their
chariot on seats so constructed that none of the four took precedence of
the others. The inns, in days when questions of precedence received much
attention, were very particular in asserting their equality, whenever
two or more of them acted in co-operation. To mark this equality, the
masque written by Beaumont and Fletcher in 1612 was described "The
Masque of the Inner Temple and Grayes Inn; Grayes Inn and the Inner
Temple:" and the dedication of the piece to Francis Bacon, reversing
this transposition, mentions "the allied houses of Grayes Inn and the
Inner Temple, and the Inner Temple and Grayes Inn," these changes being
made to point the equal rank of the two fraternities.

Through the illuminated streets this pageant marched to the sound of
trumpets and drums, cymbals and fifes, amidst the deafening acclamations
of the delighted town; and when the lawyers reached Whitehall, the king
and queen were so delighted with the spectacle, that the procession was
ordered to make the circuit of the tilt-yard for the gratification of
their Majesties, who would fain see the sight once again from the
windows of their palace. Is there need to speak of the manner in which
the masque was acted, of the music and dances, of the properties and
scenes, of the stately banquet after the play and the grand ball which
began at a still later hour, of the king's urbanity and the graciousness
of Henrietta, who "did the honor to some of the masquers to dance with
them herself, and to judge them as good dancers as she ever saw!"

Notwithstanding a few untoward broils and accidents, the entertainment
passed off so satisfactorily that 'The Triumph of Peace' was acted for a
second time in the presence of the king and queen, in the Merchant
Taylors' Hall. Other diversions of the same kind followed with scarcely
less _eclat_. At Whitehall the king himself and some of the choicest
nobles of the land turned actors, and performed a grand masque, on which
occasion the Templars were present as spectators in seats of honor.

During the Shrovetide rejoicings of 1635, Henrietta even condescended to
witness the performance of Davenant's 'Triumphs of the Prince d'Amour,'
in the hall of the Middle Temple. Laying aside the garb of royalty, she
went to the Temple, attended by a party of lords and ladies, and fine
gentlemen who, like herself, assumed for the evening dresses suitable to
persons of private station. The Marquis of Hamilton, the Countess of
D