第52章

The foregoing is but the framework； before 1789 it was completely filled up. "You have seen nothing，" says Chateaubriand， "if you have not seen the pomp of Versailles， even after the disbanding of the king's household； Louis XIV was always there."[8] It is a swarm of liveries， uniforms， costumes and equipages as brilliant and as varied as in a picture. I should be glad to have lived eight days in this society. It was made expressly to be painted， being specially designed for the pleasure of the eye， like an operatic scene. But how can we of to day imagine people for whom life was wholly operatic？ At that time a grandee was obliged to live in great state； his retinue and his trappings formed a part of his personality； he fails in doing himself justice if these are not as ample and as splendid as he can make them；he would be as much mortified at any blank in his household as we with a hole in our coats. Should he make any curtailment he would decline in reputation； on Louis XVI undertaking reforms the court says that he acts like a bourgeois. When a prince or princess becomes of age a household is formed for them； when a prince marries， a household is formed for his wife； and by a household it must be understood that it is a pompous display of fifteen or twenty distinct services： stables， a hunting-train， a chapel， a surgery， the bedchamber and the wardrobe， a chamber for accounts， a table， pantry， kitchen， and wine-cellars， a fruitery， a fourrière， a common kitchen， a cabinet， a council；[9] she would feel that she was not a princess without all this. There are 274appointments in the household of the Duc d'Orléans， 210 in that of Mesdames， 68 in that of Madame Elisabeth， 239 in that of the Comtesse d'Artois， 256 in that of the Comtesse de Provence， and 496 in that of the Queen. When the formation of a household for Madame Royale， one month old， is necessary， "the queen，" writes the Austrian ambassador， "desires to suppress a baneful indolence， a useless affluence of attendants， and every practice tending to give birth to sentiments of pride. In spite of the said retrenchment the household of the young princess is to consist of nearly eighty persons destined to the sole service of her Royal Highness."[10] The civil household of Monsieur comprises 420 appointments， his military household， 179； that of the Comte d'Artois 237 and his civil household 456. - Three-fourths of them are for display； with their embroideries and laces， their unembarrassed and polite expression， their attentive and discreet air， their easy way of saluting， walking and smiling， they appear well in an antechamber， placed in lines， or scattered in groups in a gallery；I should have liked to contemplate even the stable and kitchen array， the figures filling up the background of the picture. By these stars of inferior magnitude we may judge of the splendor of the royal sun.