In 1904 we were told by fully-informed persons at Versailles that it was “impossible” that we should have seen such uniforms, “unless they were worn by masqueraders,” for green was a royal livery, and no one wore it now at Trianon.
Supposing them to have been masqueraders, the dress may have been that of gardes de la porte. The ceremonial overdress of the gardes de la porte, as was that of part of the gardes du corps (gardes de la Manche), was green, with gold and silver embroidery and red stockings: they carried halberds.[[10]] But the officers had galon instead of embroidery, and no red stockings: they carried an ebony cane with an ivory ball.[[11]]
The livery of the Comte d’Artois, who was colonel-général of the gardes Suisses was green; and those of the gardes du corps and Suisses who were in his service had green uniforms.[[12]]
There is evidence of a much quieter dress without even galon, called the “petite livrée,” which was probably green, as it was worn by the Suisses, piqueurs, gardes de la porte, and the garçons jardiniers.[[13]] The traditional dress of those royal servants who filled the minor parts in the Royal Theatre at Versailles is still to be seen at the acting of the Barbier de Séville in the Comédie Française, which is the descendant of the Royal Theatre. This dress (except for the added red stockings) is the same as the one we saw in 1901.
In 1908 we learned that the porte du jardinier at the Petit Trianon was always guarded ‘dans le temps,’ and that on October 5th, 1789, the guards were two of the three Bersy brothers who, with Bréval, were generally on duty whenever the Queen was in residence at Trianon. From their writing and spelling they were evidently well educated.[[14]] In 1910 we found that they had the title of garçons jardiniers de la Chambre, and they are said to have been stationed in “la pepinière proche la maison.” The most ancient pepinière was close to the gardener’s house.
Cottage, Woman, and Girl
Whilst speaking to the two men, Miss Lamont observed on her right hand a solidly-built cottage with stone steps, on which a woman in old-fashioned dress was standing, handing something to a girl of about 13 or 14, who wore a white cap and skirts nearly reaching to her ankles.
In 1904, Miss Lamont saw a picture resembling this cottage in its general appearance in the Album de Trianon at the Bibliothèque nationale. In 1908, she and a friend discovered such a cottage (more than one) within the gates which were not far from the place where she had seen the plough. These cottages were not in the right position for our experience in 1901, but the type was the same.
In 1907 we discovered from the map of 1783 that there was a building, not now in existence, placed against the wall (outside) of the gardener’s yard between the ruelle and the porte du jardinier; if our original route lay through this yard to the English garden, this building would be exactly in the right place for Miss Lamont’s cottage.
In September, 1910, we saw from marks on this wall that a building might have stood here; for the cornice of the wall is broken into, and there seems to be a perpendicular line from it to the ground visible through the plaster. A photograph shows this.