s the illness of the Prince of Wales, whose death a
week later shed a gloom over the whole of England,(182) and caused the
marriage of his sister, by whom he was especially beloved, to be postponed
for a time.(183) The ceremony eventually took place on the 14th February,
1613, amid great pomp and splendour, and in the following April the
youthful bride and bridegroom left England for Holland.

(M73)

It was currently reported that many Papists and Recusants had taken the
opportunity afforded by the recent court festivities to secrete themselves
in London, and Swinnerton, who had already displayed considerable activity
in searching for them as soon as he became lord mayor,(184) was urged to
redouble his efforts in that direction by a letter from the Archbishop of
Canterbury a few days before the marriage of the princess took place.(185)

(M74)

The close of the year witnessed a marriage of a very different character,
viz., the union of the king's favourite, Carr, Earl of Somerset, with
Frances Howard, the divorced wife of the Earl of Essex. Murderess and
adulteress as she was, she was received at court with every honour; but
when the king proposed to sup one night in the city, and to bring his
whole court with him (including, of course, the newly-married couple), the
lord mayor, Sir Thomas Middleton, demurred, excusing himself on the ground
that his house was too small.(186) This excuse was of no avail, and the
supper took place in Merchant Taylors' Hall, the earl and countess being
specially invited as well as the entire court. The supper was followed by
a masque devised for the occasion by a namesake of the mayor, Thomas
Middleton, the dramatic poet.(187) The entertainment cost the City nearly
L700,(188) besides the sum of L50 which the Court of Aldermen directed to
be laid out in a present of plate to Somerset.(189) In acknowledgment of
the gift the earl presented the mayor and sheriffs with pairs of handsome
gloves.(190)

(M75)

Financial difficulties, which a fresh issue of "privy seals" to the
aldermen for loans of L200 apiece had done little to alleviate,(191) and
which had been aggravated by recent court festivities, at length drove
James to run the risk of summoning another parliament. He had learnt from
the wire-pullers of the day--or "undertakers" as they were then called--that
he could depend upon a majority being returned which would be willing to
grant supplies in return for certain concessions. In t