Monsieur and the Madame. Beyond the ball-room, across the landing of
the staircase, was another hall, brilliantly lighted, in which were
hautboys and violins, and this hall was for the masks, who came in such
numbers that the ball-room could not have contained them all.

". . . After remaining about an hour at the ball, Mme. la Chanceliere
and the Comte de Pontchartrain conducted Mme. la Duchesse de Bourgogne
into another hall, filled with lights and mirrors, where a theater had
been erected to furnish the diversion of a comedy. Only about one
hundred people were allowed to enter the hall of comedy, and the
princes and princesses of the blood, being masked, took no rank there.
Mme. la Duchesse de Bourgogne and Madame had arm-chairs in the center
of the hall. The Duchesse de Bourgogne was surprised to see a splendid
theater, adorned with her arms and monogram. . . . As soon as the
princess was seated, Bari, the famous mountebank of Paris, came forward
and asked her protection against the doctors, and having extolled the
excellence of his remedies, and the marvels of his secrets, he offered
to the princess as a little diversion a comedy such as they sometimes
played at Paris. There was given then a little comedy which Mme. le
Chanceliere had got M. Dancourt to write expressly for that fete. All
the actors were from the company of the comedians of the king. They
played to perfection, and received much praise. . . . At the end of
the comedy, Mme. la Duchesse de Bourgogne was conducted into another
hall, where a superb collation had been prepared in an ingenious
manner. At one end of the hall, in a half-circle, were five booths, in
which were merchants, clad in the costumes of different countries; a
French pastry-cook, a seller of oranges and lemons, an Italian
lemonade-seller, a seller of sweetmeats, a vendor of coffee, tea and
chocolate. They were from the king's musicians, and sung their wares,
accompanied by music, at the sides of the booths, and had pages to
serve the guests. The booths were splendidly painted and gilded,
adorned with lusters and flowers, and bore the arms and cipher of Mme.
la Duchesse de Bourgogne. At the back of each booth a large mirror
reflected the whole. . . . The Duchesse de Bourgogne left this hall,
after the collation, delighted with all that she had seen and heard.
Since the ball-room was so crowded with masks, the princess returned to
the hall of comedy, where they held a smalle