East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1918-12-27

turoers who were whispering that
even a king had no right to spend so
much money for a palace for to house
his lady friends when the nation over
which he was ruling was starving. SO
Louis did what many a purchaser OF
expensive hats has done since-tore
up the bills and burned them before
anybody could look them over.
The palace was not built with an
eve TO peace conferences, or. assem-
blies. of democracies. Louis XIV did
not know about Such things Bit
Louis had a lady friend, a Miss La
Nalliere, with whom he was trying
to make great hit.' She was the same
lady who wore the 1ittle Afedoratfdhf
suspended antitl4 her )Gsdk. from
whirh laYallIeres ,(variously1 AspelIed
and designed in these days take their
name. A certain Foqnet, Louis min
ister of finance, also courted Miss La
Valliere, and one night gave a big
party to win her heart. He spent 49,
100000 francs on the party. but then
he was minister of finance. He in
vited the king, and the king became
wroth that a mere minister OF finance
should be able to give such a party
and steal his girl at the same time. So
Louis had Fouqeut thrown in Jail as
suspicious character, and decided
to build a house that would knock
Miss La Valliere's eye out, so to speak.
L.ous was a married man, of course,
but then he was king. and in those
days king could do no wrong.
Both Louis II Wand his successors
found that the palace was entirely too
big for one lady friend. so they
brought IN several at a time and vet
inanaged, ID. Keep them 50 far apart
fhat the roAal hair pttlllus were few
Indeed. Among the successets of La
Nalliere HHfa the notoriousf Mines.
Montespan. Maintenon, Duliary. and
Pom padoiirSIi
Descriptions Of the various rooms
OF the palace occupy many volumes,
and descriptions of the gardens about
the palace occupy whole libraries. But
the room of chief interest at this
time is the Gallery OF Mirrors. II
was here that King William of Prus,
sia. ancestor of William Hohenzollern
was proclaimed emperor of Germany
on January IS, 1871. And it is here
Hohenzollern proclaimed nobody. 4S
years later. In fact, many French
men are so poetic as to hope that by
January IS. 1919, either the peace
conference or some auxiliary court
may sentence the last German emper,
or for his crimes. 1t was here that
a humiliating surrender was dictated
to France by Bismarck and it was
here that the supreme war council of
the civilized nations dictated its grim
armistice terms that tOppled over the
throne of the Hohenzolierns in Prus-
sia and the German empire. In this
most extravagant room of this palace
that is recognized as the supreme ex-
preston of Indispensable autocracy it
is likely thati the deuidcracy of the
world viii be written INTO. perma-
nent covenant and ,proclaimed to hui
manity. tft = f.AtG tt
This room is 237 feet long by 33
feet wide. and 43 feet from floor to
ceiling. On one side II large win.
dows look out upon the gardens. on
the other side II large mirrors, the
same size as the windows. reflect the
glory of Versailles and the scenes of
statecraft that periodically are en-
acted there.
! Versailles may not have enough ho-
I tel facilities for the conference, but
IL certainly has the atmosphere. the
| background. And Paris is but ten
miles away.