word to me. I was very well receiv'd by the Duke and Duchess of Orleans. It was not easy to see this Prince without loving him; for his Affability supported by a most sparkling Wit, and the most elegant Accomplishments, endear'd him to all that had the Honor of Access to him. This Prince constantly paid his Attendance at Court, and had the greatest Respect for Madame. He never miss'd a Day of waiting upon this Princess. He went to her Apartments every Night at half an Hour past eight, and play'd at Chess there till the King's Supper-time; but this Prince only sate down at the Game, and as he went in and out he always kiss'd her Hand.
The Court of France, tho' very splendid by reason of the number of Princes and Princesses of which it consists, was nevertheless not so gay as I expected. The Life at Versailles was the most uniform in the World: The King's Hours were settled, and he that had seen but one Day there had seen a Year. The King rose at nine or ten o'clock. The Princes and all the Courtiers attended his Levee, and after he was dress'd he kneel'd down to Prayers on a Cushion of Black Velvet, with his Chaplains and the Bishops that were at his Levee, kneeling also round him. When Prayers were ended, the King went into his Closet, where sometimes the Ministers came to speak to him about Business, and in the mean while the Courtiers walk'd in the great Gallery, thro' which the King walk'd to hear Mass, and there all the Courtiers waited to be seen by his Majesty as he pass'd. I never saw a Nation more fond of paying their Attendance at Court than the French; for I have even seen many Courtiers, who thinking the Prince had not observ'd them, stept forwards into another Room, and then another,
till by chance his Majesty happen'd to cast his Eyes upon them.
After Mass was over the King return'd to his Closet; sometimes he held a Council and afterwards din'd alone, at which time one might also observe how the Courtiers strove to be seen by him. The King eat with a good Appetite, nay I thought he eat voraciously. His Dinner lasted three Quarters of an Hour, and upon certain Days there was Music. After Dinner, the King went down by the Back-stairs, and took Coach to go a hunting in the Park of Versailles, which was full of small Game. He return'd about the Dusk of the Evening, and went to Madame de Maintenon's Apartment, where there were only a few of the old Courtiers, and generally speaking, none but Ladies; as, Madame de Caylus, a Cousin of Madame de Maintenon, and Madame de Dangeau, who play'd at Cards with the King when the Ministers were not there; for then, instead of Gaming, Business was the Subject, and there every thing was commonly settled. At ten o'clock at Night, when word was brought to the King that Supper was serv'd up, his Majesty went to the Table, where the Princes and Princesses always accompanied him. The Duchesses were plac'd behind the Folding-Chairs of the Princes, on both sides of the Table; and the other Ladies of Quality stood on the Right hand of the King's Arm-chair. His Majesty, after making a Bow to the Princes and Princesses and all the Ladies, sate down in his Chair, and then the Princes and Princesses took their Seats, as did also the Duchesses. The other Ladies of Quality pass'd into a Salon just by, where they were at liberty to sit down. The Supper lasted no longer than the Dinner: The King talk'd
there but little, and sometimes he address'd himself to Madame, or to the Duchess of Orleans; but I never heard him speak to the Dukes of Berry and Orleans, nor even to the Duchess of Berry.
After Supper was over, the King, preceded by the Princes, went into his Bed-Chamber, where he found such of the Ladies as were not Duchesses, to whom he put off his Hat, and then sate down by the Ballustrade that was before his Bed, where he stay'd till the Princesses and Duchesses were enter'd into the Room. I observ'd that the old Court-Ladies made a profound Curt'sy to the King's Bed when they enter'd his Chamber, which the young Ladies did not; for being perhaps more puff'd up with their Youth and their Charms, they did not think themselves oblig'd to pay so much Respect. When the Duchesses who had attended at Supper enter'd to the King's Bed-Chamber, the King made an Obeisance to them, as he did to the other Ladies; and then the King preceded by the Princes, and followed by the Princesses who had supp'd with him, went into his Closet, to which the Princes and Princesses of the Blood also repair'd. His Majesty convers'd with 'em for a while, during which the Duchesses and the other Ladies withdrew. At length the King dismiss'd the Princes and Princesses, and went to Bed. Then the Courtiers separated, and the Generality retir'd. Some went to the Duke of Berry's Couchée, and others to the Duke of Orleans's. Those who paid their Court to this Prince were well receiv'd by him. For my own part I went thither as often as I could, not so much to pay my Court to Madame, as from a natural liking I had to this Prince.
Thus, Madame, did the King pass his Life. The Pleasures of the Courtiers were at best but dull, Gaming being almost their whole Amusement. The Assembly was commonly held at the House of the Prince d'Armagnac of Lorrain, Master of the Horse, where there was Play in the Afternoon. Foreigners were perfectly welcome to this Prince, as they were also to the Cardinal of Roban. The latter liv'd very magnificently, and at the Houses of these two Noblemen you were sure to see the Prime of the Nobility of France.
When the Court was at Fontainbleau[41], 'twas much more gay than it was when at Versailles, where it may be said, that it shone in its full Lustre. Nevertheless tho' Fontainbleau is not near so magnificent, it has the Air of a Castle, which Versailles has not. Moreover, Art and Nature seem to have acted in concert towards forming the magnificent Buildings which several Monarchs have caus'd to be erected at Fontainbleau: Whereas at Versailles Nature seems to have had nothing to do, every thing being the Work of Art, and too much adorned. Perhaps I may be the only one of this Opinion, but I always thought that the Magnificence at Versailles was too general.
I was at Fontainbleau some time after the Conclusion of the Suspension of Arms with the English. The News of the Peace on the point of being concluded, and the Victory at Denain, seem'd to have restor'd to the Court such an Air of Gayety as had not been known there for many years. The Elector of Bavaria was there at that time, and there was such Gaming at the Duchess of Berry's and the Duke of Antin's, as