terre du Nord_ was laid out below the
windows of the north wing; in 1667 and
1668 the _Theatre d'Eau_, the Maze, the Star,
the Grand Canal, the Avenue of Waters,
the Cascade of Diana and the Pyramid on
the North Parterre, and the Green Carpet
(_Tapis-Vert_) spread out in view of the
windows of the rear facade of the palace. In
1670 and the three succeeding years the
low-lying _Marais_ (fen) was constructed next to
the Parterre of the Fountain of Latona, to
meet the wishes of the King's favorite,
Madame de Montespan. While she was in
power "people spoke of the _Marais_ as one
of the marvels of the gardens, but it was
undoubtedly considered less wonderful after
her fall," a writer comments. "In the
center stood a large oak surounded by an
artificial marsh, bordered with reeds and grasses,
and containing plants and a number of white
swans. From the swans, from the reeds and
grasses, and from the leaves and branches of
the oak, thousands of little jets of water
leaped forth, falling like fine rain upon the
masses of natural vegetation that flourished
amid the artificial. At the sides of the
bosquet there were two tables of marble, on
which a collation was served when the
marquise came to her grove to see the waters
play. In 1704 the King ordered Mansard
to destroy the _Marais_ and transform the
bosquet into the Baths of Apollo."

In 1674 the Royal Isle came into being;
and the next year the Arch of Triumph and
the Three Fountains, between the Avenue
of Waters and the chateau. In the thicket
of the Three Fountains were "an immense
number of small jets of water, leaping from
basins at the sides and forming an arch of
water overhead, beneath which one could
walk without being wet. . . . The Arch of
Triumph filled the end of the bosquet; it
was placed on an estrade with marble steps,
and was preceded by four lofty obelisks of
gilded iron in which the water leaped and
fell in sheets of crystal. The fountain
itself was composed of three porticos of gilded
iron, with large jets in the center of each,
while seven jets leaped up from the basins
above the porticos, and all the waters rushed
down over the steps of marble. In addition,
twenty-two vases at the sides of the bosquet
threw jets into the air. 'Without having
seen it,' says Blondel, 'it is impossible to
imagine the wonderful effect produced by this
decoration.'"

The Orangery was the chief work begun
in 1678, and in the following year the sup