embroidered with gold, and wore all his great diamonds. The coat of my
son was embroidered with gold and a variety of other colors and it was
covered with gems. The robe my daughter wore was made of green velour
threaded with gold and garnished with rubies and diamonds. In her hair
was an ornament designed in brilliants and sprays of rubies."

For these extraordinary functions the King and his entourage bedecked
themselves with priceless ornaments. When in 1714 the Sun King
received the ambassador of Siam, he chose a habit of black and gold
bordered with diamonds, valued at 12,500,000 _livres_, or about
$2,500,000. The weight was so great that he was compelled to change it
soon after dinner. Besides the jewelry he wore on his own person, the
royal host loaned for this event a garniture of diamonds and pearls to
the Duke of Maine and another garniture of colored stones to the Count
of Toulouse.

When the King of France received foreign ambassadors, or celebrated,
with pomp befitting his tastes, marriages and births in the royal
family, the Court, weightily, stiffly, sumptuously appareled, thronged
through the Hall of Mirrors--the Grand Gallery--in spectacular defile.

These brilliant tableaux, the most brilliant of all Europe, had their
source in the King's love of splendor and profusion. It was to please
him that his courtiers and favorites staked fortunes at the gaming
tables, outran each other in devising costly dresses, contrived novel
equipages and unique dwellings. In his superb Court he found all the
elements required to satisfy his pride, and glorify his reign. The Sun
King was the most profligate host in all history. Determined to outdo
the fabulous luxury of the feasts of Lucullus in early Roman times, and
to outshine the storied splendor of Oriental princes, he entertained