The empress, with her ladies, had likewise already arrived in the church through the inner corridors, and the ceremony commenced forthwith.  The instant the princess was baptized, the event was announced to the whole town by salvos of artillery, volleys of musketry, and the discharge of rockets. {23b} At the conclusion of the ceremony, which lasted above an hour, the procession returned in the same order in which it had arrived, and the chapel was then opened to the people.  I was curious enough to enter with the rest, and, I must own, I was quite surprised at the magnificence and taste with which the building was decorated.  The walls were covered with silk and velvet hangings, ornamented with gold fringe, while rich carpets were spread underfoot.  On large tables, in the middle of the nave, were displayed the most valuable specimens of the church plate, gold and silver vases, immense dishes, plates, and goblets, artistically engraved, and ornamented with embossed or open work; while magnificent vessels of crystal, containing the most beautiful flowers, and massive candelabra, with innumerable lights, sparkled in the midst.  On a separate table, near the high altar, were all the costly vessels and furniture which had been employed at the christening; and, in one of the side chapels, the princess’s cradle, covered with white satin, and ornamented with gold lace.  In the evening, the town, or rather, the public buildings, were illuminated.  The proprietors of private houses are not required to light up; and they either avail themselves of their privilege, or at most, hang out a few lanterns—­a fact which will be readily understood, when it is known that such illuminations last for six or eight days.  The public buildings, on the contrary, are covered from top to bottom with countless lamps, which look exactly like a sea of fire.

The most original and really amusing fetes to celebrate the christening of the princess, were those given on several evenings in some of the barracks:  even the emperor himself made his appearance there for a few moments on different occasions.  They were also the only fetes I saw here which were not mixed up with religious solemnities.  The sole actors in them were the soldiers themselves, of whom the handsomest and most active had previously been selected, and exercised in the various evolutions and dances.  The most brilliant of these fetes took place in the barracks of the Rua Barbone.  A semicircular and very tasty gallery was erected in the spacious court-yard, and in the middle of the gallery were busts of the imperial couple.  This gallery was set apart for the ladies invited, who made their appearance as if dressed for the most splendid ball:  at the entrance of the court-yard they were received by the officers, and conducted to their places.  Before the gallery stood the stage, and at each side of the latter were ranged rows of seats for the less fashionable females; beyond these seats was standing-room for the men.