After the death of the Black Prince it was resolved by the Lord Mayor to
pay a visit to Prince Richard at Kennington, with a riding worthy of the
City. The day chosen was the Sunday before Candlemas (February 2). One
has frequent occasion to remark generally upon City pageants, that the
people in these processions and their pageants were entirely regardless
of winter cold or summer heat; they rode forth upon a pageant as
cheerfully in the cold of February as in the sunshine of August. On this
occasion, one hundred and thirty-two citizens on horseback, with
trumpets and other musical instruments, and a vast number of
_flambeaux_, assembled at Newgate in the afternoon, and marched through
the City and over the bridge to Kennington Palace beyond the Borough.
First rode eight-and-forty men in the habits of esquires--with red
coats, say gowns, and vizards. Then followed the same number apparelled
as knights in the same livery. Then rode one singly, a very majestic
figure, who represented the Pope, followed by his four-and-twenty
cardinals. They were followed by ten men dressed in black, with black
vizards, representing legates from the Pope of Hell. This accounts for
one hundred and thirty-two out of the whole number. The last man is not
described. To them must be added pages and henchmen and whifflers, with
men carrying the presents. This cavalcade, which gave the greatest joy
to the citizens, all the way was followed by an enormous company of
'prentices and craftsmen and children, crowding after it and shouting.
When it arrived at Kennington Palace they all dismounted and entered the
hall, where they found the Princess of Wales, the young Prince, and
their attendants, together with the Duke of Lancaster and other great
lords. The court was first solemnly saluted by the masquers, who then
produced dice and invited the Prince to play with them. Would you
believe it?--every time the Prince threw, he won, which was in itself a
remarkable circumstance. He carried off his winnings: a bowl of pure
gold, chased and decorated; a drinking cup also of gold, and a gold
ring. They then invited the Princess and the Duke of Lancaster and
other nobles present, each of whom also won and carried off a gold
ring. This done, the music played, and they were all invited to supper
in the hall with the Prince and the Princess his mother. After supper,
the tables were taken away--they were only planks laid on trestles and
covered with white cloths--and the floor being cleared, the masquers had
the honour of dancing with the royal party. Finally, at a late hour, the
_flambeaux_ were lighted, and the masquers rode home, well pleased with
the reception they had met and the courtesy of the best behaved boy in
the world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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