the hour of two
A high grand throne made out of evergreens and wild flowers was erected in the central park of Kenilworth , rimmed in by lofty elms , oaks and sycamores . There , through the fleeting days and nights , the Queen and her royal suite of a thousand purpled cavaliers and bejeweled maids of honor , held court and viewed the ever-changing , living panorama evolved for their entertainment . The Queen looked like a wilderness of lace and variegated velvet , irrigated with a shower of diamonds . On the 9th of July Queen `` Bess '' and her illuminated suite entered the Castle of Kenilworth , and the hands of the clock in the great tower pointed to the hour of two , where they remained until her departure , as invitation to a continual banquet . The Earl expended a thousand pounds a day for the fluid and food entertainment of his guests , while woodland bowers and innumerable tents were scattered through the royal domain generously donated to man and maid by night and day . We boys and girls seldom went to bed . Companies of circus performers , and theatrical artists , from London and other towns were brought down to the heart of Old Albion to swell the pleasure of the reigning Queen .