At that moment the princess entered. She was a middle-aged lady with a smiling face, dressed in a red mantle and light green dress with a golden girdle around her hips. The princess was followed by the ladies of the court; some not yet grown up, some of them older; they had pink and lilac wreaths on their heads, and the majority of them had lutes in their hands. Some of them carried large bunches of fresh, flowers, evidently plucked by the roadside. The room was soon filled, because the ladies were followed by some courtiers and young pages. All were lively, with mirth on their faces, talking loudly or humming as if they were intoxicated with the beauty of the night. Among the courtiers, there were two rybalts;[12] one had a lute and the other had a gensla[13] at his girdle. One of the girls who was very young, perhaps twelve years old, carried behind the princess a very small lute ornamented with brass nails.
"May Jesus Christ be praised!" said the princess, standing in the centre of the room.
"For ages and ages, amen!" answered those present, in the meanwhile saluting very profoundly.
"Where is the host?"
The German having heard the call, advanced to the front and kneeled, in the German fashion, on one knee.
"We are going to stop here and rest," said the lady. "Only be quick, because we are hungry."
The townsmen had already gone; now the two noblemen, and with them Macko of Bogdaniec and young Zbyszko, bowed again, intending to leave the room, as they did not wish to interfere with the court.
But the princess detained them.
"You are noblemen; you do not intrude, you are acquainted with courtiers. From where has God conducted you?"
Then they mentioned their names,[14] their coats of arms, their nicknames and the estates from which they received their names. The lady having heard from wlodyka[15] Macko that he had been to Wilno, clapped her hands, and said: "How well it has happened! Tell us about Wilno and about my brother and sister. Is Prince Witold coming for the queen's confinement and for the christening?"
"He would like to, but does not know whether he will be able to do so; therefore he sent a silver cradle to the queen for a present. My nephew and I brought that cradle."
"Then the cradle is here? I would like to see it! All silver?"
"All silver; but it is not here. The Basilians took it to Krakow."