File:Versailles and the court under Louis XIV (1905) (14765878612).jpg

Identifier: versaillescourtu00farm (find matches)
Title: Versailles and the court under Louis XIV
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors: Farmer, James Eugene, 1867-1915
Subjects: Versailles (France) -- Description France -- Court and courtiers
Publisher: New York, The Century co.
Contributing Library: Wellesley College Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Wellesley College Library

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96,070 For paintings and antiques 509,073 For stuffs of gold and silver 1,075,673 For products of the goldsmiths art, etc.. . 3,245,759 For medals and objects of art 556,069 It is necessary to notice that in the sum total given by Eck-ard the expenses of Marly, and of Clagny, the splendid cha-teau built by the king for Madame de Montespan, are in-cluded. Marly is placed at 4,501,279 livres, and we knowthat Clagny cost 2,074,592 livres. It seems proper to de-duct these sums from the sum total of Versailles. As forthe machine of Marly (costing 3,674,864 livres), and theimmense works undertaken to bring the river Eure to Ver-sailles (costing 8,612,995 livres), though neither were atVersailles, the expense was incurred to secure water for thegardens, and may therefore be rightly counted in the costof the latter.1 To-day the state spends from 600,000 to 650,000 francseach year to keep up the palace and park of Versailles. 1 Both these items are included in the sum total given by Eckard. n6
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Plan of the Palace, Park, and Town of Veraiaies in the time of Louis XIV and Louis IXTHE MEANING OF VERSAILLES WHAT, then, was Versailles? Was it simplya huge palace, surrounded on one side by-splendid gardens, and on the other by astately town ? It was that and more.Colbert had tried to keep the king in Paris at the Louvre.But Louis could not be the king he wished to be at theLouvre. He had dreamed a dream, he had formed a policy,and to realize them both he needed Versailles. To-day thedoctrine of the divine right of kings is an anachronism, butin Louiss time it was a living force in the world. At thedeath of Mazarin, on the 9th of March, 1661, Louis hadaddressed his ministers and secretaries as follows: In fu-ture, gentlemen, I shall be my own prime minister. Thecourt heard these words with astonishment; but France,weary of civil strife and political dissensions, distrusting hernobility and loyal to her sovereign, France heard Louisswords, and applauded them, and cried with joy, A k

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