presents, invitations, and every body was occupied in the
collecting and packing of stores and baggage for a long journey. At
length the appointed time arrived, and the expedition set out, and,
after a journey of many days, the several parties which composed it
arrived at Nancy, the capital city of Lorraine, where the ceremony was
to be performed.

[Sidenote: King and Queen of France.]

At about the same time, the King and Queen of France, accompanied by a
great concourse of nobles and gentlemen from the French court, who
were to honor the wedding with their presence, arrived. A great many
other knights and ladies, too, from the provinces and castles of the
surrounding country, were seen coming in gay and splendid cavalcades
to the town, when the appointed day drew nigh, eager to witness the
ceremony, and to join in the magnificent festivities which they well
knew would be arranged to commemorate and honor the occasion. In a
word, the whole town became one brilliant scene of gayety, life, and
excitement.

[Sidenote: The marriage ceremony is performed.]

[Sidenote: The bride's household.]

The marriage ceremony was performed in the church, with great pomp
and parade, and in the midst of a vast concourse of people, composed
of the highest nobility of Europe, both lords and ladies, and all
dressed in the most magnificent and distinguished costumes. No
spectacle could possibly be more splendid and gay. At the close of the
ceremony, the bride was placed solemnly in charge of Lady Suffolk, who
was to be responsible for her safety and welfare until she should
arrive in England, and there be delivered into the hands of her
husband. Lady Suffolk was a cousin of Cardinal Beaufort, and she
undoubtedly received this very exalted appointment through his favor.
The appointment brought with it a great deal of patronage and
influence, for a regular and extended household was now to be
organized for the service of the new queen, and of course, among all
the lords and ladies who had come from England, there was a very eager
competition to obtain places in it. There are enumerated among those
who were appointed to posts of service or honor in attendance on the
queen, under the Marchioness of Suffolk, five barons and baronesses,
seventeen knights, sixty-five squires, and no less than one hundred
and seventy-four valets, besides many other servitors, all under pay.
Then, in addition to these, so great was the eagerness to occupy some