Near It,
On The Farther Side, Is A Handsome House Built By A Goldsmith And
Presented By Him To The City.
There are besides to be seen in this
street, as in all others where there are goldsmiths' shops, all
Sorts of gold and silver vessels exposed to sale, as well as ancient
and modern medals, in such quantities as must surprise a man the
first time he sees and considers them.
Fitz-Stephen, a writer of English history, reckoned in his time in
London one hundred and twenty-seven parish churches, and thirteen
belonging to convents; he mentions, besides, that upon a review
there of men able to bear arms, the people brought into the field
under their colours forty thousand foot and twenty thousand horse.
VIDE Camden's "Britannia," Middlesex.
The best oysters are sold here in great quantities.
Everybody knows that English cloth is much approved of for the
goodness of the materials, and imported into all the kingdoms and
provinces of Europe.
We were shown, at the house of Leonard Smith, a tailor, a most
perfect looking-glass, ornamented with gold, pearl, silver, and
velvet, so richly as to be estimated at five hundred ecus du soleil.
We saw at the same place the hippocamp and eagle stone, both very
curious and rare.
And thus much of London.
Upon taking the air down the river, the first thing that struck us
was the ship of that noble pirate, Sir Francis Drake, in which he is
said to have surrounded this globe of earth. On the left hand lies
Ratcliffe, a considerable suburb: on the opposite shore is fixed a
long pole with ram's-horns upon it, the intention of which was
vulgarly said to be a reflection upon wilful and contented cuckolds.
We arrived next at the royal palace of Greenwich, reported to have
been originally built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and to have
received very magnificent additions from Henry VII. It was here
Elizabeth, the present Queen, was born, and her she generally
resides, particularly in summer, for the delightfulness of its
situation. We were admitted, by an order Mr. Rogers had procured
from the Lord Chamberlain, into the presence chamber, hung with rich
tapestry, and the floor, after the English fashion, strewed with
hay, {8} through which the Queen commonly passes on her way to
chapel. At the door stood a gentleman dressed in velvet, with a
gold chain, whose office was to introduce to the Queen any person of
distinction that came to wait on her; it was Sunday, when there is
usually the greatest attendance of nobility. In the same hall were
the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, a great number
of Councillors of State, officers of the Crown, and gentlemen, who
waited the Queen's coming out; which she did from her own apartment
when it was time to go to prayers, attended in the following
manner:-
First went gentlemen, barons, earls, Knights of the Garter, all
richly dressed and bareheaded; next came the Chancellor, bearing the
seals in a red silk purse, between two, one of whom carried the
Royal sceptre, the other the sword of state, in a red scabbard,
studded with golden FLEURS DE LIS, the point upwards: next came the
Queen, in the sixty-fifth year of her age, as we were told, very
majestic; her face oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her eyes small, yet
black and pleasant; her nose a little hooked; her lips narrow, and
her teeth black (a defect the English seem subject to, from their
too great use of sugar); she had in her ears two pearls, with very
rich drops; she wore false hair, and that red; upon her head she had
a small crown, reported to be made of some of the gold of the
celebrated Lunebourg table; her bosom was uncovered, as all the
English ladies have it till they marry; and she had on a necklace of
exceeding fine jewels; her hands were small, her fingers long, and
her stature neither tall nor low; her air was stately, her manner of
speaking mild and obliging. That day she was dressed in white silk,
bordered with pearls of the size of beans, and over it a mantle of
black silk, shot with silver threads; her train was very long, the
end of it borne by a marchioness; instead of a chain, she had an
oblong collar of gold and jewels. As she went along in all this
state and magnificence, she spoke very graciously, first to one,
then to another, whether foreign Ministers, or those who attended
for different reasons, in English, French, and Italian; for, besides
being well skilled in Greek, Latin, and the languages I have
mentioned, she is mistress of Spanish, Scotch, and Dutch. Whoever
speaks to her, it is kneeling; now and then she raises some with her
hand. While we were there, W. Slawata, a Bohemian baron, had
letters to present to her; and she, after pulling off her glove,
gave him her right hand to kiss, sparkling with rings and jewels, a
mark of particular favour. Wherever she turned her face, as she was
going along, everybody fell down on their knees. {9} The ladies of
the court followed next to her, very handsome and well-shaped, and
for the most part dressed in white. She was guarded on each side by
the gentlemen pensioners, fifty in number, with gilt battle-axes.
In the ante-chapel, next the hall where we were, petitions were
presented to her, and she received them most graciously, which
occasioned the acclamation of "Long Live Queen Elizabeth!" She
answered it with "I thank you, my good people." In the chapel was
excellent music; as soon as it and the service were over, which
scarce exceeded half an hour, the Queen returned in the same state
and order, and prepared to go to dinner. But while she was still at
prayers, we saw her table set out with the following solemnity:-
A gentleman entered the room bearing a rod, and along with him
another who had a table-cloth which, after they had both kneeled
three times with the utmost veneration, he spread upon the table,
and, after kneeling again, they both retired.
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