THE ARGUMENT xi 



French court in the eighteenth century, who can appre- 

 ciate Versailles? It only exists as a background for 

 artifice and artificiality, for elegant ladies, their pow- 

 dered hair erected a la Pompadour, their hoop-skirts 

 sweeping the broad paths, coquettishly shielding their 

 eyes with their painted fans, and gossiping with the 

 gentlemen in attendance about, perhaps, the recent dis- 

 appearance of the king and the de Montespan down a 

 covered alley set aside for the royal flirtations. 



Plans and photographs can only partially show the 

 form of these gardens, words are still more inadequate 

 to express their spirit, but perhaps some suggestion can 

 be given of their arrangement and their charm. 



Acknowledgments are due to so many people, that 

 the author cannot even begin to name her indebtedness. 

 Garden-owners everywhere have thrown open their gates 

 with a hospitality which has not been unappreciated, 

 while facts have been obtained with and without per- 

 mission from almost every writer about gardens, whether 

 living or dead. For all these opportunities to add to 

 her stock of information she can only say that she is 

 truly grateful. 



