floor.
Each dish was presented by the appropriate court official, by the chamberlains, members of parliament and certain magnates who approached the table in a long line. Only the gigantic roast, which had been cut from an ox roasted on the Vermezo, wasbrought up by the Chamberlain of the Table himself. At the lowest step of the dais he was handed the yard-long golden dish by the two lackeys who had carried it into the hall. It was very heavy, but somehow, given strength by his sense of duty and personal honour, he just managed the three steps, although it looked to all of us as if his legs would give way under him. Somehow, too, he managed to present the dish to the king, bowing as he did so.
The Chamberlain of the Wine filled the golden goblets.
The king toasted the nation, and everyone present responded with loud cheering.
This was the last official ceremony of the occasion, and immediately after it was over the court officials-in-waiting retired with the king and the members of parliament hurried down to the House so as to pass the necessary legislation confirming the act of enthronement and the consecration of a new monarch.
All the ladies and some of the men remained in the palace. At about half-past three Jekelfalussy and I were sent for and received in audience by the king. His Majesty thanked me most gracefully and warmly for my work. He did not seem in the least fatigued. When he dismissed us I went back to the drawing-room near the main staircase, knowing that those ladies who were to be presented would retire there after leaving the throne room and I wanted just once more to rejoice in the sight of such a pageant of beautiful women all dressed up in the panoply of jewels and trains.
A long table had been laid with a buffet meal in the drawing-room and, although I had eaten nothing for more than twelve hours, any fatigue was soon dispelled by a cup of tea and some slices of ham.
In the throne room, the Defilier Cour , as they called the ceremony of presentation, had already started. It had not previously been known in Hungary.
In order of rank, each lady to be presented enters the room. She walks to the throne where, on this occasion, only the queen is seated. The king stands behind her, and the crown prince, the little Archduke Otto, is at her feet. There, as the Lord Chamberlain has read out her name, she makes a low reverenceand then walks back to the far end of the adjacent drawing-room .
When the ceremony started there were long waits between each lady, and where I was in the drawing-room there would be five or six minutes between the arrival of one lady and another. However the royal couple were anxious to board their train for Vienna no later than six o’clock and something had to be done to speed things up if the presentation of several hundred ladies was not to go on for hours. Accordingly they started to hurry them in, the chamberlains calling out, ‘Quick! Quick! Hurry there!’ until the ladies were scrambling in, now singly, now in groups, pushing up to the throne, and elbowing each other out of the way at the doors to the drawing-room.
Everyone was exhausted, for most had been in full evening dress since early in the morning, wearing tiaras or diadems on their heads and supporting the weight not only of their trains but also of the heavy gold and silver embroidery of the dresses themselves . Many had been up most of the night waiting their turn with some fashionable hairdresser.
Tired and faltering, pale with exhaustion and tottering under the weight of their finery, they came into the drawing-room and at once sank thankfully into the few chairs and sofas that lined the walls of the apartment. The room was by no means brilliantly lit; indeed it was rather dark, as not all the chandeliers had been lit. More light came in from the windows, for the lamps in the palace courtyard cast up a helpful glow through the shadows cast by the rain that had just started to come down.
In this poor light
Each dish was presented by the appropriate court official, by the chamberlains, members of parliament and certain magnates who approached the table in a long line. Only the gigantic roast, which had been cut from an ox roasted on the Vermezo, wasbrought up by the Chamberlain of the Table himself. At the lowest step of the dais he was handed the yard-long golden dish by the two lackeys who had carried it into the hall. It was very heavy, but somehow, given strength by his sense of duty and personal honour, he just managed the three steps, although it looked to all of us as if his legs would give way under him. Somehow, too, he managed to present the dish to the king, bowing as he did so.
The Chamberlain of the Wine filled the golden goblets.
The king toasted the nation, and everyone present responded with loud cheering.
This was the last official ceremony of the occasion, and immediately after it was over the court officials-in-waiting retired with the king and the members of parliament hurried down to the House so as to pass the necessary legislation confirming the act of enthronement and the consecration of a new monarch.
All the ladies and some of the men remained in the palace. At about half-past three Jekelfalussy and I were sent for and received in audience by the king. His Majesty thanked me most gracefully and warmly for my work. He did not seem in the least fatigued. When he dismissed us I went back to the drawing-room near the main staircase, knowing that those ladies who were to be presented would retire there after leaving the throne room and I wanted just once more to rejoice in the sight of such a pageant of beautiful women all dressed up in the panoply of jewels and trains.
A long table had been laid with a buffet meal in the drawing-room and, although I had eaten nothing for more than twelve hours, any fatigue was soon dispelled by a cup of tea and some slices of ham.
In the throne room, the Defilier Cour , as they called the ceremony of presentation, had already started. It had not previously been known in Hungary.
In order of rank, each lady to be presented enters the room. She walks to the throne where, on this occasion, only the queen is seated. The king stands behind her, and the crown prince, the little Archduke Otto, is at her feet. There, as the Lord Chamberlain has read out her name, she makes a low reverenceand then walks back to the far end of the adjacent drawing-room .
When the ceremony started there were long waits between each lady, and where I was in the drawing-room there would be five or six minutes between the arrival of one lady and another. However the royal couple were anxious to board their train for Vienna no later than six o’clock and something had to be done to speed things up if the presentation of several hundred ladies was not to go on for hours. Accordingly they started to hurry them in, the chamberlains calling out, ‘Quick! Quick! Hurry there!’ until the ladies were scrambling in, now singly, now in groups, pushing up to the throne, and elbowing each other out of the way at the doors to the drawing-room.
Everyone was exhausted, for most had been in full evening dress since early in the morning, wearing tiaras or diadems on their heads and supporting the weight not only of their trains but also of the heavy gold and silver embroidery of the dresses themselves . Many had been up most of the night waiting their turn with some fashionable hairdresser.
Tired and faltering, pale with exhaustion and tottering under the weight of their finery, they came into the drawing-room and at once sank thankfully into the few chairs and sofas that lined the walls of the apartment. The room was by no means brilliantly lit; indeed it was rather dark, as not all the chandeliers had been lit. More light came in from the windows, for the lamps in the palace courtyard cast up a helpful glow through the shadows cast by the rain that had just started to come down.
In this poor light
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