The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-08-23
Many Historical Characters
Within Its Confines.
DISSIPATION RAMPANT
French Kings and Queens
Have FeaSted There.


tain air of mystery, and it's graceful lines
seem at times almost like a dream. 1t
is a curious contrast to come from the
parts of the Bots filed with crowds OF
people, with horses, carriages, and auto
mobiles, and to enter into this chateau
de la Belle au Bots Dormant" Nothing
has ever recalled so we'll as Bagatelle,
with its elegance and its charm, the words
OF Talleyrand. who said that no one who
had not lived in France during the years
which preceded the Revolution knew la
douceur de vivre." This mysterious cha
teau was long inha bited by Sir Richard
treasures which are now to be seen in
the Wallace Museum in London. 1t is
quite empty; there is no furniture, there
are no carpets, no hangings, no pictures;
but the decorations OF the walls, of the
ceilings, of the shutters, which, accord
ing to the fashion of the time, are Of
solid wood, remain, as do all the chimney
pieces with their beautiful marbles and
bronzes, and each room is worthy of
study There is even in the emptiness
and lifeless solitude of the place some
aspect of Bagatelle; one feels that it is
all thing of the past. a past which has
left only traces of its grandeur. The
garden. which is behind the chateau is
one of those Italian or French gardens
which accord SO well with agriculture,
which have terraces and marble vases.
1t is well kept, and its colored rows Of
flowers reminded me OF the verse Full
many a flower is born to blush unseen"
The history of bagatelle and Of the
Bots de Boulogne is not without interest.
There was already at the end of the sew
enteenth century a chateau (Which was
called MadriD not far from the present
Basatelie. 1t was a royal mansion, and
was given to the Mademoiselle de Charo-
lais. a daughter of the Prince de Condo.
and of Mademoiselle de Nantes, who was
herself a daughter of Louis XIV. and of
Madame de Montespan. Madrid was In
bad preservation and Mademoiselle de
Charolais did not like It; the King gave
her a piece of land on which she con-
structed a house. at first called 'Madem-
ofselle's Pavilion, and soon after Bag
atelle." The name suited we'll that light
and extraordinary person, very fond Of
pleasure. She gave many parties, and
among her guests were often ladies who
led life far from austere In the Abbey
of Longchamp. There Is a curious por-
trait of Mademoiselle de Charolais. paint
ed by Boucher, in which she wears the
gown of the sister Of Saint Francis, who
lived with cord round her waist. Vol
taire wrote on the subject of this por-
trait a well-known quatrain:
'Frere Ange de Charolais,
Dis-nous par quelle adventure
LIE Gordon de Saint-Francois
Sert a Venus de centure."
Mademoiselle de Charlais occupied Bag
atelle for twenty years. She died on the
9Th of April. 175S. at the age Of sixty
three, and by her will left her fortune to
her nephew, Louis Francois-Joseph de
Bourbon-Conti, Count de la Marche, Bag
atelle is not mentioned in the will, as
GravelIe. In 1747. Louis XIV, by a royal
act, gave Bagateue during her lifetime to
the Warehouses of Mauconseil. Royal
mansions could be transferred only in
this way, and could not be alienated. Ma
dame de Mauconseil remained in posses
sion for thirty years and had all sorts of
difficulties with NJ. de Marigny, the su-
perintendent of the royal domains. In ITO,
the Prince de Chimay became the occu-
pant of Bagatelle, but remained in 1t
only short time, and In IT'S the Count
Il A,to no IA iy,ta fha
den, and the furniture for the small sum
of 200 livres.
The Count d'Artois afterwards Charles
X) was the grandson of Louis XIV.
He was born in 1857, and was married at
the age of seventeen to Marie Therese
of Savoy. His eldest brothers were the
prince who became Louis XVI, and the
Count de Provence, who becomes Louis
XVIII. The Count d Artois was the most
extravagant prince of his time. He had
a number OF domains. was a gambler.
a betting man. and constantly In money
difficulties, and his brother, Louis XVI.
had to several times pay his debts. He
was a great Anglomaniac and kept rae
ing horses for. which he paid very large
sums; he even appeared at some races as
a gentleman rider He openly kept mis-
tresses, who mhe chose among the ballet
girls of the opera. He kept a gaming
table in his own house; he was in short
the most profligate prince OF a very pro-
figate period He bought Bagatelle al the
age of eighteen, and began two years
afterward to improve it He made great
plans. took the King and Queen TO visit
-t-A
projected The Queen was amused by
this description of ina gined improve
ments and he promised 10 give her a
feast at the end of six weeks when she
would witness the realization OF what he
had portrayed. The new chateau was
ready at the time fixed. The architects
spent In this short interval more than
a million Of livres. The chateau. 10 be
sure. is small; IL is really a mere pavilion
with circular salon on the ground floor.
and on both sides OF il several boudoirs
a dining-room. salon de jeu. besides
fine vestibule BeIanger was the archi-
tect who constructed BagateiIe and its
dependencies Numerous plans ard en-
cravings OF il are preserved at the Hotel
CarnavaIet. The chances afterward made
were very important. but the central pa
vilion and the long building called Tria-
non have not been altered.
The park was planted and designated
by an English gardener OF repute. Thomas
Blake II was very much admired. and
deservedly- There was of course. after
the fashion OF the time. a Temple OF
Love- a pretty circular portico with .
cupid and the device OF Voltaire: