anquet was over, a knight, fully armed,
and mounted on a warhorse richly caparisoned, rode into the hall,
having been previously announced by a herald. This was the king's
champion, who came, according to a custom usually observed on such
occasions, to challenge and defy the king's enemies, if any such there
were.[P]

[Footnote P: See Frontispiece.]

The trappings of the champion's horse were of white and red silk, and
the armor of the knight himself was bright and glittering. As he rode
forward into the area in front of the dais, he called out, in a loud
voice, demanding of all present if there were any one there who
disputed the claim of King Richard the Third to the crown of England.

All the people gazed earnestly at the champion while he made this
demand, but no one responded.

The champion then made proclamation again, that if any one there was
who would come forward and say that King Richard was not lawfully King
of England, he was ready there to fight him to the death, in
vindication of Richard's right. As he said this, he threw down his
gauntlet upon the floor, in token of defiance.

At this, the whole assembly, with one voice, began to shout, "Long
live King Richard!" and the immense hall was filled, for some minutes,
with thundering acclamations.

This ceremony being concluded, a company of heralds came forward
before the king, and proclaimed "a largesse," as it was called. The
ceremony of a largesse consisted in throwing money among the crowd to
be scrambled for. Three times the money was thrown out, on this
occasion, among the guests in the hall. The amount that is charged on
the royal account-book for the expense of this largesse is one hundred
pounds.

The scrambling of a crowd for money thrown thus among them, one would
say, was a very rude and boisterous amusement, but those were rude and
boisterous times. The custom holds its ground in England, in some
measure, to the present day, though now it is confined to throwing out
pence and halfpence to the rabble in the streets at an election, and
is no longer, as of yore, relied upon as a means of entertaining noble
guests at a royal dinner.

After the frolic of the largesse was over, the king and queen rose to
depart. The evening was now coming on, and a great number of torches
were brought in to illuminate the hall. By the light of these torches,
the company, after their majesties had retired, gradually withdrew,
and the ceremonies of the coronat