Paris past & present . lf a million of French people from theirnative land. In that almost unknown countrycalled Thibet a man is god before whom mil-lions on millions of adorers prostrate themselvesas true believers in his quasi-divinity. InFrance, during the latter part of the seven-teenth and the early part of the eighteentlicentury, there was a man who also believedin the quasi-divinity of one man, none otherthan himself, however, that is to say, LouisXIV. He believed that his birth was amiracle, that lie was a gift of God to mortalshere below, therefore he was called Dieudonne(Dieu, God; d
Paris past & present . lf a million of French people from theirnative land. In that almost unknown countrycalled Thibet a man is god before whom mil-lions on millions of adorers prostrate themselvesas true believers in his quasi-divinity. InFrance, during the latter part of the seven-teenth and the early part of the eighteentlicentury, there was a man who also believedin the quasi-divinity of one man, none otherthan himself, however, that is to say, LouisXIV. He believed that his birth was amiracle, that lie was a gift of God to mortalshere below, therefore he was called Dieudonne(Dieu, God; donne, give,) Louis Dieu pretended to believe that a spirit of Godhad descended on Mm and inspired him. Jesuis le lieutenant de Dieu, he once his emblem he took the sun (soleil) and headopted a device—Nee PlnriJms Impar—whichsignified that he was quite enough for severalworlds. Those who worshipped Louis XIVrepresented him as Apollo, the god of beauty,and he was immensely pleased by this. They. VERSAILLES CREATED. 195 represented him as Mars, the god of war, asJupiter even, and he whispered to himself hispersonal satisfaction. Meanwhile, and at first, the capital laughedat these Royal pretensions, but it was soonpunished for its impertinence ; for Louis leGrand detested his hon ville de Paris withall his kingly heart, and so hating her hecreated Versailles. Again, and this time fornearly a century, the Louvre was abandonedas a royal palace, the unfinished work on itAvas neglected, and the Tuileries was empty;but an immense Chateau, with splendid gardens,large fountains, marvellous and ingenious re-treats, a whole city were created to take theirplace. And it is because Versailles is so closeto Paris, is really one of the splendours, orside-shows, so to speak, of the capital, that wemay be permitted to speak of that famous townand its almost ruined masterpieces of embellish-ment in this work. The chateau and the city of Versailles aresynonymous, and the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1902
