nfess my sins
to him, but just now I don't happen to have any to confess.

Tea was passed about while we were waiting to enter the ballroom. In
the _Weissesaal_ the _Corps Diplomatique_ has a raised platform
reserved for it on the right of the throne where we ladies, beginning
with the ambassadress, stand, following precedence. On the other side
are all the princesses of the German nobility. I was shown to my place
on the platform.

When the two thousand people collected in this room raised their
voices a little more than was seemly, the master of ceremonies pounded
his stick on the floor--_there was to be no loud talking_--silence
reigned a moment, and then the unruly guests burst out again, and were
again reduced to silence by another and more ominous thump. The
orchestra began the march of "Tannhaueser." This was the signal for
the entrance of the sovereigns. No one dared to breathe. People
straightened themselves up, the ladies stepped down from their
platform. From the middle arcades the young pages--twenty-four in
number--entered in pairs. Then came the Oberhof Marshal alone,
followed by the four greatest personages in Berlin, the Duke Trachenberg,
Prince Fuerstenberg, Prince Hohenlohe, and Prince Solms-Baruth. After
them came the Emperor with the Empress on his arm. Every one bowed.
They were followed by the five sons of the Emperor--the Crown Prince,
Prince Adalbert, Prince Eitel Fritz, Prince August Wilhelm, and Prince
Joachim; then all the princes and princesses of the house of Prussia.

[Illustration: THE THRONE-ROOM OF THE ROYAL PALACE, BERLIN]

It was a very imposing sight as they all marched in. When the Emperor
and the Empress reached the throne they made a stately bow to each
other and separated, the Empress turning to the _doyenne_ (the first
ambassadress) and the Emperor crossing to the Ambassadors. Each _chef
de mission_ stood in front of his secretaries and presented them.

My place was between the wives of the Swedish and the Brazilian
Ministers. My neighbor was very unhappy because she was not able to
use her eyeglasses. Eye-glasses are one of the things that are not
allowed, nor are such things as boas or lace wraps.

The Empress spoke to all the ladies in either German, French, or
English. She was accompanied by the _grande maitresse_, who stood
near.

Right behind the Emperor are two gentlemen who are always within
speaking distance. The first is the tallest young man to be found. He
we