soon lost all those dismal and gloomy ideas we had contracted in
approaching it. Indeed, the still silence maintained among the
guards and attendants resembled rather the stately pomp of
eastern courts; but there was on every face such symptoms of
content and happiness that diffused an air of cheerfulness all
round. We ascended the staircase and passed through many noble
apartments whose walls were adorned with various battle-pieces in
tapistry, and which we spent some time in observing. These
brought to my mind those beautiful ones I had in my lifetime seen
at Blenheim, nor could I prevent my curiosity from inquiring
where the Duke of Marlborough's victories were placed (for I
think they were almost the only battles of any eminence I had
read of which I did not meet with); when the skeleton of a
beef-eater, shaking his head, told me a certain gentleman, one
Lewis XIV, who had great interest with his most mortal majesty,
had prevented any such from being hung up there. "Besides," says
he, "his majesty hath no great respect for that duke, for he
never sent him a subject he could keep from him, nor did he ever
get a single subject by his means but he lost 1000 others for
him." We found the presence-chamber at our entrance very full,
and a buzz ran through it, as in all assemblies, before the
principal figure enters; for his majesty was not yet come out.
At the bottom of the room were two persons in close conference,
one with a square black cap on his head, and the other with a
robe embroidered with flames of fire. These, I was informed,
were a judge long since dead, and an inquisitor-general. I
overheard them disputing with great eagerness whether the one had
hanged or the other burned the most. While I was listening to
this dispute, which seemed to be in no likelihood of a speedy
decision, the emperor entered the room and placed himself between