giments of the united armies was delayed
until after the middle of May, and the _Siegesfest_ accordingly had to
be postponed. But the delay was rather in Mr. Hahn's favor, as it
gave him ample time to perfect his arrangements, so that, when the day
arrived, the "Haute Noblesse" presented a most brilliant appearance.
Vividly colored transparencies, representing the most sanguinary
battle scenes in more or less fictitious surroundings were suspended
among the trees; Danish officers were seen in all sorts of humble
attitudes, surrendering their swords or begging for mercy, while the
Prussian and Austrian heroes, maddened with warlike fury, stormed
onward in the path of glory and victory. The gas-jet programme, with
the royal and military portraits, was carried out to perfection; and
each new wonder was hailed with immense enthusiasm by the assembled
multitude. Innumerable Chinese lanterns glimmered throughout the
garden, and from time to time red, white, and blue magnesium lights
sent up a great blaze of color among the trees, now making the budding
leaves blush crimson, now silvering them, as with hoar-frost, or
illuminating their delicate tracery with an intense blue which shone
out brilliantly against the nocturnal sky. Even the flower-beds were
made to participate in the patriotic frenzy; and cunning imitations,
in colored glass, of tulips, lilies, and roses, with little gas-jets
concealed in their chalices, were scattered among the natural flowers,
which looked like ghosts of their real selves among the splendid
counterfeits. In order to tune the audience into perfect accord with
the occasion, Mr. Hahn had also engaged three monster bands, which,
since early in the afternoon, had been booming forth martial melodies
from three different platforms draped in national banners.

The hour was now approaching when Germania was to lift up her voice to
celebrate the glorious achievements of her sons. The audience, which
consisted largely of soldiers and officers, were thronging forward to
the tribune where she was advertised to appear, and the waiters, who
had difficulty in supplying the universal demand for beer, had formed
a line from the bar to the platform, along which the foam-crowned
schooners were passing in uninterrupted succession. Fritz, who was
fond of fraternizing with the military profession, had attached
himself to a young soldier in Austrian uniform with the iron cross
upon his bosom. They were seated amicably t