them himself.

On rare occasions, when the King was in residence at Versailles, his
brother dined with him. But large, formal dinners were rare, and women
were seldom at the King's table except on grand occasions.

Upon leaving the table, Saint-Simon tells us, "the King immediately
entered his cabinet. That was the time for distinguished people to speak
to him. He stopped at the door a moment to listen, then entered; very
rarely did any one follow him, never without asking permission to do so;
and for this few had the courage. . . . The King amused himself by
feeding his dogs, and remained with them more or less time, then asked
for his wardrobe, changed before the very few distinguished people it
pleased the first gentleman of the Chamber to admit there, and
immediately went out by the back stairs into the court of marble to get
the air. . . . He went out for three objects: stag-hunting, once or more
each week; shooting in his parks (and no man handled a gun with more
grace or skill), once or twice each week; and walking in his gardens, and
to see his workmen."

The King was fond of hunting and the chase held an important part in the
service of the royal household. The conditions of the sport were
determined with a formality in keeping with the other affairs of
Versailles. There were two divisions of the chase--the hunting and the
shooting. The first had to do with the chase of the stag, deer, wild
boar, wolf, fox and the hare. The shooting had to do with smaller game.
Here was also falconry, though in this Louis was not particularly
interested. The chase was conducted by the Grand Huntsman of France, and
his duties were enormous and varied. Under him the Captain General of
the Toils kept the woods of Versailles well stocked with stag, deer,