day, they entered the field, the bastard sitting on a bay courser, being somewhat dim of sight, and the Lord Scales had a grey courser, on whose schaffron was a long and sharp pike of steel. When these two valiant persons coped together at the tournay, the Lord Scales' horse, by chance or custom, thrust his spike into the nostrils of the horse of the bastard, so that, for very pain, he mounted so high, that he fell on one side with his master; and the Lord Scales rode round about him, with his sword shaking in his hand, till the king commanded the marshal to help up the bastard, which openly said, "I cannot hold by the clouds, but though my horse failed me, surely I will not fail my counter-companions:" and, when he was remounted, he made a countenance to assail his adversary. But the king, either favouring his brother's honour then gotten, or mistrusting the shame which might come to the bastard if he were again foiled, caused the heralds to cry a lostel, and every one to depart. The morrow after, the two noblemen came into the field a-foot, with two pole-axes, and there fought valiantly, like two courageous

champions; but, at the last, the point of the axe of the Lord Scales happened to enter into the sight of the helm of the bastard, and, by pure force, he might have plucked him on his knees; when the king suddenly cast down his warder, and then the marshals them severed. The bastard, not content with this chance, very desirous to be avenged, trusting on his cunning at the pole-axe, (the which feat he had greatly exercised, and therein had a great experiment,) required the king (of justice) that he might perform his enterprise; the Lord Scales not refused it. The king said he would ask counsel, and so called to him the constable and marshal, with the officers of arms. After long consultation had, and laws of arms rehearsed, it was declared to the bastard, for a sentence definitive, by the Duke of Clarence, then constable of England, and the Duke of Norfolk, earl marshal, that if he would prosecute farther this attempted challenge, he must, by the law of arms, be delivered to his adversary in the same case and like condition as he was when he was taken from him; that is to say, the

point of the Lord Scales' axe to be fixed in the sight of his helm, as deep as it was when they were severed. The bastard, hearing this judgment, doubted much the sequel, if he should so proceed again. Wherefore, he was content to relinquish his challenge."-Hall Chron. p. 268.

The death of Queen Elizabeth seems to have wrought a great change in the character of the English court. James had no tincture of the romantic in his disposition. He is even said never to have looked at a drawn sword without an emotion of terror; and could not, consequently, have derived any pleasure from shews or amusements which reflected the image of war, or terminated, as the joust sometimes did, in the effusion of blood. The recreations of the royal circle, therefore, changed their aspect; and, in lieu of the dangerous sports of the tilt-yard, the more harmless entertainments of plays, masques, and dances, amused the vacant hours of the timid king and his obsequious courtiers.* A

We must observe, however, that, in the earlier.

very interesting document is still extant, which may be regarded as a register of the English popular amusements, for more than

part of his life, James regarded the dangerous sports of the tilt-yard with less dismay than in his later days, and recommended them to his son Henry, as amusements befitting those of high birth. In his Basilikon Doron, he speaks thus to the prince: "From this court I debar all rough and violent exercise, as the foot-ball, meeter for laming than making able the users thereof; as, likewise, such tumbling tricks as only serve for comedians and balladines to win their bread with. But the exercises that I would have you to use, (although but moderately, not making a craft of them,) are running, leaping, wrestling, fencing, dancing, and playing at the caitche, or tennise, archery, palle maillè; and, specially use such games on horseback, as may teach you to handle your arms thereon; such as the tilt, the ring, and lowe-riding for handling of your sword." -P. 121. The young prince was "nothing loth" to follow his father's directions, with respect to the tiltyard, and became enthusiastically fond of its amusements. The same taste was indulged, also, by many individuals of the court, though not sanctioned by the royal example: and, from Peacham's "Complete Gentleman we find that, for some time afterwards,

sidered " as a generous

refore, fitting to make.

"though," says the.

+

half a century, The Account Book of Sir Henry Herbert, knight, master of the revels," an office which had existed ever since the reign of Henry VIII. No public sport could be legally performed unless sanctioned by a license from this officer, who received a regular fee for every such permission. A tolerably correct view, therefore, may be be obtained, from the document, of the nature of those amusements which best suited the taste of our ancestors, after the splendid and martial shews of Elizabeth's time had passed away, with their "lion-hearted" patroness. The larger proportion of these licenses has a reference to dramatic entertainments; which, from the commencement of the seventeenth century, had vindicated that claim to publie attention, which, in the scale of popular

author, "it be but hazardous and full of danger; for many hereby (even in sport) have lost their lives; that I may omit Henry the French King, with many other princes and noble personages, of whom history is full."-P. 256, edit. 1661.

* It is in possession of Rev.

Ingram, Shropshire, who obligingly indulged us with a loan of it, a

few years since.