Griffith & Griffith 



LAKE) AND FARM OF MARIE ANTOINETTE): PALACE OF PETIT TRIANON, 



VERSAILLES, FRANCE 



In the nine or ten rustic cottages which dot the shores of this beautiful little artificial 

 body of water the care-free Marie Antoinette and her irresponsible retinue played at leading 

 "the simple life," which came into fashion with the publication of Rousseau's "The Village 

 Soothsaver." 



on the highly polished ballroom floor, but 

 I forgive him when he winks at me in 

 the wickedest possible manner. 



WHERE BEAUTY BRINGS A TEAR 



After we've seen what seems' like miles 

 of beautiful old rooms, and furniture, 

 and rugs, and tapestries, we tip our guide 

 in true soldier style. Then we sally forth 

 into the fresh, sweet-swelling openness of 

 the gardens. We all heave a huge sigh 

 to leave behind the close, hot air of in- 

 doors. We breathe deeply for very joy 

 of living and being away from "Fritzie," 

 in whom we all admit there's "a mighty 

 good kick yet." 



We saunter slowly to the top of the 

 superb marble stairs, where we just natu- 

 rally stop. Somehow I can never stand 

 on this particular spot with my soldier 

 friends without feeling a great lump in 

 my throat. Sometimes a boy will almost 

 whisper, "Beautiful," or "Bonza," if he 

 is an Australian, which means everything 

 that is good ; but mostly they say nothing. 

 Sometimes I see a kid surreptitiously 



take oft his cap, and once I saw a tear; 

 it was in the eye of a man who had been 

 an artist at home ; now he is assistant 

 camp cook. 



Now Ave descend the great white steps, 

 thirty-two pairs of army boots clang- 

 clanging and one pair of high heels al- 

 ways in the lead. Once more I gather 

 them all about me, the "Infant" closest 

 of all, and we feast our eyes upon the 

 beauties of the fountain of Latona. I 

 tell them what it means. Every fairy tale 

 begins in the same old way : so here goes : 



"Once upon a time, when the goddess 

 whom you see at the top of the fountain 

 was wandering in a little village, she was 

 very thirsty. She came upon a lot of 

 women and children and begged them for 

 a drink. But they refused and laughed 

 at her. So she called upon Jove, and he, 

 with one wave of his hand turned them 

 all into turtles and frogs, just as you 

 see them here." 



And all around me I hear, "What a 

 charming tale." and "Nonsense," and "It 

 'ud take a lot o' this to kill me." 



54? 



