The mayor
was followed by a company of the town guard, with partisans over the
shoulders. Then came the sheriff of the county and his attendants.
Next followed the twenty-six alms-knights (for such was their number),
walking two and two, and wearing red mantles, with a scutcheon of
Saint George on the shoulder, but without the garter surrounding it.
Then came the thirteen petty canons, in murrey-coloured gowns, with
the arms of Saint George wrought in a roundel on the shoulder; then the
twelve canons, similarly attired; and lastly the dean of the college, in
his cope.
A slight pause ensued, and the chief officers of the Garter made their
appearance. First walked the Black Rod, clothed in a russet-coloured
mantle, faced with alternate panes of blue and red, emblazoned with
flower-de-luces of gold and crowned lions. He carried a small black rod,
the ensign of his office, surmounted with the lion of England in silver.
After the Black Rod came the Garter, habited in a gown of crimson
satin, paned and emblazoned like that of the officer who preceded him,
hearing a white crown with a sceptre upon it, and having a gilt crown in
lieu of a cap upon his head. The Garter was followed by the register, a
grave personage, in a black gown, with a surplice over it, covered by a
mantelet of furs.
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