The Savannah morning news., 1900-09-16
HOW TO VISIT VERSAILLES.
"BIFsTEAcK" FROM a COW MIXED
M MADAME DE MAINrEgON.

90 see the Fountains Hua with VIA
OrdGnairc, Discovers "a Was Good
Beer That Contaminated the Peace
Conference between bismarck and
JaIes FRurc. and suffers like I'ti-
grim on the Last Lap OF seven
Year Jonrney co Mecca.
Paris. Aug s0-ft is pity that roller
skating - forbidden In the palace AZ Yer
sailles. for excessive speed on foot Is prac-
ideally impossible through che long wings
and halls on account 81 she walked floors
and the Cooks tourists. VINO often oct as
almost impenciruble barriers.
Louis XIV had his faults. ana ono Of
them was the building OF such an infer
naiy big building and then filling Il full
Of pictures. To the Jadod and foossore
searcher after the beautiful there comes
a time when pictures pail and leg drag
eng Il a torture.
was for going 20 Versailles just as
much as Massinger was, and the way out
there from the Care 81. I.azare ran
through such a pretty and invasing oons-
Try. dotted here and there with dainty
villas and little bits Of color and restfil
looking hnls-rostful. n used 90 Vie on;
not. n used for climhins-that We felt our
selves gesting into just the night mood
for the wonders TO come
Nov. n We had arrived az the time OF
the opening OF the palace 20 sightseers
and had gotten few feet Ia advance OF
the first vanguard OF the Cooks We wouih
have been able 20 do the leagues and
leagues Of historical paln,lngs-some Of
them very bad. by the way-with credit
20 ourselves and delight 90 our aesthetic
natures.
But Massinger was mad for the country
side OF a. Il want 10 see the place where
the ladies OF the court used 10 forget the
artiaclally OF their life by milking real
COWS and searching for real hens eggs.
! want 10 SEQ the fountains ana the tim
and much pruned gardens, l want 20 gel
rs near 30 nature IS the artince OF the
pruning shears viii let me"
Massinger - always eloquent when he
a. houeslek. and saw that the only ching
90 do was 20 follow him and let each little
pool remind him OF Lake Champlain.
The way was long and weary. bus
rnanfuilv We strobe" And tho hand Of tho
Landscape gardener could not keep out the
sweet smell Of the woods. nor the tune
ful song OF che blackbirds. and under the
witehery Of the rustic beauties OF Yer
sailles we forgot that there were gale
rles. and wandered through bosky dells
and fed the fish with scraps OF paper that
we happened 20 have 10 our pockets. II
we had had cake or meat they should
have had t. but sbey snatched az the pa
perr eagerly even as Americans DO When
returning from European exile, and We
watched them hghting for their intel
lectual lunch and reflected that some or
the biggest Of them may have been awe
tn Madame de Malutenon's time, and mat
Mari. Antoinette may have hshed for
them, or else milked some OF the vener-
able cows chat we saw lazily chewing
their French cuds as they rested on the
meadows IN the warm July sun
And We saw the "voitures' that hhd
been used on state occasions, and motel
with wonder that they were not tupn'T
fired and we saw furniture that was 20
dirty ana cheap looking that we had
low opinion Of Louis AiN.'s taste ana
tidincae WHY some OF II looked Ike
that ln the Rewing-ro1m o. despondent
drs.ssmaker. The furniture Ia the House
in the Woods" In the Hague was Just az
CID but Il was as clean as New England
milk pan and a. fresh looking NJ this
morning. milk. They do these things
better ia Holland.
1 wlI never forget my experience with
one OF those same clean chairs 10 the
House in the Woods" Feeling tired,
for we had gone afoot from our hotel In
the Hague. ] sat down on a chair that
William the silent had bought az a bar
gain sale in Har.em-and We got the best
OF the bargain whatever he may have
maid for a. The old Dutch woman who
was plotting us around dti not notice mo
for q minute but when she did she
Couldn't think Of a word in Dutch or En-
glsh 20 say. she simply lifted her hands.
as n she we've pulling maltese cat on
a green cushion. and I, understanding kne
pantomime. rose hastily. Then she eX-
plained IN Eraspiug tones that no one had
ever sat on that chair since William the
silent had RETAINED from conversing on
q.
Well 20 get hack 10 Versailles. after
we had seen the Grand Trlanon and the
Petit Trianon. We were ready for an ideal
lunch under the trees that have stood for
80 many years secure from American
axes.
We found a place. an IDEAL place. so
rustic that our tablecloth and plates were
already covered with leaves ana blossoms
that had fioated down from the historic
branches above.
Baedeker says that meals are expen-
sive az Versailles. but We saw that our
'deieuner" would cost but three francs.
with wine. and we thought that cheap.
To be sure that was before We had eaten.
They brought Us a soup that was some
what atteuuated. II had rained the day
before and ] don't think they could have
been careful about their tarpaulins. Then
we ordered "blf-steack." The French
do love 90 spell beofsteak. They remind
me OF the way Shakespeare toyed with
his name. Now Il viii bo "bifteck" or
'hiftek"-if the French Is not az all a man
OF letters or maybe that Is the phonetic
way OF spelling n. But others are more
prodgai OF letters. and they expand Il un-
IA Il becomes 'beafesteacke." but 20
show their contempt fer perhdious Albion,
they never spell Il the English way. We
found that our host had exhausted his
energies on the spelling OF the Wand for
81 turned out 20 be. not what an American
would call steak. but place OF roast
beef. very thin. cooked yesterday ana
fried again to-day. Shades Of savarin
what n dish!
As Massinger attacked II. he said, and
there was "a suspicion OF pathos In MS
tone. Think OF o.. Madame de Maintcnon
probably MIXED this poor beast and To-
day we finish him" II Is sometimes easy
90 see that Massinger was born and
brought up in the city.
But We didn't nuish the steak We felt
sure that Il was not for us 20 destroy a
link that bound Versailles to the historic
past and - we turned our attention 20