seventeen carts, and one waggon conveyed the whole: one cart sufficed for all his kitchen utensils, cooks' beds, &c. There were in the establishment eleven priests, besides seventeen persons, chanters, musicians, &c. belonging to the chapel. No mention is made of plate, but only of the hiring of pewter vessels. Wine was allowed in abundance for the lord's table, but the beer for the hall was poor indeed, only a quarter of malt being allowed for two hogsheads. The servants seem all to have bought their own clothes from their wages. Every thing in the household was done by order, with the pomp of proclamation; and laughable as it may now seem, an order was issued for the right making of mustard, beginning" it seemeth good to us and our council."

Our ancestors rigidly abstained from eating meat during Lent. This fast was first appointed in this country, in the year 641, by Ercombert, king of Kent. Succeeding generations marked the distinctions between the various foods. We find flesh to have been subsequently prohibited during Lent, though Henry VIII. published a proclamation in 1543, allowing the use of white meats, which continued in force until, by proclamations of James I. in 1619 and 1625, and by Charles I. in 1627 and 1631, flesh was again wholly forbidden.

The luxurious habits of Henry VIII. and his court will be recollected by every reader of English history. The sovereign, however, was

eclipsed by his favourite minister, Cardinal Wolsey, whose establishments were of the most splendid description. At Hampton Court Palace, he lived in great splendour, and upon his entertaining some French ambassadors there in 1527, his gentleman-usher, Cavendish, tells us of "expert cooks, and cunning persons in the art of cookery; the cooks wrought both day and night with subtleties and many crafty devices, where lacked neither gold, silver, nor other costly things meet for their purpose:" another memorandum furnishes some idea of the excesses at this festival, for the whole party are said to have drunk deeply, and some of the guests were led off to bed, and in the chambers of all was placed abundance of wine and beer.

Among the regulations of the king's household were that "his highness's baker shall not put alum in the bread, or mix rye, oaten, or bean flour with the same, and if detected, he shall be put into the stocks: master-cooks shall not employ such scullions as lie all night upon the ground before the kitchen fire: dinners to be at ten, and suppers at four: the brewers not to put any brimstone in the ale: twenty-four loaves a day for his highness' greyhound."

Of the living in the reigns of Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, we find many curious

"They

* Philip II. of Spain, the consort of Queen Mary, gave a whimsical reason for not eating fish. are," said he, "nothing but element congealed, or a jelly of water."

records. Breakfasts became more customary; consisting of butter and eggs, or buttered eggs, but more commonly meat, and a fine beefsteak broiled, with a cup of ale, at eight or nine o'clock; and about this time, bread and butter were substituted for kitchen grosse, or dripping and bread, for breakfast. Pewter was likewise introduced for wooden platters and dishes. The nobility, gentry, and students, dined at eleven in the forenoon, and supped between five and six in the afternoon. The merchants, especially in London, seldom dined before twelve at noon, and supped at six at night; the husbandmen dined at high noon, as they called it, and supped at seven or eight. It is hard to tell, observes an historian, why, all over the world, as the age became more luxurious, the hours became later. Was it the crowd of amusements that pushed on the hours gradually? or, were people of fashion better pleased with the secrecy and silence of the night, when the vulgar industrious had gone to rest? In past ages, men had few amusements or occupations but what daylight afforded them.

Few English sovereigns were so well acquainted with their dominions as was Queen Elizabeth: she may be said to have visited every corner of her empire, and in these royal journeys or progresses," as they are called, her loyal subjects strove to outvie each other in the splendour of their receptions. Nothing could surpass the magnificence of the entertainments thus planned for the queen's gratification, either as

respects the splendour of show, or the costliness of the more substantial banquet. These occasions are too numerous to mention; and we can only notice one of the queen's visits to the palace at Greenwich, as described by a German, who travelled in England in 1598. It was Sunday, and after attending service in the chapel, the queen prepared for dinner. A gentleman entered the room bearing a rod, and with him another bearing a table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three times, he spread upon the table, and after kneeling again, they both retired: then came two others, one with the rod again, the other with a salt-seller, a plate, and bread, which, after kneeling, they also placed on the table: then came an unmarried and a married lady, bearing a tasting-knife, and having stooped three times gracefully, they rubbed the table with bread and salt. Then came the yeomen of the guard, bringing in, at each time, a course of dishes, served in plate, most of it gilt; these dishes were received by a gentleman, and placed upon the table, while the lady-taster gave to each guard a mouthful to eat of the particular dish he had brought, for fear of any poison. During the time that this guard (which consisted of the tallest and stoutest men that could be found in all England, being carefully selected for this service) were bringing dinner, twelve trumpets and two kettle-drums made the hall ring for half an hour together. After this a number of unmarried ladies appeared, who lifted the meat

from the table, and conveyed it to the queen's inner and more private chamber, where, after she had chosen for herself, the rest was sent to the ladies of the court. The queen dined and supped alone, with very few attendants.

A circumstance which occurred to the queen during dinner on Michaelmas day is believed to have given rise to the custom of eating goose at that time. During the meal, news was brought to the queen of the defeat of the Spanish Armada; when she commanded that the dish (a goose), then before her, might be served up on every 29th of September, (or Michaelmas day), to commemorate the above glorious event.

The changes in customs at meals from the reign of Elizabeth to the present time are scarcely of sufficient interest for the reader. About this reign, the dining-room was strewed with rushes, besides which there were carpets, chairs, and stools, flowers in the windows; and one yeoman was constantly waiting to receive stools, snuff the candles, light gentlemen to bed, and keep out dogs. No servant was to wait without a trencher in his hand. Dining with hats on was usual; they were only taken off when grace was said. Towards the close of the reign of Elizabeth, eleven was the dining hour; then twelve. It continued to be early till the reign of William III. or, a century afterwards; so that it was not uncommon to transact public business after dinner: thus, Queen Elizabeth dined with Sir Thomas Gresham before she proceeded to