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,
boars, and other animals caught in the forests of France. Some idea of
the pomp and ceremony of the hunt may be obtained from the following
account which was printed in the _Mercure Galant_ in 1707:

"The toils were placed in the glades of Bombon. In the inclosure there
were a large number of stags, wild boars, roebucks, and foxes. The court
arrived there. The King, the Queen of England (the wife of James II,
then in exile), her son, Madame la Duchesse de Bourgogne, and Madame (the
Duchesse d'Orleans, wife of Monsieur) were in the same carriage, and all
the princesses and the ladies followed in the carriages and _caleches_ of
the king. A very large number of noblemen on horseback accompanied the
carriages. Within the inclosure there were platforms, arranged with
seats covered with tapestry for the ladies, and many riding-horses for
the nobles who wished to attack the game with swords or darts. They
killed sixteen of the largest beasts, and some foxes. Mgr. le Duc de
Berry slew several. This chase gave much pleasure on account of the
brilliancy of the spectacle, and the large number of nobles who
surrounded the toils. A multitude of people had climbed into the trees,
and by