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But the central point of the festival was the antic hall

which the cardinal had caused to be erected in the centre of the garden

expressly for this occasion The walls of ether by irandoles attached

to each of which diffused a sea of light Silken carpets covered

the floor, and the plafond of this gigantic hall was formed by the

thousand-starred arch of heaven Here, also, niches and grottoes

were everywhere to be found; in the and noisy crowd, enjoy quiet and repose

Only one of these niches was inaccessible, as it appears, to the

company, and yet it was precisely this which excited the curiosity of

all, and which all, whispering, approached, anxious to get a peep behind

the closed thick silken curtains, before which two richly gallooned

servants of the cardinal walked back and forth with sole every one to comply with the cardinal's

wishes and not approach the mysterious drapery, but await his own tima! A few steps led up to this closed and

covered niche; these steps were streith roses, that was plainly

seen; but, to what did these steps lead, and as thus carefully

concealed?

A precious surprise, certainly, for it was the forte of the cardinal

to prepare surprises for the agreeable entertainentlemen, the cardinals and princes of the Church, crowded