himself took their napkins from their
plates and handed them to the royal couple; no one was to approach the
sovereigns who was not introduced by the prime minister, who was at once
master of ceremonies, field-marshal, and grand chamberlain, and received
for each of these different posts a truly royal salary. Etiquette and
the fears of the powerful favorite kept the royal pair almost prisoners.

But for to-day etiquette was to be done away with; the crowned heads
were to be gracious, so as to lend a new glory to their favorite's
house. To-day the count was fearless, for there was no danger of a
traitor being among his guests. His wife and himself had drawn up the
list of invitations. But still, as there might possibly be those among
them who hated the count, and would very gladly injure him, he had
ordered some of the best paid of his friends to watch all suspicious
characters, not to leave them alone for a moment, and not to overlook a
single word of theirs. Of course, it was understood that the count and
his wife must remain continually at the side of the king and queen, that
all who wished to speak to them must first be introduced by the host or
hostess.

The count was perfectly secure to-day, and therefore gay and happy. He
had been looking at the different arrangements for this feast, and he
saw with delight that they were such as to do honor to his house. It
was, to be a summer festival: the entire palace had been turned into
a greenhouse, that served only for an entrance to the actual scene of
festivities. This was the immense garden. In the midst of the rarest and
most beautiful groups of flowers, immense tents were raised; they were
of rich, heavy silk, and were festooned at the sides with golden cords
and tassels. Apart from these was a smaller one, which outshone them
all in magnificence. The roof of this tent rested upon eight pillars of
gold; it was composed of a dark-red velvet, over which a slight gauze,
worked with gold and silver stars, was gracefully arranged. Upon the
table below this canopy, which rested upon a rich Turkish carpet, there
was a heavy service of gold, and the most exquisite Venetian glass;
the immense pyramid in the middle of the table was a master-work of
Benevenuto Cellini, for which the count had paid in Rome one hundred
thousand thalers. There were but seven seats, for no one was to eat
at this table but the royal pair, the prince-elector and his wife, the
Prince Xavier, and the C