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 of display, so that this fête may well be compared with the Field of the Cloth of Gold of the time of Henry VIII of England. Although several hundred thousand guests were present, the provisions prepared for the occasion were on so generous a scale, that, after all had eaten and drunk to their heart’s content, three times as much as had been used still remained.

The bride was attired in a purple robe embroidered in Arabic gold; and it was said, in those days, that the precious stones ornamenting her head-dress were more costly than the crown of the King of England. It is needless to add that the guests for days were regaled with the richest viands and the choicest wines, and, seeing one display after another of the wealth of Bohemia, were dazzled, and returned home to their respective countries with their minds full of the glory of the King of Bohemia.

All the glory that Ottokar enjoyed grew dim at the thought that at his death the dynasty of the Premysls must cease; for his wife Margaret, now fifty-five years of age, had borne him no children. It seems that he had lived in peace with her; but as far as conjugal fidelity is concerned, his character was not above reproach. The object of his illicit love was Agnes, one of Margaret’s maids of honor, by whom he had three children—a son and two daughters. As Agnes was of a noble family, Ottokar tried to obtain a dispensation from the Pope, whereby the children could enjoy all the privileges of legitimacy. The Pope granted the request, but added a proviso that destroyed the very thing that Ottokar had hoped to gain—no illegitimate child was ever to inherit the crown of Bohemia. Failing in this, Ottokar’s last re-