Page:The Queens of England.djvu/578

 524 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. looked and behaved extremely well. The fancy dress of the privy councillors of white and blue satin, with trunk-hose and mantles, after the fashion of Queen Elizabeth's time. Sep- arately, so gay a garb had an odd effect on the persons of eld- erly or ill-made men ; but the whole was completely harmonized in actual coloring, as well as in association with the general mass of gay, and gorgeous, and antique dress which floated before the eye. The box assigned to the foreign ambassadors presented a most brilliant effect, and was perfectly in a blaze of diamonds. When the sunshine lighted on Prince Esterhazy, in particular, he glittered like a galaxy. I cannot particularly learn if he had on that renowned coat which has visited all the courts of Europe, save ours, and is said to be worth £100,000, or some such trifle, and which costs the prince £100 or £200 every time he puts it on, as he is sure to lose pearls to that amount. "The duties of service at the banquet, and of attendance in general, were performed by pages dressed very elegantly in Henri Quatre coats of scarlet, with gold lace, blue sashes, white silk hose and white rosettes. There were also marshals there for keeping order, who wore a similar dress, but of blue, and having white sashes. Both departments were filled up almost entirely by young gentlemen, many of them of the first condition. The foreigners were utterly astonished and de- lighted, and avowed that the spectacle had never been paral- leled in Europe. "There were a variety of entertainments provided for John Bull in the parks, the river, in the theaters, and elsewhere. Noth- ing was to be seen or heard but festivity and sounds of pleasure. It is computed that about five hundred thousand people shared in the festival, one way or another." The only person shut out from this scene of lavish magnific- ence was the queen ; — the only person who felt that she had no part in the pageantry or the joy, was the one who, equally with the king, had a right to be at the center and summit of the unrivaled national demonstration. The king had been defeated in his attempt before parliament to condemn, degrade, and divorce his unfortunate wife, but here he could take his revenge. If that was his desire, he succeeded most completely. This last blow had crushed the heart of the unfortunate Caroline — her spirits, which till this period had supported her under every trial, sunk beneath this heavy stroke of fortune. Her health declined, and she died on the 7th of August, 1821,