the actors were from the company of the comedians of the king. They
played to perfection, and received much praise. . . . At the end of
the comedy, Mme. la Duchesse de Bourgogne was conducted into another
hall, where a superb collation had been prepared in an ingenious
manner. At one end of the hall, in a half-circle, were five booths, in
which were merchants, clad in the costumes of different countries; a
French pastry-cook, a seller of oranges and lemons, an Italian
lemonade-seller, a seller of sweetmeats, a vendor of coffee, tea and
chocolate. They were from the king's musicians, and sung their wares,
accompanied by music, at the sides of the booths, and had pages to
serve the guests. The booths were splendidly painted and gilded,
adorned with lusters and flowers, and bore the arms and cipher of Mme.
la Duchesse de Bourgogne. At the back of each booth a large mirror
reflected the whole. . . . The Duchesse de Bourgogne left this hall,
after the collation, delighted with all that she had seen and heard.
Since the ball-room was so crowded with masks, the princess returned to
the hall of comedy, where they held a smaller court ball until two
o'clock, when she went to the grand ball to see the masks. She was
much amused there until four in the morning. When Mme. la Chancelière
and the Comte de Pontchartrain conducted her to the foot of the
staircase, she thanked them much for the pleasure they had given her.
This fete brought many congratulations to Mme. la Chancelière."

La Palatine, Duchess of Orleans, has left among her letters a
description of her costume on a day of august ceremonies. "The crowd
was so great," she wrote, "that we had to wait a quarter of an hour at
the door of each salon before entering, and I was wearing a robe and an
overskirt so intolerably heavy that I could scarcely stand erect. My
costume was of gold woven with black chenille flowers, and my jewels
were pearls and diamonds. Monsieur had on a coat of black velour