"
"Rural anyhow," observed Jack.
"Of course, most other features of the palace were in unison with this
primitive state of matters. The courtiers sat on stools. There was
only one chair in the palace, that was the arm-chair of the king,
which was covered with red leather, and ornamented with silk fringes."
"So that we may console ourselves with the reflection, that we are as
comfortable here as kings were at that epoch in Europe," remarked
Ernest.
"Yes; historians report, that when Alphonso V. of Portugal went to
Paris to solicit the aid of Louis XI. against the King of Arragon, who
had taken Castile from him, the French monarch received him with great
honor, and endeavored to make his stay as agreeable as possible."
"Reviews, I suppose, feasts, tournaments, spectacles, and so forth."
"A residence was assigned him in the Rue de Prouvaires, at the house
of one Laurent Herbelot, a grocer."
"What! amongst dried peas and preserved plums?"
"Precisely; but the house of Herbelot might then have been one of the
most commodious buildings in all Paris. Alphonso was afterwards
conducted to the palace, where he pleaded his cause before the king.
Next day he was entertained at the archiepiscopal residence, where he
witnessed the induction of a doctor in theology. The day after that a
procession to the university was organized, which passed under the
grocer's windows.
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