The other _invités_ were placed according to their rank and position: all the _gros bonnets_ were in their right places, you may be quite sure. I was such a little _bonnet_ among all those great people that I was practically nowhere, and at the tail end of everything except the members of the Household and the ladyless gentlemen, who, of course, were below me. There must have been about one hundred persons seated at the table. I never saw such a tremendous long stretch of white linen. The flowers, stiffly arranged at intervals, alternated with white _épergnes_ filled with bonbons, and larger fruit-dishes filled with the most delicious-looking fruit. All along the whole length of the table were placed, at regular intervals, the groups of _pâte tendre_ representing the Hunt. These, as my cavalier (Count de Bourgogne) told me, are made only at the Sèvres manufactory, expressly for the French sovereigns. They were designed in the time of Louis XV. by an artist called Urbain, and have been reproduced ever since. It would seem as if nothing had been found worthy to replace them. The _service de table_ was of white Sèvres porcelain with only the letter "N" in gold surmounted by the Imperial crown; many of the courses were served on silver plates, in the center of which were engraved the arms of France. A strip of red velvet carpet laid over the polished floor surrounded the table. On the outer side of this carpet were the chair, to be pushed forward as soon as people were ready to sit down. The lackeys stood in a line all the way down the room, making a very imposing sight in their red- and-white liveries; there must have been forty or fifty of them at least. The Emperor's _chasseur_ always stands behind his chair and serves him, and him alone, taking a dish of each course, as it is brought in, from the maître d'hôtel. No one but this privileged _chasseur_ can hand anything in the way of food to his Majesty. When the Emperor has served himself, the _chasseur_ hands the dish back to the _maître d'hôtel_, who passes it on to the other servants, who then serve the guests. The Empress is served in the same way. I suppose this custom dates back to the time of the Borgias, when, in order to save their own lives, they were willing to risk those of their trusty menials by making them taste the food before it was put on the table. A military band played during the dinner. It was placed in a large circular loggia having windows opening on to a courtyard, thus serving two purposes: to let in the air and let out the music, which, fortunately, it did, otherwise we could not have heard ourselves speak. The dinner lasted about an hour. (The Emperor dislikes sitting long at table.) It seemed almost impossible that so much eating and drinking and changing of plates--in fact, such an elaborate repast--could be got through within such a short time. But it was!