The history of Hampton Court Palace in Tudor times . lousness. No woman ever had more than she had leton de la parfaitement bonne compagnie, les manieresengageantes, et le je-ne-sgais-quoi qui plait. In the summer of this year these charming maids ofhonour had every opportunity of exercising their socialtalents. Every day was absorbed by one long round ofamusement and gaiety. In the morning the Prince andPrincess usually went on the river in barges finely carved andgilt, and hung with crimson silk curtains.^ As they wererowed along by the stout oarsmen dressed in the royal liveries,something o
The history of Hampton Court Palace in Tudor times . lousness. No woman ever had more than she had leton de la parfaitement bonne compagnie, les manieresengageantes, et le je-ne-sgais-quoi qui plait. In the summer of this year these charming maids ofhonour had every opportunity of exercising their socialtalents. Every day was absorbed by one long round ofamusement and gaiety. In the morning the Prince andPrincess usually went on the river in barges finely carved andgilt, and hung with crimson silk curtains.^ As they wererowed along by the stout oarsmen dressed in the royal liveries,something of the restraint that royalty imposes was discardedin the flow of wit and repartee, and the lively chatter of themaids of honour ; or, perhaps, they sang a glee or a ballad,while the plash of the oars was stilled for a few minutes asthey floated idly down the stream. In the middle of the day they came home, when thePrince and Princess dined in public in the Princesss apart- Pope. * Lady Cowpers Dia?y, p. 121, et seq. ; Lady Suffolks Letters^ vol. Amusements of the Court. 211 ments with the whole court, the lady-in-waiting serving attable. In the afternoon the Princess saw company, or readand wrote letters; and later on, as evening came on, usuallywalked for two or three hours in the gardens/ The rest ofthe court found occupation in strolling among the fountains,and beneath the shady lime-groves, or in loitering by thewater edge of the canals ; or they repaired to the bowling-green at the end of the terrace walk by the riverside, re-minding one of the lines in Dryden :— Hither in summer evenings you repairTo taste the fraicheur of the cooler air. Some of the gentlemen played bowls, while the rest lookedon with the ladies, or strolled along the terrace, to gaze overthe wall at the Thames flowing beneath, or sat flirting inthe shady nooks and arbours, that were judiciously disposedaround. The four pavilions, also, that stood at each cornerof the bowling-green, were adapted fo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjecthampton, bookyear1885
