Evening star., 1896-07-18

exact order like lines Of surveyors poles,
are rows Of antique marble statues with no
expression dn their faces. At one place
there are two guard houses. one on each
side Of a gate. It 10 said that guardian
of the time of the great Louis, having
once a prisoner in one OF; them, was SO
distressed at the unbalanced condition Of
the other that he could neither eat nor
sleep. Until the idea came ,to put his wife
in the empty guard house. he regarded
himself as an unworthy servant OF decency,
regularity and order.
The shady forest glades. with their little
fountains, marble benches and statues. are
delightful but viewed merely as a matter
Of luxury one cannot help thinking 1t was
losing to oua these ErOInds
en- boxes, are still 'dispersed' around the
upper terraces In summer time, and their
potted artificiahty is sign Of the whole
undertaking.
Although Louis XIV burned the accounts
he Is known to have expended on the park
and palace something Ike one thousand
millions of francs. The details that are
known seem almost fabulous No fewer
than $4,000 men and 6,OO0 horses were en-
ployed at one time in forming the terraces
and leveling the park. The whole soil of
the park Is simply a layer under which
there are subterranean vaults. sometimes
fifteen feet high, filled with storage tanks
for the fountains, water pipes and other
complications
Water for the FOantains.
After they had made the alleys and built
the basins, they found that the situation
was too high. The water of the neiglbor-
hood would not rise in the fountains. After
a deal of projecting 1t was decided to have
water drawn up from the river Seine, miles
away; and an immense machine of water
wheels. putting into play 20 pumps, was
established at a place called Marty. The
Mor1xy rryhn nlc off md ct
help to supply the water for these fount-
aims. 1t took seven years to build the ma
chine, together with its aqueducts and res
ervoirs and with all Its expense 1t was but
a partial success, for it did not furnish the
three great monarchs who preceded the
revolution with a sufficient amount Of wa
ter to meet their ideas of what royal
fountains should really be. Once an at
tempt was made to divert the course of the
river Eure. Then all aqueduct four miles
long was begun from the valley of Mainte-
non. The soldiers employed In Its digging
died off in great rumbers, and discomfort
followed because of the unheaithiness Of
the work. In the year 1858. after the revo-
cation of the edict Of Nantes. war stopped
the enterprise.
Later on a highly complicated system of
pipes, reservoirs and connected basins was
begun to help out the Marty pumping ma
chine. These also still exist and form a
subterranean network all about Versailles.
The conduits lead from many a high
Ing snow into ponds connected to receive
them. The average quantity of water in
the Versailles reservoir Is 5,500,0UO cubic
yards. of which the city with its $4,000 in
habitants only uses 2OO0.OO0 in the course
of the year, paying for whatever else IT
needs-or has paid for 1t by the railroad
company-to the Marty pumps. which, in
their turn, are operated by the railroad
company. In this way, thanks to the add
ed assistance of steam pumps and the cap
ital to keep them running, so that the res
ervoirs may rot be emptied every time the
fountains play, the fountains Of Versailles
at last spout when desired During two
Sunday afternoons of each month in the
summer time they may be seen by any one
who has the price of railroad ticket from
Paris.
The Sunday Crowds.
Early in the morning the trains begin
arriving. crowded to their full capacity.
Versailles brightens up to something of it's
ancient Importance. On the main streets
there are restaurants ndHdFinking estab-
lishments everywhere. Crowds Of sight
seers begin patrolling the streets, surging
up the avenue, inspecting the barracks. and
pressing onward to the palacey In the pal
ace grounds they already begin to sit around
the basins. MUNICH gingerbread along the
walks, whOop through the woods and picnic
on the marble benches. Jtli :
1t Is wonderful sight to see the people,
thousands and thousands strong press into
the exclusive pleasure domain of one-time
royalty. There Is nothing arts tocratic about
the present crowds. They are almost ex-
clusiFely of the lower-rHtddfe class. Their
manners are frank and free,,, Their dress
Is very diverse. The gpOdtladies incline to
stoutness and varicOse VeiAey Their sinlper-
ing daughters are dressed alike, for the
sake of equality and fraternity. .:The young
men sport remarkable neckties and delicate
tinted pantaloons. There are great num-
bers of soldiers on leave Wet-nurses dry
nurses servant-maids and governesses
chatter after packs of unmanageable chill
dren.
Everybody has joke for the old wigged
king.
Everybody buys gingerbread, lemonade
and bottled beer.
Every one explains to every one else the
history of France, the glorious struggles of
the French revolution, and the present
liberality of the Versailles Railroad Com
pany. Ihey feel that they have not fought
and bled in vain. And still the crowds in
crease and swell with every incoming train
Watching the Fountains Play.
Hours before it is time for the greater
pieces of water to play 1t is impossible to
get within sight Of them. The basin of
Neptune, which is the greatest, fronts
great semi-circular space, hich NAV he
compared to tine auditorium of a theater,
the water works themselves being the
stage. Ten thousand people can gather in
the auditorium space, and every inch is
taken. Those who stand here must be con-
tent to miss the most OF the other foun-
tains, scattered down the central alley and
in many a nook throughout the forest
Yet this 81 leat cro wd around the Neptune
basin seems scarcely to be a part Of the
great multitude that spends the early after
moons IN rushing here and there, Identify
ing every water battery beforehand, rioting
through the forest paths messing itself
uncomfortably in the great green avenue
and shouting with enthusiasm as the first
great sprrts upon the heights below the
of
ing ctreams. Thence on, from fountain to
fountain. from locality to locality, it is a
mad rush.
1t is understood that these fountains of
Versailles are too great and too numerous
for individual description Their bases have
different names. from the allegorical bronze
figures, gods and goddesses, nymphs, sat
yrs. horses, dolphins. cupids, frogs and
whatnot from which their waters rise But
essentially they are simply great fountains,
spouting water to great heights, to fall
and splash In basins to the great delight of
every one who cares for fountains Up and
down the great green lawn, which typifies
the green silk vest Of Louis XIV there
are some seven Of these greater batteries,
whose waters go to fiji the great rect npu-