"a prodigious
quantity of flowers," the guests listened to the "_Eglogue de
Versailles_," composed for the occasion by Lully, leader of the
_Petits-Violons_, Louis' favorite Court orchestra. Afterwards all the
nobles and their fair companions returned to sup at Versailles in a
wood where the Basin of the Obelisk now is.

Seven days later, at the third fete of the series, the King gave a
banquet to ladies in the pavilion at the Menagerie. The guests were
conveyed in superbly decorated gondolas down the Grand Canal. In a
large boat were violinists and hautboy-players that made sweet music.
Finally, in a theater arranged this time before the Grotto, all the
ladies were regaled with a performance of "_La Malade Imaginaire_," the
last of Moliere's comedies.

For the fourth festal day, the twenty-eighth of July, the King
commanded a fete of surpassing beauty. The feast was laid in the
center of the _Theatre-d'Eau_. The steps forming the amphitheater
served as tables for the arrangement of the viands. Orange trees heavy
with blossoms and golden fruit, apple trees, apricot trees, trees laden
with peaches, and tall oleanders--all set out in ornamental tubs; three
hundred vessels of fine porcelain filled with fruit; one hundred and
twenty baskets of dried preserves; four hundred crystal cups containing
ices, an uncounted number of carafes sparkling with rare liqueurs--all
created a picture of colorful luxury, which, we are assured, struck
those that looked upon it as "most agreeable." Threading their musical
murmurings through all the laughter and badinage, the tossing jets of
the pyramidal fountains fell away to pools and green-bordered streams.

Lully's opera, "_Cadmus et Hermione_" Was sung in a theater arranged at
the end of the Allee of the Dragon. At its close every one made a tour
of the park in open vehicles, lighted by torches carried by lackeys,
and all assisted at an exhibition of fire-works on the canal. The
evening ended with a supper in the Marble Court. Here an illuminated
column was placed on an immense pedestal, while around it was disposed
a table with seats for fifty persons.

The fifth gala day was marked by the presentation to the King of one
hundred and seven flags and standards that Conde, the illustrious
general, had taken at the battle of Senef. In the evening the company
toured the park of Versailles, occupying thirty six-horse carriages.
After a supper served in a forest retreat the invit