fete at which a troupe headed by Molière was heard in a piece by the
great dramatist called Impromptu de Versailles, In the month of May,
1664, Louis commanded a performance of "Pleasures of the Enchanted
Isle," in which his favorite actor and playwright furnished the comedy,
Lully the music and the ballets, and an Italian mechanician the
decorations and illuminations. On the first day there was tilting at
the ring, in which pastime Louis XIV played a part, wearing a
diamond-embroidered costume. The next day, on an outdoor stage,
Molière and his company played the "_Princesse d'Élide_." There
followed ballets, races, tourneys and a lottery, "in which the prizes
were pieces of furniture, silverware and precious stones."

In September, 1665, a hunt was organized in the woods of Versailles, at
which the royal ladies wore Amazonian habits. A mid-winter day in the
year 1667 was chosen for a tournament "that over-passed the limits of
magnificence." The Queen herself led a cortege of Court beauties on a
white horse that was set off by brocaded and gem-sewn trappings. The
_Gazette_ of 1667 described the appearance of the youthful Master of
Versailles at this tournament, he being "not less easily recognized by
the lofty mien peculiar to him than by his rich Hungarian habit covered
with gold and precious stones, his helmet with waving plumes, his horse
that was arrayed in magnificent accouterments and a jeweled
saddle-cloth."

Again in the summers of 1668 and 1672 Molière and Lully entertained the
guests at the King's chateau, while in the gardens there were statues,
vases and chandeliers so lighted as to give the impression that they
glowed with interior names.

In the summer of 1674, Molière "was no longer alive to arrange dramatic