ecklace, with the subsequent dramatic arrest
of Cardinal de Rohan in the fateful Hall of Mirrors, and the humiliating
trial of Marie Antoinette.

Bored by incessant publicity, finding no pleasure in the formal
promenades of the palace park, the Queen pleaded for "a house of her
own," where she could find recreation after her own tastes, unobserved by
the curious and the critical. Louis XV had built near the Grand Trianon
a small villa for Madame de Pompadour. On the modest estate were several
small outbuildings, to which were added a pavilion for open-air pastimes
and a "French garden." It was Gabriel, architect of the Opera House,
that drew the plans for the little chateau, begun in 1762. But Madame de
Pompadour died before the villa of her fancy was completed. Dubarry
succeeded her as chatelaine, and richly embellished the interior of the
delectable retreat.

When Marie Antoinette desired to possess a _maison de plaisance_ of which
she should be sole mistress, the King, always eager to satisfy her whims,
bade her accept for her own use both the Grand and the Petit Trianon.
Said he, graciously, "These charming houses have always been the repair
of favorites of the reigning king--consequently they should now be
yours." The Queen was much pleased with the gift and with her husband's
gallantry. She responded, laughingly, that she would accept the Little
Trianon on condition that he would not come there except when invited!

During the tenancy of Marie Antoinette, some of the rooms of the Petit
Trianon were altered according to the elaborate style that received the
name of Louis XVI. Sculptures, wood-work, gilded chimneys, staircases,
were fashioned by the hands of master artists. No sooner was she
possessor of her new domain than the Queen desired a garden after the
pastoral English style that was then coming in favor. A lake, a stream
with ornamental bridges, clusters of trees, supplanted the symmetrical
design of a botanical garden that had been much admired. A gallant
attached to the Court wrote an _Elegie_ in praise of the Petit Trianon,
its flowers, tulip trees and fragrant walks. At one end of the lake a
hamlet was created, with a picture-mill and a dairy, fitted with marble
tables and cream jugs of rare porcelain. There was also a farm where the
Queen pastured a splendid herd of Swiss cattle. Among these bucolic
surroundings the King of France, forgetful of his people and their
growing anguish, play