d'Armes, we distinguish the different parts of which the imposing mass
of buildings is composed. In the center is a singular bit of
architecture. In vain the neighboring masses extend their circle
around it: their great arms are unable to stifle it; but it possesses a
seriousness of character that attracts the eye more strongly than their
high white walls. This is the remains of the château built by Louis
XIII at Versailles. Louis XIV did not wish to bury his father's
dwelling.




THE STORY OF VERSAILLES


CHAPTER I

THE BEGINNINGS OF VERSAILLES

A dreary expanse of low-lying marsh-land, dismal, gloomy and full of
quicksands, where the only objects that relieved the eye were the
crumbling walls of old farm buildings, and a lonely windmill, standing
on a roll of higher ground and stretching its gaunt arms toward the sky
as if in mute appeal against its desolate surroundings--such was
Versailles in 1624. This uninviting spot was situated eleven miles
southwest of Paris, the capital city of France, the royal city, the
seat, during a century before, of the splendid court of the brilliant
Francis I and of the stout-hearted Henry II, the scene of the masterful
rule of Catherine de Medici, of the career of the engaging and
beautiful Marguerite de Valois and of the exploits of the gallant Henry