62 OLD AND NEW EDINBURGH.
vestments, bearing the arm-bone of the saint ; then
they passed the Cross, the fountain of which flowed
with wine, ? whereof all might drink,? says Leland.
Personages representing the angel Gabriel, the
Virgin, Justice treading Nero under foot, Force
bearing a pillar, Temperance holding a horse?s
bit, and Prudence triumphing over Sardanapalus,
met them at the Nether Bow; and from there,
preceded by music, they proceeded to Holyrood,
where a glittering crowd of ecclesiastics, abbots,
and friars, headed by the Archbishop of St. Andrews,
conveyed them to the high altar, and after
Te Deum was sung, they passed through the
cloisters into the new palace. Fresh ceremonies
took place in a great chamber thereof, the arras
of which represented Troy, and the coloured windows
of which were filled with the arms of Scotland
and England, the Bishop of Moray acting
as master of the ceremonies, which seems to have
included much ?? kyssing ? all round.
On the 8th of August the marriage took place,
and all the courtiers wore their richest apparel,
James sat in a chair of crimson velvet, ?the pannels
of that sam gylte under hys cloth of estat, of blue
velvet figured with gold.? On his right hand was
the Archbishop of York, on his left the Earl of
Surrey, while the Scottish prelates and nobles led
in the girl-queen, crowned ?with a vary nche
crowne of gold, garnished with perles,? to the high
altar, where, amid the blare of trumpets, the Archbishop
of Glasgow solemnised the marriage. The
banquet followed in a chamber hung with red and
blue, where the royal pair sat under a canopy of
cloth of gold ; and Margaret was served at the first
course with a slice from ? a wyld borres hed gylt,
within a fayr platter.? Lord Grey held the ewer
and Lord Huntly the towel.
The then famous minstrels of Aberdeen came
to Holyrood to sing on this occasion, and were
all provided with silver badges, on which the arms
of the granite city were engraved.
Masques and tournaments followed. James,
skilled in all the warlike exercises of the time,
appeared often in the lists as the savage knight,
attended by followers dressed as Pans and satyrs.
The festivities which accompanied this mamage
indicate an advancement in refinement and splehdour,
chiefly due to the princely nature kindness,
and munificence of James IV.
?? The King of Scotland,? wrote the Spanish ambassador
Don Pedro de Ayala, ?is of middle
height ; his features are handsome ; he never cuts
his hair or beard, and it becomes him well. He
expressed himself gracefully in Latin, French, German,
Flemish, Italian, and Spanish. His pronunciation
of Spanish was clearer than that of other
foreigners. In addition to his own, he speaks
the language of the savages (or Celts) who live
among the distant mountains and islands. The
books which King James reads most are the Bible
and those of devotion and prayer. He also studies.
old Latin and French chronicles. . . . , . .
He never ate meat on Wednesday, Friday, or
Saturday. He would not for any consideration
mount horseback on Sunday, not even to go to
mass, Before transacting any business he heard twa
masses. In the smallest matters, and even when
indulging in a joke, he always spoke the truth. . . . . The Scots,? continues De Ayala, ?are
often considered in Spain to be handsomer, than the
English. The women of quality were free in their
manners and courteous to strangers The Scottish
ladies reign absolute mistresses in their own. houses,
and the men in all domestic matters yield a.
chivalrous obedience to them. The people live
well, having plenty of beef, mutton, fowl, and fish.
The humbler classes-the women especially-are of
a very religious turn of mind. Altogether, I found,
the Scots to be a very agreeable and, I must add,,
an amiable people.?
Such, says the author of the ?? Tudor Dynasty,??
was the Scotland of the sixteenth century, a period
described by modem writers as one of barbarism,
ignorance, and superstition ; but thus it was the
Spanish ambassador painted the king and his,
Scots of the days of Flodden.
? In the year 1507,? says Hawthornden, ?James,
Prince of Scotland and the Isles, was born at
Holyrood House the 21st of January,? and the
queen being brought nigh unto death, ?the king,
overcome by affection and religious vows,? went
on a pilgrimage to St. Ninian?s in Galloway, and
(? at his return findeth the queen recovered.?
In 1517 we read of a brawl in Holyrood, when
James Wardlaw, for striking Robert Roger to the
effusion of blood within ?? my Lord Governor?s chalmer
and palace of pece,? was conveyed to the
Tron, had his hand stricken through, and was.
banished for life, under pain of death.
The governor was the Regent Albany, who took
office after Flodden, and during his residence at
Holyrood he seems to have proceeded immediately
with the works at the palace which the fatal battle
had interrupted, and which James IV. had continued
till his death. The accounts of the treasurer
show that building was in progress then, throughout
the years 1515 and 1516 ; and after Albany
quitted the kingdom for the last time, James V.
came to Holyrood, where he was crowned in 1524,
and remained there, as Pitscottie tells, for ?the
