch a fallen man at arms was the work of several soldiers. Archers were armed round the body, but their limbs were at liberty; they wore a brigandine, or jacket of leather, or of linen plated over with pieces of steel ; the cross- bow men were guarded in a similar way. " The art of raising or depressing cannon was long 234 WINDSOR CASTLE. unknown ; some of those in early use were bulky, and not easily managed. One piece of ordnance, fired from the Bastille in 1748, discharged a ball that weighed five hundred pounds. A very small piece of artillery, the culverin, used in the fifteenth century, was car- ried by two men, and placed on a rest to be dis- charged; this instrument was parent of the musket, and other small arms, many specimens of which formed the principal ornament of the King's Guard Chamber." The Queen's Presence Chamber is forty-nine feet three inches long, by twenty-three feet six inches. The ceiling is one of Verrio's flatteries, representing Queen Catharine attended by the cardinal virtues, with Fame sounding her trumpet, and Justice driving away Sedition, Envy, and Discord. The walls are decorated with specimens of the Gobelin tapestry, and with portraits of the Duchess of Orleans, youngest daughter of Charles I., and two Princesses of Bruns- wick, the latter supposed by some to be the work of Mytens, a contemporary of Vandyke. In the Queen's Audience Chamber, Verrio has re- presented Catharine again, in the character of Britan- nia, drawn by swans in a triumphal car towards the temple of Virtue, and attended by Pomona, Flora, and other goddesses. The tapestry is a continuation of that of the last room. The few pictures are chiefly by Honthorst, who had the honour of teaching paint- ing to the sisters of Charles I.; two of whom, the Princess Sophia, and the abbess of Maubuisson, at- tained to considerable practical knowledge of the art. CHAPTER XIX. ENGLISH RABBLE. TERRA INCOGNITA OF THE PALACE. GRAND VES- TIBULE AND STAIRCASE. DINING-ROOM. STUPENDOUS TOY. SALOONS. LIBRARY. GRAND CORRIDOR. SIR JEFFREY WYATVILLE. SUCH is the upper ward of the castle, so far as it is known to the public; but it is in this ward, also, where royalty enshrines itself, and where the family of the sovereign and their distinguished guests enjoy the pleasures and seclusions of private life. Such re- treats are in England very much hidden from the public eye. Like the Princess of Spain, who had no legs, our Queen, according to the customs of the country, must have no home that her people know any thing about. This is not the case in more civilized nations; we mean, in nations more civilized in the general chari- ties of life. In Paris, in the heart of a mighty city and a city, too, which seems in a condition of chronic insurrection the state apartments of the Tuileries may always be seen ; and in the absence of the royal family, their private apartments are thrown open to the gaze of the people.* That the introduction of such customs into England would at first be attended by inconvenience, we do not deny; but this inconvenience being the result of the present system of exclusiveness, ought to be patiently endured. For instance, when it was at- * The private apartments at Windsor are shewn to the public by orders issued from the Lord Chamberlain's office. ED. 236 WINDSOR CASTLE. tempted, in the time of William IV., to throw open the garden of the castle to the public, the visitors climbed up to peep into the private apartments. This was a very natural curiosity; and the rational cure for the inconvenience would have been to afford them a more legitimate mode of satisfying it. But no such thing was ever thought of: the gardens were immedi- ately closed against the "rabble;" and, as a matter of course, the people remain the rabble to this day.* When Sir Jeffrey Wyatville constructed the path along the base of the Round Tower, whence a com- plete view of the interior of the Quadrangle is ob- tained, George IV. was indignant at the idea of several feet being cut off from his own peculiar domain, merely to accommodate the public. Sir Jeffrey, how- ever, was firm ; and the monarch admitted afterwards that the thing did no harm.-f The feeling, however, which influenced William IV. in closing his gardens, and that which would have impelled George IV. to block himself up in his Quad- rangle, must not be supposed to form a part of the moral nature of royalty. It is a national an English feeling; it pervades all ranks of society ; it is as strong in the little country gentleman, whose mansion boasts a few good pictures, as in the owner of a palace; and, until it be wholly subdued and rooted out, this country, notwithstanding her manufactories * The gardens are open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year. ED. t This is erroneous, the passage always existed, nor could it have been closed without the greatest inconvenience. ED. VESTIBULE AND STAIRCASE. 237 and commerce, must continue to hold a subordinate rank among the nations of Europe in the scale of civilization. It is now our duty to give our readers a glimpse of the terra incognita of the palace, to which they can only be admitted by an order from the Lord Cham- berlain, and to which they cannot be admitted at all during the residence of Majesty. For our own part, we enjoyed the high privilege of visiting the private apartments at a time when the Court, together with the King and Queen of the Belgians, were actually there. In the drawing-room and ball-room, some slight disorder still remained to tell of the social enjoyments of the preceding evening; while in other rooms, preparations already making for breakfast seemed to say that " Night was at odds with morning, which was which." This is the only time when the palace can be seen to advantage by those who do not form part of the royal circle. During the Queen's absence the furniture is covered, and the rooms look lifeless and solitary. The order in which these apartments are seen will of course depend upon the way you enter ; but this is of little consequence, as it is impossible for us to do more than mention the principal objects to which atten- tion should be directed. For the sake, however, of pre- serving some kind of method, we shall commence with the state entrance, facing the gateway of George IV. We were quite unprepared for the magnificence of the vestibule and staircase. You fancy for a 238 WINDSOR CASTLE. moment that you are entering some majestic temple ; and in the vestibule, more especially, this illusion prevails, where the double ranges of columns are seen by a " dim, religious light." The deficiency in day- light, however, is artfully collected to some extent by an immense mirror, in the form of a door, which borrows and reflects the stream that rushes down the noble staircase. In passing through the vestibule, the idea occurred to us, that Windsor Castle would make a noble ruin ! Instead of ascending the stairs, we keep along the ground floor by a convenient passage, which con- ducts to the kitchen, the confectionary room, and the other offices requisite to minister to the luxury of a palace. Among these will be observed a room dedi- cated to the sole purpose of making coffee. The confectioner has a very large and lofty apartment for his agreeable avocation; and the ministering spirits of the place (female of course) have a delicacy of appearance not to be found in the kitchen. The grand kitchen is well worth inspection. In its general aspect, and more especially in the lofty roof, it is supposed to have undergone comparatively little alteration since the time of Edward III. The immense fireplaces, however, are now filled with the stoves of modern cookery ; with the exception of one at each end of the kitchen, either of which could con- veniently roast an ox whole. From the kitchen to the dining-room, the space is not greater than in a private gentleman's house ; and DINING-ROOM. 239 this reminds us of the extreme care with which com- fort and convenience are studied throughout the whole of the building. Nothing is sacrificed to effect; and yet effect was never more successfully produced. Here are no eyesores no dirt no little- nesses nothing to offend the senses. The plate-room is on this story, and contains a mass of plate which may be valued at upwards of a million of money. [This plate-room is, perhaps, as much worth seeing as anything in the Castle. Here are cups of exquisite workmanship, and of great value, amongst them are three by Benvenuto Cellini. The visitor is indeed dazzled with the sight of the jewelled cups and vases, and the peacock and golden tiger's head of Tippoo Saib. These latter are valued at 45,000/. A gold salver made for George IV. from snuff-boxes, is stated to be intrinsically worth 8,000/. Much of the gold plate has historical facts connected with it, and there is a beautiful wine vase, taken at the time of the destruction of the Spanish Armada. Here also may be seen Nell Gwynne's pair of bellows, which formerly accompanied her silver warming-pan, on which was inscribed, " Fear God and honour the King!"] On ascending the staircase, and after passing into a room in the Octagon, or Brunswick Tower, the walls of which are of oak, and the window com- manding the whole interior of the quadrangle, we enter the Dining-Room. This magnificent apartment is far more imposing in its effect than the state dining- room. Vast mirrors are embedded in what might 240 WINDSOR CASTLE. seem to be walls of sculptured gold. A vase of gilded silver stands upon a table, and is of such enormous size, that half a dozen men are required to remove it. This was a toy of George IV. ; but has nothing, except its richness and vastness, worth the interest of the money so capriciously funded.* The furniture of the room corresponds in other respects with its general character of the splendid and imposing. From the windows a view of the country is obtained to the north and east, of great beauty and variety. The next apartment is the Queen's Drawing-room, opening into the one next mentioned. Elegance would be the prevailing characteristic of this room ; but its great size makes it something more than elegant. A deeply embayed window, of square Gothic, commands the same magnificent view seen from all this suite. The furniture is not simply of the most costly for that might be expected but also of the most conve- nient and luxurious description. Both this and the next room open into the Concert-room; they are the usual evening rooms of the Court. The next room, called the Chester Drawing-room, is smaller, but in the same style ; and beyond this is a long breakfast-room. Below those apartments is the private garden we have mentioned, a parterre, four hundred feet square, laid out in formal walks, with vases and statues, intermixed with beds of flowers. * This remark is not quite just. It is said that, on a representation having been made to the King that the workmen of Messrs. Rundell and Bridge were in want of employ, this vase was ordered for the purpose of relieving them. The workmanship is very fine. ED. LIBRARY. 241 This is bounded by a broad terrace-walk, under which an orangery extends to the length of two hundred and fifty feet, the front of which forms a long series of arches. From the breakfast-room we have mentioned to the extreme end of the facade, formed by Victoria tower, there is a multitude of apartments which it is not possible to particularise. These are occupied by the ladies and officers of the household. In the tower itself, the Queen is enshrined, in a commodious sitting-room and sleeping-room. In the same angle of the building is her Majesty's entrance and stair- case. We must now, in order to dispose of what we must call the public private apartments, carry back the reader to the extreme Norman tower, which he may remember forms the northern termination of the Upper Ward. Here commences a series of apartments, all thrown into one, and including Queen Elizabeth's Gallery,* which is now one great and splendid library. It is fitted up in the Gothic taste, and is perhaps less changed than most other parts of the building ; but what will strike the student most, are the embayed windows, and shady recesses, where he may fancy himself in a hermitage. This is no formal hall, or series of halls,. as most large libraries are, where the walls of books meet and diverge at right angles. On one side, indeed, which * There is a fine mantelpiece in this library, of elaborate workman- ship, and an interesting bust of Queen Elizabeth in the centre. ED. R 242 WINDSOR CASTLE. continues the external line of the castle, the wall is nearly straight ; but on the other, the readers, unless the number be too great, may so dispose themselves, as neither to see nor hear each other. But now comes a question as to how those apart- ments we have 'described, and those we have left to imagination, are approached? Do they enter into one another? or are there a series of passages, each of which conducts to its series of rooms? The way in which this affair is managed is, in our opinion, the great triumph of the architect. Formerly, the means of communication with the various apartments were extremely limited ; and a bold and grand idea' sug- gested itself to Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, of a corridor which, to include the mall, should sweep round two angles of the quadrangle, and which should in itself form one vast apartment, superior to all the others in decoration. George IV. was not slow in perceiving the advan- tage of the plan; but he was afraid of encroaching upon the quadrangle. In vain Sir Jeffrey promised to make the quadrangle appear all the larger for the di- minution ! It would not do ; and he was obliged to af- fect resignation to the limits prescribed to him, while at the same time he stole his wall out into the quadrangle to a greater extent even than that which had been re- fused by the king. George IV. was delighted with the corridor, which he believed to have been laid out according to his plan ; and he probably piqued himself on the superiority of his judgment, since the qua- CORRIDOR. 243 drangle actually looked larger than before ! When all was confessed, he was puzzled to know in what way this illusion could take place; and he was answered that, besides more abstruse architectural reasons, the green which had formed the floor of the quadrangle, with a broad walk round it, had made the area look less, on the same principle that a room with too small a carpet appears to be of the same size as the carpet; and that the removal of the green, and assimilation of the whole surface, had restored to the area in appear- ance its real dimensions. The area of the quadrangle was at the same time deepened by six feet; and the statue of Charles II., which stood in the centre, was removed to the side next the Round Tower. The corridor commences at St. George's Hall, and terminates at the tower of Edward III., a distance of five hundred and sixty feet. During the whole of this immense length it is the breadth of a good-sized room, and is furnished with chairs, tables, sofas, benches, cabinets, pictures, busts, statues, and ornaments of every possible description in such profusion, as to defy any attempt at a catalogue, except in a work devoted to the purpose. You cannot see the corridor in an hour, or a day. It will take at least a week before you can obtain anything like a suitable idea of its con- tents. In wet weather this forms a promenade for the Court, and from the loftiness of its highly ornamented ceiling, and its numerous windows, it must form an admirable substitute for the terrace. [There is a noble collection of pictures, by Canaletti, R2 244 WINDSOR CASTLE. in the corridor ; a large collection of marble busts of eminent persons, chiefly of the reigns of George III. and IV., and many interesting portraits and works of art ; amongst the latter is a fine ebony cabinet.] From this noble passage, doors open into the various suites of apartments, and into the vestibules of vari- ous staircases; and from this, among others, you see, within a few paces, the door of the Queen's sitting- room, from which her Majesty's sleeping-room opens. Beneath, on the ground-floor, is a narrower passage, the sleeping-rooms of the domestics being taken off the breadth. We have now endeavoured to give a general idea of the upper ward of the castle ; but a correct one can be given by only one man alive, and that man is Sir Jeffrey Wyatville. So completely has he made the castle his own, that nobody else can distinguish be- tween what belongs to himself, and his predecessors. We have seen a missive in the hand- writing of George IV., commanding Sir Jeffrey to publish an account of his great work, and another from Queen Victoria, confirming the former; in obedience to which he has already made considerable progress in preparing ma- terials. His drawings have already cost him three thousand pounds, and will probably cost a much larger sum before the number is completed. George IV. pro- mised to send a copy to every sovereign in Europe; but, with the exception of this patronage, Sir Jeffrey, we believe, although working at the royal command, does not expect assistance of any kind. On one occa- KING CHARLES'S BEAUTIES. 245 sion, when we expressed our surprise at this, he re- plied, in the spirit and pride of art," The task is MINE : I am preparing my own monument ! " * CHAPTER XX. KINO CHARLES'S BEAUTIES. MRS. MIDDLETON. MISS WARMINSTER. MISS HAMILTON. DUCHESS OF RICHMOND. DUCHESS OF CLEVELAND. LADY OSSORY. LADY DENHAM. LADY WHITMORE. LADY NORTHUM- BERLAND. COUNTESS OF SUNDERLAND. DUCHESS OF SOMERSET. LADY BYRON. LADY ROCHESTER. MRS. LAWSON. QUEEN CATHERINE. ANN HYDE. DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. WE cannot take leave of this portion of our subject, without some allusion to the portraits so well known as those of " King Charles's Beauties," by Sir Peter Lely, and which are described by Mr. Pyne as orna- menting the walls of the Queen's state bedchamber, although they are now removed to Hampton Court. They, in fact, belong to Windsor. They are associated with its history ; and an account of the palace would be incomplete without something more than a cata- logue of their names. It is to Count Hamilton, in his " Memoirs of Grammont," we are to look for Memoires pour sermr; and, indeed, several editions of this amus- ing and profligate book have been published with the portraits of these ladies as illustrations.! * This fine work has since been published at a great expense ; but, alas, it was not completed till after the death of the amiable architect. ED. t We are indebted to Mrs. Jameson, for engravings of these beauties and her biographical sketches of each of them, and to Mr. Henry Bohn for a cheap and highly interesting edition of the " Memoirs of Gram - mont." ED. 246 WINDSOR CASTLE. To one possessing so keen a penetration as the Chevalier de Grammont, his second visit to the British metropolis must have afforded abundant matter for reflection. Fresh from the Court of the luxurious Louis, the circle to which he had been introduced during the sway of Cromwell must have appeared strange and unnatural to him. We can fancy we see the witty Frenchman shrugging his shoulders at the ascetic manners, the lip morality, and stern precepts, under the shelter of which tyranny and vice grew up like rank weeds, the less checked from being less suspected. But the Court of our second Charles, if still forming in many respects a contrast to that of Le Grand Monarque, had yet sufficient points of resemblance to render it a congenial atmosphere to the French courtier. It was an age when men were celebrated for their wit, and women for their beauty ; but, like streams turned into an artificial course, these natural gifts had become languid and worthless. Talents which might have guided the helm of state, or added power to the soldier's courage, were frittered away in the composition of a lame satire or an ob- scene song; and women, who should have shed lustre upon the sweet offices of a virtuous life, became more degraded than the purchased slaves of an eastern despot. An anecdote is told of De Grammont's marriage, which is highly characteristic of the time. On his appearance in London, he had hovered like a butter- fly over various flowers among the beauties of the MISS HAMILTON. 247 Court; and, for a while, Mistress Middleton was one most distinguished by his attentions. She is repre- sented as fair and inanimate, and, though sometimes extolled, not very generally admired. Her manners savoured of affectation, and " in striving to be bril- liant she only succeeded in being tiresome." Miss Warminster also held some place in his regards. This lady was maid of honour to the queen, and is said to have been lively and agreeable. The chevalier lavished on them both presents of perfumed gloves, apricot paste, essences, and similar commodities, which were sent to him every week from Paris. But their influence over him, slight as it might be, was not destined to be of long continuance ; for from the moment he beheld Miss Hamilton, he yielded to her attractions, and submitted himself a willing slave to her, and her alone. Miss Hamilton's portrait was among those in the collection at Windsor, and her character is as deserv- ing of respect as that is of admiration. Young, beautiful, and inexperienced, and surrounded by cor- rupt examples, no breath of scandal had ever sullied her reputation. Belonging to an illustrious family, and possessing, besides her personal loveliness, good sense and vivacity, there is little wonder at the con- quest she achieved. It is generally acknowledged that his attachment was lasting and sincere, although there is a circumstance which appears rather con- tradictory to the assertion. When about to return to France, he certainly acted 248 WINDSOR CASTLE. as if he had forgotten, or strove to forget, his en- gagement altogether. He left London hastily, and had reached Dover, when he was overtaken by Count Hamilton and his brother. " Chevalier," said they, "have you not forgotten something in Lon- don?" "Excuse me, gentlemen," replied De Gram- mont, " I have forgotten to marry your sister." At these words the horses' heads were turned ; and when again he travelled that road, it was in the com- pany of his countess, who remained for years one of the brightest ornaments of the French court. Count Hamilton was afterwards a faithful adherent of James II., and one of the few who remained with him in exile at St. Germain's. But we must pause a while, to note down each "particular star" in the constellation, whence the chamber which contained them was called " the Room of Beauties." The portrait of Frances Stuart, afterwards Duchess of Richmond, is one of the ten painted by Sir Peter Lely. To regular and beautiful features this lady added a symmetrical form, and by these enchantments ruled for awhile the heart of the fickle monarch. If we may credit the stories of the time, she was not a bel esprit, but, on the contrary, trifling and childish, and pleased with all sorts of buffoonery. The Duke of Buckingham is said to have ingratiated himself into her favour by the skill with which he constructed houses of cards, his agreeable voice, and amusing turn for scandal. Among her admirers was the MISS STUART. 249 medallist to the king, by whose request she sat for the figure of Britannia on the reverse of a large medal with the head of Charles II. The likeness was considered excellent. So high was Miss Stuart in the king's favour, that it was at one time thought he would obtain a divorce for the purpose of marrying her. Clarendon, dreading the popular discontent and probable contested succession, should such an event take place, hastened her marriage with the Duke of Kichmond, which gave great offence to the infatuated monarch. In this abandoned Court none held a less envied pre-eminence than Barbara Villiers, successively known as Lady Castlemain, Countess of Southamp- ton, and at last Duchess of Cleveland: as each the haughty, insulting, and unfeeling rival of the neglect- ed queen, " She was," says Bishop Burnet. " a woman of great beauty, but most enormously vicious and ravenous ; foolish, but imperious ; very uneasy to the king, and always carrying on intrigues with other men, while yet she pretended she was jealous of him : his passion for her, and her strange behaviour to him, did so disorder him, that often he was not master of himself, nor capable of minding business, which in so critical a time required great application." We strive in vain to discover any better quality that might redeem this woman's character from the profligacy and vice which are associated with it. Fallen women have sometimes sought to expiate their error by the practice of the lesser virtues, and the 250 WINDSOR CASTLE. mistress of a king has been more than once the peo- ple's benefactress. But the Duchess of Cleveland was not one of these ; vain, selfish, and imperious, she was alike faithless to her husband and the royal lover whose coffers she had well nigh exhausted. On the arrival of Miss Stuart at Court, the duchess little suspected how formidable a rival she was destined to prove, and, fancying herself securely placed above the reach of all competitors, even undertook to patronize the new comer. It was, however, rumoured that her influence began to decline from the moment of Miss Stuart's appearance, although she still contrived to extort large sums of money from the king. Granger remarks, that " she was the most inveter- ate enemy of Clarendon, who thought it an indignity to his character to shew common civilities, much more to pay his court to the mistress of the greatest monarch upon earth. When this honoured nobleman was going from Court, upon his resignation of the great seal, the Duchess of Cleveland, who well knew him to be her enemy, insulted him from a window of the palace. He turned to her and said, with a calm but spirited dignity, ' Madam, if you live you will grow old.' ' She did indeed survive both power and beauty, and died unregretted, in the year 1709. Let us contrast with the Duchess of Cleveland, the portrait of Lady Ossory. Uncontaminated by the examples around her, she fulfilled her destined course, as the beloved and affectionate wife of a nobleman every way worthy of her. Excelling in more than LADY DENHAM. 251 the ordinary accomplishments of the age, and dis- tinguished for his rectitude of conduct, there is some- thing refreshing in the thought, that mutual faith existed between them, and that it was found possible to lead irreproachable lives, though surrounded by the corruption of a profligate Court. Would that more was recorded on the page of history of such characters as these ; but, alas ! " the evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with them; 1 ' and we can tell that the impetuous torrent the lightning the hurricane have been, by the devastation they leave behind. Miss Brooks, better known as Lady Denham, was one of the most distinguished "beauties" in the Court of the " merry monarch." Desirous of shining as a bright star amidst the galaxy of female loveliness which shed its lustre round the throne, she sought the appointment of lady of the bedchamber to the Duchess of York, calculating on the influence of the duke, whose admiration for her was more than suspected. It was about this time she attracted the attention of Sir John Denham, who is still remembered as a poet. He had, during a long life, railed at the foibles of the sex, and especially ridiculed the marriage state; but now, in his dotage, at the age of seventy-nine, fancied himself enamoured of a girl of eighteen ! It is scarcely possible to understand what feelings could have in- duced the haughty beauty to listen to her venerable suitor ; but from so ill-sorted an union nothing could be expected but at least jealousy on one side, even if 252 WINDSOR CASTLE. there was not good cause for it on the other. In ac- cepting a husband the lady does not appear to have relinquished the attentions of her lover; and Sir John, less callous than it was then the fashion for husbands to be, withdrew his wife from the vicinity of the Court, and treated her rather as a prisoner than the mistress of his house. She died shortly after- wards, while yet in the first bloom of womanhood; and dark are the stories which are registered of her fate. That she was poisoned seems to have been the prevailing opinion at the time, some attributing the deed to her husband, and others to the jealous fury of the Duchess of York. It was the age of monstrous crimes, and jealousy is a passion which has most fre- quently carried its slaves to the depths of iniquity. Andrew Marvel, in a poem entitled " Instructions to a Painter," evidently imputes the crime to the duchess, and hints that the drug was administered in a cup of chocolate. " Express her studying now if china clay Can Avithout hreaking venomed juice convey ; Or how a mortal poison she may draw Out of the cordial meal of the cacoo. Witness, ye stars of night, and thou, the pale Moon that, o'ercome with the thick steam, didst fail Ye neighb'ring elms, that your green boughs did shed, And fawns, that from the womb abortive fled Not unprovoked she tries forbidden arts ; But in her soft breast love's hid cancer smarts, While she revolves at once Sidney's disgrace, And herself scorned for emulous Denhams face." The portrait of Lady Whitmore, wife of Sir Thomas Whitmore, is also painted by Sir Peter Lely. She COUNTESS OF SUNDERLAND. 253 is reported to have equalled her sister, Lady Denham, in beauty, and to have formed one in this brilliant Court. Portrait of Lady Northumberland, painted by Sir Peter Lely. This lady was the daughter of the Earl of Southampton, Lord High Treasurer of England, and married Joceline the eleventh and last Earl of Northumberland in the direct male line. Their daughter, Elizabeth Percy, inherited her mother's es- tates, belonging to the Southampton family, and after marrying twice without having any offspring, left children by her third husband, Charles Seymour, Duke of Somerset. After the death of the Earl of Northumberland, in 1670, his countess gave her hand to Ralph Lord Montague, by whom she had a son, afterwards John, Duke of Montague. Thus she became the ancestress of two noble families. Portrait of the Countess of Sunderland, also by Lely. This picture is known by the appellation of " the Sacharissa," a title improperly applied, since it represents a daughter of Lord George Digby, who married a son of the beautiful Lady Sunderland, whom the poet Waller addressed by that name. There is a portrait, by Vandyke, of the elderly lady, of which Lord Orford remarks, " had not Waller been a better painter than Vandyke, Sacharissa would make little impression now." A story is told of this lady meeting the poet, many years after the time when her beauty had been deemed sufficient to inspire his muse; and asking 254 WINDSOR CASTLE. him, in raillery, when he would write as elegant verses to her again. " Madam," replied he, " when your ladyship is as young again." Portrait of the Duchess of Somerset, painted, it is said, by Lely. Very little is known of the lady here represented. From a biography of the artist by Lord Orford, it appears that Sir Peter Lely died of apo- plexy, in the year 1680, while engaged on a portrait of the Duchess of Somerset. Should this be the one, it was probably finished either by the hand either of his assistant Wissing, or their contemporary Huysman. Portrait of Lady Byron, painted by James Huys- man. Lord Orford suggests that this portrait is improperly designated, and that it was intended for the Lady Bellasyse. It has small pretensions to love- liness, although admitted among the " beauties." This lady was the widow of Lord Bellasyse, and greatly admired by the Duke of York, notwithstanding her being a zealous protestant. She is said to have owed her attractions to the vivacity of her manners; and, could the bigoted duke have persuaded her to change her religion, there is little doubt that he would at one time have married her. In fact, he gave her a pro- mise under his own hand to that effect; and, though subsequent events induced her to return it, she insisted on keeping a copy. It was her father who, from some political motive, communicated the duke's intention to the king; who immediately sent for his brother, and advised him " not to play the fool a second time," alluding to his former marriage with Ann Hyde. QUEEN CATHERINE. 255 This admonition probably cooled the fervour of the duke, and the united commands of her sovereign and her father might have terrified the lady into relin- quishing her lover. Portrait of Lady Rochester, by Lely. This, like the above, is conjectured to be a mistake, and in reality to represent the first wife of Viscount Hyde, second son of Lord Clarendon. The point, however, is still disputed. Portraits of Mrs. Lawson and Mrs. Nott, painted by William Wissing. As no mention is made of either of these ladies by Count Hamilton, or the other chroniclers of the time, it is fair to presume that they passed through life unpolluted by the vice which sur- rounded them. These fourteen portraits are known by the appel- lation of " King Charles's beauties." There were, however, several other ladies of high rank and great personal attractions about the Court, whose lives would prove equally fit subjects for the moralist's or romance writer's pen. It is impossible to consider the fate of the queen, Catherine of Portugal, without great interest. Un- fortunately, she did not succeed in retaining, if she had ever won the affections of Charles, although it is said her own were devoted to him. It is true, her conduct at first gained his esteem and respect ; but even these sentiments never taught him, in the trifling, yet important occurrences of every day life, to remember the feelings of a wronged and sensitive 256 WINDSOR CASTLE. woman. It was only on rarer occasions that he stood forth to defend her; as when the conspirators in a vile plot dared to use her name as an accomplice ; or when, she being thought to be at the point of death, some marks of tenderness escaped him. Believing that she had only a few hours to live, she told the king that she could not regret her death, since it would leave him free to make a happier choice. Charles, affected by her language, pressed and kissed her hand, and even shed some tears, imploring her to live for him, and promising atonement for the past. Her physicians attributed her recovery to these words, which seemed to bestow fresh strength upon her; but her hopes, if she really entertained any, were fallacious Charles made no alteration in his conduct. The Duke of York, afterwards James II., had mar- ried Anne Hyde, the daughter of Lord Clarendon, whose early indiscretions were pretty generally ac- knowledged, although her conduct as a wife was irreproachable. She is represented as possessing excellent talents, and though not born to royalty, well calculated to support its dignity. Miss Jennings was one of her ladies in waiting; of whom it is related, that, accompanied by Miss Price, another attendant about the Court, she, for an evening's frolic, disguised herself as an orange girl, and stood at the door of the theatre, offering her fruit for sale! A sort of pastime rather difficult for us to reconcile with any notions of decorum, and strongly marking that DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. 257 want of all delicacy and refinement which characterizes the manners of the Court. Miss Jennings afterwards married a brother of the Countess de Grammont. In the long list of celebrated women, which might be infinitely extended, Louise de Querouailles, created Duchess of Portsmouth, must not be forgotten. On her first introduction to the susceptible monarch, she appears to have won his regard, and to have re- tained her influence over him during the remainder of his life. NORMAN GATE, AND ROUND TOWER, WINDSOR CASTLE. CHAPTEE XXL THE ROUND TOWER. VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. HISTORY OF THE TOWER. THE IMPRISONED POET. LORD SURREY'S LAMENT AT WINDSOR. GERALDINE. LOWER WARD OF THE CASTLE. CLOISTERS. INSCRIPTIONS. ROYAL TOMB-HOUSE. ITS MODERN INHABITANTS. THE Keep, or Round Tower, stands between the two wards of the castle, and is certainly a very remarkable structure. It is raised on an artificial mount; and, towering above the other portions of the castle, presents itself to the spectator as the prominent feature. When we begin to ascend the steep stair, consisting of a hundred steps, we see a cannon looking down upon us from the landing- place; and this serves to increase, rather than other- wise, the respect with which we advance. An arched gateway at length leads into the principal apartments THE ROUND TOWER. 259 of the tower; and at the sides are posterns opening upon a battery of seventeen pieces of cannon, the only defence of the kind with which the castle is at present supplied. The view from the summit is perhaps unrivalled of its kind in England. The windings of the Thames at your feet, through a comparatively level country the luxuriant parks and sombre forest the fields and groves intermingled the towns, vil- lages, mansions, detached cottages gleaming through the trees, all combine to form a picture which gladdens the heart, as much as it amuses the imagi- nation. From this spot the following counties may be seen at a single glance: Middlesex, Essex, Hertford, Berks, Oxford, Wilts., Hants., Surrey, Sussex, Kent, and Bedford; and, on a clear day, the dome of St. Paul's at London may be distinctly recognised. It is needless to say, that, standing on such a site, the castle must itself form a remarkable object from many points of view. Those usually pointed out are, 1. The playing-fields of Eton College. From this point of view the whole of the north front is seen to advantage, comprising the Terrace, Brunswick, George III.'s and Winchester Towers, the state apart- ments, and Queen Elizabeth's Picture Gallery. 2. The fields leading from the little village of Clewer, about a mile west of the town. This walk lies nearly parallel with the Thames, and includes a good view of the town and south-west front of the castle; the s 2 260 WINDSOR CASTLE. bridge and parish church form pleasing objects from this position. 3. The footpath leading from Windsor to Datchet. This view embraces part of the south and east front, comprising the suite of apartments occupied by her Majesty, in front of which is the new pentagon terrace, with bastions at the angles, inclos- ing a space tastefully laid out as a flower-garden, and affording a fine foreground to the massive and stately towers rising beyond it. The general outline of the building from this part of the park is so extremely pleasing, especially when seen by moonlight, as amply to deserve the encomium, passed on it by a celebrated writer of the present day, who terms it " a view which every person who has the slightest taste for the pic- turesque ought neither to go abroad nor to die without seeing." 4. Snow Hill, an eminence at the farther extremity of the Long Walk, on which is placed an equestrian statue of George III. of colossal dimensions, executed by Sir Richard Westmacott ; the prospect from this situation is one of the most beautiful in the neighbourhood of Windsor, combining a general view of the castle, with the luxuriant landscape of the adjacent country. As a specimen of these, we annex a view of the castle from the road leading from the top of the Long Walk to Bishopsgate, just where the road for Black- water branches from it. The circumference of the Round Tower is three hundred and two feet, and its height two hundred and thirty feet. At the summit there is a flag-tower, about THE ROUND TOWER. 261 twenty-five feet wide, by twenty-two feet. The length of the staff is seventy-three feet, and the dimensions of the flag, displayed when the Queen is in the castle, twelve yards in length, by eight in breadth. This structure was formerly the residence of the governor or constable of the castle an office invested with very extensive authority. The custody of all distinguished state prisoners was confided to his care a duty which occasionally involved great respon- sibility. During the reign of Edward III., as we have already mentioned, John, King of France, and David, King of Scotland, captives of the Black Prince and the intrepid Queen Philippa, were under his charge. The Earl of Surrey, also, was confined in " the mayden's tower." The Long Parliament and Oliver Cromwell sent thither many of the royalist party; among whom the Earls of Lauderdale and Lindsay suffered captivity for several years, and were not released till the Restoration. The Marechal de Belleisle, who was taken prisoner during the German wars, in the reign of Charles II., was the last indi- vidual confined here. The first governor of the keep was Waiter Fitz-Otho, ancestor of the Earls of Plymouth, who was one of the knights of William the Conqueror, and was appointed by him to this office by the title of Castellan, since which time that noble family have prefixed " De Windsor" to their other titles. The situation has been filled by a number of distinguished individuals, and is now held by Prince Albert. 262 WINDSOR CASTLE. There is an allusion to the Round Tower in one of Surrey's most beautiful poems, which invests it with a romantic interest. " Who has not heard of Surrey's fame ? His was the hero's soul of fire, And his the bard's immortal name, And his was love, exalted high, By all the glow of chivalry." Scott does justice, also, to the character of the gallant and unfortu- nate earl, in a note to the song supposed to be sung by Fitzraver, in Marmion. The song is founded on an inci- dent said to have hap- pened to the earl in his travels. Having be- come acquainted with the celebrated Corne- lius Agrippa, he de- manded of him, in proof of his art, to shew him his far-away mistress, SDBEEY the lovely Geraldine, to whose service he had devoted his pen and his sword. The philosopher complied, and exhibited the vision of his beloved in a mirror, reclining upon a couch as if unwell, and reading her lover's verses by the light of a waxen taper. His imprisonment at Windsor, however, was not SURREY'S LAMENT. 263 occasioned exactly by such an offence as one would admire or lament in a bard : it was the violation of one of the canons of the Church, by eating fruit during Lent, and aggravated by another charge of traversing the streets of London in the dead of the night and breaking windows by shots from his cross-bow! The former charge he met by produc- ing a dispensation; and to the latter he pleaded guilty, asserting that his purpose was to terrify the citizens from their vices by the fear of a supposed preternatural visitation ! This odd apology does not seem to have had any effect; for the reformer of the city was shut up in Windsor, although we believe his imprisonment did not last long. Here are his recol- lections of the castle. " So cruel prison, how coulde betyde, alas, As proude Windsore ! where I in lust and joye, With a kinge's sonne my childishe yeres did passe, In greater feast than Priam's sonnes of Troye. " When eche swete place returned a taste full sower : The large grene courtes where we were wont to rove, With eyes cast up into the mayden's tower, And easie sighes, such as men draw in love " The statelie seates, the ladies bright of huve, The daunces shorte, long tales of great delight, With wordes and lookes that tigers could but ruve, When each of us did pleade the other's right. " The palme-play where dispoyled for the game With dazed yies, oft we by gleams of love Have mist the ball, and got sight of our dame, To bayte her eyes which kept the leads above. " The gravel ground, with sieves tied on the helme, On fomynge horse, with swordes and friendly hartes, With cheare as though one should another whelme, Where we have fought and chased oft with dartes. 264 WINDSOR CASTLE. " The secret groves, which oft we made resounde Of pleasant playnt, and of our ladies' praise, Recording ofte what grace eche one had founde, What hope of speede, what drede of long delayes. " The wild forest, the clothed holtes with grene, With raynes avayled, and swift ybreathed horse, With crye of hounds, and merry blastes betwene, When we did chase the fearful harte of force. " The wide vales eke, that harboured us each night, Wherewith, alas ! reviveth in my brest The swete accord ! such slepes as yet delight : The pleasant dreams, the quiet bed of rest." By the " may den tower," the poet means the prin- cipal tower mayden being a corruption of the French word magne, or mayne, great. " He was beheld in general by the English," says Dr. Heylin, in his Church History, " as the chief or- nament of the nation, highly esteemed for his chival- ry, his affability, his learning, and whatsoever other graces might either make him amiable in the eyes of the people, or formidable in the sight of a jealous, im- potent, and wayward prince." He was reported to have aspired to the hand of the Princess Mary ; and he bore openly, quartered on his escutcheon, the royal arms of Edward the Confessor, from whom he was descended. Such were the crimes for which the gallant Surrey lost his head on Tower Hill, in 1546. " Thou jealous, ruthless tyrant, heaven repay On thee, and on thy children's latest line, The wild caprice of thy despotic sway, The gory bridal bed, the plundered shrine, The murdered Surrey's blood, the tears of Geraldine ! " We cannot refrain from adding the warrior-poet's SURREY'S GERALDINE. 265 praise of his Geraldine, written also during his imprisonment at Windsor. " From Tuscane came my lady's worthy race ; Fair Florence was some time her ancient seat ; The western isle, whose pleasant shore doth face Wild Camber's cliffs, did give her lively heat. " Fostered she was with milk of Irish breast : Her sire an earl, her dame of princes' blood ; From tender years, in Britain she doth rest With king's child, where she tasteth costly food. " Honsdon did first present her to mine ey'n Bright is her hue, and Geraldine she hight ; Hampden me taught to wish her first for mine ; And Windsor, alas ! doth chase her from my sight. Her beauty of kind her virtues from above Happy is he who can obtain her love." The Round Tower was greatly injured, in the reign of Charles II., by the bad taste with which the re- pairs were made ; although repairs of some kind were certainly necessary, since the castle, according to Evelyn, was " exceedingly ragged ruinous." At present, it is chiefly occupied by occasional male visitors and some of the Equerries in Waiting, with their servants. It is unsuitable for the old, as it has only one internal communication with the state apart- ments, which is kept closed. From any other part of the palace, the lodger would have to traverse a por- tion of the middle ward, and climb up to his room by the steep staircase. The arms described, with such admiration, by Evelyn, have been transferred to the Guard Room ; and there is nothing at present worthy of remark in the Round Tower. The Lower Ward of the castle is entered from 266 WINDSOR CASTLE. Windsor through King Henry the Eighth's Gateway, where the visitor has immediately before him the south part of the collegiate chapel of St. George. This ward contains the following towers : Winchester, al- ready described, which forms the western end of the northern terrace, and was built by William of Wyke- ham. It is mentioned by Nordon, surveyor of woods to James I., as "a rounde towre costilie raysed upon an artificial mount, verie auntient." The wardrobe, or store-tower, an ivy-mantled structure ; the towers which flank the gateway, containing a corps de garde, and apartments for the officer; Salisbury Tower, formerly the residence of the Chancellor of the order of the Garter, but recently restored, and now occupied by two of the military knights ; Garter Tower, on the west front ; and Julius Caesar's, or the Belfry Tower. The ward is divided by St. George's chapel, with the dwellings of the ecclesiastical officers on the north, and on the south and west those of the military knights. At the west end of the chapel are the resi- dences of the minor-canons and lay-clerks, called the Horse-shoe Cloisters, the first buildings on the site having been constructed by Edward IV., in the shape of his favourite device, a fetter-lock. The Great Cloisters are entered by a vaulted pas- sage, and several memorials of poor knights here meet our eyes, and among others the following inscription : " Near this place lyeth the body of Captain Richard Vaughan, of Pantglass, in the county of Caernarvon, INTERESTING MEMORIAL. 26 who behaved himselfe with great courage in the ser- vice of King Charles the First (of ever blessed memory) in the civill warrs, and therein lost his sight by a shott; in recompense whereof he was, in July, 1663, made one of the Poor Knights of this place, and died the 5th day of June, anno Domini, 1700, in the 80th yeare of his age." The stone benches which run round three sides of these cloisters were formerly used as the seats of con- fessionals. Near the outer door of the chapel is the monument of Sir Isaac Heard, Garter Principal King- at-Arms; but in the passage by which the cloisters communicate with the castle-hill, is a much more in- teresting, as well as more humble memorial, said to have been written by him whose name commences the inscription : King George III. Caused to be interred Near this place, the body of Mary Gascoin, Servant to the late Princess Amelia, And this tablet to be erected, In testimony of His grateful sense of the faithful services and attachment of An amiable young woman To his beloved daughter, Whom she survived only three months. She died on the 19th of Feb., 1811, Aged 31 years. The inner cloisters, inhabited by the prebendaries of the chapel, contains the library. On the north, a descent of eighteen stone stairs, called " the Hundred Steps," conducts to a postern gate, whence a flight of 268 WINDSOR CASTLE. steps winds round the brow of the hill till it reaches an inlet to the town. The Royal Tomb-house stands at the east end of the chapel. It was built originally by Henry VIII., as a burying-place for himself and his successors; but he abandoned this for his more noble construction at Westminster. Subsequently Cardinal Wolsey obtained a grant of it from Henry VIII. , with the view of con- verting it into a splendid mausoleum to perpetuate his own memory. He had already expended a large sum upon this object of his ambition, when his dis- grace and death, and the confiscation of his property occurred, and allowed " Wolsey's Tomb House," as it was called, to revert to the Crown. It was the inten- tion of Charles I. to have fitted it up as a royal mau- soleum; but in the midst of his plan came the civil war, the result of which left him no choice as to a resting-place for his head. In 1646, it was plundered by the Republican army. James II. fitted it up for a mass-house, and Verrio was employed to paint a splen- did ceiling; but the infatuated bigot, entertaining ostentatiously, soon after, the Pope's nuncio, a popular" commotion took place, and the windows and decora- tions of the new chapel were destroyed. It remained in a state of ruin till the accession of George III., who ordered it to be repaired for the purpose of forming a royal sepulchre beneath. An excavation of the size of the interior of the edifice was made, to the depth of fifteen feet ; and in the bed of chalk, two stone cofims, containing the bodies of Elizabeth Widville and ROYAL TOMB-HOUSE. 269 Prince George, her son by Edward IV., were found by the workmen. In the void thus created, a cemetery was constructed, seventy feet long, twenty-eight wide, and fourteen deep. The catacombs are formed of massive octangular pillars, supporting a range of four shelves, each of which may contain two bodies, and the whole capable of admitting thirty-two on each side. Besides these, there are five niches at the east end, and in the middle twelve low tombs; so that eighty-one bodies may be deposited in the royal Tomb- house. The entrance into the sepulchre is by a sub- terraneous passage from the vault under the choir of St. George's chapel. The following are the modern inhabitants of this solemn abode : Princess Amelia died at Windsor buried November 14, 1810. Princess Charlotte Claremont November 19, 1817. Queen Charlotte Kew Duke of Kent , Sidmouth George III. , Windsor Duke of York , London George IV. , Windsor William IV. , Windsor Also the infant princes, Octavius and Alfred, removed thither from Westminster Abbey. December 2, 1818. February 12, 1820. February 16, 1820. January 20, 1827. July 15, 1830. July 8, 1837. The Deanery stands at the east end of the Tomb- house, and contains the Garter Room, where the knights are robed, and several articles of antiquarian curiosity. CHAPTER XXII. ROYAL CHAPEL OF ST. GEORGE. INTERIOR. CHOIR. WEST WINDOW. SCREEN. STALLS OF THE KNIGHTS. MONUMENTS. CENOTAPH OF THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE. THE Royal Chapel of St. George, although within the precincts of the castle, (in the lower ward,) is too important to be treated merely as a portion of the buildings. Whether any chapel existed on the same spot earlier than Henry I. may be doubted; and even of the structure of that monarch, all we know is, that it was taken down and rebuilt by Edward III. From that period we find nothing concerning it, till a patent of Richard II. appears, with the date 1390, describing the chapel as falling into ruins, and appointing a clerk of the works to superintend its repair. The salary of this functionary was two shillings per day equivalent, as Godwin says, to an income, in modern money, of 657/. per annum and his name was Geoffrey Chaucer. The poet held the appointment for twenty months. The next notice of the chapel occurs in the reign of Edward IV., to whom the greater part of the edifice, as it now stands, may be attributed. In the fifteenth year of his reign, he appointed Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, master and surveyor of the works ; who was succeeded by Sir Reginald Bray, prime-mi- nister to Henry VII. The roof or groined ceiling of the choir, was constructed by the latter prince; and in the time of Henry VIII., a rood-loft and lanthorn ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL. 271 were added, which have now disappeared. Mr. Brit- ton, in his " Architectural Antiquities," perceives evi- dence of the intention of the original architect to have a lanthorn over the present organ screen. " The fit- ting-up and decorations of the stalls also in the choir, were chiefly accomplished during Henry VIII. 's reign ; and it is conjectured, that the whole masonry of the edifice, with the roof, side-chapels, and interior embel- lishments, were left either wholly or nearly finished at the time of that monarch's decease." Some dilapida- tions, however, have taken place since then, and many reparations were made in the reign of George III. Mr. Britton mentions, on the authority of the Bishop of Salisbury, that the King was very urgent in desiring his architect, Mr. Evelyn, to imitate as closely as pos- sible the ancient models to be found in the original parts of the building. The king contributed, from his private purse, upwards of 15,000/. to defray the expenses ; the dean and chapter advanced 5,000/. more ; and the Knights of the Garter paid their quota. The interior of the chapel is one of the most beau- tiful specimens existing of the elegant style of archi- tecture in which our ancestors took so much delight, and exhibited so much proficiency. The roof, formed of stone, is exceedingly beautiful; and rising, in its elliptical form, from the tall and slender pillars, has a surprising lightness of effect. The choir is divided from the body of the chapel by a magnificent screen of artificial stone, surmounted at the centre by the organ. At the sides of the choir are the stalls of the Knights 272 WINDSOR CASTLE. of the Garter, embowered in ancient carved work, on which are the mantle, sword, helmet, and crest of each knight, with his silken banner above, emblazoned with his arms. On the back of the stalls are the names, titles, and arms of the knights, engraved on copper. The whole of the carved work of the choir is worthy of observation, being very elaborate and in the finest taste. The West window fills the entire width of the nave. It is divided into three large compartments which again are subdivided into five lights. It is filled with ancient stained glass, collected from other windows of the chapel, and containing figures repre- senting saints and monarchs, many of which may be recognised. It forms on the whole one of the most elegant specimens extant of the architecture of the age. [This beautiful window has recently been restored by Mr. Willement, the side-panels of each compart- ment, which were of modern glass in the worst taste, having had appropriate figures substituted for them, in strict accordance with the other saints and monarchs. These have been executed by Mr. Wille- ment: and so well has he performed his task, that it is difficult to decide which panels are of ancient, and which of modern stained glass. It is now certainly one of the finest and most interesting windows in England, and, when the setting sun pours its rays through the various tints of glass, and reflects them on the fine pillars and the stone floor of the nave, the effect is most beautiful. ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL. 273 But how great is the contrast when turning to the East window. We look in vain for the appropriate stone mullions and tracery, and the Innumerable of stains and splendid dyes, As are the tiger-moth's deep damask'd wings ; And in the midst, 'mong thousand heraldries, And twilight saints, and dim emblazonings, A shielded scutcheon blushed with blood of queens and kings. KEATS. Instead of this, we see a vile imitation of a picture in painted glass on large squares, producing the most dingy and disagreeable effect, with side-windows filled with ill-drawn heraldry, executed in washy and chill- ing tints. Let us hope that the time is approaching when stained-glass will be used in subordination to the architecture; and that the beautiful hues of the East window will be restored, and the modern innova- tions be removed. Horace Walpole, in a letter to Miss Berry, dated in 1791, says: " St. George's Chapel, that I always worshiped, though so dark and black that I could see nothing distinctly, is now, having been cleaned and decorated, a scene of lightness and grace. There is a new screen prefixed to the choir, so airy and har- monious that I concluded it Wyat's ; but it is by a Windsor architect, whose name I forget. Jarvis' window, over the altar, after West, is rather too sombre for the Eesurrection, though it accords with the tone of the choirs. The Christ is not ascending in calm dignity, and there is a Judas below, so gigantic that he seems more likely to burst by his T 274 WINDSOR CASTLE. bulk than through guilt. In the midst of all this solemnity, in a small angle over the lower stalls, is crammed a small bas-relief, in oak, with the story of Margaret Nicholson, the king, and the coachman, as ridiculously added and as clumsily executed as if it were a monkish miracle. Some loyal zealot has broken away the blade of the knife, as if the sacred wooden personage would have been in danger still." The windows at the ends of the aisles are also in the very worst taste, and the stone mullions and tracery have disappeared from them. Foreigners view them with unmitigated disgust, as a perfect dis- grace to this fine chapel. It is to be regretted that the beautiful stained-glass windows recently traced in the south aisle were not substituted for those at the ends of it. The cenotaph of the lamented Princess Charlotte is also liable to much censure. The principal figure is indelicate, and those reclining are formal, and in bad taste, as well as stiff and uninteresting. It is a pity that a curtain is not drawn over the whole. The whole of the fine stone-work, which was defaced with white-wash, has now been cleansed from this unsightly covering, and the best effect produced in consequence. Some of the coats of arms on the ceil- ings have been ornamented with the proper heraldic colours, and it is to be regretted that this has not been more extensively done. The fine stall-work has also been cleaned and polished, and various other improve- ments in the chapel have taken place which do the CHOIR. 275 Chapter much credit. A great deal, however, still requires to be done before criticism can be silenced, or the admirers of this fine and interesting building satisfied. The present dean is, however, known to possess good taste, good feeling, and a great desire to improve the building over which he presides. It may be hoped, therefore, that by degrees considerable improvements will take place.] The East window of the choir, and the aisle win- dows, are filled with painted glass, after large designs by Mr. West, and are altogether out of keeping. The ancient stained-glass must necessarily have contained only small figures, or minute groups in each section ; for, at the time this art was in perfection, the art of casting glass in large pieces was unknown. In the fourteenth century, a mirror which shewed the entire bust was a valuable rarity. Looking down from the altar the view is as magnificent as can well be con- ceived. The stalls at either side, with their Gothic carvings, surrounded by the rich banners of the knights hanging solemnly still the pillars, " Lofty, and light, and small," lost in the delicate arches of the roof and the mel- lowed light streaming from the great western window over the carved screen form altogether a picture which one would not willingly forget. At the same time, it is proper to observe, that much of the grandeur of the nave is lost, owing to the solidity of the screen. In general, the choir is divided T 2 276 WINDSOR CASTLE. from the body of the church by open work, (frequently merely a rich rail,) and thus the whole interior forms one magnificent picture. The choir of St. George's Chapel, on the contrary, is so completely inclosed, that unless when the folding-doors are open, and the spectator stands at the extreme western end, it might seem a portion of another building ; while the openings of the lateral aisles at the sides of the choir are too narrow and unimportant to correct this impression. The Choir, notwithstanding, forms in itself one of the most gorgeous spectacles it is possible to conceive. The carved stalls of the knights are almost black, apparently from age ; and the lofty canopies, tower- ing above the enclosure of the choir, are sculptured in the most delicate, yet the most fantastic Gothic. On these the shields and other arms of the knights, relieve with their rich colours the dark ground on which they are placed; while the emblazoned ban- ners, which would be gaudy anywhere else, hanging in regular military ranks above the stalls, add to the effect of the whole. The stalls of the knights-companion are ranged on each side of the choir ; and those of the sovereign and the princes of the blood, at the entrance, under the organ-loft ; the opposite end containing the altar and communion-table. The stall of the sovereign is dis- tinguished from the rest by its richer accompaniments, including the royal diadem. At the decease of a knight, his sword, banner, and other insignia are taken down, but the plate remains as a record. Some MONUMENTS. 277 of the older plates afford curious specimens of heraldic engraving. Among them will be found those of Sigis- mund, Emperor of Germany in 1418; Casimir IV., King of Poland in 1452 ; the Duke of Buckingham ; Lords Hastings, Lovel, and Stanley, of the times of Eichard III.; the unfortunate Earl of Surrey in Henry VIII. 's reign ; Charles V., Emperor of Ger- many, and his rival, Francis I., of France ; Sir Robert Dudley, afterwards Earl of Leicester ; Lord Burleigh ; and other illustrious characters of a later period. The choir was built by Edward III., but 'was en- larged by Edward IV., and improved by Henry VII., and several of his successors, but more especially George III. The altar and its decorations are almost entirely modern. On the north side of the altar is a gallery called the Queen's Closet, intended for her Majesty's accommodation when attending service. At the same angle is the monument of Edward IV. It is executed in steel, representing a pair of gates between two Gothic towers. Beneath, on a flat stone, is the inscription: "KiNG EDWARD HIT. AND HIS QUEEN ELIZABETH WIDVILLE." On another stone, near the spot, is inscribed in old English : " GEORGE, DUKE OF BEDFORD, AND MARY, FIFTH DAUGHTER OF EDWARD IIII." At the east end of the south aisle is the tomb of the Earl of Lincoln, High Admiral in the time of Elizabeth. The effigy of the earl, in full armour, and that of his lady in her state robes, lie upon a mat, with a greyhound at the feet of the former, and at 278 WINDSOR CASTLE. those of the latter a monkey. In this part of the aisle was also buried Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, the first Chancellor of the Order of the Garter; and close at hand is a large flat stone, bear- ing the inscription " HENRY VI." The chantries called Oxenbridge Chapel, Aldworth Chapel, and Bray Chapel, also deserve some attention. Bray Chapel, near the south door, was built in the time of Henry VII. by Sir Reginald Bray, a Knight of the Garter. Beaufort Chapel, at the west end of the south aisle, contains an altar tomb, with the effigy of the foun- < '/ der, Charles Somerset, Earl of Worcester, 1526, and several other monuments of the family. In the op- posite angle, in Urswick Chapel, is the cenotaph of the Princess Charlotte, which has given rise to much criticism as a work of art, but is nevertheless a very imposing object.""" The body of the princess, entirely covered with a cloth, with the exception of a portion of one of the hands, lies below, watched by female attendants in deep sorrow ; while her apotheosis takes place above, her spirit which is a good resemblance of its earthly tenement rising from a mausoleum in the back ground. Rutland and Hastings chapel, with various stones and tablets, complete the silent records of St. George's Chapel. A view of the interior of the chapel, as it exists at present, will be found in this volume. * See preceding remarks, page 274. ETON COLLEGE. CHAPTER XXIII. THE GERMAN PRINCE'S OPINION OF WINDSOR. ETON COLLEGE. LITTLE PARK. FROGMORE. MISCONCEPTIONS IN TASTE. THE LONG WALK. HERONRY. STATUE OF GEORGE III. GREAT PARK. VIRGINIA WATER. THE CASCADE. RUINS. FRIGATES OF THE LAKE. FISHING TEMPLE. BEVIDERE TOWER. BRIDGES. RETURN TO WINDSOR. ROYAL LODGE. CUMBERLAND LODGE. ECLIPSE. QUEEN VICTORIA. IT is curious that prince Puckler Muskau, who is so minute in his descriptions of our English man- sions and parks, dismisses Windsor with a page of 280 WINDSOR CASTLE. comment; and this is the more curious, as he evi- dently appreciated, at its true value, the most interest- ing and magnificent edifice of its kind in Europe. " It is a vast work," says he, " and the only one of its kind in England, which is executed not only at a great cost, and with technical skill, but with uncom- mon taste nay, genius. The grandeur and magni- ficence of the castle, which, although not half finished, has cost three millions of our money, are truly worthy of a King of England. Situated on a hill above the town, and commanding a beautiful view, while it presents a noble object from every side, its position gives it an immense advantage. Its historical in- terest, its high antiquity, and its astonishing vast- ness and extent, unite to render it single in the world." We cannot persuade ourselves to take leave of the castle, without adverting again to its great advantages of situation. It is the prince, if we do not mistake, who remarks that the four great gates are so disposed, as to enclose the four most interesting points of the landscape as in a frame. The view from the tower, as we have already observed, is unrivalled in variety and beauty; while those from various points of the terrace, though less grand, are still more pleasing, because more within the compass of the imagination. Annexed is one of the latter description, exhibiting Eton as seen from the terrace. If the distant views from Windsor Castle are fine, its own immediate grounds and dependencies are not FROGMORE HOUSE. 281 less so. In fact, on so gigantic a scale is every thing here, that these, in some directions, form the distant views. The Little Park, extending on the north and east sides of the castle, to the banks of the Thames, is four miles in circumference, and contains an area of five hundred acres ; the Great Park, on the south, embraces an area of more than two thousand acres; and the Forest, in the same direction, stretches away, with its masses of dark foliage, to the verge of the horizon. At the termination of the slopes in the Little Park, or that portion of the park which slopes down from the northern terrace, stands the picturesque little cot- tage, called Adelaide Lodge, completed by the Queen Dowager; and just without the park, from which it is separated by the London road, is Frogmore House, an elegant seat constructed by Queen Charlotte, and be- queathed by her to the Princess Augusta. The gardens contain twelve or thirteen acres, and are very care- fully laid out, comprising all sorts of ornaments, con- gruous and incongruous, such as huts, temples, hermit- ages, and ruins. But the seats of this part of Berkshire would re- quire a volume of themselves ; and we shall therefore set out, without more delay, on the drive in which the visitors of Windsor think it so necessary, and find it so agreeable to indulge. We have heard persons sneer at " the lake in the royal grounds," as if it were a transgression of the canons of taste to admire any thing but the untrimmed scenery of nature. These 282 WINDSOR CASTLE. persons, to be consistent, should disdain to look at a house, reserving all their attention for a cave. The truth obviously is, that there are kinds, as well as degrees, of beauty ; and the man who affects to turn his head away from Virginia Water, embowered in its plantations, because it does not sleep in some wild and lonely vale, overshadowed by primeval woods, misun- derstands the nature of taste. The Long Walk, by which we set out for the lake, would serve to give indication at the outset, that our course is far from being directed towards any temple of nature. This is an avenue, three miles in length, from the grand entrance of the castle, and terminated by an equestrian statue of George III. It runs in a perfectly straight line, so that its termination may be ELMS NEAR THE HERONRT. seen from its commencement; while from the statue, its unvarying line, conducting with the certainty of fate to the castle, at the end of a vista of three miles, HERONRY. 283 produces a very original effect. It is bordered the whole distance with picturesque elms, and is wide enough to afford a green sward for pedestrians on both sides. About two miles from the castle there is a medicinal spring, impregnated with sulphuric acid, magnesia, and muriatic acid, said to possess consider- able efficacy in chronic complaints. [Near Sandpits Gate is a fine heronry. The nests are built on beech-trees of an enormous height, which has probably been occasioned by their having formerly been drawn up by standing thick together. However this may have been, it is certain that for size and height they will now compete with perhaps any in England. The view from the upper ground near these trees is extensive and beautiful, and as the herons soar over the lofty tops of the trees, they add much to the scenery. I know few spots more to be admired than the immediate neighbourhood of Sandpit Gate.] The statue of George III. is by Sir Richard West- macott. It is of bronze, and stands, awkwardly enough, on a pedestal composed of rough blocks of granite piled in an irregular heap. It is a little way from this end of the Walk; and as you are not near enough to observe exactly on what footing the royal charger is placed, you are in some anxiety for the king's safety. The pedestal should have been made to resemble a solid rock. It is always unsafe to make the extremes of art and natural confusion meet at the same point. 284 WINDSOR CASTLE. Turning to the left, the visitor now proceeds along a picturesque and well-wooded route through the Great Park, passing one or two hamlets, and several country seats. This is one of the most beautiful drives in the kingdom, to those who can take pleasure in a prospect that is broken by trees, and bounded on all sides by a sea of foliage. At length your vehicle stops at the end of a house by the road-side, and, entering by a narrow door, you are directed to find your way on foot among the shrubbery to the water- side. The path leads you across a bridge, whence you see on the right a cascade, imitated from nature with very good effect. As yet you have not seen the lake ; but now all on a sudden it lies stretched before you, calm and silent, and framed in by dark woods; among which, every now and then, as you advance, green vistas open, leading the eye to other woods. If there be nothing wild in the spectacle, there is here nothing obtrusively artificial. It is merely a calm and gentle scene, fit for the wanderings of two lovers. Not lovers, indeed, who steal out into the forest to meet amidst a thousand perils by the light of the moon ; but lovers who have danced the night before in the saloon at Windsor, and will one day be married at St. George's. What signifies that? Lounging along the bank to the left, the view be- comes more extensive along the water; and the idea of magnitude is sufficient to expel the recollections of the palace. All is lovely, all is silent; except the RUINS. 285 dreamy sound, half moan, half murmur, which wan- ders among the woods, even when their leaves are stillest. The eye glances inquisitively through the interstices of the tall trees; and when a 'dark object appears to the left, which is apparently neither clump nor house, it is with strong curiosity, nay interest, the visitor advances. We know we shall be accused of exaggeration, or at least of giving too much way to fancy, when we say, that the first view of that object to which our eye was conducted from the water's edge by minute sec- tions of broken pillars, with long and irregular spaces between, yet placed in two parallel lines inspired us with a feeling pretty nearly akin to that with which we have contemplated the authentic ruins of the classic time. The fragments of the pillars grew larger, and closer, till at length entire columns, ap- pearing to totter under a portion of their ivy-grown superstructure, marked the form of the edifice. Trees had apparently grown up since the temple had become a ruin, and intruded themselves, as if in mockery, between the shafts of granite and marble; while the statues which had adorned or sanctified the place were either enshrined in wooded niches, or lay prone and broken upon the ground. Passing through a massive archway of brick- work, hung with lichens, and covered with shrubs, we enter a circle which no doubt was the sanctum of the temple. The limits may be traced by broken columns and statues, gleaming through the trees. 286 WINDSOR CASTLE. Now, if it be remembered that all this is seen near the margin of a silent lake, shrouded from the world in apparently impervious woods, it may be conceived that it must form a striking and im- pressive spectacle. At the commencement of this description we have placed a view of the ruin in its most common aspect, as the visitor looks upward from the water. But although this, of course, is a mere modern ornament although no temple ever existed here, and no associations throw a mantle of poetry over the spot still the work is not less a creation of true taste. The design is classical and elaborate; and the materials, consisting of columns of red and grey granite, marble, and porphyry, with marble statues and fragments, are all antique. Some of these were transferred hither from the outer court of the British Museum ; and some were formerly in the Elgin col- lection. We have seen the original designs for this ornamental ruin; and the work must have cost the architect, Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, as much intellect and labour as a finished building of similar pro- portions. He gave it the name of a Temple of Augustus. Proceeding along the margin of the lake, the same scenery continues, till a branch or bay opens on the opposite side, and we arrive at the broadest part of these tranquil waters. At the opening of the bay are anchored two frigates. We write the word advisedly. They are yachts of no very Lilliputian size, but such FISHING TEMPLE. 287 as one would not be surprised to meet with in the channel. They are rigged as ships of war, and have the clear, horizontal run which distinguishes the kind of craft to which they belong. One of these vessels was built for George IV. ; who, although in the main, as we have said, a man of taste, seems to have delighted in extravagant anomalies ; the larger one, for William IV. A skiff, a gondola, a pleasure- barge^ these would have been on their element in Virginia Water; but a frigate is abhorrent to the genius loci, and scares away the Dryads with its asso- ciations. In the annexed engraving, the artist has judi- ciously omitted the frigates, although the opening of the lake, where they are stationed, is shewn on the right of the view; and, in proper keeping with the character of the lake, his adjuncts are skiffs and pleasure-parties. But the building on the opposite side with what is that in keeping? We cannot tell. We can only answer that it is one of George the Fourth's favourite anomalies, and called the Fishing Temple ! But the plate does not shew half its absur- dities; for in the original there are gay and gaudy colours, and a profusion of brass and gilding, which present themselves in mortal antagonism with the assumed naturalness of the lake. A temple of Augustus might by possibility have once existed on the bank of what is now Virginia Water ; and whether so or not, its elegant ruins are by no means contra- dictions to the character of the scenery. But a 288 WINDSOR CASTLE. specimen of Chinese grotesque, with its gaudy colours and gilded balls, set gravely down in a locality like this, is just such a solecism as we observe with won- der, if not reproof, in the confused phantasmagoria of a dream. Taken by itself, however, the Fishing Temple, we must candidly confess, possesses considerable merit; and if stripped of its balls, and other extra- neous appendages including by all means the non- descript articles projecting from the pointed roofs and painted some modest, delicate, and uniform colour, it might be suffered to remain with positive advantage. Towards the head of the lake, at some distance to the left, there is the Belvidere Tower, which can only - aqyt~r 7 ri VIRGINIA WATER. be reached by means of a special journey through the wood. It is kept against the bay by certain pen- sioners, with the aid of some pieces of artillery removed hither from Windsor Castle. In front, the ROAD BACK TO WINDSOR. 289 vista of waters is closed by a solid bridge of five arches, admired as a work of art, but in our humble opinion altogether out of keeping with the character of the place. We now arrive at an iron gate, well secured; and, after sundry shoutings and hallooings, have the good fortune to make ourselves heard by the denizens of a lodge a little way beyond, who hasten to our relief, and we are presently delivered from the enchantments of Virginia Water. The road back to Windsor is on the opposite side, but at some distance from the lake. A glimpse is obtained of the Belvidere Tower, and by and by of a stately obelisk nearer at hand ; but, with little excep- tion besides, the view consists of woodland scenery, extending, with its varieties of height and hollow, and mystic vistas between, to the verge of the hori- zon. Behind, towards the right, at a distance of about two miles, is the race-course of Ascot Heath, the stand of which becomes gradually visible. This beautiful district, which forms a portion of Windsor Forest, is well supplied with game ; and we saw abundance of pheasants, apparently quite at their ease, at a short distance from the road. As we approach the Long Walk, for it is to that point we are tending, the Royal Lodge lies to the left, a large Gothic cottage, where George IV. used to retire in summer from the publicity of the palace. Cumberland Lodge is about the same distance, a con- fused assemblage of buildings, which was formerly the seat of the Duke of Cumberland. u 290 WINDSOR CASTLE. The fleetest and best horse the world ever saw was born in a paddock close to Cumberland Lodge. The Duke of Cumberland, his owner (of Culloden memory), regarded him as worthless, or, at least, in no wise calculated for the race-course ; because, when a year- ling, being an overgrown youngster, he could not bring his hind legs well up, or sufficiently forward. This extraordinary animal was foaled during the great eclipse of 1764, whence his name. He was got by Marske out of Spiletta, and might be said to unite the blood of the Darley and Godolphin Arabians. Eclipse, although disregarded by the duke, was closely observed by one of his servants, who became aware of his superior points, and on the approach of the sale of his master's stud, communicated his opinion to a Mr. Wildman, a sheep salesman, who kept a stud of trained racers at Mickleham, near Epsom. At the appointed time this gentleman appeared at the place of sale ; but before his arrival Eclipse had been knocked down at seventy guineas. Mr. Wildman, however, immediately appealed to his watch, which he knew to be correct, and found that the advertised time for sale had not yet arrived by some minutes. He insisted on the lots already knocked down being put up again ; and this being done accordingly, Eclipse was purchased by him for seventy-five guineas. Eclipse did not make his debut as a racer till he was five years old, when he came out at Epsom for the Maiden plate of fifty pounds. He won the first heat ; and, when running the second, hearing the whip ap- ECLIPSE. 291 plied to some of his opponents, he bounded away, and the utmost exertions of his rider (Oakly) to restrain him could not prevent him distancing his four com- petitors ! In 1770 he ran for the subscription purse at York, and was opposed by two racers of great repute, Tor- toise and Bellario; but he took the lead; and his rider being unable to hold him in, he shot ahead, and left his opponents nearly a quarter of a mile behind. In running, one hundred guineas to one were offered on him. Mr. 'Kelly purchased a half share of Eclipse for six hundred and fifty guineas, and after- wards became his sole proprietor for a thousand guineas more. This famous racer won eleven king's plates, in ten of which he carried twelve stone. He could distance with ease any horse that ever started against him; and he was never in his life touched either with whip or spur. He died at Canons, on the 27th of February, 1789, when twenty-six years old. " The Windsor bell hath struck twelve; the minute draws on ;" and by sundry tokens both of space and time, we are admonished to conclude. But let us first say, that the palmy days of the palace appear to have come again. It is now the favourite country residence of Queen VICTORIA, who has already sig- nalized her reign by commencing the construction of stables, on a scale worthy of the edifice. We sincerely trust that such labours of peace may be the hardest fate has in store for her, and cor- u 2 292 WINDSOR CASTLE. dially join in the exhortation to the fairies of the Park About, about ; Search Windsor Castle, elves, within and out ; Strew good luck, ouphes, on every sacred room; That it may stand to the perpetual doom, In state as wholesome, as in state 'tis fit, Worthy the owner, and the owner it ! GATE, ETON COLLEGE, ETON MONTEM. CHAPTER XXIV. ETON COLLEGE. ITS ARCHITECTURE. EMINENT MEN EDUCATED AT ETON COLLEGE. GRAY, THE POET. AMUSEMENTS AT ETON. ETON MONTEM. SALT-HILL. ETON COLLEGE. Come, parent Eton ! turn the stream of time Back to thy sacred fountain crowned with bays ! Recall my brightest, sweetest days of prime ! When all was hope and triumph, joy and praise. Guided by thee, I raised my youthful sight To the steep, solid heights of lasting fame, And hailed the beams of clear, etherial light, That brighten round the Greek and Roman name. blest instruction ! friend to generous youth ! Source of all good ! You taught me to entwine The muse's laurel with eternal truth, And wake her lyre to strains of faith divine. LORD WELLESLEY. '294 WINDSOR CASTLE. THERE are few places to which greater interest is attached than Eton. This celebrated seminary was founded by Henry VI. in 1441, and contained, at first, accommodation for twenty-five poor grammar scholars, and twenty-five poor and infirm men, whose duty it was to pray for the king. The college was modelled upon the plan of William of Wykeham, the founder of . Winchester School. The present establish- ment consists of a provost, vice-provost, six fellows, a master, under-master, assistants, lay clerks, choristers, and various servants. The scholars on the foundation wear a black cloth gown, but a white surplice, when attending the chapel. The others are called oppidans, the expense of whose education and maintenance is defrayed by their relations. They are boarded in private houses, within the precincts of the college, and their total number is upwards of seven hundred. The exterior of the college has the appearance of a vast Gothic building, with a beautiful chapel attached to it. This latter is now undergoing considerable alterations and decorations, and some fine stained glass windows have been recently added. The buildings, with the exception of the chapel, are of brick, and form two large quadrangles, with battlemented roofs. The outer quadrangle contains the clock tower, and the apartments of some of the masters, with the long chamber or dormitory above. In the centre is a bronze statue of the founder, on a marble pedestal, with a Latin inscription, purporting that it was erected to the memory of Henry VI., by PLAYING-FIELDS. 295 the provost, in 1719. The inner quadrangle has a cloistered walk round the sides, with a flight of steps on the South, leading into the ancient and curious hall, where the collegers dine and sup. Near the Hall is a valuable library, containing many interest- ing works, most of them the gifts of old Etonians. A corridor leads from the library to the apartments of the provost and fellows. From the Cloisters, a postern gate opens into the playing-fields, by the side of the provost's garden. A new dormitory, a hand- some range of buildings, and a library for the stu- dents occupy one side of the provost's yard. This building is a great addition to the College, and does away with the old dormitory, which was formerly much crowded. Each colleger has now a separate room; and the library, which is filling fast with the gifts of Etonians, is of great advantage to those who are fond of reading, or require books of reference. In the same yard is the house of the head-master, now Dr. Hawtrey. The upper and lower playing-fields may be called truly classic ground. Here are some noble English elms, on the tops of which numerous rooks build and rear their young, undisturbed by the noise of many hundred boys ; and secure from any molestation " These sable tenants of five hundred years" appear as if they formed an integral part of the Eton establishment. The playing-fields are bounded on one side by the river Thames, which here winds its way in a picturesque and rapid manner, foaming over the 296 WINDSOR CASTLE. weir, and presenting, as we wander along its banks, varied and beautiful scenery. The view, indeed, of Windsor Castle, from one part of the playing-fields, near the six-form bench, is extremely fine, and from no spot is it seen, perhaps, to greater advantage. When we recollect the number of great and distin- guished men who have received their education at Eton, and have wandered over these playing-fields, our interest in them is much increased. What emi- nent soldiers, sailors, statesmen, poets, historians, and lawyers, have here passed their youthful days in all the hilarity of cricket, football, and hockey. We can picture to ourselves that good provost, Sir Henry Wotton, either slowly walking beneath the elms, or sallying forth with his friend, the amiable Isaac Wal- ton, with their fishing-rods, to try their skill on the pretty Ait at Black-pots. We may also fancy that we see Gray, in one of his contemplative moods, pacing the poet's walk, where his muse probably took its first flight of fancy, or else wandering about with his early friends, West and Horace Walpole, in all " the wise security of friendship." Indeed West describes himself and Gray as walking hand in hand, " Through many a flowery path and shelly grot, Where Learning lull'd us in her private maze." While speaking of Gray, we may mention it as extraordinary, that so little is known of him during the period he was at Eton. The best account of him we have is in a letter written by that learned writer, Jacob Bryant, to an unknown correspondent, in which HORACE WALPOLE. 297 he states that Horace Walpole, Gray, and himself, were of nearly the same standing at Eton. The two former appear to have been sickly boys, upon which account they had few associates, and never joined in any of the sports, or engaged in boyish amusements, They now and then took a distant view of those who pursued their different diversions, probably as they strolled up and down the poet's walk, or sat on the sixth-form bench. They were consequently treated by some as effeminate, on account of their great deli- cacy and fastidious behaviour. Mr. Walpole used to say that " Gray was never a boy" These circum- stances are alluded to by the author of the " Pursuits of Literature," when he speaks of mastermisses being offended. Gray was so averse to all rough exercise, that it is said he was never on horseback. When Walpole set out upon his travels, Gray ac- companied him, and they proceeded for a long time very amicably. But some cause of offence at length arose and they separated : Gray returned to England. On Walpole's return, he took a house at Windsor. He had not resided there long, when he heard that Gray was with his relations at Stoke. He accord- ingly sent him a kind letter, with overtures of re- conciliation, and a desire to see him. Gray very gladly set out to renew his acquaintance, and we can imagine him walking from Stoke through the play- ing-fields at Eton, and seeing the boys engaged in their different diversions amidst universal harmony. His late unhappy disagreement and separation were 298 WINDSOR CASTLE. at that time uppermost in his mind ; and when he contemplated this scene of concord and boyish happi- ness, he could not help, in his melancholy mood, con- trasting what he then saw with what was likely to occur to these youths in future life. He was led to con- sider the feuds and quarrels which might at some future period ensue, when all that harmony and happiness would cease, and enmity and bitterness succeed. He even went so far as to anticipate all the dreadful evils to which mankind are liable. It is a gloomy picture, but finely executed, and whoever reads the description in the "Distant Prospect of Eton College," will find that it was formed from a scene before his eyes. The poet saw and experimentally felt what he so masterly describes : " Gay hope is theirs, by fancy fed, Less pleasing when possest ; The tear forgot as soon as shed, The sunshine of the breast. Theirs buxom health of rosy hue, Wild wit, invention ever new, And lively cheer of vigour born ; The thoughtless day, the easy night, The spirits pure, the slumbers light, That fly th' approach of morn. " Alas ! regardless of their doom, The little victims play ! No sense have they of ills to come, Nor care beyond to day : Yet see, how all around them wait The ministers of human fate, And black misfortune's baleful train ! Ah, show them where in ambush stand, To seize their prey, the murd'rous band ! Ah, tell them they are men ! " These shall the fury passions tear, The vultures of the mind," &c. GRAY, THE POET. 299 I saw this fine Poem, in Gray's hand writing, on a single sheet of letter paper, sold by auction for one hundred guineas, and his beautiful elegy, in the same sale, for rather more. Stoke Pogis, celebrated as the re- sidence of Gray, is within half an hour's walk of Eton, and richly deserves a visit. Every thing at Stoke is redolent of Gray, and it is pleasing to trace some of the scenes he so finely describes in his Elegy. "Yonder ivy-mantled tower" points out to us the old church of Upton in the distance, with the immense mass of ivy still covering its tower. " The rugged dens, that yew-tree's shade, Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap," is descriptive of Stoke churchyard. Here the remains of his beloved mother, as well as his own, are depo- sited. We see the picturesque features of his own landscapes most accurately placed before us, and almost hear the sounds of rural nature which have been so pleasingly described in his poem. And then the beech trees, especially the neighbouring ones of Burnham, remind us of the " nodding beech," that "wreathes its old fantastic roots," for who can see them without being struck with their various con- tortions, as they sometimes grasp the ground, and then throw up those bold and curious excrescences, 300 WINDSOR CASTLE. mossed over with various lichens, and sheltering a variety of wild flowers ! And here may be heard the "twittering swallows" the "lowing herd;" and the "drowsy tinklings"" of the folded sheep. As evening approaches, " the ploughman plodding his weary way homewards," as " the glimmering landscape fades on the sight ; " presents himself before us, and we see the light in his cottage from the " blazing hearth," prepared for his comfort by his careful wife. And then how charming are those lines, and what a de- lightful picture do they present of the labourer's happy home! " The children run to lisp their sire's return, Or climb his knees the envied kiss to share :" or as he has written it in one of his own transcripts " Or climb his knees, the coming kiss to share," I may mention in conclusion that Gray has omitted a beautiful stanza in his Elegy, thinking it made too long a parenthesis at the end of the poem before the epitaph ; but it is well worthy of insertion. " There scatter'd oft, the earliest of the year, By hands unseen are showers of violets found ; The red-breast loves to build and warble there, And little footsteps lightly print the ground." Nor should we forget that those learned divines, Hammond, Pearson, and Sherlock, were Etonians, and did no slight honour to their school. Canning here gave proof of his future fame and talents, Fox of his oratory, and Porson of his learning. Here, also, Lord Wellesley had his ambition excited and EMINENT ETONIANS. 301 his talents fostered, by first having his Latin verses handed about as elegant compositions, and then being called upon to speak some of them before George III. and his Court. So sensible, indeed, was Lord Wellesley of the debt of gratitude he owed to Eton, that he desired to be buried in its chapel. He also requested the writer of this notice, a short time before he died, to plant six weeping willows near his fa- vourite six-form bench. Under these it was his inten- tion to erect a seat, and for which he composed a Latin inscription. The trees were planted. Let me hope that the seat may still be erected, and also an appropriate monument put up to his memory in Eton chapel. He was amongst those alumni of whom Eton may be justly proud, not only as one of her most elegant scholars, but also as one of England's most en- lightened statesmen. Nor should we omit to mention that his illustrious brother, the Duke of Wellington, was also an Etonian. The "memorable" John Hales was a fellow of Eton, and Aubrey tells us that he lodged " at the next house, the Christopher Inn, where I saw him, a prettie little man, sanguine, of a cheerful coun- tenance, very gentele, and courteous. He died in 1656, and lies buried in the churchyard of Eton, near to his little godson, John Dickenson." Nicholas Udall, the author of our earliest English comedy (" Ralph Roister Doister"), was master of Eton in 1540, and the only known copy of this play is preserved in the college library. He was master of 302 WINDSOR CASTLE. the school when Thomas Tusser, the quaint author of " Five hundred Points of good Husbandry," was a student there. He appears to have been very severe, for the worthy Tusser thus complains of him: " From Paul's I went, to Eton sent, To learn straightways, the Latin phrase, Where fifty-three stripes, given to me, At once I had, For fault hut small, or none at all, It came to pass, thus beat I was : See, Udall, see, the mercy of thee, To me, poor lad." In fact, Udall 's severity rendered him odious to his scholars; and from this cause, probably, his private character did not escape censure. He was reckoned a very elegant scholar, though few evidences of his attainments now remain. Phineas Fletcher, the author of that beautiful poem, the " Purple Island," was also an Etonian, as was his brother, Giles Fletcher, a distinguished writer and poet in the reign of Elizabeth. It is, however, im- possible to give a list of all the Eton worthies. A short biographical sketch of each of them would form an interesting and popular work. But I may mention amongst them Sir Robert Walpole, Harley Earl of Ox- ford, Lord Bolingbroke, Lord Camden, the celebrated Earl of Chatham, his political rival, Henry Fox, the first Lord Holland, Outred the mathematician, Fielding the novelist, Henry More the learned Platonic philo- sopher, Boyle the philosopher, Lord Lyttelton, Lord North, Lord Sandwich, Waller, Anstey, author of the EMINENT ETONIANS. 303 "New Bath Guide," Shelley the poet, Hookham Frere, Jacob Bryant, and many others. Marble busts of several of those mentioned, have, with great good taste, been placed in the upper school-room; they are the gratuitous and spontaneous gifts of indivi- duals. It is impossible but that the sight of them must have a beneficial influence on the minds of the young, by reminding them of those great men who formerly trod the same ground as themselves, and who appear to look down upon the scene of their boy- hood like tutelary genii of the place. But let us retrace our steps from the school to the playing-fields, and what a scene does it present on a fine summer evening on a half holiday ! All is mirth, hilarity, eagerness, joyousness. It is a scene 1 delight in witnessing, while seated under the shade of one of the venerable elms. In the lower playing-fields, groups of the younger boys may be seen in every direction, filling up each vacant place, playing at cricket in matches formed amongst themselves. Some- times collegers and oppidans are opposed to each other, or the pupils of one tutor play against those of another. Even the very smallest boys have their little matches in some retired corner of the field, while hired men bowl to those who by practice wish to make themselves more perfect. The cricket-ground in the upper playing-fields is kept in the very highest order, and here matches are played by the twenty-two best players in the school. The result of many matches has proved the great superiority of Etonians 304 WINDSOR CASTLE. over other schools, and probably always will do so. There is an esprit de corps amongst them, a confidence in their play, a style of batting and wicket-keeping, which must ensure them success. And then the shouts of the lookers on at a good hit ! It is altogether a charming and animating scene, and long may it continue to be so. But what a different one presents itself when the boys are assembled in the Chapel! Looking down upon upwards of seven hundred of them from the organ-loft, they may be seen perfectly attentive and orderly. To be sure as they rise from their knees at the same moment, there is a rushing noise, which however immediately subsides, and all is tranquil again. The organ bursts forth ; the service is finely chanted, and the whole is impressive and highly interesting. As the scholars quit the Chapel, many of them re- pair to the houses in which they are lodged, sallying forth again, if it should happen to be a half holiday, with a neat glazed hat on their heads, white trowsers, and short blue jacket, in order to repair to their boats. I then enjoy a walk on the Brocas, with its fine clump of trees, and noble view of the Castle, St. George's Chapel, and the ancient Bell Tower. The Thames is covered with boats and punts, for some of the scholars are very expert in the manage- ment of the latter, and the boating is excellent. Here may be seen boats of all sizes, from the ten oar to the small skiff, each of them being generally ROWING ON THE THAMES. 305 steered by a very small, but knowing looking boy, who sways himself backwards and forwards as if to give an impetus to the boat, and seems perfect master of his business. The whole scene on the river is lively and interesting ; but the evening of the fourth of June is the great gala day on Father Thames's beauteous stream. On that occasion every boat is engaged, and the entire school, with many old Etoni- ans, and friends of the scholars, row in them to Surley Hall. Here they dine most joyously, and as they return in the dusk of the evening, with music playing and banners streaming, the Brocas is covered with carriages and pedestrians, as well as the bridge, and the wharfs and buildings on each side of the river. Here may be seen the happy mothers and sisters of promising boys who, with some of their companions, get a lift from Surley Hall, crowding the carriage inside and out. As the boats arrive at the Ait near the Brocas field, cannon are fired, the bands play, rockets are let off, the crew of each boat, as it ar- rives in succession, stand up with their oars poised and send forth hearty cheers, which are returned by the company on the crowded banks. Fireworks are then let off in great profusion. In the meanwhile the boats row round and round the Ait, and the varied lights, falling on the white dress of the crew, add much to the effect of the scene. It is, indeed, a pretty one, and only those who have witnessed it can form an idea of its pleasing and exhilarating character. x 306 WINDSOR CASTLE. There was only one other ceremonial to be compared with it, and that, to the regret of all old Etonians, is now abolished. I need not refer to the Montem. This ancient ceremony has always been viewed by persons of every rank and every class with delight and interest. It was the grand holiday of the neigh- bourhood a most exciting scene. Why it was abo- lished, it is difficult to discover. It has been said, that, on the occasion of the Montem, some of the boys exceeded the proper bounds of sobriety, but surely this might have been said of the Surley Hall meetings, or of any other festivities. Even were the charge well founded, it was not carried to any great extent. But however this might be, it is pretty cer- tain that some other causes must have operated to occasion the abolition of so ancient and popular a custom. In order to preserve some record of it, I quote a description of the ceremony, written by an old Etonian : " We reached at length the foot of the Mount, a very respectable barrow, which never dreamt, in its Druidi- cal age, of the interest which it now excites, and the honours which now await it. Its sides are dotted with mechanics in their holiday suits, and happy dairy-maids in their Sunday gear. At its base sit peeresses in their barouches, and earls in all the ho- nours of four-in-hand. The flag is waved, the scarlet coats and the crimson plumes again float amongst us, and the whole earth seems made for one universal holi- day. I love the no-meaning of Montem. I love to be SALT HILL. 307 ETON MONTEM IN THE TIME OP GEORGE III. asked for ' salt' by a pretty boy in silk stockings and satin doublet, though the custom has been called some- thing between robbing and begging. I love the apo- logetical mos pro lege, which defies the police and the Mendicity Society. I love the absurdity of a captain taking precedence of a marshal, and a marshal bearing a gilt baton at an angle of forty-five degrees from his right hip; and an ensign flourishing a flag with the grace of a tight-rope dancer ; and sergeants paged by fair-skinned Indians and beardless Turks; and cor- porals, in sashes and gorgets, guarded by innocent polemen in blue jackets and white trousers. I love the mixture of real and mock dignity : the provost, in his cassock, clearing the way for the Duchess of Leinster, to see an ensign make his bow; or the head-master gravely dispensing his leave till nine o'clock, to counts 308 WINDSOR CASTLE. of the holy Roman empire and grand seigniors. I love the crush in the cloisters, and the mob on the mount. I love the clatter of carriages, and the plunging of horse- men. I love the universal gaiety, from the man who smiles and sighs that he is no longer an Eton boy, to the country girl who marvels that such little gentle- men have cocked hats and real swords. I will not attempt to reason about the pleasures of Montem, but to an Etonian it is enough that it brings pure and ennobling recollections calls up associations of hope and happiness and makes even the wise feel that there is something better than wisdom, and the great COSTUMES OF THE MONTEM. that there is something nobler than greatness. And then the faces that come about us at such a time, with their tales of old friendship or generous rivalries. I have seen to-day fifty old school-fellows, of whom I remember only the nick-names: they are now dege- nerated into scheming M.P.s, or clever lawyers, or portly doctors ; but, at Montem, they leave the plod- SALT HILL. 309 ding world of reality for one day, and regain the dig- nities of sixth-form Etonians."* Such was the scene presented at Montem ; but it is time to quit the subject, and the classic grounds of * For those who may be desirous of a more particular history of the Eton Montem, we subjoin an extract from a well-written work called " The English Spy." " The ancient custom, celebrated at Eton every third year, on Whit- Tuesday, and which bears the title of THE MONTEM, appears to have defied antiquarian research, as far as relates to its original institution. It consists of a procession to a small tumulus on the southern side of the Bath road, which has given the name of Salt Hill to the spot, now better known by the splendid inns that are established there. The chief object of this celebration, however, is to collect money for salt, according to the language of the day, from all persons who assemble to see the show, nor does it fail to be exacted from travellers on the road, and even at the private residences within a certain, but no inconsiderable, range of the spot. The scholars appointed to collect the money, are called salt-bearers ; they are arrayed in fancy dresses, and are attended by others called scouts, of a similar, but less showy appearance. Tickets are given to such persons as have paid their contributions, to secure them from any further demand. This ceremony is always very numerously attended by Etonians, and has frequently been honoured with the pre- sence of his late majesty, and the different branches of the royal family. The sum collected on the occasion has sometimes exceeded 8001., and is given to the senior scholar, who is called Captain of the School. This procession appears to be coeval with the foundation ; and it is the opinion of Mr. Lysons, that it was a ceremonial of the Bairn, or Boy- bishop. He states, that it originally took place on the 6th of December, the festival of St. Nicholas, the patron of children ; being the day on which it was customary at Salisbury, and in other places where the ceremony was observed, to elect the Boy-bishop from among the chil- dren belonging to the cathedral. This mock dignity lasted till Inno- cents' day ; and, during the intermediate time, the boy performed various episcopal functions. If it happened that he died before the allotted period of this extraordinary mummery had expired, he was buried with all the ceremonials which were used at the funerals of prelates. In the voluminous collections relating to antiquities, be- queathed by Mr. Cole, who was himself of Eton and King's colleges, to the British Museum, is a note which mentions that the ceremony of 310 WINDSOR CASTLE. Eton. Before I conclude, however, I may just men- tion that a stranger will find much to interest him in visiting the interior of the upper and lower schools, on the walls of which are inscribed the names of many celebrated men who have been educated at Eton, and which Pepys tell us in his " Memoirs" they were in the habit of carving on the shutters of the windows in his time. The provost's apartments, also, contain many portraits of considerable interest. Among them is that of Sir Thomas Smith, well known as a statesman ; Dr. Stewart, clerk of the closet to Charles I. ; Sir the Bairn or Boy-bishop was to be observed by charter, and that Geoffry Blythe, Bishop of Lichfield, who died in 1530, bequeathed several orna- ments to those colleges, for the dress of the Bairn-bishop. But on what authority this industrious antiquary gives the information, which, if correct, would put an end to all doubt on the subject, does not appear. But, after all, why may not this custom be supposed to have originated in a procession to perfoim an annual mass at the altar of some saint, to whom a small chapel might have been dedicated on the mount called Salt Hill ; a ceremony very common in Catholic countries, as such an altar is a frequent appendage to their towns and populous villages ? As for the selling of salt, it may be considered as a natural accompaniment, when its emblematical character, as to its use in the ceremonies of the Roman church, is contemplated. Till the time of Doctor Barnard, the procession of the Montem was every two years, and on the first or second Tuesday in February. It consisted of something of a military array. The boys in the remove, fourth, and inferior forms, marched in a long file of two and two, with white poles in their hands, while the sixth and fifth form boys walked on their flanks as officers, and habited in all the variety of dress, each of them having a boy of the inferior forms, smartly equipped, attending on him as a footman. The second boy in the school led the procession in a military dress, with a truncheon in his hand, and bore for the day the title of Marshal : then followed the Captain, supported by his chaplain, the head scholar of the fifth form, dressed in a suit of black, with a large bushy wig, and a broad beaver decorated with a twisted silk hat-band and rose, the fash- ionable distinction of the dignified clergy of that day. It was his office ETON MONTEM. 311 Harry Saville ; Sir Harry Wotton ; John Rouse, the Speaker in Cromwell's Parliament ; Charles JamesFox ; Provost Allestree; and the late amiable Provost Dr. Goodall, with many others, including half-length por- traits of Queen Elizabeth and Sir Robert Walpole. There is also the painting of a female on panel, said to be the unfortunate Jane Shore. The supposition principally arises from a belief that her confessor was a provost of the college; for there is nothing in her portrait that gives any idea of the pre-eminence in beauty, which is associated with this celebrated female. The forehead is high and broad, but the to read certain Latin prayers on the mount at Salt Hill. The third boy of the school brought up the rear as Lieutenant. One of the higher classes, whose qualification was his activity, was chosen Ensign, and carried the colours, which were emblazoned with the college arms, and the motto Pro more et monte. This flag, before the procession left the college, he flourished in the school- yard with all the dexterity displayed at Astley's and places of similar exhibition. The same ceremony was repeated after prayers, on the mount. The regiment dined in the inns at Salt Hill, and then returned to the college ; and its dismission in the school-yard was announced by the universal drawing of all the swords. Those who bore the title of commissioned officers were exclusively on the foundation, and carried spontoous ; the rest were considered as ser- jeants and corporals, and a most curious assemblage of figures they exhibited. The two principal salt-bearers consisted of an oppidan and a colleger : the former was generally some nobleman, whose figure and personal connexions might advance the interests of the collections. They were dressed like running footmen, and carried, each of them, a silk bag to receive the contributions, in which was a small quantity of salt. During Doctor Barnard's mastership, the ceremony was made triennial, the time changed from February to Whit-Tuesday, and several of its absurdities retrenched. An ancient and savage custom of hunting a ram by the foundation scholars, on Saturday in the election week was abolished in the earlier part of the last century. The curious twisted clubs with which these collegiate hunters were armed on the occasion are still to be seen in antiquarian collections. 312 WINDSOR CASTLE. other features are small, and devoid of interest ; the hair is auburn. Let me express a hope, in conclusion, that the classic courts of Eton may long be filled with joyous happy faces, preserving that distinction for which it has so long been celebrated, and continuing to send forth into the world enlightened statesmen and elegant scholars. Floreat Etona! THE END. LONDON : Printed by S. & J. BENTLKY, WILSON, ami FLEY, Bangor House, Shoe Lane. y 0AHVHS \\\f UNIVERSE fjr ^IOS-ANI & Ce? -p S ^ "%3AIN v>:lOS-ANCElfj> <$H!BRARYOc <^-UB i?