FRANCE 



The Fountain of Diana ^ Versailles 



summer holidays the gardens of Versailles 

 are thronged with pleasure-seekers. Gay 

 Parisian excursionists crowd the terraces ; per- 

 sonally conducted tourists are hurried from point 

 to point ; townsfolk camp under the chestnuts ; 

 children romp merrily ; and vendors of syrups, 

 cakes, and toys drive a brisk trade. 



But when evening falls and the last visitors 

 have gone, the dim glades and darkling groves 

 become repeopled with a ghostly company. Old 

 myths grow real, forgotten scenes revive. Even 

 the statues, glimmering through the dusk, seem 

 to move as though Venus emerged from mists of 

 verdure, as once she rose from the foam of the 

 ./Egean sea, or as if Diana prepared to descend 

 from her pedestal to bathe in the pool dedicated 

 to her name. 



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