CHARACTERS. 



305 



dily infirmity, but from the weight 

 of the regal habiliments in which 

 he was clad ; and if what we were 

 told was true, that he carried on 

 his dress upwards of fifty pounds 

 avoirdupois of gold, his difficulty of 

 ascent was not surprising. On 

 reaching the top he stood for a mi- 

 nute, as though to take breath, and 

 then sat down on an embroidered 

 cushion with his legs inverted. His 

 crown was a high conical cap, 

 richly studded with precious stones; 

 his fingers were covered with rings, 

 and in his dress he bore the ap- 

 pearance of a man cased in golden 

 armour, whilst a gilded, or pro- 

 bably, a golden wing on each shoul- 

 der, did not add much lightness 

 to his figure. His looks denoted 

 him to be between fifty and sixty 

 years old, of a strong make, in 

 stature rather beneath the middle 

 height, with hard features and of a 

 dark complexion; yet the expres- 

 sion of his countenance was not 

 unpleasing, and seemed, I thought, 

 to indicate an intelligent and in- 

 quiring mind. 



On the first appearance of his 

 majesty, all the courtiers bent their 

 bodies, and held their hands joined 

 in an attitude of supplication. No- 

 thing farther was required of us, 

 than to lean a little forward, and to 

 turn in our legs as much as we 

 could ; not any act being so unpo- 

 lite, or contrary to etiquette, as to 

 present the soles of the feet towards 

 the face of a dignified person. 

 Four persons, dressed in white caps 

 and gowns, chaunted the usual pray- 

 er at the foot of the throne : an offi- 

 cer then advanced into the vacant 

 space before the king, and recited in 

 a musical cadence, the name of each 

 person who was to be introduced 

 on that day, and the present of 



Vol. XLII. 



which, in the character of a sup- 

 pliant, he entreated his majesty's 

 acceptance. My offering consisted 

 of two pieces of Benares gold bro- 

 cade ; Dr. Buchanan and Mr. 

 Wood each presented one. When 

 our names were mentioned, we 

 were separately desired to take a 

 few grains of rice in our hands, and 

 joining them, to bow to the king as 

 low as we conveniently could, with 

 which we immediately complied. 

 When this ceremony was finished, 

 the king uttered a few indistinct 

 words, to convey, as I was in- 

 formed, an order for investing some 

 persons present, with the insignia 

 of a certain degree of nobility ; the 

 imperial mandate was instantly pi'o- 

 claimed aloud by heralds in the 

 court. His majesty remained only 

 a few minutes longer, and during 

 that time he looked at us attentively, 

 but d d not honour us with any 

 verbal notice, or speak at all, ex- 

 cept to give the order above men- 

 tioned. When he rose to depart, 

 he manifested the same signs of in- 

 firmity as on his enti'ance : after he 

 had withdrawn, the folding doors 

 were closed, and the court broke up. 



Elevationqfthe House ofHapsburg, 

 in the verson of Rudolph. From 

 Flanta's History of the Helvetic 

 Confederacy. 



RUDOLPH had now reached 

 his twenty-second year, when 

 his father Albert, who was odious 

 to the Swiss, on account of his ri- 

 gour in the office of imperial com- 

 missary, died on a distant pilgrim- 

 age. Albert's share of the estates 

 of Hapsburg devolved to Rudolph ; 

 but a great part of the hereditary 

 domains of his house was in the 

 X 



