nd other palaces. The gallery has been thoroughly painted
and beautified; and I never saw a place more radiant with gilding and
frescoes. The ceilings are very gorgeous.

We selected a fine day for an excursion to Versailles; and, that we
might have our pleasure consulted as to sight-seeing, we preferred a
private carriage to the railroad. Versailles is about twelve miles from
Paris, and has some twenty-five or thirty thousand inhabitants. Henry
IV. used to resort here for hunting. Louis XIII. had a lodge here for
his comfort when following the chase. Louis XIV. turned the lodge into a
palace, and began operations in 1664. In 1681, he removed with his court
to this place. The Chapel was begun in 1699, and finished in 1710. The
Theatre was inaugurated at the marriage of Louis XVI., in 1770. A new
wing was built by Louis XVIII. Louis Philippe made great additions, and
devoted the palace to the noble purpose of a national depot of all that
is glorious in the history of France. What Louis Philippe did here you
may imagine, when I tell you that on the restoration and improvement of
Versailles he expended fifteen millions of francs. Why, Charley, the
stables are like mansions, and fine ones, too. The grand court is three
hundred and eighty feet wide, and the Place d'Armes, which leads to it,
is eight hundred feet wide. The iron railings which divide these are
very richly gilt. On either side the court are ranges of buildings
intended for the ministers of the king; and here are sixteen colossal
marble statues, which I well remember, at the Pont de la Concorde, in
Paris. They are great names of old and modern renown. In the centre of
the court is a colossal equestrian statue of Louis XIV. Now comes
another court devoted to royalty; and north and south are wings and
pavilions, one built by Louis XV., and the other by Louis Philippe. Next
we see the Cour de Marbre, around which is the old palace of Louis
XIII., crowned with balustrades, vases, trophies, and statues. South of
the Cour Royale is a small court called Cour des Princes, and divides
the wing built by Louis XVIII. from the main body of the southern wing.
The Grand Commun is a vast square edifice, enclosing a court. It has one
thousand rooms; and when Louis XIV. lived here, three thousand people
lodged: in this building. The chapel is exceedingly beautiful. It is in
Corinthian style, and is one hundred and forty-eight feet by
seventy-five, and ninety feet high. The front