'Monsieur,' I said to him, 'you will be good enough to look for another
door; for I do not think that with your skin you can hope to pass for a
lady.' 'My lord,' replied he in very bad French, 'when you ascertain who
I am, you will not, I can assure you, refuse to have the politeness of
permitting me to enter with these fair and lovely ladies, however dark I
may be. My name is Pimentello; I am well received by his Majesty, and
have frequently the honour of playing with him.' This was true, and too
true. This foreigner, of whom I had frequently heard, had won immense
sums from the King. 'How, _ventre de ma vie!_ I exclaimed, affecting
extreme anger; 'you are then, I perceive, that great glutton of a
Portuguese who daily wins the money of the King. _Pardieu_, you are by
no means welcome here, as I neither affect nor will receive such
guests.' He was about to reply, but I thrust him back, saying at the
same time, 'Go, go; find another entrance, for your jargon will fail to
make any impression upon me.' The King having subsequently inquired of
him if he had not thought the ballet magnificent and admirably executed,
Pimentello replied that he was anxious to have witnessed it, but that
he had been encountered at the door by his finance minister, who had met
him with a negative and shut him out; an adventure which so much amused
the monarch that he not only laughed heartily himself, but made the
whole Court participators in his amusement." [378]

Banquets, running at the ring, and balls in which the Queen occasionally
condescended to join, varied the entertainments; which were, however,
suddenly terminated by the death of the Duc de Montpensier, which
occurred on the 28th of the month; and so much was the King affected by
his demise, that he forbade all the customary diversions during the
ensuing Carnival.

Nothing could exceed, save in the case of a sovereign, the splendour of
the funeral ceremonies observed after the Duke's decease. He had no
sooner expired than his body was carried into a hall richly hung with
tapestry, and surrounded by seats and benches covered with cloth of
gold, elaborately embroidered with _fleurs-de-lis,_ intended for the
accommodation of the prelates, nobles, knights, and gentlemen of the
Duke's household who were appointed to watch beside the corpse. The body
lay upon a state bed covered with cloth of gold which swept the floor,
and was bordered with ermine. He wore his ducal robes, with a coronet