The guests are already assembled in the Hall of Ceremonies before the imperial party makes its appearance. The ladies all wear court trains, and in almost every case the bodice of their dress is adorned with the insignia of the "Sternkreutz" [star cross], an order restricted exclusively to women, of which the late empress was grand-mistress, and to possess which even still greater ancestral qualifications are needed than for presentation at court. The men are all in uniform, either civilian, military or naval. Indeed it is impossible to find in Austria any man that has the right to appear at court who does not possess some sort of uniform. If he happens to be a Hungarian, he wears the picturesque dress of the great Magyar kingdom, bordered with priceless furs, adorned with jewels and composed of costly velvets and silks. Shortly before the arrival of the imperial procession the grand-master of ceremonies taps on the floor with his ivory wand of office to attract attention, and the guests thereupon range themselves along the two sides of the hall, the ladies to the right and the gentlemen to the left. Suddenly the folding-doors at the further end of the hall are flung open, and to the sound of the most inspiriting march that the conductor of the court orchestra, Edouard Strauss, can devise, the imperial cortege makes its appearance, preceded by Count Hunyadi, in his uniform of a cavalry general, and Prince Rudolph Leichtenstein, each armed with a wand of office. Since the disappearance of the empress from court life--a disappearance which may be said to have preceded her death by several years--the emperor has been in the habit on these occasions of offering his arm to the Duchess of Cumberland, daughter of King Christian of Denmark, and _de jure_ sovereign duchess of Brunswick, as the principal foreign royal lady present. Immediately after him follows the archduke next in the line of succession, now Francis-Ferdinand, or, failing him, Otto, leading the archduchess designated to take the place of the first lady of the land, and who at the present time is Archduchess Maria-Josepha, wife of Archduke Otto.