As soon as his Majesty approached, to the sound of horns and trumpets Diana issued forth with her companions, dressed in the fashion of a classic nymph with her quiver at her side and her bow in her hand.  Her figure was draped in black and gold sprinkled with silver stars, the sleeves were of crimson satin bordered with gold, and the garment, looped up above the knee, revealed her buskins of crimson satin covered with pearls and embroidery.  Her hair was entwined with magnificent strings of rich pearls and gems of much value, and above her brow was placed a crescent of silver, surrounded by little diamonds.  Gold could never have suggested half so well as the shining silver the white light of the real crescent.  Her companions were attired in classic costumes made of taffetas of various colors, shot with gold, and their ringlets were adorned with all kinds of glittering gems....

Other nymphs carried darts of Brazil-wood tipped with black and white tassels, and carried horns and trumpets suspended by ribbons of white and black.  When the King appeared, a lion, which had long been under training, ran from the wood and lay at the feet of the Goddess, who bound him with a leash of white and black and led him to the king, accompanying her action with a poem of ten verses, which she delivered most beautifully.  Like the lion—­so ran the lines—­the city of Lyons lay at his Majesty’s feet, gentle, gracious, and obedient to his command.  This spoken, Diana and her nymphs made low bows and retired.

Note that Diana and her companions were married women, widows, and young girls, taken from the best society in Lyons, and there was no fault to be found with the way they performed their parts.  The King, the princes, and the ladies and gentlemen of the court were ravished.  Madame de Valentinois, called Diana of Poitiers,—­whom the King served and in whose name the mock chase was arranged,—­was not less content.

FREDRIKA BREMER

(1801-1865)

Fredrika Bremer was born at Tuorla Manor-house, near Abo, in Finland, on the 17th of August, 1801.  In 1804 the family removed to Stockholm, and two years later to a large estate at Arsta, some twenty miles from the capital, which was her subsequent home.  At Arsta the father of Fredrika, who had amassed a fortune in the iron industry in Finland, set up an establishment in accord with his means.  The manor-house, built two centuries before, had become in some parts dilapidated, but it was ultimately restored and improved beyond its original condition.  From its windows on one side the eye stretched over nearly five miles of meadows, fields, and villages belonging to the estate.

[Illustration:  Fredrika Bremer]