Immediately on entering the latter the porter, a huge fellow, who is recorded to have been so overcome with a sense of the Queen’s majesty that he scarcely knew what to do, presented the keys to the Queen. This ceremony finished, six trumpeters, dressed in loose, silken garments, who stood upon the wall over the gateway, blew a fanfare of welcome, whilst “her Highness, all along this Tilt–yard, rode into the inner gate, where a person representing the Lady of the Lake (famous in King Arthur’s Book), with two Nymphes waiting upon her, arrayed all in sylks, attended her Highness coming.” These beings appeared suddenly on a floating island in the lake blazing with torches, and made a speech of welcome to the Queen, which ended with music; the speech which was made by the Lady of the Lake narrated the “auncientee of the castle,” and the dignities and titles of the Earls of Leicester, and concluded with the following verse:— Wherefore, I will attend while you lodge here, (Most peerless Queene) to Court to make resort; And as my love to Arthure did appeere, So shal’t to you in earnest and in sport. A special road had been made by which the Queen entered the castle, a bridge 20 feet wide and 70 feet long having been constructed across the dry valley leading to the castle gates, for her to pass over. The posts erected on either side bore trays and bowls containing gifts from the gods, which a poet had been engaged especially to present to her. These consisted of rare fruits from Pomona, corn from Ceres, wine from Bacchus, a cage of wild fowl from Silvanus, sea fish from Neptune, weapons from Mars, and musical instruments from Phœbus. Her Majesty then passed into the inner court, and (again quoting the ancient account) “thear set doun from her palfrey was conveied up to a chamber, when after did follo a great peal of Gunz and lightning by Fyr–work.” One can well imagine that the Queen must have been fatigued by her reception, which seems to have included several recitals in addition to the Latin poem, which was read to her by a poet clad “in a long ceruleous Garment with a Bay Garland on his head and a skrol in his hand.”