The duchess appeared, seated in a triumphal chariot drawn by four horses, and so covered with cloth of gold and jewels that all eyes were dazzled. The duke rode by her side on a mule richly caparisoned, and a multitude of noblemen followed them in magnificent attire, smiling and talking to one another: the good-humoured simplicity of these republicans charmed them. They said that if they had failed with the sword, they would succeed with jewellery, feathers, and display; and that this rebellious city would be too happy, in exchange for the amusements they would give, to receive the duke and pay court to the pope. Everything had been arranged to make the poison enter their hearts by mild and subtle means. The triumphal car having halted at Plainpalais, the queen of the amazons approached the duchess and said: En ce pays soyez la bienvenue!... with other verses which we spare the reader. When the princess arrived before the chapel of the Rhone, where stood an image of the Virgin with the child Jesus in her arms, a sibyl appeared and said: For thee I have obtained a boon divine:-- The Son of God before thine eyes shall shine.... Look up ... see him to Mary’s bosom pressed, The Virgin who hath borne him for our rest; With great devotion Mary’s son adore, And he shall open wide to thee heaven’s door. The procession passed successively under six triumphal arches, dedicated to illustrious princesses, before each of which Beatrice had to stop and hear a new compliment. But it was labour lost: the haughty Portuguese woman, far from thanking the ladies, did not even look at them; and when the men came forward in their turn in those magnificent dresses which had cost them so much money and contention, the duchess received the _shopkeepers_ with still greater contempt. A deep feeling of discontent immediately replaced the general enthusiasm: ‘She takes us for her slaves, in Portugal fashion,’ exclaimed one of the proudest of the huguenots. ‘Let us show her that we are free men. Come, ladies, I advise you to return to your spinning; and as for us, my friends, we will pull down the galleries and destroy the theatres.’ And then he whispered to one of his neighbours: ‘Better employ our money in fortifying the city, and compelling these Savoyards to keep outside. You entice them in ... take care they do not burn you in your own straw.’ The duke’s counsellors began to feel alarmed. The mine which they fancied had been so skilfully dug, threatened to blow them all into the air. Yet a few more mistakes of this kind and all was lost.... Some of the courtiers endeavoured to excuse the haughty manners of Beatrice by telling the citizens: _Che eran los costumbres de Portugal._ ‘They were the fashions of Portugal.’ The duke conjured his wife to make an effort to win back their hearts.[313]