On the 1st of January, 1611, Prince Henry, accompanied by twelve other persons of rank, performed the mask of ‘Oberon,’ of which the expenses were £1092 6_s._ 10_d._ , including £16 paid to Inigo Jones, for his labour; it being the joint production of him and Ben Jonson, and contained a variety of delicate music. It was performed in the new and beautiful banquetting-house, at Whitehall. There were, likewise, two other masks, by Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones, in the same Christmas, which cost the queen £600. In one of them, called, ‘Love freed from Ignorance and Folly’—the name of the other being ‘Love Restored’—there were twelve she-fools introduced, dressed in coloured taffeta, lined with fustian, who performed a dance, and received each £1 for her trouble. In November, 1612, Prince Henry died; a prince who, according to most accounts, was much loved, and from whose early promise much was expected. Whether his father much mourned him seems a doubtful question: it has been surmised that he was jealous of his popularity. At all events the following Christmas was kept with the usual festivities, and his daughter Elizabeth was affianced to the Palatine. On the 26th of December, 1613, the favourite, Somerset, was married to the Countess of Essex, at Whitehall, in the presence of the King, Queen, and Prince Charles, and many of the nobility, and several entertainments were given in the course of the Christmas, to the well-matched pair. On the 4th of January, they went to a grand entertainment, at Merchant Tailors’ Hall, and, after supper, were entertained with a wassail, two pleasant masks, and dancing. On Twelfth Day the gentlemen of Gray’s Inn invited them to a mask—the ‘Mask of Flowers’—but they did not consent willingly to this act, evidently considering it a degradation, their repugnance having been overcome by Lord Bacon. It appears to have been performed at the banquetting-house. In 1616, Ben Jonson presented the well-known mask, called the ‘Mask of Christmas,’ the principal characters being Christmas and his children, Misrule, Carol, Minced-Pie, Gambol, Post and Pair, New Year’s Gift, Mumming, Wassel, Offering, and Baby-Cake. Prince Charles performed, and obtained great applause in his mask, called ‘The Vision of Delight, or Prince’s Mask,’ represented on Twelfth Night, 1618, when the Muscovy ambassadors were feasted at court, and a sum of £750 was issued for the occasion. A mask of ladies had been prepared for the same Christmas, and many rehearsals had taken place, but for some reason it was forbidden by the king and queen; to the great disappointment of the ladies, no doubt.