the former place appeared to have
been produced by the magic power of a fairy's wand. Not the slightest
trace of all this splendour remains; the revolutionary spoilers even tore
up the pipes which served to supply the fountains. Perhaps a brief
description of this palace and the usages established there by Louis XIV.
may be acceptable.

The very extensive gardens of Marly ascended almost imperceptibly to the
Pavilion of the Sun., which was occupied only by the King and his family.
The pavilions of the twelve zodiacal signs bounded the two sides of the
lawn. They were connected by bowers impervious to the rays of the sun.
The pavilions nearest to that of the sun were reserved for the Princes of
the blood and the ministers; the rest were occupied by persons holding
superior offices at Court, or invited to stay at Marly. Each pavilion was
named after fresco paintings, which covered its walls, and which had been
executed by the most celebrated artists of the age of Louis XIV. On a line
with the upper pavilion there was on the left a chapel; on the right a
pavilion called La Perspective, which concealed along suite of offices,
containing a hundred lodging-rooms intended for the persons belonging to
the service of the Court, kitchens, and spacious dining-rooms, in which
more than thirty tables were splendidly laid out.

During half of Louis XV.'s reign the ladies still wore the habit de cour
de Marly, so named by Louis XIV., and which differed little from, that
devised for Versailles. The French gown, gathered in the back, and with
great hoops, replaced this dress, and continued to be worn till the end of
the reign of Louis XVI. The diamonds, feathers, rouge, and embroidered
stuffs spangled with gold, effaced all trace of a rural residence; but the
people loved to see the splendour of their sovereign and a brilliant Court
glittering in the shades of the woods.

After dinner, and before the hour for cards, the Queen, the Princesses,
and their ladies, paraded among the clumps of trees, in little carriages,
beneath canopies richly embroidered with gold, drawn by men in the King's
livery. The trees planted by Louis XIV. were of prodigious height, which,
however, was surpassed in several of the groups by fountains of the
clearest water; while, among others, cascades over white marble, the
waters of which, met by the sunbeams, looked like draperies of silver
gauze, formed a contrast to the solemn darkness of the groves.