Posies and mottoes—Forcing the subscriptions—Towns and their mottoes—Lottery for armour in 1585— A Royal lottery at Harefield in 1602.

We see by this bill that in order that the subscribers should be anonymous, their shares were not to be taken in their names; but, as in some competitions nowadays—notably in architecture—the competitors are only known by their mottoes, so every subscriber to this lottery was to use a devise or posie. Of the posies of this particular lottery one at least remains, and it may be found in Geffrey Whitney’s “Choice of Emblemes” (Leyden, 1586), p. 61.

“Written to the like effecte, vppon
Video, & taceo
Her Maiesties poesie, at the great Lotterie in London
begon M.D.LXVIII. and ended M.D.LXIX.

In a little black-letter book in the Loxley collection, intituled “Prises drawn in the Lottery, from the XVI to the XXVI day of February,” which is considered to relate to this lottery, are very many of these posies, with the names of the persons, etc., whose ventures they represented, the number of the lots, and the prizes they gained, which were, naturally, in most cases under the ten shillings subscribed.

The highest prize drawn during these ten days seems to have been £16 13s. 3d., and the “devise” or motto was, “Not covetous.”

The public generally evidently did not take kindly to this venture, for on September 13, 1567, the Lord Mayor found it necessary to supplement the foregoing Proclamation of the Queen, of August 23, by one of his own, guaranteeing the honesty of the scheme. “Nowe to avoyde certaine doubtes since the publication of the sayde Lotterie, secretely moved concernyng the answering thereof, wherein though the wiser sort may finde cause to satisfie themselves therin, yet to the satisfaction of the simpler sorte, the Lorde Maior of the sayd Citie, and his brethren the Aldermen of the sayd Citie, by assent of the Common Councell of the same, doe signifie and declare to all people by this proclamation that, according to the articles of hir Majesties order conteined in the sayd charte so published, every person shal be duly answered accordyng to the tenour of hir highnesse sayd proclamation.”

Still the public looked askance at it, and the subscriptions came in but slowly; so the Queen issued another proclamation on January 3, 1568, postponing the drawing, or “reading,” as it was called, giving her reasons therefor thus: “Forasmuch as in sundry parts of the realme, the principal persons that were appointed to be the treasurers for the money that should be gathered in the severall shyres of the realme, had not received their instructions and charge in such due time as was requisite, by reason that upon the first nomination of them, there were, after sundry alterations of some by reason of sicknesse, of others by reason that they were dead aboute the time of their nomination; and of some others, that afterward were so otherwise occupied in publike offices, as the said service could not be by them executed, so as of the sayd space of three moneths, there passed over a good part, to the detriment of the adventurers.”

Yet it did not go off, and, to further stimulate the prosecution of the scheme, the Earl of Leicester and Sir William Cecil, as Lords of the Council, on July 12, 1568, sent a circular “To all and every the Quene’s Ma’t’s Justices of the Peace, Treasurers, and Collectors of the Lottery, and to all Mayors, Sheriffs, Bayliefes, Constables, and to all others her highnes officers, ministers and subjects, spirituall and temporale, as well as w^tin corporations, lib’ties, and franchises, as w^tout, in the Counties of Kent, Sussex, Surry, Southehampton and the Isle of Wight,” apprising them of the appointment of a Surveyor of the Lottery, and enjoining them to do all in their power to get subscribers.

This surveyor certainly did put the screw on most unmercifully, visiting and writing to the country gentlemen, giving them “to understonde what waie is devised for a further collection, and for animating or moving the people, desiring you to put the same in practise as sone as possible you may.”

This certainly did stimulate the subscriptions, and we find by entries in their archives and by their posies that the towns all over England contributed municipally.

Winchester.—“July 30, 1568. Itm. That £3 be taken out of the Coffers of the cytie and be put into the lottrey, and so moche more money as shall make up evyn Lotts wᵗʰ those that are contrybutory of the cytie, so that it passᵈ not 10s.”

Wells.—“Oct. 15, 1568. At this Convoc’on the M’r and his brethrene w’the the condiscent of all the burgesses, hath fully agreed that ev’y occupacōn w’thin the Towne aforesayde shall make their lotts for the Lottery accordynge, as well to the Queene’s Ma’ty’s p’clamacōn as to her p’vy L’res assigned in that behalf.”

Yarmouth seems to have sent two subscriptions.

All the City Companies subscribed, and, at last, the lottery was drawn, as Holinshed tells us (1569) that “A great lotterie being holden at London in Poules Church yard, at the west dore, was begun to be drawne the eleuenth of Januarie, and continued daie and night till the sixt of Maie, wherein the said drawing was fullie ended.” Let us hope that the ports and havens benefited therefrom.

The next lottery of which we have any knowledge is mentioned by Stowe in his “Annales,” under date of 1585. “A lotterie for marvellous rich and beautifull armor was begunne to be drawne at London in S. Paules Churchyard, at the great West gate (an house of timber and boord being there erected for that purpose) on S. Peters day in the morning, which lotterie continued in drawing day and night, for the space of two or three dayes.”

In 1602 Queen Elizabeth visited Sir Thomas Egerton, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, at his mansion at Harefield, Middlesex. She had a particular liking for presents, and on the preceding New Year’s Day he had given her an amulet of gold garnished with sparks of rubies, pearls, and half-pearls, and his wife, dame Elizabeth, presented her Majesty with “a round kirtell of velvet satten, cut and embroidered all over like Esses of Venice gold, and a border embroidered like pyramids; and a doublet of silver chamlett, embroidered with pearls like leaves, flourished with silver.” He was well aware of her proclivities, for when she paid him this visit, he presented her with a divertissement called “a Lottery.” Enter—

“A Marriner with a boxe under his arme, contayning all the severall things following, supposed to come from the Carricke,⁠[5] came into the Presence, singing this Song:—

“And the Song ended, he uttered this short speech: God save you, faire Ladies all; and for my part, if ever I be brought to answere my sinnes God forgive me my sharking, and lay usury to my charge. I am a Marriner, and am now come from the sea, where I had the Fortune to light upon these few trifles. I must confesse I came but lightly by them; but I no sooner had them, but I made a vow, that as they came to my hands by Fortune, so I would not part with them but by Fortune. To that end I ever since carried these Lots about me, that, if I met with fit company, I might devide my booty among them. And now (I thanke my good Fortunes) I am lighted into the best company of the world, a company of the fairest Ladyes that ever I saw. Come, Ladyes, try your Fortunes; and if any light vpon an vnfortunate Blanke, let her thinke that Fortune doth but mock her in these trifles, and meanes to pleasure her in greater matters.”

There were thirty-three lots, of which five were blanks, and the “Marriner” had an appropriate couplet to say to all. The prizes were as follow:—1, Fortune’s Wheel (?); 2, a Purse; 3, a Maske;⁠[7] 4, a Looking Glasse; 5, a Hand-kerchiefe; 6, a Plaine Ring; 7, a Ring with this posie: “As faithfull as I finde;” 8, a Paire of Gloves; 9, a Dozen of Points;⁠[8] 10, a Lace; 11, a Paire of Knives; 12, a Girdle; 13, a Payre of Writing Tables; 14, a Payre of Garters; 15, a Coyfe⁠[9] and Crosse Cloath;⁠[10] 16, a Falling Band; 17, a Stomacher; 18, a Paire of Sizzers; 19, a Chaine; 20, a Praier Book; 21, a Snuftkin;⁠[11] 22, a Fanne; 23, a Paire of Bracelets; 24, a Bodkin; 25, a Necklace; 26, a Cushinet;⁠[12] 27, a Dyall; 28, a Nutmeg with a blanke parchment in it.⁠[13]