she was followed by Anne Boleyn herself, with her hair loose hanging about her shoulders, attired in her inner garment, called a surcoat, of crimson velvet, lined with ermine also, and with short sleeves; she walked between Elizabeth countess of Rutland, and Dorothy countess of Sussex, and she was followed by many noble gentlewomen. While she approached the king's royal seat she thrice made her obeisance, and when she arrived before him she kneeled. The charter having been presented to the king, he delivered it to his secretary Gardiner, who read it aloud, and, when he came to the words mantillæ inductionem, the king took the robe of state from the lady Mary, and put it on Anne Boleyn's shoulders; and at the words circuli aurei the lady Mary handed him the coronet, which he placed on the brow of the new-made marchioness. When the charter was read he presented it to her, together with another that secured to her a pension of 10007. per annum during her life, for maintaining that dignity. She then gave the king humble thanks, and with the coronet on her head, and invested with the robe, she retired, the trumpets sounding most melodiously as she departed from the presence chamber. A largess was cried on her gift to Garter king-at-arms of 81. and to his officers of 117. while Henry gave a largess of 51. on the occasion." The sum of 301. 16s. 10d. was paid from the royal privy-purse for the materials of which Anne Boleyn's robes were made for her investiture as marchioness of Pembroke. Henry presented her with some miniatures, by Holbein, magnificently set in jewels, as ornaments for her person. The unpublished MSS. in the Chapter-House, Westminster, bear record of a costly donation of gold, silver, and parcel-gilt plate, presented by the king to Anne Boleyn on this occasion, to the value of 11887. 11s. 10d. The articles in this curious inventory consist of cups, flagons, bowls, trenchers, goblets with covers, having the royal arms on shields, spoons, salts, chandeliers, and a chafing-dish. She had an establishment which outvied that of the sister and nieces of the king. She had a train-bearer, three ladies of the bedchamber, and four maids of honour, all of them daughters of barons or knights; three gentlemen in waiting; six officers, all knights or barons; and more than thirty domestics. In most of the royal architecture which was under progress during the divorce, and while Anne Boleyn was beloved by the king, their initial cyphers were introduced entwined with a true lover's knot. This is stil to be seen at Cambridge, where the choir of King's College is separated from the ante-chapel by a screen added in the year 1534, in which are these cyphers and knot, besides the arms of England empaled with those of Boleyn.3 1 1 Mills' Catalogue of Honour, p. 42. Privy-Purse Expenses; sir H. Nicolas. The achievement of queen Anne Boleyn stands neatly carved on the large wood screen as you go up to the choir in King's College Chapel, Cambridge, being quarterly France and England, empaling quarterly of six pieces; 1, gules, three lions passant, gardant, or on a label of three points azure, and fleurs de lys of the second Lancaster; 2, azure seme of flowers de luce or a label of three points gules Angoulême, 3, gules, a lion passant, gardant, or guyon. These three augmentations were given her by Henry VIII. when he created her marchioness of Pembroke. Rochford, Brotherton, and Warren, follow those of Butler of Just before the visit Henry made to France in company with Anne Boleyn as marchioness of Pembroke, cardinal du Bellai, ambassador from Francis I., thus describes their proceedings: "I am alone every day with. the king when we are hunting; he chats familiarly with me, and sometimes madame Anne joins our party. Each of them are equipt with bow and arrows, which is, as you know, their mode of following the chase. Sometimes he places us both in a station to see him shoot the deer. and whenever he arrives near any house belonging to his courtiers, he alights to tell them of the feats he has performed. Madame Anne has presented me a complete set of hunting-gear, consisting of a cap, a bow and arrows, and a greyhound. I do not tell you this as a boast of the lady's favours, but to show how much king Henry prizes me as the representative of our monarch, for whatever that lady does is directed by him." This despatch is dated from Hanwell; so is the following, which is written to intimate that king Henry much desired that Anne Boleyn should be invited to his approaching congress with Francis 1. "If our sovereign," says Bellai, "wishes to gratify the king of England he can do nothing better than invite madame Anne with him to Calais, and entertain her there with great respect." The next sentence is not complimentary to the reputation of Anne Boleyn, for the ambassador adds, "Nevertheless it will be desirable that the king of France brings no company of ladies (indeed there is always better cheer without them), but, in case they must come, he had better bring only the queen of Navarre to Boulogne. I shall not mention with whom or from whence this idea originates, being pledged to secrecy, but be assured I do not write without authority. As to the queen of France,' not for the world would he [Henry VIII.] meet her, for he says, he would as soon see the devil as a lady in a Spanish dress." It was at the period, between Anne Boleyn's creation as marchioness of Pembroke and her recognition as queen, that Wyatt addressed to her the following exquisite lines, in which he bids farewell to her as a lover : Forget not yet the tried intent Of such a truth as I have meant, The painful patience and delays. Forget not, oh! forget not this, Forget not yet. Forget not now thine own approved, Ormond. (Camden's Remains, p. 217.) "It is a singular fact," observes sir H. Nicolas, that when Henry VIII. granted armorial ensigns to Anne Boleyn, then marchioness of Pembroke, he took especial care to show her royal and illustrious descent through the Howards, by introducing the arms of Thomas of Brotherton, son of Edward I., and of the Warrens, earls of Surrey, from the Howard shield. 'Eleanor of Austria, sister to Charles V., and consequently niece to Katharine of Aragon; she was the second wife of Francis I. The state of horticulture in England at this period may be traced by some very interesting items in the privy-purse expenses of Henry VIII. in the summer of 1532, in which are recorded rewards paid to sundry poor women, on various days, for bringing the king presents of apples, pears, barberries, peaches, artichokes, filberds, and other fruits. His gardeners from Beaulieu, Greenwich, and Hampton, bring him grapes, oranges, cucumbers, melons, cherries, strawberries, pomegranates, citrons, plums, lettuces, and, in short, almost every kind of luxury that could be supplied for the royal table in modern times. On the 4th of October was paid, by Henry's orders, 561. for certain silks provided for apparel for Anne, who is styled my lady marques of Pembroke, and the same day 387. 10s. 10d. for furring the same. Probably she had her share also in the jewels, mercery, and millinery, for which the royal privy-purse accounts are charged, to the amount of more than 12,000l., at the same time. The following day, the only daughter of the sovereign receives the noble gift of 107.2 On the 13th of October, Anne, attended by the marchioness of Derby and a chosen retinue of ladies, arrived at Dover in the royal train, and early on the following morning they all embarked for Calais, where they arrived at ten in the forenoon. On the 14th, the grand master of France sent a present of grapes and pears to the fair Boleyn. The same day Henry gave her further marks of his favour, by granting her a settlement of lands in Wales, Essex, Herts, and Somersetshire. On the 21st, they progressed with great pomp to Boulogne to meet the French king. Henry and Francis approached each other bareheaded, and embraced. Francis was not accompanied either by his queen, his sister, or indeed by any ladies: a mortifying circumstance to Anne Boleyn, since nothing could afford a more decided proof of the questionable light in which she was regarded at this time by her old friends at the court of France. Hall gives an elaborate account of the munificence of Henry's entertainment at Boulogne, where Francis, in the capacity of host, furnished the cheer and paid all the costs.3 Though Anne sojourned four days with Henry at Boulogne, the absence of the ladies of the French king's family prevented her from appearing at the festivities that were provided for her royal lover. On the 25th, she returned with the two kings to Calais, where, for the honour of his realm, our English Harry had caused preparations to be made for the reception of the French sovereign and his court, which can only be paralleled in the gorgeous details of Oriental romance, where however, silver, and gold, and pearls, are supplied by the writer cost free; while Henry must have drained his exchequer to furnish the banqueting chamber at Calais, which is thus described by Hall:— "It was hung with tissue, raised with silver, and framed with cloth of silver, raised with gold. The seams of the same were covered with broad wreaths of goldsmiths' work, full of stones and pearls. In this chamber was a cupboard of seven stages high, all plate of gold, and no 'Privy-Purse Expenses of Henry VIII. MS Harl. No. 303, p. 4. Herbert; Lingard; Tytler· Turne, Ibid. Hall. gilt plate. Besides that, there hung ten branches of silver-gilt, and ten branches all white silver, every branch hanging by a long chain of the same sort, bearing two lights of wax. The French king was served three courses, dressed after the French fashion; and the king of England had like courses, after the English fashion. The first course of every kind was forty dishes, the second sixty, the third eighty, which were costly and pleasant. "After supper on the Sunday evening, 28th of October, came in the marchioness of Pembroke, with seven ladies, in masking apparel of strange fashion, made of cloth of gold, slashed with crimson tinsel satin puffed with cloth of silver, and knit with laces of gold. These ladies were led into the state chamber just described by four damsels dressed in crimson satin, with tabards of pine cypress. Then the lady marchioness took the French king, the countess of Derby the king of Navarre, and every lady took a lord. In dancing, king Henry removed the ladies' visors, so that their beauties were shown." The French king then discovered that he had danced with an old acquaintance, the lovely English maid of honour of his first queen, for whose departure he had chidden the English ambassador ten years before. He conversed with her some little time apart, and the next morning sent her as a present a jewel valued at 15,000 crowns. On the 30th of this festive month," the two sovereigns mounted their horses, and Henry having conducted his royal guest to the verge of his dominions, they dismounted on French ground, and there they joined hands with loving behaviour and hearty words, embraced each other, and so parted." The weather was so tempestuous, that Anne and her royal lover were detained a fortnight at Calais, after the departure of Francis I. On the 14th of November they safely crossed the Channel and landed at Dover. On The favourite diversion of Anne Boleyn and the king seems to have been cards and dice. Henry's losses at games of chance were enormous; but Anne, with the single exception of the sum she lost to the serjeant of the cellar at bowls, appears to be a fortunate gamester. the 20th of November, we observe the following entry in Henry's privypurse expenses, delivered to the king's grace at Stone: 97. 6s. 8d., which his grace lost at Pope Julius's game to my lady marquess (Anne Boleyn), Mr. Bryan, and maister Weston. On the 25th, Henry loses twenty crowns to the same party at the same game; and the following day, 187. 13s. 4d. On the 28th, Anne again wins 117. 13s. 4d. in a single-handed game of cards with her royal lover. The next day Henry is the loser of 47. at Pope Julius's game; and also on the 31st, sixteen crowns at the same to Anne and young Weston. Such entries are little to the credit of any of the persons concerned. Pope Julius's game, which was at this time so greatly in vogue at "Ibid. 'Le Grand; Lingard. 'Hall, p. 794. 4 Hall. Young Weston, one of the gamblers at these orgies, was among the unfortunate tims of Henry's jealousy of Anne Boleyn. 'In the Privv-Purse Expenses of Henry VIII. it is called Pope July's game, ir VOL. IV. - 15 the court of Henry VIII., was probably the origin of the vulgar roundgame, called in modern times Pope-Joan. The various points in that game, such as matrimony, intrigue, pope, and the stops, appear to have borne significant allusion to the relative situations in the royal drama of the divorce, and the interference of the pope and his agents in preventing the king's marriage with his beautiful favourite, Anne Boleyn. ANNE BOLEYN, SECOND QUEEN OF HENRY VIII. CHAPTER JI. Anne Boleyn's marriage with Henry VIII.-Its privacy-Contradictory statements-Its public celebration-Her coronation-Pageants and festivities— Opposition by the Catholics-Birth of princess Elizabeth-Settlement of the crown on Anne's issue-Henry upbraids Anne with Sir T. More's deathHenry and Anne excommunicated-Anne supports the reformation and translation of the Scriptures-Her altered manners-Protects Latimer-Exults in queen Katharine's death-Loses Henry's affection-Discovers his passion for Jane Seymour-Bears a dead son-Anger of the king-His utter alienationArrest of Brereton-Anne's dialogue with Smeaton-Jousts at GreenwichKing's angry departure-Arrest of Anne's brother and others-She is carried to the Tower-Her despair-Accused by Smeaton-Her letter to the kingAnne's indictment-Her brother and others condemned-Trial of Anne-Sentence-Her speech-Her marriage dissolved-Execution of her brother and others-Her poems-Behaviour on the scaffold-Fidelity of her maids—Gift to Wyatt's sister-Dying speech-Farewell to her ladies-Beheaded-Hasty burial-Norfolk tradition-King Henry's remorse. THE time and place of Anne Boleyn's marriage with Henry VIII. are disputed points in history. Some authors have affirmed that she was privately united to the king at Dover the same day they returned from France, being the festival of St. Erkenwald. According to others, the nuptials were secretly performed in the presence of the earl and countess of Wiltshire, and the duke and duchess of Norfolk, in the chapel of Sopewell Nunnery. This report, perhaps, was caused by a temporary retreat of Anne to that convent after her return from France, and the secret resort of the king to meet her there at a yew-tree, about a mile from this cloistered shade, of which the learned lady Juliana Berners was formerly the prioress. The unpopularity of this union was the evident mockery of Julius II., the copy of whose breve of dispensation had been lately produced by Katharine of Arragon, as an important document in favour of the legality of her marriage with Henry VIII. 'It is an odd coincidence that the papal bull, denouncing the sentence of excommunication against king Henry and Anne Boleyn if they presumed to narry, is dated the day after their interdicted nuptials are said to have taker. place at Dover.-Hall; Holingshed. |