Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-03-27

much that would amount to none could
tell. as the kings favorites were OF
many sorts and taken from all condl-
lions Of men. There was Master VOL
sey. butchers son, whom he had first
made almoner, then chief counselor and
bishop of Lincoln, soon to be bishop of
York and cardinal Of the holy Roman
church.
From the other extreme Of life came
young Thomas, Lord Howard, heir to
the Earl of Surrey, and my Lord Of
Buckingham, premier peer Of the realm.
Then sometimes would the king take
a yeoman of the guard and make him
his companion in jousts and tourna-
mepts solely because Of his Drawn and
bone. There were others whom he
kept close by him in the palace be-
cause of their wit and the entertain
ment they furnished, Of which class
was l, and, I flatter myself, no mean
member.
To begin with, being in no way de-
pendent on the king for money, never
drew a farthing from the royal treas
ury. This. you may be sure. did me no
harm, for, although the king sometimes
delighted to give, he always hated to
pay. There were other good reasons,
too, why I should be favorite with
the king.
NV appointment as master Of the
dance, am sure, was owing entirely
to nv manner. My brother, the baron,
who stood high with the king, was not
friendly toward me because my father
had seen fit to bequeath me so good
competency in place Of giving 1t all to
the firstborn and leaving me dependent
upon the. tender mercies of an elder
brother. So l had no help from him
nor from any one else. l was quite
small of stature and therefore unable
to compete with lance and mace with
bulkier men, but would bet with any
man. of any size, on any game, at any
place and time, in any amount, and, II
do say it, who perhaps should not.
basked in the light of many fair
smile which larger men had sighed for
in vain.
did not know when Brandon first
came to London. We had all remained
at Greenwich while the king went up
to Westminster to waste his time with
matters of state and quarrel with the
parliament then sitting, over the
amount of certain subsidies
Mary, the kings sister, then some
eighteen or nineteen years OF age,
perfect bud, just blossoming into per-
feet flower, had gone over to Windsor
on a visit to her elder sister, Margaret
Of Scotland, and the palace was dull
enough. Brandon, it seems, had been
presented to Henry curing this time at
Westminster and hkd, to some extent
at least, become favorite before l
met him. The first time saw him was
at a joust given by the king at West
minister in celebration OF the fact that
he had coaxed good round subsidy
out of parliament.
The queen and her ladies had been In.
1 vited over and it was known that Ma
ry would be down from Windsor and
come home with the king and the court
| to Greenwich when we should return.
So we all went over to Westminster the
night before the jousts and were up
/ bright and early next moi ming to see all
that was to be seen.
/ Here the editor sees fit to substitute
a description of this tournament taken
from the quaint old chronicler HALL
/ The morrow beyng after dynner, at tyne
commencement, the Quene with her Ladyes
repaired to see the Iustes, the trompettes
brew vp, and in came many noble man
| rlaIy cd
ynge vp thir horses, after whome followed
/ certayne lordes appareiled, they and thir
! horses, in cloth of Code and russell and
| tynsell; Knyghtes in cloth of Golde. and
russell Velvet. And a create nomber OF
! Gentlemen on fote, in russell satyn and
yealow, and yomen in russell Damaske
| and yealow, all the neither parte of query
mans hosen Skarlet and yealow cappes.
Then came the kynge vnder Pauilion
| Of golde, and purpul Velvet embroidered,
the compass Of the Pauilion about. and
valenced with fiat, gold beaten In wyre,
with an Imperial croune in the top, OF
! tyne Code, his bases and trapper of cloth
! of Code, fretted with Damask Gode the
trapper pedant to the tail. A crane and
chafron of STEELE, in the front of the chafro
was q goodly plume set full of musers or
trimbling spangles Of golde. After fol-
owed his three aydes, query of them vnder
q Pauilion Of Crymosyn Damaske & pur-
/
q fote, appareiled in russell and yealow
was clxyiii Then next these Pauilions
came xii chyldren of honor, sitting query
! one of them on a create courser, rychely
trapped and embroidered in seuerall
! deuises and facions. where lacked neither
brouderie nor goldsmythes work. SO that
query chyld and horse in deuice and
fascion was contrary to the other. which
was goodly to beholde.
Then on the counter parte. entered
Stranger, FIRST on horseback in a long
robe of Russell satyne. like a recluse or
religious, and his horse trapped in the
same sewte, without dromme or noyse of
mynstrelsye. puttinge byll of peticion to
the Quene the effect whereof was, that If
| 1t would please her to license hymn to
rune in her presence, he would do 1t
gladly, and If not, then he would departe
as he came. After his request was
graunted, then he put off hys sayd habyte
and was armed at all peces with ryche
bases & horse, also rychely trapped, and
| so did runne his horse to the tylte end,
where dieurs men on fote appareiled in
Russet satyn awaited on him. Thereupon
the Heraulds cryed an Oyezi and the
grownd shoke with the trompe of rush
ynge stedes. Wonder ii were to write Of
the dedes of Armes which that day Toxic
place, where a man might haue seen many
a horse raysed on highe with galop turne
and stoppe, maruaylous to behold. C.xiv
slaves were broke and the kynge being
lusty, he and the stranger toxic the
prices.
When the queen had given the stran-
ger permission to run, and as he moved
away, there was a great clapping of
hands and waving of trophies among
the ladies, for he was of such noble