added, as a mark of delicate attention, a little
cardinal's hat in cherry sweetmeat, ornamented with bands in burnt
sugar. The most important, however, of these Catholic delicacies, the
masterpiece of the cook, was a superb crucifix in angelica, with a crown
of candied berries. These are strange profanations, which scandalize
even the least devout. But, from the impudent juggle of the coat of
Triers, down to the shameless jest of the shrine at Argenteuil, people,
who are pious after the fashion of the princess, seem to take delight in
bringing ridicule upon the most respectable traditions.

After glancing with an air of satisfaction at these preparations for the
collation, the lady said to Mrs. Grivois, as she pointed to the gilded
arm-chair, which seemed destined for the president of the meeting: "Is
there a cushion under the table, for his Eminence to rest his feet on?
He always complains of cold."

"Yes, your highness," said Mrs. Grivois, when she had looked under the
table; "the cushion is there."

"Let also a pewter bottle be filled with boiling water, in case his
Eminence should not find the cushion enough to keep his feet warm."

"Yes, my lady."

"And put some more wood on the fire."

"But, my lady, it is already a very furnace. And if his Eminence is
always too cold, my lord the Bishop of Halfagen is always too hot. He
perspires dreadfully."

The princess shrugged her shoulders, and said to Mrs. Grivois: "Is not
his Eminence Cardinal Malipieri the superior of his Lordship the Bishop
of Halfagen?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Then, according to the rules of the hierarchy, it is for his Lordship
to suffer from the heat, rather than his Eminence from the cold.
Therefore, do as I tell you, and put more wood on the fire. Nothing is
more natural; his Eminence being an Italian, and his Lordship
coming from the north of Belgium, they are accustomed to different
temperatures."

"Just as your highness pleases," said Mrs. Grivois, as she placed two
enormous logs on the fire; "but in such a heat as there is here his
Lordship might really be suffocated."

"I also find it too warm; but does not our holy religion teach us
lessons of self-sacrifice and mortification?" said the princess, with a
touching expression of devotion.

We have now explained the cause of the rather gay attire of the
princess. She was preparing for a reception of prelates, who, along with
Father d'Aigrigny and other dignitaries of the Church,