The History of London Part 27

~frescoes~: paintings on a wall covered with plaster--done while the plaster is still wet or _fresh_.

~sequence~: that is, the connection of one event with another.

~properties~: the articles used in the play, scenery, dress, &c.

~realistic~: looking as though they really were the persons represented.

~tableau~: scene.

~lessee~: one who rents a theatre or holds it on a lease from the owner.

47. PLAYS AND PAGEANTS. PART II.

~Pageants~: grand shows, processions.

~censers~: vessels for burning incense.

~conduit~: a pipe or channel for leading or _conducting_ water.

~Cross of Chepe~: a memorial erected in the centre of the chepe, or market, in memory of Queen Eleanor.

~jerkins~: a kind of jacket often made of leather.

~panoply~: full armour.

~banneret~: a little banner.

~blackjacks~: leather vessels for holding liquor.

~malmsey~: a strong sweet wine.

~marshal~: draw up and arrange.

~Lord Mayor's Show~: on November 9--when the people have an opportunity of welcoming the new Lord Mayor on his entering into office.

48. PLAYS AND PAGEANTS. PART III.

~libretto~: the words of a masque or play set to music.

~scenic~: on the stage.

~Ben Jonson~ (born 1574, died 1637): a great English play writer and poet, and a friend of Shakespeare.

~Francis Bacon~, Lord Verulam (born 1561, died 1626), was Lord Chancellor and a great writer on philosophical subjects.

~Oberon~: the king of the fairies and husband of t.i.tania, as in Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's Dream.'

~save James~: that is, King James I.; a piece of courtly flattery due to Jonson's connection with the court.

~Prince Henry~, who is meant by Oberon in the masque, died in 1612, to the great regret of the people.

~Phosphorus~: Lucifer, the morning star that brings the day.

49. PLAYS AND PAGEANTS. PART IV.

~Gammer (i.e. Old Mother) Gurton's Needle~ is a very rough old play about an old woman who lost her needle while mending a pair of breeches, and, after accusing everyone of stealing it, finds it after all in the garment itself. It was written some time before 1560. ('Gammer,' the French _grand'-mere_, grandmother, contracted into 'ganmer,' and then 'gammer.')

~contortionist~: one who twists himself into extraordinary att.i.tudes to amuse the public.

~octagonal~: with eight sides.

~prologue~: the verses spoken before a play to introduce it to the audience.

~Golden Lane~: a street near the Barbican, turning out of Aldersgate Street.

~Bankside~, in Southwark, on the southern side of the Thames.

50. THE TERROR OF THE PLAGUE. PART I.

~Pretensions~: ambitious claims.

~Wars of the Roses~: a civil war lasting 1455-1485. In thinking of the loss of life occasioned by this war, it must be remembered that such loss fell most heavily on the n.o.ble families; the ma.s.s of the population was not so much disturbed by it.

~Long Acre~: a street near Drury Lane, now chiefly occupied by carriage-makers.

~delirium~: a wandering in the mind caused by fever.

51. THE TERROR OF THE PLAGUE. PART II.

~Registers~: a record of names of persons who have died. Such records are now accurately kept by the registrars of births, deaths, and marriages.

~The King~: Charles II., who, whatever his faults may have been, was at least good-natured and averse to suffering.

~Samuel Pepys~ (born 1632, died 1703) was Secretary to the Admiralty in the reigns of Charles II. and James II. His famous diary gives a graphic picture of life during these reigns.

52. THE TERROR OF FIRE. PART I.

~Coleman Street~ runs northward from Lothbury (behind the Bank of England) to Moorgate. The name goes back even to Saxon times, and probably comes from one Ceolmund, who had a farm near.

~St. Erkinwald~: an early Saxon Bishop of London, who encouraged the citizens to restore their ruined city, and himself built the Bishop's Gate (named after him). His shrine in St. Paul's was long an object of reverence.

~Paternoster Row~: always a great centre of the book trade: it was a row immediately adjoining the precincts of the Cathedral before encroachments were made. Naturally much of the booksellers' wares was religious--paternosters, aves, credos, &c.