I think those sixteen young people showed much self-denial to be willing to forego the early pleasures of the ball, as they had to do, and give up the time when others were dancing to being dressed, wigged, powdered, and painted.  I had to put four rooms at their disposal, two for the ladies with their maids, one for the gentlemen and their valets, and one for their refreshments and supper.

The shepherds and shepherdesses looked and danced their quadrille charmingly.  The music for this was the mazurka from “Romeo and Juliet.”  When the incroyables came in there was a murmur of admiration.  They were beautifully dressed.  They wore black satin costumes, and the ladies had white ruffs round their necks.  The gentlemen wore high collars and lace jabots.  Each had a long stick in his hand and a monocle in his eye.  The shepherds stood back while the incroyables danced their quadrille.  The music of this was the “Gavotte Louis XIII.”  As I had chosen the eight prettiest girls in Stockholm, the effect was perfectly enchanting.  After the second quadrille they joined forces and danced a ronde to the music of “Le Galop Infernal” of “Orphee aux Enfers” (Offenbach).  It was a great success, and the King desired them to dance it over again.

The King thought it must have been a tremendous undertaking, but I told him that it was no trouble to me, as the ballet-master from the theater had taught them.

These young people stayed in their pretty costumes for the cotillon, which commenced directly after their dance.

In Sweden people are not blase as to cotillon favors.  They are not accustomed to receive anything more elaborate than flowers and little bows, so I think they all went home happy with their gifts.

There is such a queer custom here.  During the cotillon, at the same time with the ices, beer is served, and something they call mandel-melck (milk mixed with almond essence).  The young ladies also have to be sustained every little while by huge glasses of the blackest of porter.

The royal guests left at two o’clock; then we had a sit-down supper for those remaining.  At five o’clock I found myself in my bed, tired out but happy that everything had gone off so well.

The next day the Crown Prince of Sweden had arranged a tobogganing party at Dyrsholm.  We were a very gay company of twenty-four, meeting at the station to take the little local train to Dyrsholm, and arriving about twelve o’clock.

Here we found an excellent luncheon which his Royal Highness had ordered, and which was, oh, so acceptable to us hungry mortals!  On excursions of this kind in this cold latitude one is obliged to be very careful not to eat and especially not to drink too much, as there is always danger of congestion.

It was a glorious day, the sun shining brilliantly in a clear sky, but bitterly cold.  The thermometer, I was told, was eighteen below zero; I would have said thirty.  We ladies were muffled up to our ears in fur, our feet buried in pomposhes, which are long, india-rubber boots lined with fur, and when we stood in the snow we had great shoes lined with straw.