Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/493

 France under Louis XIV 367 628. Different Attitude of English and French toward Ab- solute Monarchy. Louis XIV had two great advantages over James I. In the first place, the English nation has always shown itself far more reluctant than France to place absolute power in the hands of its rulers. By its Parliament, its courts, and its various declarations of the nation's rights, it had built up tradi- tions which made it impossible for the Stuarts to establish their claim to be absolute rulers. In France, on the other hand, there was no Great Charter or Bill of Rights ; the Estates General did not hold the purse strings (481), and the king was permitted to raise money without asking their permission. When Louis XIV took charge of the government, forty-seven years had passed with- out a meeting of the Estates General, and a century and a quarter was still to elapse before another call to the representatives of the nation was issued, in 1789 ( 748). Moreover, the French people placed far more reliance upon a powerful king than the English, perhaps because they were not protected by the sea from their neighbors, as England was. 629. Personal Characteristics of Louis XIV. Louis was a handsome man of elegant and courtly mien and the most exquisite perfection of manner. He had, moreover, a sound judgment and quick apprehension. He was, for a king, a hard worker and spent several hours a day attending to the business of government. II. LIFE AT THE COURT OF Louis XIV 630. The King's Palace at Versailles. Louis XIV was care- ful that his surroundings should suit the grandeur of his office. His court was magnificent beyond anything that had been dreamed of in the West. He had an enormous palace constructed at Versailles, just outside of Paris, with interminable halls and apartments and a vast garden stretching away behind it. About this a town was laid out, where those lived who were privileged to be near his Majesty or supply the wants of the royal court. This palace and its outlying buildings, including two or three less gorgeous residences for the king when he occasionally tired of the