The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-19
LOUIS XIV. AND HIS PoRPHRy RAru
How the King Once Overcame His
Dislike for Water and Regretted II

How the King Once Overcame His
Dislike for Water and Regretted 1t
From London Modern Society.
The other day. visiting Versailles with
some English friends, we are shown over
the Hermitage, the little pied-a-terre of
Nine. De Pompadour, and saw a marble
bath, which, we were told had been used
once only by Louis XIV. "Why only
once?' asked one of the young ladies. The
man could not say. The bath was made
of the most admirable red porphyry,
mounted in gilded bronze, and supported
by four huge golden claws. 1 admired it
very much and wishing to know its story
I consulted an old friend of mine who
spends his life in finding out all about
bygone times.
you are right" he told me, "the por-
phyry bath has story. 1t is the first one
of the shape which was ever seen in
France, and ii was presented by an am
bassador to Louis XIV, who, as you
know, was a very dirty gentleman. He
would never wash his hands, except in
the morning, and his nails were often
painfully black. His beard was dusty and
greasy; he had lost all his hair before he
was 40, through a disease which had eaten
CLONES
of brocade embroidered with gold and dia-
monds hid a never-washed body How
ever, when an Italian ambassador arrived
at Versailles, bringing in his luggage that
curious present for the king of France,
Louis, seduced by the beauty and the evil
dent comfort of this new luxury insisted
on having some water put in and mani
Tested the intention of giving his royal
person a plunge.
" But Nine. De Montespan screamed
with terror. The king had a cough: he.
had had headache in the morning; he
ought not to risk his life in getting wet
and at last she went away in tears, for
the king would not listen to her. but
would have his own way. And. said the
story, Nine. De Montespan was right.
For the damp had the most pernicious eff
feet on his majesty, who had to be bled
and take medicines, for he had caught a
cold in that bath. which was at once
shunted into a gallery behind a barrier
and exhibited for it's beauty to the admit
ration of the coutiers.
q" So Nine. De Montespan was confirm
ed in her terror for pure water, which was
so great that she only used dry flour to
clean her face. She rubbed il over and
over till il became black then took
another handful and so on. stopping only
when it fell comparatively white on the
golden dish held before her. Then with a
piece of chamois leather dipped in per-
fumed spirits she had her neck, arms and
feet carefully touched every morning
never rubbed-and this was deemed most
peculiar and dainty.
Under Louis XIV. things were a little
better. Water was still considered as a
very risky element to deal with for the
human body, but the cheeks of men were
properly shaved. AS for the ladies. not
being able to go to bed with their powder
and patches. which drew their skin in the
most uncomfortable way, they began to
wash their faces at least in the evening
They started also the new fashion of hav-
ing underlinen, which. says a book Of
the period, could be changed sometimes
and was not so scratchy as the petticoats
of stuff "