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 France tinder Louis XIV 685 Section 122. How Louis encouraged Art and Literature Louis XIV was careful that his surroundings should suit the The king's grandeur of his office. His court was magnificent beyond any- ^^eSilles thing that had been dreamed of in the West. He had an enor- mous palace constructed at Versailles, just outside of Paris, with interminable halls and apartments and a vast garden Fig. 236. OxXE of the Vast Halls of Versailles stretching away behind it. About this a town was laid out, where those who were privileged to be near his majesty or supply the wants of the royal court lived. This palace and its outlying buildings, including two or three less gorgeous residences for the king when he occasionally tired of the cere- mony of Versailles, probably cost the nation about a hundred million dollars, in spite of the fact that thousands of peasants and soldiers were forced to turn to and work without pay. The furnishings and decorations were as rich and costly as the palace was splendid and still fill the visitor with wonder. For