Monsieur and Madame, and the servants
in plain carriages, belonging to the
King. Twenty trumpeters of the King's
household led the way. The route taken
was through the Porte St. Antoine, down the
Rue St. Antoine, across the Pont Neuf,
to the Hôtel des Ambassadeurs, in the Rue
de Tournon. All the windows on the way
were filled with spectators, and the crowd of
carriages, and horsemen, and people on foot,
was so great, that the procession was at
some points delayed for half an hour at a
time. At the Hôtel des Ambassadeurs, the
illustrious visitors were entertained for
three days at the expense of the state, and
they ought then to have had their audience
of the King, but that his Majesty falling
ill of a fever, it was again put off. Being,
perhaps, slightly disgusted at this further
delay, they shut themselves up in their own
apartment, and would see no one, nor go
anywhere.

One exception they were induced to make:
they went to visit Nôtre Dame on the occasion
of the annual procession on the Day of
Assumption, where they saw so much to
interest and amuse them, that they kept
four secretaries at work in the evening,
reducing their notes to order. At length, his
Majesty being fully recovered, the first of
September was fixed for the presentation,
a ceremonial which evidently claims all our
narrator's sympathies, and of which he
does not spare his readers one single detail.
Early in the morning, came the Duc de
Feuillade, with the King's coaches, to convey
the ambassadors to Versailles. Passing
through the great court-yard, in which
were drawn up the French and Swiss guards
in full uniform, flags flying, &c., they alighted
at the Salle de Descente, where ambassadors
usually awaited their audience. Here a
déjeûner was served, which they declined, but
availed themselves of the opportunity to—
wash.

They also put on their state head-dresses,
something after the fashion of our coronets,
set round with flowers in jewels, principally
rubies, and leaves of gold. The third
ambassador, being of inferior rank, had no flowers.
The mandarins wore head-dresses of muslin
only; but with some similar mark of the
gradations of rank. It being announced that
the King was on his throne, the procession
set forth for his presence. First went M.
Giraut, an aide of M. Bonneuil, with the
domestics of the embassy; then M. Blairville,
the grand master of the ceremonies, M.
Bonneuil, and M. Storff, followed by the
mandarins. After them was borne on high,
by twelve Swiss, the autograph letter of the
King of Siam, with four parasols held over
it, to protect it from the sun-rays; and lastly
walked the Duc de Feuillade with the
ambassadors. Before each, one of their suite
carried what we should call a gold mace,
emblematical of their dignity. In this
order they moved through the court-yard,
where were stationed twenty-four trumpets
and thirty-six drums (nothing could be done
in France even then without drums), up
the grand staircase, which was lined with a
double row of the Cent Suisses, through the
Salle des Gardes, where the Garde du Corps
was under arms, to the entrance of the grand
apartment, twenty- four trumpets following,
blowing a grand fanfarade.

At the top of the staircase, the first
ambassador took the royal letter from the
bearers, and gave it to the third ambassador
to carry. On reaching the door of the
apartment, the procession was received by M.
de Luxembourg, at the head of thirty officers
of the guards; who, having first made them
a short speech, led the way to the hall of
audience. The King's silver throne had
been erected at the upper end of the great
gallery on an estrade; the steps leading
to which were covered with carpets of
cloth of gold, and, about it, were placed
the richest pieces of plate, vases, torchères,
and candlesticks which Versailles could
furnish.

The King was dressed in a gorgeous
brocaded suit blazing with jewels, so that he
would have sold as he sat there, according
to De Viré's calculation, for several millions
of livres. On his right he had the Dauphin,
the Duc de Chartres, the Duc de Bourbon,
and the Count de Toulouse; on his left,
Monsieur, M. le Duc, and the Duc de Maine.
Behind, were ranged the great officers of
state, and, what seems strange to us, those
who held reversions of charges in the house-
hold formed part of his Majesty's backing.
All were en grande tenue, but the rubies
displayed by the Duc de Maine attracted
most attention. Monsieur, who was in
mourning, wore a black suit, and this set off
admirably the diamonds with which it was
covered. There were some sixteen hundred
courtiers, ladies and gentlemen present in
the gallery; but, by the good generalship of
M. d'Aumont, the first gentleman of the
chamber, they were so packed that a lane
was left up the middle wide enough for six
persons to pass along abreast. M. d'Aumont
was considered to have distinguished
himself greatly by this day's business, and
received the royal meed of praise for his
exertions.

On the threshold of the gallery the
ambassadors caught the first sight of the King,
and immediately saluted him with three
profound reverences, raising their joined
hands on high after the fashion of their
country. The procession advanced up the
lane of courtiers, and at the end, the
mandarins and the rest of the suite filed off to
the right and left. Here, as though they
had been in presence of their own sovereign,
they fell prostrate on the ground, averting
their faces, as if not daring to regard the
splendour of the throne. "In this posture