Christmas: Its Origin and Associations Part 15

"Within one land one single rule is best: Divided reigns do make divided hearts; But peace preserves the country and the prince."

It recalled the horrors of the civil wars, and forbade the like again:--

"What princes slain before their timely hour!

What waste of towns and people in the land!

What treasons heap'd on murders and on spoils!

Whose just revenge e'en yet is scarcely ceas'd: Ruthful remembrance is yet raw in mind.

The G.o.ds forbid the like to chance again."

A good description of the play, with copious extracts, is published in Morley's "English Plays," from which it also appears that "Queen Mary's expenditure on players and musicians had been between two and three thousand pounds a year in salaries. Elizabeth reduced this establishment, but still paid salaries to interlude players and musicians, to a keeper of bears and mastiffs, as well as to the gentlemen and children of the chapel. The Master of the Children had a salary of forty pounds a year; the children had largesse at high feasts, and when additional use was made of their services; and each Gentleman of the Chapel had nineteenpence a day, with board and clothing. The Master of the Chapel who at this time had the training of the children was Richard Edwards, who had written lighter pieces for them to act before her Majesty, and now applied his skill to the writing of English comedies, and teaching his boys to act them for the pleasure of the Queen. The new form of entertainment made its way at Court and through the country."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FOOL OF THE OLD PLAY.

(_From a Print by Breughel._)]

At this period

THE CHRISTMAS REVELS AT THE INNS OF COURT

were observed with much zest and jollity. Sandys (writing in 1833 of Elizabeth's time) says:--

"The order of the usual Christmas amus.e.m.e.nts at the Inns of Court at this period would cause some curious scenes if carried into effect in the present day. Barristers singing and dancing before the judges, serjeants and benchers, would 'draw a house' if spectators were admitted. Of so serious import was this dancing considered, that by an order in Lincoln's Inn of February, 7th James I., the under barristers were by decimation put out of commons because the whole bar offended by not dancing on Candlemas Day preceding, according to the ancient order of the society, when the judges were present; with a threat that if the fault were repeated, they should be fined or disbarred."

Sir William Dugdale makes the following reference to

THE CHRISTMAS REVELS OF THE INNER TEMPLE:--

"First, the solemn Revells (after dinner, and the play ended,) are begun by the whole House, Judges, Sergeants at Law, Benchers; the Utter and Inner Barr; and they led by the _Master of the Revells_: and one of the Gentlemen of the Utter Barr are chosen to sing a song to the Judges, Serjeants, or Masters of the Bench; which is usually performed; and in default thereof, there may be an amerciament. Then the Judges and Benchers take their places, and sit down at the upper end of the Hall. Which done, the _Utter-Barristers_ and _Inner-Barristers_, perform a second solemn Revell before them. Which ended, the _Utter-Barristers_ take their places and sit down. Some of the Gentlemen of the _Inner-Barr_, do present the House with dancing, which is called the _Post Revells_, and continue their Dances, till the Judges or Bench think meet to rise and depart."

THE HARD FROST OF 1564

gave the citizens of London an opportunity of keeping Christmas on the ice. An old chronicler says: "From 21st December, 1564, a hard frost prevailed, and on new year's eve, people went over and alongst the Thames on the ise from London Bridge to Westminster. Some plaied at the football as boldlie there, as if it had been on the drie land; divers of the Court, being then at Westminster shot dailie at p.r.i.c.kes set upon the Thames, and tradition says, Queen Elizabeth herself walked upon the ise. The people both men and women, went on the Thames in greater numbers than in any street of the City of London. On the third daie of January, 1565, at night it began to thaw, and on the fifth there was no ise to be seene between London Bridge and Lambeth, which sudden thaw caused great floods, and high waters, that bore downe bridges and houses and drowned Manie people in England."

HOW QUEEN ELIZABETH WENT TO WORs.h.i.+P, CHRISTMAS, 1565.

Nichols[55] gives the following particular account of Queen Elizabeth's attendance at Divine wors.h.i.+p, at the "Chappell of Whitehall, Westminster," Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 1565:--

"Item, on Monday, the 24th of December, the Officers of Arms being there present, the Queen's Majesty came to the evening prayer, the sword borne by the Earle of Warwick, her trayn borne by the Lady Strange.

"Item, on Christmas Day her Majesty came to service very richly apparelled in a gown of purple velvet embroidered with silver very richly set with stones, with a rich collar set with stones; the Earl of Warwick bare the sword, the Lady Strange the trayn. After the Creed, the Queene's Majesty went down to the offering, and having a short forme with a carpet, and a cus.h.i.+on laid by a gentleman usher, the ... taken by the Lord Chamberlain, her Majesty kneeled down, her offering given her by the Marquis of Northampton; after which she went into her traverse, where she abode till the time of the communion, and then came forth, and kneeled down at the cus.h.i.+on and carpet aforesaid; the Gentlemen Ushers delivered the towel to the Lord Chamberlain, who delivered the same to be holden by the Earl of Suss.e.x on the right hand, and the Earl of Leicester on the left hand; the Bishop of Rochester served the Queen both of wine and bread; then the Queen went into the traverse again; and the Ladie Cicilie, wife of the Marquis of Baden, came out of the traverse, and kneeled at the place where the Queen kneeled, but she had no cus.h.i.+on, but one to kneel on; after she had received she returned to the traverse again; then the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Chamberlain received the Communion with the Mother of the Maids; after which the service proceeded to the end, and the Queen returned again to the Chamber of presence strait, and not the closet. Her Majesty dined not abroad; the said Officers of Arms had a mess of meat of seven dishes, with bread, beer, ale, and wine."

ROYAL CHRISTMASES AT HAMPTON COURT.

In 1568, the Earl of Shrewsbury, writing from Hampton Court to his countess, says, "The Plage is disposed far abrode in London, so that the Queene kepes hur Kyrsomas her, and goth not to Grenwych as it was mete." Meet or not, Elizabeth kept many Christmases at Hampton Court, banqueting, dancing, and dicing--the last being a favourite amus.e.m.e.nt with her, because she generally won, thanks to her dice being so loaded as to throw up the higher numbers. Writing from Hampton Court at Christmas, 1572, Sir Thomas Smith says: "If ye would what we do here, we play at tables, dance, and keep Christma.s.se."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Coat of Arms.]

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S SINGERS AND PLAYERS.

The Christmas entertainments of Queen Elizabeth were enlivened by the beautiful singing of the children of her Majesty's Chapel. From the notes to Gascoigne's _Princely Pleasures_ (1821) it appears that Queen Elizabeth retained on her Royal establishment four sets of singing boys; which belonged to the Cathedral of St. Paul, the Abbey of Westminster, St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and the Household Chapel.

For the support and reinforcement of her musical bands, Elizabeth, like the other English Sovereigns, issued warrants for taking "up suche apt and meete children, as are fitt to be instructed and framed in the Art and Science of Musicke and Singing." Thomas Tusser, the well-known author of "Five Hundreth Points of Good Husbandrye," was in his youth a choir boy of St. Paul's. Nor is it astonis.h.i.+ng, that although ma.s.ses had ceased to be performed, the Queen should yet endeavour to preserve sacred melody in a high state of perfection; since, according to Burney, she was herself greatly skilled in musical learning. "If her Majesty," says that eminent author, "was ever able to execute any of the pieces that are preserved in a MS. which goes under the name of Queen Elizabeth's Virginal-book, she must have been a very great player, as some of the pieces which were composed by Tallis, Bird, Giles, Farnaby, Dr. Bull, and others, are so difficult that it would be hardly possible to find a master in Europe who would undertake to play any of them at the end of a month's practice."[56]

But the children of the chapel were also employed in the theatrical exhibitions represented at Court, for which their musical education had peculiarly qualified them. Richard Edwards, an eminent poet and musician of the sixteenth century, had written two comedies; Damon and Pythias, and Palemon and Arcite, which, according to Wood, were often acted before the Queen, both at Court and at Oxford.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ACTING OF ONE OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS IN THE TIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH.

(_By permission, from Messrs Ca.s.sell & Co's "Ill.u.s.trated History of England_")]

With the latter of these Queen Elizabeth was so much delighted that she promised Edwards a reward, which she subsequently gave him by making him first Gentleman of her Chapel, and in 1561 Master of the Children on the death of Richard Bowyer. As the Queen was particularly attached to dramatic entertainments, about 1569 she formed the children of the Royal Chapel into a company of theatrical performers, and placed them under the superintendence of Edwards. Not long after she formed a second society of players under the t.i.tle of the "Children of the Revels," and by these two companies all Lyly's plays, and many of Shakespeare's and Jonson's, were first performed. Jonson has celebrated one of the chapel children, named Salathiel Pavy, who was famous for his performance of old men, but who died about 1601, under the age of thirteen. In his beautiful epitaph of Pavy, Jonson says:--

"'Twas a child that did so thrive In grace and feature, As heaven and nature seem'd to strive Which own'd the creature.

Years he number'd scarce thirteen When fates turn'd cruel, Yet three fill'd Zodiacs had he been The stage's jewel; And did act, what now we moan.

Old men so duly, That the Parcoe thought him one He played so truly."

The Shakespearian period had its grand Christmases, for

THE CHRISTMAS PLAYERS

at the Court of Queen Elizabeth included England's greatest dramatist, William Shakespeare; and the Queen not only took delight in witnessing Shakespeare's plays, but also admired the poet as a player. The histrionic ability of Shakespeare was by no means contemptible, though probably not such as to have transmitted his name to posterity had he confined himself exclusively to acting. Rowe informs us that "the tip-top of his performances was the ghost in his own _Hamlet_;" but Aubrey states that he "did act exceedingly well"; and Cheetle, a contemporary of the poet, who had seen him perform, a.s.sures us that he was "excellent in the quality he professed." An anecdote is preserved in connection with Shakespeare's playing before Queen Elizabeth. While he was taking the part of a king, in the presence of the Queen, Elizabeth rose, and, in crossing the stage, dropped her glove as she pa.s.sed the poet. No notice was taken by him of the incident; and the Queen, desirous of finding out whether this was the result of inadvertence, or a determination to preserve the consistency of his part, moved again towards him, and again dropped her glove.

Shakespeare then stooped down to pick it up, saying, in the character of the monarch whom he was playing--

"And though now bent on this high emba.s.sy, Yet stoop we to take up our cousin's glove."

He then retired and presented the glove to the Queen, who was highly pleased with his courtly performance.

GRAND CHRISTMAS AT GRAY'S INN.

In 1594 there was a celebrated Christmas at Gray's Inn, of which an account was published in 1688 under the following t.i.tle:--

"Gesta Grayorum: or the History of the High and Mighty Prince, Henry Prince of Purpoole, Arch-Duke of Stapulia and Bernardia, Duke of High and Nether Holborn, Marquis of St. Giles and Tottenham, Count Palatine of Bloomsbury and Clerkenwell, Great Lord of the Cantons of Islington, Kentish-Town, Paddington, and Knights-bridge, Knight of the most Heroical Order of the Helmet, and Sovereign of the same; Who Reigned and Died, A.D. 1594. Together with a Masque, as it was presented (by his Highness's Command) for the entertainment of Q.

Elizabeth; who, with the n.o.bles of both Courts, was present thereat.

London, Printed for W. Canning, at his shop in the Temple-Cloysters, MDCLx.x.xVIII. Price one s.h.i.+lling." 4to nine sheets, dedicated "To the most honourable Matthew Smyth, Esq., Comptroller of the honourable society of the Inner Temple."

The Prince of Purpoole was Mr. Henry Helmes, a Norfolk gentleman, "who was thought to be accomplished with all good parts, fit for so great a dignity; and was also a very proper man of personage, and very active in dancing and revelling." His coffers were filled by voluntary contributors, amongst whom the lord treasurer, Sir William Cecil, sent him ten pounds, and a purse of rich needlework.

The performers were highly applauded by Queen Elizabeth, who expressed satisfaction in her own peculiar style. When the actors had performed their Masque, some of her Majesty's courtiers danced a measure, whereupon the Queen exclaimed: "What! shall we have bread and cheese after a banquet?" Finally the Prince and his Officers of State were honoured by kissing her fair hands, and receiving the most flattering commendations. The whole amus.e.m.e.nt terminated in fighting at barriers; the Earl of Ess.e.x, and others, challengers; the Earl of c.u.mberland and company defendants, "into which number," says the narrator, "our Prince was taken, and behaved himself so valiantly and skilfully therein, that he had the prize adjudged due unto him, which it pleased her Majesty to deliver him with her own hands; telling him, that it was not her gift, for if it had, it should have been better; but she gave it to him, as that prize which was due to his desert, and good behaviour in those exercises; and that hereafter he should be remembered with a better reward from herself. The prize was a jewel, set with seventeen diamonds and four rubies; in value accounted worth a hundred marks."

The following is the Gray's Inn list of performers, which included some gentlemen who were afterwards "distinguished members in the law."

[From "Gesta Grayorum," page 6.]

"The order of the Prince of Purpoole's proceedings, with his officers and attendants at his honourable inthronization; which was likewise observed in all his solemn marches on grand days, and like occasions; which place every officer did duly attend, during the reign of his highness's government.

A Marshal.} {A Marshal.