The object of this masque was to deliver presents to {138}the newly-created Prince of Wales. The court ladies personated nymphs of the principal rivers that belonged to the estates of their husbands or fathers, and eight of the handsomest nobleman attended these river nymphs as Tritons. Prince Charles appeared with a dozen young ladies of his own age and size. They were daughters of lords or barons, and personated the naiads of springs and fountains. The prince, as Zephyr, wore a short robe of green satin, embroidered in gold; silver wings were attached to his shoulders, and a garland of flowers encircled his brow; on his right arm, which was bare, the queen had clasped a valuable diamond bracelet. The naiads wore pale blue-satin tunics, embroidered in silver; their hair hung in loose tresses, and water-lilies crowned their heads. These children danced a ballet,--Prince Charles always occupying the centre of a group,--which was enthusiastically applauded by the whole court. Prince Charles's next duty was to offer to his brother, the Prince of Wales, the queen's present, which consisted of a jewelled sword, valued at four thousand pounds, attached to a scarf of her majesty's own work. He also presented a gold trident to the king as ruler of the ocean. This presentation was made during an address by one of the Tritons. Her majesty was then invited to descend from the throne and dance her ballet with her water-nymphs. This was succeeded by another dance of the little naiads, and the entertainment concluded with the queen's quadrille. The summer morning had dawned when the gay party dispersed. [[A.D. 1612.]] Two years later the Prince of Wales, that youth of eighteen, who was the joy of his parents and the {139}pride of the whole nation, was attacked with the worst and most malignant form of typhus fever, which resulted in his death on the 5th of November, 1612. It was the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, and the procession of grotesque figures presented a strange contrast, as they swarmed around St. James's Palace, to the sad scene that was enacted within. When at last young Henry's death was announced, loud lamentations filled the air, and those who had left their homes to mingle with the festivities of the day returned bowed down with grief. It was many months before the poor queen recovered from the shock produced by the death of her dearly-beloved boy, and she was still so depressed when the marriage of her daughter was solemnized that she was scarcely fit to be present. However, she aroused herself for that occasion; but the reaction was so great after the departure of the princess from England that she was ordered to Bath by her physicians. The change proved of great benefit, and by the end of the summer her majesty had regained her health and spirits.