Volume III Part 48 (1/2)
The Elector's little bail was very pleasant We were all dressed as peasants, and the costumes were taken from a special wardrobe of the prince's It would have been ridiculous to choose any other dresses, as the Elector wore one of the sauised of us all; he looked the rustic to the life MyWe only danced quadrilles and Gerhest rank; all the others, ere more or less pretty, were favourites of the prince, all his days a great lover of the fair sex Two of these ladies danced the Forlana, and the Elector wasme dance it also I have already said that the Forlana is a Venetian dance, and one of the entleman opposite to one another, and as the two ladies relieved one another they were al to dance twelve turns, and after the thirteenth I felt I could do no ed for entleman kisses a lady
I was not too shy, and each time I continued to kiss my mistress with considerable ardour, which eneral burst with rage
In a lull between the dances, this charinal wone ladies would leave at noon on the next day, and that I would increasethem all to breakfast at Bruhl
”Send each one a note with the na for the best; you need only tell hiiven two years ago by the Prince de Deux-Ponts Lose no tiuests; mind you let them know the hour of the repast Take care, too, that your invitations are sent round by nine o'clock in the htning speed, and I, enchanted with the power ht only of obeying, without reflecting whether I owed her obedience Bruhl, breakfast, a score of people like the Prince Deux-Ponts, invitations to the ladies, Count Verita; I knew as much as she could have told me if she had taken an hour
I left the rooe to takemy attire I told my business with the importance of an ambassador, and this made hied,” said he, ”I have only to write to the steward, and I will do so immediately But how much do you want to spend?”
”As much as possible”
”As little as possible, I suppose you nificence”
”All the saot to deal with”
”Well, well! two-three hundred ducats; will that do?”
”Two hundred; the Prince de Deux-Ponts did not spend aveshould be in readiness I left hie said that I would give two ducats to the valet ould furnish ne ladies ere in Bonn, and of the gentleot what I wanted in less than half an hour, and before leaving the ball I toldto her desires
I wrote eighteen notes before I went to bed, and in thea confidential servant had delivered them before nine o'clock
At nine o'clock I went to take leave of Count Verita, who gave old snuff-box with his portrait set in diamonds I was very sensible of this hness before my departure, but ht put off doing so till I passed through Bonn on my way to Frankfort
Breakfast was ordered for one o'clock At noon I had arrived at Bruhl, a country house of the Elector's, with nothing remarkable about it save its furniture In this it is a poor copy of the Trianon In a fine hall I found a table laid for twenty-four persons, arranged with silver gilt plates, damask linen, and exquisite china, while the sideboard was adorned with an iilt plate At one end of the room were two other tables laden with sweets and the choicest wines procurable I announced myself as the host, and the cook told me I should be perfectly satisfied
”The collation,” said he, ”will be composed of only twenty-four dishes, but in addition there will be twenty-four dishes of English oysters and a splendid dessert”
I saw a great number of servants, and told him that they would not be necessary, but he said they were, as the guests' servants could not be adbeen so bold as to procure reat honour
The breakfast was served at one exactly, and I had the pleasure of enjoying the astonishment in my mistress's eyes when she saw that I had treated them as well as a prince of the empire She are that everybody knew her to be the chief object of this lavish outlay, but she was delighted to see that I did not pay her any attentions which were at all invidious The table was seated for twenty-four, and though I had only asked eighteen people every place was occupied Three couples, therefore, had co asked; but that pleased me all the more Like a courtly cavalier I would not sit down, but waited on the ladies, going froavethat all had what they wanted
By the tine had been emptied, so that when the actual breakfast coht easily have passed for a splendid dinner, and I was glad to see that not a drop of water was drunk, for the Chaa, Cyprus, Alicante, and Cape ould not allow it
Before dessert was brought on an enoruests to take Maraschino with it, and those ladies who appreciated the liqueur drank it as if it had been water The dessert was really sumptuous In it were displayed the portraits of all the monarchs of Europe Everyone compli tickled and wishi+ng to appear good-natured, said that none of it would spoil in the pocket, and accordingly everybody took as much as they chose
General Kettler, who, in spite of his jealousy and the part he saw in of the banquet, said,