how the prince of spain rode from southampton to winchester; how he heard high mass at the cathedral, and visited the queen privately at wolvesey castle.
philip prolonged his stay at southampton from friday, the 20th of july, 1554, the day on which he made his public entry into the town, till the following monday. before leaving, he dismissed his fleet, which set sail for cadiz, under the command of the admiral of castile. the flemish squadron also departed at the same time. nothing was allowed to transpire publicly in regard to the queen’s secret visit to southampton. after protecting the french ambassador from the prince’s vengeance, in the manner previously related, mary returned to winchester, taking constance tyrrell with her. next day, the count d’egmont, attended by osbert clinton, brought her majesty a set of diamonds, of inestimable value, as a present from philip. somewhat later in the same day, the noble spanish dames, the duchess of medina celi, the marchionesses pescara, de farria, and del valle, the countesses olivares, de saldana, and de modica, with several other gentlewomen, who had accompanied their consorts to be present at the approaching solemnity, arrived at wolvesey castle in magnificent chariots and litters provided for them by the queen.
meantime, southampton continued in a fever of excitement, nothing being thought of in the town but revelry and 125rejoicing. on sunday, philip heard mass in saint michael’s church, and rode forth afterwards with his train to netley abbey, then in possession of the marquis of winchester, lord high treasurer, to whom it had been granted on the dissolution of the monasteries, and after being sumptuously entertained by his noble host, he returned, in the cool of a most delicious evening, by water to southampton.
about noon on monday, the 22nd, the prince quitted southampton, attended by a magnificent escort, comprising, in addition to his own suite, the duke of norfolk, the marquis of winchester, the earls of arundel, derby, worcester, bedford, rutland, pembroke, and surrey; with the lords clinton, cobham, darcie, matravers, talbot, and many others, numbering, with their gentlemen and esquires, upwards of two thousand horse. never before had such a vast and splendid cavalcade passed through the bar-gate. stationed at the gate were sir bevis, with the princess josyan seated behind him on the broad back of arundel, ascapart, canute, and xit—the latter mounted on his little piebald horse—and when the royal cortége had passed by, these personages followed it at a short distance. hundreds of persons on foot accompanied the cavalcade, which proceeded at a slow pace, half way to winchester, when it encountered another large company of noblemen and gentlemen sent to meet it by the queen. amongst these were the count d’egmont and osbert clinton. swelled by this addition, the cavalcade, which had now assumed the proportions of an army, pursued its course towards winchester, the trees by which the valley of the itchen was shaded affording protection from the scorching sunbeams. ere long philip came upon the hospital of saint croix, the secluded beauty of which might have attracted more of his attention had not winchester itself, at the same moment, burst upon his view. cries of admiration broke from the spaniards as they caught sight of the ancient and picturesque city.
from saint croix to the south-gate the road was lined on either side by well-dressed spectators of both sexes, who cheered the prince loudly as he rode by on his andalusian barb. a roar of artillery from the castle batteries announced his entrance into the city to the queen.
126philip was now close to the cathedral, which rose before him in all its majesty. passing through a gateway, he reached the great western entrance, in the wide place in front of which some fifteen hundred horsemen were now drawn up, forming a most imposing spectacle.
beneath the central portico, with its noble arch supported by clustered columns, and its tabernacles containing statues of the saints peter and paul, stood gardiner, in his full pontificals, mitre, stole, chasuble, rochet, alb, and amice. his crosier was borne by a priest, who stood behind him. beetle-browed, swarthy of complexion, hook-nosed, and harsh of feature, gardiner, notwithstanding his forbidding looks and stern, searching glances, which seemed to read the hearts of those he looked upon, and inspired more dread than love, had a countenance replete with intelligence, while his imperious looks and manner, untamed by reverse of fortune, showed the confidence he felt in his own mental powers and resources. with gardiner were bonner, bishop of london, tonstal, bishop of durham, day, bishop of chichester, thirlby, bishop of ely, heath, bishop of worcester, and other prelates, all in mitres and copes. behind the bishops were the clergy belonging to the cathedral in their vestments.
as philip dismounted before the porch, and bent the knee to gardiner, who advanced to meet him, the bishop spread his arms over him, pronouncing a solemn benediction upon his head.
after bowing with profound respect to the other prelates, all of whom reverently returned his salutation, the prince entered the cathedral and proceeded towards the choir, gardiner and the other bishops leading the way. ere many minutes, the nave was half filled by the nobles and gentlemen composing philip’s retinue. the furthest stall on the right of the choir was assigned to the prince by gardiner. every other stall had a noble occupant; the one next to philip being tenanted by the duke of norfolk.
high mass was then celebrated, gardiner and the bishops officiating at the altar. after te deum had been solemnly sung, philip retired into the sacristy adjoining the silkstede chapel with gardiner, where a brief, but very kindly, conference took place between them. to the prince’s inquiries 127as to when he might be permitted to see the queen, gardiner replied, that the public presentation could not, according to court etiquette, take place till the morrow, but that he would engage to procure his highness a private interview with her majesty that evening.
on quitting the cathedral, the prince was ceremoniously conducted by the earl of arundel to the deanery, which had been prepared for his reception. here a grand banquet was subsequently served, at which the lord chancellor and all the principal english and spanish nobles sat down.
in the evening, while philip was alone, the earl of arundel and the grand chamberlain, sir john gage, were introduced, and informed him that they were enjoined by her majesty to conduct him to her presence. expressing the liveliest satisfaction, the prince said he was ready to accompany them at once, and, immediately arising, he went forth with them into the deanery garden, whence, by a private way, he was brought to a postern in the walls of wolvesey castle. of this postern sir john gage possessed the key, and the door being unlocked, gave them admittance to the gardens of the castle.
after tracking a long arcade of formally clipped yew-trees, they came upon a wide glass-plot, soft as velvet to the foot, laid out in front of the keep-tower, wherein, as we have already stated, were the queen’s apartments. close to this charming lawn were parterres, embellished with knots of flowers, in the taste of the period. at the farther end stood the stately donjon reared by stout henry de blois, between which and the grass-plot lay a broad terrace-walk. this scene, beautiful at all times, was now rendered doubly beautiful by the light of a full summer moon hanging right above the keep, and flooding the place with radiance.
as the prince and his attendants entered this fairy region, three persons were walking upon the grass-plot. these were the queen, gardiner, and one of her majesty’s ladies—the latter, however, being at some distance from the other two.
“there is her majesty,” observed the lord chamberlain. “shall i announce your highness?”
receiving philip’s prompt assent, sir john gage advanced towards mary, and after an instant’s consultation with her, 128philip was formally presented—the lord chamberlain withdrawing as soon as he had performed his office. gardiner also retired with the lady in attendance, and the royal pair were left alone together. mary was very richly attired, and, viewed by this witching light, really looked attractive. some excuse may therefore be found for the impassioned admiration which philip expressed on beholding her features, now for the first time revealed to his gaze.
mary was small of stature, with beautiful hands and feet. her person was well made, but too thin, and her carriage, though majestic, was exceedingly stiff, and lacked the grace which ease alone can impart. in her younger days she had been accounted good-looking, but she could scarcely be considered so now. her eyes were large and grey, and her glances keen and steady. her face was round, her tresses inclining to red, if they did not even actually attain that hue, and the nose too flat and large. her lips, too, were thin and compressed. altogether, there was a hardness and severity about her face that destroyed its pleasing character, while premature wrinkles about the eyes and brow gave her age.
if mary did not inherit the beauty either of her father or mother, she had many of the qualities by which both were characterised. she had the courage, firmness, and obstinacy of henry viii., and she had all the virtues belonging to the unfortunate katherine of aragon. her conduct under the trials to which she was exposed was most exemplary, and even her enemies could find no fault with it. firmly attached to the principles of the catholic religion, in which she had been brought up, she never wavered for a moment in her adherence to her faith, but would have suffered martyrdom rather than renounce it. when commanded by the council under edward vi., to desist from the performance of mass, she still continued to celebrate it in private.
mary spoke well in public, and possessed a voice so sonorous that she could be distinctly heard by a large assemblage. her stirring address to the citizens at guildhall gave the coup de grace to wyat’s formidable rebellion. she also possessed many accomplishments, playing so well upon the lute and spinet as to astonish and delight professed musicians by her skill. she also greatly excelled in embroidery, 129and in other female work. her intellectual accomplishments were of a high order, though they did not excite so much astonishment in those days of learned ladies as they would in our own. she spoke french and spanish perfectly, and read italian with ease, though she did not speak it. she was also mistress of latin. at the request of catherine parr, she translated into english erasmus’s paraphrase of the gospel of st. john. since her accession to the throne, all her time, except the hours of devotion, had been given to affairs of state. she arose at daybreak, performed her religious duties, heard mass, and thenceforward devoted herself to public business, being easy of access to all who desired to approach her. bigoted mary was, intolerant and severe towards those who differed with her on points of faith; but she had many redeeming qualities, which should have saved her from the obloquy to which she has been subjected.
such was mary when she met her affianced husband on that lovely moonlight night in the garden of wolvesey castle—a night ever after cherished in her memory as the happiest of her existence. blissful, indeed, were her feelings as she paced to and fro upon that soft sward with her royal lover, listening to the vows he breathed in low and passionate tones, and believing all he said. philip felt his power, and exercised it. from that moment to the latest of her existence, she fondly loved him. ingrate that he was, he but poorly requited her affection.
we shall not record the words he uttered. idle words were they, such as feigned passion has ever at command, but they produced the effect designed. suspicious as mary was by nature, she had no suspicion now. she persuaded herself that heaven had rewarded her at last for all her sufferings by bestowing upon her a fond and faithful spouse.
two hours elapsed before their moonlight walk was over—two happy, happy hours to the queen. then she re-entered the keep, while philip, attended by the earl of arundel and sir john gage, returned to the deanery.
