On the 21st of December, ten days after Christina's arrival, she was forced to address a request to the chief magistrate, Lodovico Pellizone, begging that her bedroom might be supplied with a wooden ceiling, as the room was lofty and bitterly cold in this winter season. Pellizone wrote without delay to the Governor of Milan, but received no reply, and on New Year's Day Montmorency himself wrote to remind the Cardinal of the Duchess's request, urging that the work might be done without delay, and putting in a plea for a better provision of mattresses to accommodate the members of her household. Still no redress was obtained, and at length the Captain of the Archers took the law into his own hands, and sent for carpenters to panel the Duchess's bedroom.[141] But in spite of these drawbacks, in spite of the wind that whistled through the long corridors and the comfortless air of the empty halls, Christina's health and spirits were excellent. Her spirits quickly recovered their natural buoyancy in these new surroundings, her eyes shone with the old brightness, and the sound of merry laughter was once more heard in the spacious halls and desolate gardens. On the 3rd of January, only two days after Montmorency addressed his fruitless remonstrance to the Viceroy, Christina herself wrote a letter to the same illustrious personage in a very different strain. She had, it appears, seen a very handsome white horse in the hostelry of the Fountain in Pavia, and was seized with a passionate desire to have the palfrey for her own use. So she wrote in the most persuasive language to her good Father the Cardinal, begging his leave to buy the horse, which she is convinced will suit her exactly. But, since she fears that her monthly allowance will not suffice to defray the cost, she begs His Eminence to advance the necessary sum, and charge it to the extraordinary expenses for which she is not responsible. This letter, written in her large round hand, was sent to Milan by one of the Duchess's lackeys, with the words "Cito, cito" on the cover, and an urgent plea for an immediate answer.[142] The kindly old Cardinal, who had a soft side for the youthful Princess, could hardly refuse so pressing a request, and Christina probably bought the white horse, and had the pleasure of mounting it when she rode out to visit the friars of the Certosa or hunted in their park. [Sidenote: FEB., 1537] THE EMPEROR'S SERVANT]