~jerkins~: a kind of jacket often made of leather. ~panoply~: full armour. ~banneret~: a little banner. ~blackjacks~: leather vessels for holding liquor. ~malmsey~: a strong sweet wine. ~marshal~: draw up and arrange. ~Lord Mayor's Show~: on November 9--when the people have an opportunity of welcoming the new Lord Mayor on his entering into office. 48. PLAYS AND PAGEANTS. PART III. ~libretto~: the words of a masque or play set to music. ~scenic~: on the stage. ~Ben Jonson~ (born 1574, died 1637): a great English play writer and poet, and a friend of Shakespeare. ~Francis Bacon~, Lord Verulam (born 1561, died 1626), was Lord Chancellor and a great writer on philosophical subjects. ~Oberon~: the king of the fairies and husband of Titania, as in Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's Dream.' ~save James~: that is, King James I.; a piece of courtly flattery due to Jonson's connection with the court. ~Prince Henry~, who is meant by Oberon in the masque, died in 1612, to the great regret of the people. ~Phosphorus~: Lucifer, the morning star that brings the day. 49. PLAYS AND PAGEANTS. PART IV. ~Gammer (i.e. Old Mother) Gurton's Needle~ is a very rough old play about an old woman who lost her needle while mending a pair of breeches, and, after accusing everyone of stealing it, finds it after all in the garment itself. It was written some time before 1560. ('Gammer,' the French _grand'-mere_, grandmother, contracted into 'ganmer,' and then 'gammer.') ~contortionist~: one who twists himself into extraordinary attitudes to amuse the public. ~octagonal~: with eight sides. ~prologue~: the verses spoken before a play to introduce it to the audience. ~Golden Lane~: a street near the Barbican, turning out of Aldersgate Street. ~Bankside~, in Southwark, on the southern side of the Thames. 50. THE TERROR OF THE PLAGUE. PART I. ~Pretensions~: ambitious claims. ~Wars of the Roses~: a civil war lasting 1455-1485. In thinking of the loss of life occasioned by this war, it must be remembered that such loss fell most heavily on the noble families; the mass of the population was not so much disturbed by it. ~Long Acre~: a street near Drury Lane, now chiefly occupied by carriage-makers. ~delirium~: a wandering in the mind caused by fever. 51. THE TERROR OF THE PLAGUE. PART II. ~Registers~: a record of names of persons who have died. Such records are now accurately kept by the registrars of births, deaths, and marriages. ~The King~: Charles II., who, whatever his faults may have been, was at least good-natured and averse to suffering. ~Samuel Pepys~ (born 1632, died 1703) was Secretary to the Admiralty in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. His famous diary gives a graphic picture of life during these reigns. 52. THE TERROR OF FIRE. PART I. ~Coleman Street~ runs northward from Lothbury (behind the Bank of England) to Moorgate. The name goes back even to Saxon times, and probably comes from one Ceolmund, who had a farm near.