Abbe of the Convent of Saint Eloi de Noyon, a fact
which caused the poet Ronsard to evolve a political satire: "La Truelle
Crossee."

At the same time that she was building the Tuileries Catherine de Medici
caused additions to be made to the Louvre; at least she undertook the
completion of the unfinished portion, which had been left for other
hands to do.

The first historic souvenir which stands out prominently with regard to
the Palais des Tuileries is the fete given four days before the fateful
Saint Bartholomew's night. It was the marriage fete of the gallant Henri
de Bearn, King of Navarre, and the wise and witty Marguerite de Valois.

Henri IV, coming to the throne a quarter of a century after the
admirable first year's work on the Tuileries had been completed, found
that little had been done towards making it a really habitable place. It
had been hurriedly finished off to the second story, and had served well
enough for a temporary residence, or as an overflow establishment where
balls and fetes might be given without crowding, but to the ambitious
Henri IV nothing would do but that the pavilions should be bound
together with a more imposing ligature, and that the Pavillon de Flore
should in turn be linked up with the Louvre by a gallery.

Under Louis XIII this latter really came to a conclusion according to
the plans of the architect Ducerceau, but the inspiration of making the
Louvre and the Tuileries one was due to Henri IV.

Under Louis XIV and Louis XV the palace in its still attenuated form was
scarcely more than a rambling lodging, utterly lacking any of the noble
apartments with which it was afterwards endowed. The court at this time
practically made Versailles its headquarters. Neither of the
above-mentioned monarchs made aught but cursory visits to the Tuileries
and left its occupancy to officers of the household and ministers of
state.

It was in the reign of Louis XV that the Florentine artist, Servandoni,
who was at the same time an eminent architect, a remarkable painter and
a _maestro_ of a musician, organized in the Palais des Tuileries the
Theatre des Machines, the first installed at Paris, and there came the
Comedie Francaise, the Opera and the Bouffes (the _Comedie Italienne_)
and gave command performances before the court.

When the French resolved that Louis XVI should live in Paris, the Palais
des Tuileries was actually offered him, but it was a rather shabby place
of royal residenc