New-York tribune., 1907-01-09

yYL1E
from Colrf LIE n the LaIer a!;I Years Of Louis
D. VIII SS4. Charles Scribner's Sons.
There is something amusing about the manner
., which the makers of books rush TO exploit
the same theme. Not long ago a new contribu-
tfon TO nature study" was made about three
,nes week. More recently the book of Ital-
ian travel voted the proper thing. and was
r-oduced frequently as to become almost ab-
surd Al the present moment anecdotic history
Is all the rage, especially the anecdotic history
of the old French court In general, this makes
rleasant reading. It would, indeed. be hard
for the compiler to go wrong. since he has such
ouantities of French memoirs 10 draw upon for
his material. Nevertheless, we cannot take
seriously ali of these volumes Of more or less
well arranged gossip IF Mr.. Brady wins a
warmer welcome for the book that lies before
Us than is at first blush inclined to give it,
# is because he has framed The Great Days
of Versailles" on an uncommonly good plan
II is true that his pages do not profess to be
history to throw any new light upon the
subject But at least the author has clarified
his ambition. and has told his story in such a
way TO provide the general reader with such
simple and full account of life at Versailles
IN the time Of Louis XIV as he could not find
elsewhere in the same convenient inexpensive
form
The hrst chapter describes Versailles and the
manner Of its creation Then comes a. chapter
on life at court; this is followed by one on
manners and customs, and then Mr.. Bradby
lightly sketches the celebrities in the roval
circle, who did so much to color the general So
cial movement. After these preliminaries which
as Il were. arrange the piece and suggest its
atmosphere, the author paints careful portraits
OF Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon Mon
seur and Madame, the Grand Dauphin the
Duke anc Duchess of Burgundy. the Due dan
.ou and tbs Dr-c de Berry OF course innu-
uerable other personalities are introduced but
by dint Of concentrating himself chiefly upon
the dominating figures, Mr.. Brady gives a
sharper outline TO his scheme, and succeeds bet
ter in exhibiting the life Of the court IN IT'S
unity. He owes great deal. too, to his careful
ness in telling those things which the average
reader wants TO know. but which authors are
often inclined to neglect. For example earlv
in his description of Versailles he brings I'D
the interesting point as to how the miscella-
neous inha bitants of the palace were actually
accommodated. In books Of this sort we nearly
always hear first Of the King and his gorgeous
Surroundings. Mr.. Brady helps US to realize
how the courtier Jared:
If the great people suffered from a plethora NJ
sFace, their interiors were crowded together IN an
but an abode Of Hiss 9a n14 IMAGE Versailles anything
ira block OF buildings stretched two great wings
naeiy those The ground and frst 6ors iooE
T cd+ab 2n 70 the gardens were indeed spacious and
the Blood; but the rest Of the building was per- r.
which the 59?I Smaller fy lived kr6eses hSesef
4agger with little air and less comfort Nine de
describes the kind of accommodation which was
= astonse she f9a 9ay @ SEEING at the
d 2Gs das s bad to sooD II %as s an 50 2g
feel my way about One couldn't breathe for want
-. The cold was beginning TO make itself felt
Us. in which 70 warm ourselves but preferred the
cold 70 the f-tennper and insipid conversation OF
aBd Console yse 70 BY sh1T readns s han m
eyen this howell myself: the premiere femme de
Izines bedTo9 Shared i with ne IN the dsytire
married: L was the only place where she could
her husband in private At such times I had TO
# was wet or cold had no refuge but the saeree
Ny room at Versailles where passed the win
had ever penetrated into it. companion. more
unsoctal than the one had had at sceeux in the
space led TO continual Disputes or the smoke com
PEELED to leave the room altogether" Nor did
future Nine. Roland, visiting Versaiiles as chiid
was painfully struck by the stencil which pervaded
Nj. Bradby is indefatigable in his search for
material like this, and he is always at pains
TO make il humanize his subject; he tells the
stories that revive sense Of men and women
leading the everyday life at court. He is skill
f-l TOO, in binding his anecdotes together. They
Go not detach themselves from the text. but
form part and parcel of the latter, giving light
and shade and animation 10 what is really a
weI!-knit narrative. AS popular sketch of
Versailles in the time OF Louis XIV this is a
work Of unusual merit.