, 1880-08-23
Court of LOu1s XIV.

Court OF LOuIS XIV.
Louis XIV. was more magniticently
frivolous than his father. He was free
from the ridicule which attached to
Louis XIII, who allowed himself to be
browbeaten by his miserable favorites
whenever he vas lot under the spell of
Richelieu's overpowering will; but in
some ys-especially in bis exhibition
to his intimates of an extravagant and
vulgar curiosity-he was almost equally
ridiculous in the eyes of his contempo-
raries, while the formal ceremony which
he introduced into his daily life must
seem to US absurd rather than stately
10 be sure this ceremony was not in
vented by him, and there is story that
when he was boy, his mother, Anne
OF Austria, had him whipped frequent
ly, and that once, feeling worried with
the formal respect paid to him by ev-
erybcdy, he said that he would gladly
give up all the honor and glory of the
pompous ceremony if he might also
give up his hoggiDgs. Even his get
ting up was regulated by an exactitude
which We may vainly hope to see in
troduced into code of law. A solemn
rule was inscribed in the Traite des
Droits to this effect: When the king
first gets up, the grand chamberlain, or
the frst gentleman of the chamber, or
whatever great officer next in dignity
may be present, offers his majesty a
dressing-gown, the weight which is
supported by the first groom of the
chambers. When his majesty puts on
his shirt, the first groom of the cham
bers helps him with the right sleeve
the first groom of the wardrobe with
the left" Other officers of the court
were intrusted with the more pleasing
duty of arranging the dresses for the
masks, balls, and comedies which were
given at the court. There was spe-
cisl official whose duty it was to look
after the kings cravat. Putting on his
cravat was the business of the master
of the wardrobe, but it was laid down
that in all cases, if after the cravat was
put on there seemed to be anything un-
satisfactory about it, the craratier might,
in the absence of any superior officer,
touch it and arrange it with his own
hands. Privileges of this sort were
jealously sought after. It was special
right of the first master of the house
hold to present himself with the kings
broth in the morning, if the king sent
for broth. When the king went hunt
ing, it was the master of the hunts sole
privilege to put into his hands staff
with which to guard himself from over
hanging branches. There is of course
nothing curious in the fact that these
things were done, and done with sense
OF honor and qualification by people
about the king; but what is curious is
that the doing of them should have
been made into kind of religious ser
yice-that there should have been jeal
ousies and heartburnings about the
smallest of these priviIeges-and that
the assignment to one person of the care
of the kings right shirt-sleeve and to
another of his left shirt-slee should
have been made with as much pomp
AID importance as the appointment to
tho highest state Offices. There was
one curious touch of nature associated
with all this tedious ceremony. While
the most brilliant and most powerful
men in the kingdom we're waiting at the
kings door before his rising. there was
one person who went in before the
grand chamberlain, before the first
groom of the chambers, before the
whole crowd of cardinals, marshals and
ministers, who waited respectfully tor
his majesty's signal that he was awake
and ready to receive them. This per-
aon was the kings old nurse, whom he
slwsys embraced affeotionately before
betaking himself to the toilsome form
alities of the day.
Meanwhile all this attention to cere-
omnious detail did nothing to alleviate
the appalling grossness of manners and
conversation which had existed in the
time of the former king. Things which
happily would now appear outrageous
were said, written and done by people
OF the highest birth and education.
The fastidious observance of q ceremo-
NAL code of court fashions had no rela-
ton to what is now regarded as the
most rudimentary principle of good
manners-that is. the pretense if not
the reality of wish to spare other per
SONS feelings. For instance, when