Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas

“ Many of the entries respecting Sir Francis Bryan, one of the brightest ornaments of Henry's court, tend to confirm the idea of the intimacy between him and his sovereign. They show that he was constantly the king's companion in his amusements at shovel board, bowls, dice, primero, and other games; and on one occasion we find 50l. ”

“ Henry Courtenay, eleventh earl of Devon, who was elevated to the Marquisate of Exeter in 1525. This distinguished nobleman was the son of William, Earl of Devon, by Katherine, youngest daughter of King Edward the Fourth, and was consequently first cousin to Henry, a relationship which placed him much too near to the crown to be compatible with his safety; and, in 1538, he was suspected of high treason. Suspicion was then equivalent to guilt, and the Marquess was beheaded on Tower Hill, on the 9th of January 1539. ”

“ Sexton, Mr. Douce says, was presented to Henry by Cardinal Wolsey, and the anecdote related by Cavendish of his having given another Fool, who, it has been observed, was called Williams, to the king after his disgrace, and the poor wretch's attachment to his master is well known. It is manifest from these accounts that the Fool had a man to wait upon him; for we find John Emyson frequently noticed as "the man that waits or attends upon Sexton," "the keeper of the King's Fool," "Sexton's man," and in others, "Sexton's servant." ”

“ Some curious descriptions of the beds of our ancestors will be found in the "Testamenta Vetusta" sparsim, from which an idea can be formed of their magnificence. Even in this era of luxury our beds are far inferior in splendour to those of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries.—"In the inventory of household furniture of Skipton Castle, taken in 1572, we have proof that a state bedchamber of that period 'was not inferior in magnificence, as far as its accommodations went, to the same apartment in a modern nobleman's house.'—Whitaker's Crav. ”

“ George Boleyn Viscount Rochford, the brother of Queen Ann Boleyn. The history of this amiable young nobleman is too well known to require any further notice of him [Pg 348] in this place. Almost all these entries shew the high favour in which he was held by Henry, for it is manifest from them that he was the King's constant companion, and was always one of his parties, at shooting matches, bowls, dice, cards, and indeed at every other species of amusement. ”

“ The philosopher will be at no loss to account for the fact; for it is the frequent attendant upon that satiety which unlimited power is sure to produce, though it is often equally the passion of those who want even the necessaries of life. ”

“ A Stalking Horse, Archdeacon Nares informs us, was "sometimes a real horse, sometimes the figure of one cut out and carried by the sportsman for the following purposes. On being found that wild fowl which would take early alarm at the appearance of man, would remain quiet when they saw only a horse approaching, advantage was taken of it, for the shooter to conceal himself behind a real or artificial horse, and thus to get within shot of his game." ”

“ Besides the instances which have been alluded to of his taste for architecture, music, painting, and literature, we frequently find payments which must have originated in the best feelings of the human heart; and of which it will be sufficient to cite, gifts "to an old poor man by the king's charitable alms that laboured to obtain a bill to be signed;" to a footman, "to relieve him in his sickness;" to a French fletcher, "towards his surgery;" to the almoner, "for two sick men at Waltham;" to a "sick priest at Hampton Court;" ”

“ A Saker is a passenger or peregrine Hawk, for her eyrie hath not been found by any. She is somewhat larger than the haggard falcon, her plume is rusty and ragged, the sear of her foot and beak like the lanner ”

“ Tennis and dice seem almost as unsuitable to a Cardinal as a band of singers. On the 28th of October, 1532, when Henry ordered 9l. 6s. 8d. to be given to the French king's jester, and 4l. 13s. 4d. to the Cardinal's singers, Hall states that the king of Navarre, the Cardinal of Lorrain, and the Great Master and Admiral of France, dined with Henry at Calais; and these payments were evidently made for the amusement which they had afforded the party. ”

“ In the Gentleman's Recreation both kinds of stalking horses, and the manner of using them, are fully explained. All these entries on the subject seem to refer to a real horse, and we learn from one of them that an ox was employed for the same purpose. A stalking horse occurs in the list of Henry's horses in the Ordinances made at Eltham, in the 17th Henry VIII. p. ”

“ The inferior attendants of the Court, as huntsmen, falconers, and those of the king's guard, received small presents on their marriages, which varied from two to five pounds, according to their situations, or the degree of favor which they enjoyed: on the marriage of the son of "Master Nevill", however, the king gave him ten pounds. ”

“ It would be superfluous to point out all which occurs relative to Henry's progresses; but it must be observed that he was always attended by a smith with locks and bolts for his chamber-doors; [134] that money was given to a footman to be distributed in charity by the way; [135] that in the hunting season his hounds were sent from one palace to another, the expenses of removing which are minutely stated; [136] that he was generally followed by his fools, jester, minions, and other favourites; [137] and that the celebrated Anne Boleyn frequently accompanied him. ”

“ Only two of these entries relate to expenses connected with this individual's official situation. The others were payments of money lost to him by the king at dice, cards, and bowls, excepting on one occasion, when money was paid him to be His Majesty's partner at one of these games. It is thus manifest that he enjoyed a large share of the king's personal favour. His name has not been precisely ascertained. Richard Hill, whose widow remarried Sir John Mason, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was Serjeant of the Cellar in this reign, but in what years is uncertain. ”

“ The Editor is sensible that many of his observations are imperfect, and not a few, perhaps, erroneous: in one or two instances he has been obliged to confess his inability to throw any light upon the subject, and he will be much gratified if his readers do not consider that there is still greater cause for a similar confession. ”

“ A considerable share of his attention was, it is well known, directed to his navy, and the few entries relating to it are of much interest. Horses or geldings, particularly racing horses, and horses "that did run," as well as "riding boys," clothes bought for the boys "that ride the running horses," and riding caps for them, are constantly spoken of; and dogs for the chace were a frequent, and doubtlessly, acceptable present. At the christenings of the children of some of the chief noblemen, and of those of his favourites, Henry was sometimes a sponsor ”

“ That Henry, tired of more rational enjoyment, and incapable of finding a permanent relief from the ennui of greatness, should have indulged to excess in games of chance is not surprising; and to shew the extent to which that passion was carried, it is sufficient to state that the whole amount paid for his losses at cards, dice, tennis, and other games, [Pg xxiv] together with those lost in wagers amounted in three years to 3243l. ”

“ This word is supposed to have meant originally, a little purse wherein money was put for the poor, and at length was used for any hutch or close place to keep meat left after meals; a cupboard for keeping cold victuals.—Todd's Johnson. It is evident however from the manner in which the word is here used that it was part of a cupboard rather than the cupboard itself, though it might have been appropriated, as a sort of safe, for the keeping of cold meat. Mr. Markland suggests that in the present instance "ambreys meant cupboards within cupboards, or places of more secure concealment." ”

“ In February, 1532, the hire of seven horses, and the expences of the same number of men for sixteen days, sent into Wales, and other places, at 1s. 8d. per day for each man, amounted to 9l. 6s. 8d., and in July in the same year 1l. was paid for the hire of ten men for three days, in drawing the fishponds at Ampthill, at 8d. a day each.
The WAGES OF SERVANTS differed of course according to their situations; those of a Falconer were generally a groat a day, and he was allowed one penny a day for the food of each hawk intrusted to his care ”

“ Sir William Kingston was sent by Henry to bring up, or in fact to take the Cardinal into custody, in November 1530, and found him at Sheffield Park, under the surveillance of the Earl of Shrewsbury. The particulars of his interview and subsequent proceedings, until death released his prisoner from the fangs of his tyrannical master, on Tuesday the 29th of that month, are fully related by Cavendish.—Ed. Singer, vol. i. p. ”

“ The allowance for the board of the boys of the stable was 1s. 8d. per week each; and of the boys that "run the King's geldings," or as they are sometimes called, "the King's riding boys," 2s. a week each, whilst on one occasion we find six days' meals for them paid for at the rate for each of them five pence a day. The keeper of the Barbary horse was allowed 1s. 8d. per week for his board, his wages being 4l. a year; the Hen-taker was however better [Pg xl] paid, as he received 45s. 7d. a quarter. The regular wages of the King's watermen were 10s. ”

“ The following extract however does not support the opinion, that a cupboard was a closet; but it could not have resembled the modern piece of furniture of that name. Cavendish, speaking of the chamber in which Cardinal Wolsey died, says "the windows being close shut, having wax lights burning upon the cupboard," &c. vol. i. p. 318. It is quite certain that an article called a cupboard was sometimes moveable. Robert Frevyll, by his will dated in 1521, gives his son John, among other articles, "a stone cobard in the hall."—Testamenta Vetusta, vol. ii. p. ”

“ Emyson appears however either to have died or to have been dismissed from his occupation before August 1532, for in that month, as well as in the October following, Green is described to have been Sexton's servant, but Skynner evidently attended him on his journey to Calais with Henry, in November in that year, and who is also mentioned as waiting upon him as early as September 1530, though Emyson was his keeper in December, 1529. ”

“ The MS. now printed, contains, on the contrary, what may be termed Henry's personal expences, whether arising from his purchases; from his "rewards" to those who brought him presents; from his losses at dice, cards, bowls, and other games; from his attachment to Anne Boleyn, or his favourite courtiers; or from the wages and liveries of his servants, fools, jesters, and other minions. The accounts in the other MSS. were paid quarterly, and rested on the responsibility of the persons entrusted [Pg v] to keep them ”

“ The Duke of Richmond, Henry's natural son, is also spoken of; as well as his niece, the Lady Margaret Douglas, daughter of the Earl of Angus, but she is here called Lady Margaret Anguishe.
A few entries are strongly indicative of the superstition of the age; the most striking of which are the King's offerings to the images of our Lady at Calais, Boulogne, Dover, Walsingham and of the Pue; and of persons being "touched for the evil," to whom 22l. ”

“ Gifts to minstrels, to the astronomer, to physicians, [Pg xxx] to the keepers of the clocks at the different palaces, to posts and servants for bringing letters, to copyists, to the master of his barge, and the keepers of his Majesty's dogs, bears, hawks, &c. are very numerous. His fools, jester, and minions are prominent characters in these Accounts, and the information afforded respecting them tends to illustrate the manners of the age. ”

“ These entries relate to the sums paid either as wages to the keeper of those animals, or for their food. His wages are said in some places to have been 5s. a month, but in others the 5s. a month is stated to be for meat for them, and as the latter entry never occurs near the former, and is uniformly the same in amount, it cannot be determined which is meant. That sum could scarcely have included both his wages and food for the dogs. Occasionally a reward of 20s. ”