portrays France and her conquered enemies rejoicing in the fruits of
Peace. And, again, there are portraits of the ever-present Louis and
the Caesars of Rome. Both these splendid halls remain to-day much as
they were in the time of their creator.

Most lavish is the decoration of the Grand Hall of Mirrors--"the
epitome of absolutism and divine right and the grandeur of the House of
Bourbon." For two hundred and forty feet it extends along the terrace
that surveys the gardens where Louis XIV and his successors delighted
to ordain fêtes of unimaginable gayety. Gorgeously costumed courtiers,
women that dictated the fate of dynasties, diplomats of our day bent
upon the solution of world-rocking problems, all have gazed from this
resplendent gallery upon the fountains and allées that beautify the
scene below. Seventeen lofty windows are matched by as many Venetian
framed mirrors. Between each window and each mirror are pilasters
designed by Coyzevox, Tubi and Caffieri--reigning masters of their
time. Walls are of marble embellished with bronze-gilt trophies; large
niches contain statues in the antique style. The gilded cornice is by
Coyzevox, the ceiling by Lebrun. The conception of the latter
comprises more than a score of paintings representing events that had
to do with wars waged by Louis the Great against Holland, Germany and
Spain. In the period when Versailles was the residence of kings--not a
museum, alone, and the assembly-place of international Councils--the
tables in the Grand Gallery, the benches between the windows, the
many-branched candelabra, the tubs in which orange trees grew, were all
of heavy silver. Thousands of wax candles lighted the salon, some of
them set in immense chandeliers, others in lusters of silver and
crystal. But Louis the Fourteenth's reign was not yet over when he was
compelled to send many hundred pieces of his precious furniture to the
mint, and the superb appointments of the Hall of Mirrors were partially