ng it on both sides. Back of the throne was a long blue
velvet curtain hanging from the canopy.

Everything was ready and every one in his place. A deep silence reigned
throughout. There was a blast of trumpets; every one stood up, and the
King came down the same little staircase we had. He looked very
majestic in his splendid robes of ermine, over which hung the blue
Order of the Seraphim, the highest order in Sweden, and of course all
his other decorations. The crown he wears is magnificent, made of
costly jewels, and, I should think, very heavy, causing the King to
hold his head very straight and steady. He looked up at the _loge_ of
the diplomats, made a slight inclination of the head, then mounted the
few steps of the throne and sat in his silver chair.

The Crown Prince came next, followed by Prince Carl and Prince Eugen.
The three are as tall as the King. They wore blue velvet mantles
trimmed with ermine, their uniforms showing underneath, and as if they
had been handed down, but not let down, from former and shorter
Princes.

They wore crowns which seemed difficult to balance on their heads.

The King took the Proclamation from the hands of his _Rigskanzler_ and,
standing up, read it in a loud and clear voice. He did not use his
eye-glasses, because the letters were made so large that he could read
without them. It was a fine and thrilling moment.

The Rigsdag being opened, the King left as he had come.

STOCKHOLM, _1892_.

Dear L.,--Prince Chira, one of the sons of the King of Siam, came to
see us to-day. He has just returned from St. Petersburg. We were very
glad to see him again. We knew him so well in Copenhagen, where he has
been living for some years. He has been in the Danish army, and,
although only nineteen years old, has passed the most difficult
examinations, and is now an officer. He talks English, French, and
Danish with equal facility. When at Aalholm he entered into all our
games and charades with enthusiasm.

He did not mind at all being dressed up as a Sambo, and favored
particularly a yellow wig. He has very yellowish skin, almond eyes, and
beautiful white teeth. He came to see us straight from the castle,
where he had been to see the King. He was very enthusiastic about his
Majesty (who is not?). He told us how the King had taken the grand
cordon of the Seraphim Order off his own shoulders and hung it on his.
The King being a giant, and Prince Chira about the size of a boy of
ten,