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royal burying place. The first entertainment given at 

 Versailles by the King took place in 1664. Moliere, 

 attached to the royal household as valet de chambre, 

 as he was styled, with his troop of actors had selected 

 as a comic piece Les Plaisirs de Vile EnchanUe, of 

 which Benserade and President de Peregny had com- 

 posed the recitative in verse, whilst Lulli had composed 

 the music and directed the ballet scene, and an Italian 

 named Varini took charge of the decorations and pyro- 

 technic display, Moliere had also acted at the first fete 

 his Princesse d'Elide and Les Fdcheux. The grand 

 receptions and regal entertainments continued at Ver- 

 sailles, where the King was having important works 

 carried on by his architects, Levau, Dorbay, and Man- 

 sart. It was on the 6th May, 1682, that the Great 

 Louis removed his household gods to Versailles. 



The highest talent of every order had been enlisted 

 by the monarch to design and decorate the royal demesne 

 and castle, where flocked the wits, great writers, illus- 

 trious divines, as well as the court favorites, the de la 

 Sabliere, Montespan, Maintenon et alice. From those 

 various groups arose like, an ambrosial atmosphere, 

 towards the Grand Monarque, the dangerous fumes of 

 flattery, sometimes, of shameless servility. Was he not 

 the King, who, on ascending the throne, had told his 

 Parliament " l'Etat, c'est moi ? "— " The State, 'tis I." 

 He, too, on viewing his costly pet creation, could say, 

 " Versailles, 'tis I." Versailles was indeed Louis XIV 

 all over. Those sculptured groups : those noble paintings 

 of memorable events compassed by him ; those series of 

 victories due to French courage, French blood, French 

 devotion ; those thunderbolts of war, Conde, Turenne, 

 Villars, &c, put forward by him, surrounding him, 

 looking up to him as the sun of the planet where they 

 revolved, far away beneath him, sometimes forgotten 

 or in disgrace : all spoke at Versailles of the great Louis. 

 Happy were they to be admitted in his Council Cham- 

 ber, reception or banquetting room to sing the praise of 



