Page:The Wentworth Papers 1715-1739.djvu/32

 1 6 THE WENTWORTH PAPERS.

letter, and expresses her grief more strongly in this than in the first she writ me in answer to my letter of condolence."

To his sister, Mrs. Donelan, Lord Raby writes on the same subject on July 21 : —

" I could wish you here, for we have a very fine town and a great deal of magnificence, and have lately had the finest funeral of our deceased Queen that could be seen ; for with- out story we had the biggest church in the town hung with black velvet and all gold fringes and laces, besides, the roof within was all embroidered with gold and silver, and the vastest quantity of wax lights that could be seen ; the Queen of England's was nothing to it all. The outside of the King's palace, which is a large one, was hung with black cloth, and all the streets was covered with black cloth, where the procession went. The ladies were all drest in white holland with vast long trains which looked very pretty and odd. The pall and the canopy over it were the finest things that could be seen, being all cloth of brocade gold and em- broidered with the richest fringes. I can't tell you half the finery, and if I should you'd hardly believe me, so I shall leave this subject." ...

Of Marlborough's next visit to Berlin, at the end of November 1705, he writes to Stepney : — "The King was so complaisant that he would not let me have the honour of lodging him, as you had, and it was with much ado that I got Lord Sunderland and him to one dinner and one supper. All the rest of the time was invitations to the Veltmarshal's, the Grand Chamberlain's, and the last night the King treated the Duke at a little table in the Queen's apartment, and we were but seven at table ; all was indeed very well ordered ; we had a list of what wines we would call for, there was sixty-four sorts, thirty-two of ' tockay ' — all, I believe, very good, for we drank of several sorts which were so. In short, the Duke was in extreme good humour, and I believe went away well satisfied that his sword was not so long a making

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