The wedding-day dawned in a relentless haze. We were invited to be at the chapel of the _Schloss_ at five o'clock. The regulations about our court dress were the same as for the _Schleppenkur_, only we were begged _not_ to wear _white_. My dress was yellow, with a yellow _manteau de cour_. Frederikke wore a light-green _pailletted_ dress with a light-green train. We were a little late in starting; our _Schutzmann_ had waited patiently in the courtyard for a long time. We drove through the crowded streets, lined with spectators. Each clock we passed pointed in an exasperating way to the fact that we were late. J.'s sword seemed always to be in the way; every time he spoke out of the window to urge on the already goaded coachman the sword would catch on something. The air was more than suffocating, and there was evidently a storm brewing. We arrived before the portal of the _Schloss_ at the last moment. Ours was the last carriage to arrive. The pompous _Suisse_ pounded his mace on the ground and said, warningly, "You must hurry; the Kaiser is just behind you." And we _did_ hurry. The staircase makes three turns for each flight, and the chapel is the highest place in the palace, meaning seven turns for us. I grasped the tail of my ball dress in one hand and my heavy court train in the other and prepared to mount. On each turn I looked behind and could just see the eagle on the top of the Emperor's silver helmet. We hurried as I never hurried in my life, for if his Majesty had got ahead of us on any of these turns where the two flights meet and part, we would have been shut out from the chapel. As it was, one door was already closed. They opened it for us, and we were the last to enter before the princes. We crossed the chapel to reach the _estrade_ on which stood the _Corps Diplomatique_. In my hurry I forgot to let down my dress, and I don't dare to think how much stocking I must have exhibited. When finally I did reach my place I was so out of breath it took me a long time before I was in it again. [Illustration: THE ROYAL PALACE AND LUSTGARTEN, BERLIN] There was a general who stood before me with his plumed hat in his hand, and the plumes waved about like palm-trees, so near were they to my panting! Then the Emperor appeared with his suite, and stood at the right of the altar. He was a little ahead of time. There were about seventy-two princes and princesses. Each of the princesses had a page or a young lady to hold up her train. The Empress then entered, followed by her suite. The youngest _demoiselle d'honneur_ held her train, which was of red velvet covered with heavy embossed gold embroidery. After the Empress came the Crown Prince in his white _garde de corps_ uniform. He looked very young and slender and quite pale.