In the Days of Queen Elizabeth

by Eva March Tappan

  CHAPTER X

  ENTERTAINING A QUEEN

  Many a monarch has liked to wander about his domains in disguise andhear what his subjects had to say about him when they did not suspectthat he was near. Elizabeth thoroughly enjoyed journeying about herkingdom, but she did not wish to be disguised, she preferred thateveryone should know where she was and should be able to sing herpraises in such wise that she need not lose the pleasure of hearingthem. These journeys of hers were called progresses, and while on aprogress she was always entertained by some wealthy subject.

  Whenever there was a rumor that the queen meant to leave town, everynobleman who owned a beautiful country seat would tremble, forwhile a royal visit was an honor, it was also a vast expense andresponsibility. The queen would set out with a great retinue, but forwhat place no one was told until a few days before the journey began.If there was the least reason to think that she would go to a certaindistrict, the noblemen of that district hastened to engage provisionsof all sorts. The luckless favorite was at last told that the greathonor of entertaining his sovereign was to be bestowed upon him. Hehad to appear exceedingly grateful and to make humble speeches ofthankfulness, even though he was wondering between the words where hecould buy meat and fish and fruit and other food for a great company.

  As soon as the queen's messengers were out of sight, then was therea hurrying and a scurrying. In one case many of the nobles in acertain district were so afraid of being victims that they engagedall the provisions in the vicinity, and the unfortunate man who wasfirst chosen had to send post-haste to Flanders to buy food for hisunwelcome guests. One man provided for a royal visit of three dayswheat, rye, oats, butter, partridges, trout, lobsters, beer, ale, wine,sugarloaves, turkeys, pheasants, salmon, deer, sheep, oysters, plums,preserved lemons, sweetmeats, cinnamon water, beef, ling, sturgeons,pigeons, etc. These eatables had to be obtained in large quantities;for instance, this three-days' host bought fifty-two dozen chickens forone item, and twenty bushels of salt for another.

  Nor was this all. Damask, knives, and pewter dishes must be hired;carpenters and bricklayers must be engaged to make all sorts of changesin the house and grounds that might suit the whim of a queen who didnot hesitate to express her opinions if she was displeased. Moreover,when this queen was entertained, she expected to find entertainment;dancers must be hired, and perhaps a whole company of actors must beengaged to present a play for her pleasure.

  It is not at all wonderful that even the richest of Elizabeth'ssubjects dreaded a visit from their queen. The archbishop of Canterburywrote a most pitiful letter about the difficulty of finding bedroomsfor so great a party. He explained what he had planned, and ended,"Here is as much as I am able to do in this house." One man who hadbeen notified that the queen would soon honor his castle wrote toCecil, "I trust you will provide that her Majesty's stay be not abovetwo nights and a day," and he added anxiously, "I pray God that theroom and lodgings may be to her content."

  This man, like the rest of Elizabeth's hosts, was not anxious withoutgood reason, for the queen often manifested but slight gratitude forthe efforts of her entertainers, while she seldom hesitated to expressher disapproval if anything occurred that did not please her. At onehouse she discovered by chance an image of the Virgin Mary, and withina fortnight her host was in prison on the charge of being a Catholic.To another house she made an unexpected visit when the owner was awayfrom home. The unfortunate lord had a fine deer park in which he tookgreat pride, but on his return he found that large numbers of the deerhad been slaughtered to amuse the queen and her retinue. He was soindignant that he "disparked" the ground. It seems that it was not safefor a man to do what he would with his own, for not many weeks later afriend of his at court wrote to him:--

  "Her Majesty has been informed that you were not pleased at the goodsport she had in your park. Have a wary watch over your words anddeeds. It was Leicester who brought her to your castle. He has taken nosmall liking to it, and it might easily be that he would claim to havegood title to the same."

  The most brilliant of Elizabeth's entertainments was given her byRobert Dudley at Kenilworth Castle not long after he became LordLeicester. For nineteen days he was her host, but he could well affordto make the outlay, for the queen's recent gifts to him were valuedat L50,000, an amount that was worth as much then as a million and aquarter dollars to-day.

  On this visit Elizabeth was received at a neighboring town and wasfeasted in a great tent. Then after a day's hunting she and her trainarrived at the fine old castle with its manor lands of hill and dale,forest and pasture. It was already eight in the evening, but there wereall sorts of sights for her to see before she entered the castle. Firstcame forth ten sibyls in white silk, gleaming in the soft twilight.One of them made a speech of welcome, and the company passed intothe tilt-yard. There stood a tall porter, big of limb and stern ofcountenance. He brandished a heavy club as he strutted to and fro,apparently talking to himself. He did not know, he declared, what allthis chattering, riding, and trudging up and down was for, but he didnot like it, and there was no one great enough to deserve it. Suddenlyhe saw the queen, and was so overcome by her beauty--so he said inhis speech--that he could only fall down on his knees before her andbeg her pardon. He gave her his keys and called his six trumpeters toannounce the arrival of so wondrous a being.

  On two sides of the castle there was a beautiful pool, and as the queenstepped upon the bridge that crossed an arm of the mere, a sudden lightgleamed far out on the lake, and over the quiet water came a littlefloating island, all ablaze with torches. On the island was the fairLady of the Lake, and with her were two attendant nymphs. The Ladyrecited a pretty poem to the purport that ever since King Arthur's daysshe had been hidden, not daring to come forth, but now a royal guesthad come for whom she could feel as deep a love as for Arthur himself.She ended:--

  "Pass on, madame, you need no longer stand, The lake, the lodge, the lord are yours for to command."

  With all her quickness of wit, Elizabeth could think of no better replythan, "We had thought the lake had been ours; and do you call it yoursnow? Well, we will herein commune more with you hereafter." Then came agreat flourish of shawms, cornets, and other musical instruments, andthe queen passed on. She was as eager as a child to see what was to bethe next sight, for nothing gave her more pleasure than these displays.

  Everyone was interested in mythology in those days, and noentertainment was regarded as complete without some reference to thegods and goddesses; cooks often represented in their pastry scenesfrom the stories of the early deities. Elizabeth's way now led over abridge that crossed the lower court and extended to the entrance of thecastle. On either hand were seven pairs of wooden pillars, each pairloaded with the gift of some god. On the first pair were the tokensof Sylvanus, god of the woodfowl; these were great cages containingvarious kinds of birds, alive and fluttering in the glare of thetorches. Then came Pomona's treasures, two large silver bowls full ofthe fairest apples, pears, cherries and nuts. White and red grapesrepresented the welcome of Bacchus, while on the fifth pair of pillarswere the gifts of Neptune, herring, oysters, and mullets, for the godof the sea as well as the deities of the woods and the fields hadbeen summoned to give greeting to Elizabeth. Mars was not forgotten;well polished bows and arrows, gleaming swords and spears shone inthe flaring lights. The last pillars bore the offering of Apollo, thecornet, flute, and harp, the lute, viol, and shawm.

  At the end of this bridge was an arch whereon was written a lengthywelcome in Latin. The letters were white, but wherever the queen'sname appeared, it shone out in yellow gold. Leicester had no idea oftrusting the flickering light of torches to reveal all these elaboratepreparations for the queen's reception, and beside the arch stood apoet with a wreath of bays on his head. His part was to explain toher what each offering signified and to read the inscription over thegateway. It is to be hoped that the lights shone upon him well andclearly, for he was attired in all the splendor of a long robe of bluesilk with sleeves
flowing widely to reveal glimpses of his gorgeouscrimson doublet.

  As the queen alighted from her horse and entered the castle, everyclock in the building was stopped, perhaps to suggest that she wouldnever grow old, that even time had no power over her. She was escortedto her rooms, and then came the welcome of Jupiter, king of the gods.This was peal after peal of the guns of the castle and a display offireworks. For two long hours this greeting of Jupiter's blazed androared, but it was none too long to please the woman for whom it hadbeen planned.

  The next day was Sunday, and the queen went to church, but in theafternoon came music and dancing, and at night more fireworks, starsand streams and hail of fire and burning darts flashing through thedarkness. This was only the beginning of the festivities. The nextafternoon there was a hunt, and many a deer was slain to amuse theroyal guest. A "savage man," covered with moss and ivy, came out ofthe forest as she was riding back to the castle and made her a longspeech, declaring that never before had he seen so glorious a sight. Hecalled nymphs and fauns and dryads and satyrs to his aid, but no onecould tell the meaning of the vision. At last he held a conversationwith Echo, and learned how mighty a queen was before him. Then he madeanother speech about her wondrous beauty, her grace and manner, andthe rare qualities of her mind. Finally, to show his submission, hebroke his stick into pieces. Unfortunately, this action startled thequeen's horse. There was confusion for a moment, and all flocked aroundin utter dismay lest some harm had befallen her. "No hurt, no hurt,"said Elizabeth graciously, and the officer who wrote the account of thevisit says, "These words were the best part of the play."

  There was a mock fight; some Italians gave an exhibition of "leaps,springs, and windings," and so agile were they that the chronicler saysit could hardly be distinguished whether they were "man or spirit."There was a bridal procession of a rustic couple who were delighted tohave the opportunity to appear before the queen. The groom was "lameof a leg broken in his youth at football," but he made up for the lossby wearing a mighty pair of harvest gloves to show that he was a goodhusbandman, while on his back was slung a pen and inkhorn to indicatethat he was "bookish." On his head was a straw hat with a crown madesteeple-shape. He and his bride were escorted by the young folk of theparish, each man wearing a bit of green broom fastened to his left arm,and carrying an alder pole in his right hand by way of spear. One worea hat, another a cap; one rejoiced in a coat or a jerkin, while anotherhad only doublet and hose; one had boots without spurs, and anotherhad spurs without boots, while a third had neither; but it was a merrytime, for were they not all come to display themselves before theglorious queen?

  So the days went on. There was another scene on the lake when adolphin, eighty feet long, came swimming up to meet Elizabeth. On hisback was the god Arion, who had come from regions far away that hemight sing to her, and within the machine were six players with theirinstruments. There was a show of bear-baiting, wherein thirteen bearstied to stakes, were attacked by a company of dogs trained for thepurpose. To see them clawing and tumbling and growling and scratchingand biting, to note the bears' watchfulness for their enemies andthe dogs' keenness in getting the better of the bears, was whatthe letter-writing official called "a very pleasant sport." Thisseems to have been the general opinion of the cruel amusement, for abear-baiting was often arranged as a treat for the entertainment offoreign ambassadors and other national guests of rank and dignity.

  The day's pastime was often closed by thundering peals of guns and byfireworks that would "mount in the air and burn in the water." Oftenthe whole castle was illuminated by candle, fire, and torchlight, asif the god of the sun himself--so said one who was there--was restingin its chambers instead of taking his nightly course to the antipodes.There was surely no lack of amusements, and indeed several spectacleshad been planned for which there was no time. One man who was torepresent a minstrel of the olden days was sorely grieved because hecould not have the honor of singing before the queen. He found whatcomfort he might, however, in showing his skill to a company of thecourtiers. One of them described his appearance, and a reader cannothelp feeling sorry that Queen Elizabeth lost the sight. The "ancientminstrel" wore a long, flowing robe of green, gathered at the throatand fastened with a clasp. The wide sleeves were slit from shoulderto hand, and under them was a closely fitting undersleeve of whitecotton. He wore a black worsted doublet, confined at the waist by awide red girdle. His shoes were "not new indeed, but shining," thoughperhaps not quite so brilliantly as was his hair, for that had beensmoothed with a sponge "dipped in a little bear's grease" till itgleamed like a duck's wing. He wore a shirt whose bosom was ruffled,and starched "after the new trink," till every ruffle stood up stiffand "glittering." A handkerchief was thrust into his bosom, but enoughof it was displayed to show that it was edged with bright blue lace andmarked with a heart. Around his neck was a broad red ribbon which heldhis harp, while on a green lacing hung the tuning key. It was really apity that the queen lost all this display.

  The chief reason for Elizabeth's pleasure in these progresses wasprobably her delight in all pageants and thorough enjoyment of herpopularity among the people. At such times she was nearer to them thanat any others. The humblest servant in the castle where she was makingher stay, the simplest peasant of the countryside, had as free accessto her Majesty as the greatest of her nobles. Anyone might bring her apetition, anyone might offer her a gift; and no matter of how slightvalue the present might be, its donor was never disappointed in thegracious thanks that he hoped to receive from his sovereign. Oftensufferers from scrofula were brought before her with the prayer thatshe would but lay her hand upon them, for England had believed for sixhundred years that the touch of the royal hand would cure this disease.It was said that on Elizabeth's visit to Kenilworth she healed nine.

  This was only one of the many superstitions of the Elizabethan times.A bit of the wood of which the gallows was made would cure the ague;wearing a topaz stone would bring an insane man to his right mind; averse of the Bible written on parchment and worn about the neck woulddrive away evil spirits; to carry fern-seed in the pocket would enablea man to "go invisible." Powdered diamonds would heal one disease;wiping the face with a red cloth another; while pills made of thepowdered skull of a man that had been hanged were a sure remedy fora third. Not only the ignorant but most of the most learned men ofthe day believed firmly in astrology, and the home of the queen'sastrologer, Dr. Dee, was often crowded with nobles who were eager toknow the fates foretold to them by the heavens. There was so firm abelief in witchcraft that one of the queen's bishops preached beforeher on the subject, telling her what sufferings her subjects wereenduring from witches. "They pine away even unto the death," said he,and he begged her Majesty to make a law providing for the punishmentof sorcerers. This was done, or rather, an old law was revived. WhenElizabeth had a toothache, many of her advisers declared that the painhad been produced by magic, and it was suggested that the treatment ofwaxen images of the queen at the hands of some who were ill-disposedtoward her was the reason for her sufferings. The royal physicianscould not agree upon the cause of the trouble or upon a remedy, and thematter was ended by the council of state taking charge of the affairand ordering a prescription from a foreign physician.

  At the time of Queen Elizabeth's progress to Kenilworth, a banquet wasarranged for her. One of her courtiers says that it was neither wellserved nor nicely set down, that it was "disorderly wasted and coarselyconsumed," that it was carried on "more curtly than courteously;" buthe adds, "If it might please and be liked and do that it came for, thenwas all well enough."

  Kenilworth in Elizabeth's time.--_From an old print._]

  The Elizabethan life was a strange mingling of magnificence anddiscomfort. There were most palatial mansions with noble towersand gateways and terraces, with lawns and gardens and fountainsand parks and wide-spreading acres of hill and dale, of field andforest, but according to modern ideas there was little comfort in allthis splendor. The only way to warm these lordly castles was b
y anoccasional fireplace, and the rooms were full of drafts that even theheavy tapestry hung on the walls would not prevent. Cleanliness wasalmost unknown. Floors were strewn with rushes, and when a room was tobe put in order, fresh rushes were brought in, but no one thought itat all necessary to carry away the old ones. A room was almost neverswept unless space was needed for dancing; then a circle in the middlewas cleared of rushes, dirt, dust, crumbs and bones from the diningtable and all sorts of rubbish that had accumulated since the time ofthe last merrymaking. One letter-writer of the day declared that therushes on floors not needed for dancing were sometimes left for twentyyears without being swept away. Whoever could afford it owned severalcountry houses, and when one became absolutely unendurable, evenaccording to sixteenth century notions, he would move to another to letthe first house "sweeten," as was said.

  The list of different kinds of food purchased for the queen's progressgives an idea of what the rich folk ate, that is, what they ate inthe summer. In the winter they had little besides salt meat, variouskinds of bread, and the most remarkable pies that one ever heard of.They were made of everything from artichokes to herring. One pastryis described as made of fish and flavored with pepper, ginger, andcloves. The artichoke pies were made of a combination of artichokes,marrow, ginger, raisins and dates. Few vegetables were used. Potatoeshad been brought from America, but they were regarded as a luxury.They were roasted in the embers or else boiled and eaten with pepper,oil, and vinegar. There was neither tea nor coffee; beer or wine wasdrunk at every meal. People ate with knives and fingers, for forksdid not appear until near the end of Elizabeth's life. One that wasrichly jeweled was presented to her and was kept in a glass case as acuriosity.

  The homes of the poor were indeed bare and comfortless. The floors wereof clay or beaten earth. A clumsy table, some wooden stools, a woodentrencher to hold the food, a pile of straw to sleep on, salt fish andrye or barley bread--these were all the comforts that a poor man couldexpect to have in his home. The house itself was built of boughs oftrees interwoven with willow twigs and daubed with clay. The fire wasmade against a rock set into one of the walls, and the smoke foundits way out as best it could. Before the reign of Elizabeth was over,chimneys had become more common, and many men whose fathers had livedin huts of mud and had eaten from wooden trenchers were building forthemselves houses of oak with the comfort of a chimney and perhaps theelegance of a pewter porringer or two among their wooden dishes. Atbest the luxuries were not very luxurious, but a writer of the timelamented that men were no longer as brave and strong as they used tobe, and thought their weakness was due to these dainty and enfeeblingfashions.