Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 5.djvu/537

1555.] of gold and tissue, marched round Hampton Court Palace, headed by Philip in person; Gardiner walked at his side, while Mary gazed from a window. Not only was the child assuredly coming, but its sex was decided on, and circulars were drawn and signed both by the King and Queen, with blanks only for the month and day, announcing to ministers of State, to ambassadors, and to foreign sovereigns, the birth of a prince.

On the 30th, the happy moment was supposed to have arrived; a message was sent off to London, announcing the commencement of the pains. The bells were set ringing in all the churches; Te Deum was sung in St Paul's; priests wrote sermons; bonfires were piled ready for lighting, and tables were laid out in the streets. The news crossed the Channel to Antwerp, and had grown in the transit. The great bell of the