Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1907-08-28
LETTER FROM ABROAD.
Night and Day Visit to the Royal
Palace at Versailles.
Written for THE AMERICAN by Miss Clio NJ.
Chilcott.

PARIS, FRANCE, July 81, 1907.
One Of the prettiest rides by train out Of
Paris is that to Versailles. En- route, you
see picturesque little villages nesting in
the valleys below. Many of the houses
are old and most attractive, having long,
sharply pointed roofs of red tile, which
gives them look distinctively foreign.
At Versailles our interest was, of
course, in the magnificent palace with its
wonderful gardens, and the trianons.
When we reflect that this world famous
palace and park, which cost $1O0, 600, 900,
was constructed at a time when more than
half Of the people Of France were starving,
we cannot wonder that the flame was
kindled which smouldered SO long and
which had its final outburst in the revolu-
ton.
We first entered the great palace. In the
time of Louis XVI, after the new wing
had been added, there was room for
10000 inmates. This seemed incom-
prehensible to US when we went in, but
when we came out at the end Of three
hours we could better realize it. We had
"~ANSN SAA hAAASo9 0n4 kAon VIC u00u y UGCu
over the entire palace.
The history Of France is pictured in the
various rooms in wonderful mural paint
ings. The "Gaierie des Glace'' and .sGal-
erie des Batailles" are, suppose, the most
wonderful rooms in the palace, but the
sleeping and living rooms Of Louis XIV
and his successors, and the apartments Of
Marie Antoinette interested me more
keenly. The sleeping room Of Louis XIV
opens on to balcony where the howling
mob, that horrible night, demanded the
presence OF Marie Antoinette, clamoring
for her head.
In Marie Antoinette's boudoir is her
door through which she ran to escape
from the mob. Some OF the pieces OF
furniture in her apartments have on them
IN. A." traced delicately in gold. Inter-
esting, too, is the grand marble staircase,
where the Swiss guards were killed when
they took such valiant stand for the
poor queen.
The gardens are very extensive and beau
tifully laid out. At one time 5000 men
and 5000 horses were employed in con-
structing the terraces. The trees are
trimmed in unnatural shapes, and every
where are magnificent statues and foun-
tains. But these gardens, with all their
magnifcence, did not have Is much
charm for me as did the Petit Trianon.
Everything here is natural and beau
tiful. There is the little hamlet where
Louis XVI and his queen, attempt
ing to escape from the conventionalities
OF court life, played at peasant life. In my
minds eye could see the girlish Marie
Antoinette in the little dairy making but
ter, and the king grinding in his mill.
Wherever l went that day, Marie An
toinette was uppermost in my mind.
In the museum Of carriages, one is inn
pressed by the sleighs designed especially
to crafty the desire Of Nine de Mainten-
ant for July sleigh-ride. Imagine those
lovers of pleasure in the heat OF summer,
speeding over roads covered with salt.
That was time when "frivolity went
mad', and Louis XVI and his unfortunate
queen had to pay the penalty. Truly the
sssins Of the fathers shall be visited on
their children.
The Sunday evening following July II,
there is always a special display at Yer
sailles, so we took train at night fall and
made our second visit there. We went
especially to witness the playing Of the
fountains. The largest ones do not play
for more than twenty minutes at a time,
but on each occasion the expense is from
81 800 to 5000.
The great palace gates were simply
mass Of flames, and the long avenues OF
garden were brilliantly illuminated. The
crowd that gathered around the great ba-
sin s'Neptune" was immense. Before
playing water, the fountains played fire, as
they had been filled with fireworks. They
poured out shimmering liquid flame into
the water of the basin beneath. The
'Ohs!" and "Ahs!" that escaped from the
crowd sounded quite American. Men
threw into the basin fireworks which
looked like fiery water-serpents.
All this time we thought the fountains
were actually playing wafer, but when
the fire died out we saw we had been de-
ceived. Then came great display of
fireworks overhead. 1t is impossible to
describe it. had never imagined such a
display possible. From them a mass of
red smoke arose, which shut out the sky
from view, and seemed like the smoke of a
mighty battle. As it was breaking away
the great Neptune" began playing.
The basin of Neptune is like a little
lake, surrounded by fountains, large and
small, and with fountains scattered over
its surface. Lights we're reflected, so there
was ever-changing color, now blue, now
red, now green, now delicate purple.
We stood there breathless as we witnessed
the beauty of the spray. In the absence
of color the fountains that surrounded the
basin looked like so many stately brides
in their flmy wells.
The twenty minutes was over all too
soon, and the crowd began to move toward
the palace. We were glad to behold the
palace with such setting; for as the