登陆注册
14926100000052

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.

同类推荐
  • The Foolish Dictionary

    The Foolish Dictionary

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 净业知津

    净业知津

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 相宗八要

    相宗八要

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • THE OATH

    THE OATH

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 投子义青禅师语录

    投子义青禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 我来听你的演唱会

    我来听你的演唱会

    陈识是个善良的男孩儿。在我失恋的时候他把我捡回家,后来我们在被窝里滚到天亮,他用身体把我团住,我眯着眼睛装睡。我们爱了一阵子,后来在火车上分手,他扔了车票下车,我一个人从广州哭到了北京。再见面,他搂着新的姑娘,我连多看一眼都觉得恶心。20岁那年,我最大的愿望是和陈识在一起。20岁那年,陈识最大的愿望是在工体开演唱会。
  • 续命悬

    续命悬

    【当脑中渐渐有另一个人的记忆,当开始不自觉执行他人的习惯时,你确定你还是你自己吗?】陈允然在偶然的机缘下,踏进时空裂缝中,误闯了一座上古的女娲尸坑,接着还造访传说中的人间仙境桃花源。一个和自己相像的女人,一段拼拼凑凑的记忆,一种流传至今只剩十几字的夏禹文......
  • 王源我们只是最熟悉的陌生人

    王源我们只是最熟悉的陌生人

    闺蜜反目成仇?敌人化敌为友?神马玩意的狗血的剧情?
  • 男神驾到:扑倒帅气爷

    男神驾到:扑倒帅气爷

    苏抹盛觉得,萧依晨是这个世界上最坏的人了!坏到可以让她随便欺负他,可以让她不理他。可是苏抹盛就是好爱好爱他!爱到无法自拔,爱到愿意为他做一切!不过呢,萧依晨有点迟钝,当初是她主动追得他,他还说她是“包子脸”!真实不解风情!(本文是宠文,不会太虐!章节不会太长,谢谢!)
  • 锦珛的爱情

    锦珛的爱情

    当锦年开了一夜的车出现在楚珛的面前时,楚珛是这样说的:“苏先生你怎么在这?辞职报告我已经放在你的书桌上了,还是你没有看到?”“楚珛你没有提前给我打声招呼,公司还有一大堆的事没有管,你这是要忘恩负义吗?”楚珛看着从一楼爬到13楼而气喘吁吁的苏锦年,心里小小的琢磨了一会“那你现在知道了,这段时间我先待在你身边,等你什么时候找到新的助理我就离开”“好,那现在是不是请楚小姐移驾跟我回京都啊?”……自从和苏锦年恋爱的消息曝光后,楚珛已经一个星期没有再见到他了,晚上下楼出来倒垃圾突然看见苏锦年在楼下向她招手,苏锦年戴着口罩和墨镜的样子就出现在楚珛的眼眶里,苏锦年伸出双臂“抱抱吧,不想我啊?”……
  • EXO之双怜幽梦

    EXO之双怜幽梦

    (将近完结)传说有一种花叫双生花,一株二艳,并蒂双花。它们在一枝梗子上互相爱,却也互相争抢,斗争不止。它们用最深刻的伤害来表达最深刻的爱,直至死亡。一朵必须不断吸取另一朵的精魂,否则两朵都会败落。因此,其中一朵必须湮灭,以换取另一朵的生存。双生的花朵,会一起摇曳一起旋转。但是,最后却只会一朵生长,一朵枯萎。但生存的一朵会带着另一朵的愿望在生存时,替它完成。因为,她们是双生花啊。。。。。。
  • 前朝虐恋之还君明珠

    前朝虐恋之还君明珠

    谁家今夜扁舟子?何处相思明月楼?可怜楼上月徘徊,应照离人妆镜台。前朝虐恋之还君明珠
  • 妃常疯狂:不娶我娶谁

    妃常疯狂:不娶我娶谁

    女主穿越成架空年代不受宠小姐,阴差阳错嫁给冷酷王爷,一句“本王从不碰女人”令她汗颜,她会怎样生存下去呢?
  • 天奇大圣

    天奇大圣

    一个苍天都奇怪的人降临世界,因为阴差阳错的他在诞生之前,大脑就已经开发了百分之十!他将会做出什么震惊大千世界的举动!命中注定,与众不同!
  • 教养的教养

    教养的教养

    在家庭教育的过程中,很多家长过于注重知识的学习,却忽略了比知识重要的教养。这种偏颇的教育方式,会使孩子变得“受过教育却没教养”。教养在孩子的成长中起到很重要的作用。《教养的教养》共8个章节,分别从道德品质、行为习惯、礼仪规范、人际沟通、心理素质等方面告诉家长如何通过规范自己和指导孩子来使孩子成为一个有教养的人。书中的案例能较好地联系实际,帮助家长在生活中教育孩子,及早认识和发现孩子的心理特点和孩子的想法,更好地实现家长与孩子的良好沟通。