And it was to this entertainment that the divine band, let astray by Iris, who falsely bragged that he knew the Earth well, were now come in order to proceed with their inquiry.

They had put on disguises so as to preserve their incognito.

Jupiter came on the stage as King Dagobert, with his breeches inside out and a huge tin crown on his head.

Phoebus appeared as the Postillion of Lonjumeau and Minerva as a Norman nursemaid.

Loud bursts of merriment greeted Mars, who wore an outrageous uniform, suggestive of an Alpine admiral.