ese chariots. And as
we drove to the Duomo in this procession, all the shops and windows on
the road were hung with satin draperies and filled with men and women,
and it was impossible to count the crowds of people who thronged every
part of the streets.

"When we reached the gates of the Duomo, we alighted from the chariots
and found Madonna Beatrice waiting to receive the bride, with a number
of noble ladies, and we proceeded as far as the steps of the tribunal,
where the ambassadors of the King of the Romans advanced to meet the
queen, whom they conducted to her place on the great tribunal in front
of the high altar. Then we all took our proper places--that is to say,
the ambassadors mounted the tribunal covered with cloth of gold, the
queen was led to the tribunal of silver brocade, between the French
ambassadors, while behind them were seated the envoys of the other
powers, the duke and my husband, Duchess Isabella and myself. The other
honourable relatives of the bride occupied a lower range of seats, and
the central part of the tribunal was filled with a large number of
ladies. On the queen's side, the councillors, feudatories, and other
courtiers, officials, and chamberlains occupied the remainder of the
seats. As for the rest of the people, the church, which is a very large
one, could not contain them all.

"When we were all in our places, the Most Reverend Archbishop of Milan
entered in full vestments, with the priests in ordinary, and began to
celebrate mass with the greatest pomp and solemnity, to the sound of
trumpets, flutes, and organ-music, together with the voices of the
chapel choir, who adapted their singing to Monsignore's time. At the
singing of the Gospel, two of the priests in ordinary of the cathedral
bore the incense, the one to the ambassadors of the King Maximilian, and
the other to the queen, the duke and duchess, and my husband and myself,
who were opposite. The Pax was given, when the right time came, by the
Bishop of Piacenza to the king's representatives, and to us others who
sat on the other tribunal by the Bishop of Como. After mass had been
celebrated with the greatest solemnity, the queen rose from her place
between the ambassadors of his Most Christian Majesty, and, accompanied
by the duke and my husband, Duchess Isabella and myself, and followed by
all the princes of the blood, advanced to the altar. The ambassadors of
King Maximilian advanced on their side, and we all stood before