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1587

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And after them came sir Edward Howard then admerall, and with him sir Thomas Parre, in dub|lets of crimsin veluet, voided low on the backe, and before to the chanell bone, lased on the breasts with chaines of siluer, and ouer that short cloakes of crimsin sattin, and on their heads hats after dan|sers fashion, with feasants feathers in them: they were apareled after the fashion of Prusia or Spruce. The torchbearers were apparelled in crimsin sattin and gréene, like Moreskoes, their faces blacke: and the king brought in a mummerie. After that the quéene, the lords, & ladies (such as would) had plaied, the said mummers departed, and put off the same ap|parell, and soone after entered into the chamber in their vsuall apparell. And so the king made great cheere to the quéene, ladies and ambassadours. The supper or banket ended, and the tables voided, the king in communication with the ambassadours, the queene with the ladies tooke their places in their degrées.

Then began the dansing, and euerie man tooke much heed to them that dansed. The king perceiuing that, withdrew himselfe suddenlie out of the place, with certeine other persons appointed for that pur|pose. And within a little while after there came in a drum and a fife apparelled in white damaske & gréene bonnets, and hosen of the same sute.A maske wherein the king was an actor. Then certeine gentlemen followed with torches, apparelled in blue damaske, purfelled with amis greie, fashioned like an albe, and hoods on their heads, with robes and long tippets to the same of blue damaske, in visards. Then after them came a certeine number of gentle|men, whereof the king was one, apparelled all in one sute of short garments, little beneath the points, of blue veluet and crimsin, with long sléeues, all cut and lined with cloth of gold. And the vtter part of the garments were powdered with castels and sheafes of arrowes of fine ducket gold; the vpper parts of their hosen of like sute and fashion, the nether parts were of skarlet, powdered with timbrels of fine gold, on their heads bonnets of damaske, with siluer flat wouen in the stole, & therevpon wrought with gold, and rich fethers in them, all with visors.

After them entered six ladies, whereof two were apparelled in crimsin sattin and purple,Certeine la|dies richlie attired and a [...]|ter a strange fashion. embrodered with gold, and by viniets ran floure delices of gold, with maruellous rich & strange tiers on their heads. Then two ladies in crimsin and purple, made like long slops embrodered and fret with gold after an|tike fashion: and ouer that garment was a short garment of cloth of gold scant to the knee, fashioned like a tabard all ouer, with small double rolles, all of flat gold of damaske, fret with frised gold, and on their heads skarfs and wrappers of damaske gold, with flat pipes, that strange it was to behold. The other two ladies were in kirtels of crimsin & purple sattin, embrodered with a viniet of pomegranats of gold, all the garments cut compasse wise, hauing but demie sléeues, naked downe from the elbowes, and ouer their garments were vochets of pleasants, rolled with crimsin veluet, and set with letters of gold like characts, their heads rolled in pleasants and tipets like the Aegyptians, embrodered with gold. Their faces, necks, armes, and hands, couered in fine pleasants blacke: some call it Lumbardines, which is maruellous thin; so that the same ladies see|med to be Nigers or blacke Mores. Of these foresaid six ladies, the ladie Marie, sister vnto the king was one, the other I name not.The ladie Marie sister to the king. After that the kings grace and the ladies had dansed a certeine time, they depar|ted euerie one to his lodging.

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