Hither the fanciful Empress would retire to dine with her ministers of State or the foreign ambassadors.
"Due North or Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia"
Maturin M. Ballou
But unhappily for its best appreciation, to my thinking at least, it hangs at one side and in too close proximity to the bold colouring of "The ambassadors"; so that its own subtle, yet reticent superiority is well-nigh shouted down by its lusty neighbour.
"Holbein"
Beatrice Fortescue
P. 32. Sham ambassadors.
"A Handbook to the Works of Browning (6th ed.)"
Mrs. Sutherland Orr