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fan£Hty of the place, yet nothing was denied me a ft ranger. Here being alone, we fellinto difcourfe of the Englifh, and of their king. They willingly allowed the Englifhto be truly brave; and now in peace they found alfo, that they were as civil, and wellbred, as brave ; that no nation had given the king and his court that farisfaction that theEnglilh had done; being curious and inquifitive after all good things; they did fee agreat difference between them and other nations; they did not ftare, and carelefsly runabout, or hold up their heads, and-defpife what they faw ; but had a true relifh of everygood thing, and made a good judgment of what was commendable ; and therefore theking took pleai'ure to have them fliewed every thing. This difcourfe of the Englifh theyconcluded with a great encomium of King William.
As for their own king they were much in the praife of him, as one may eafily ima-gine : that his retirement hither was moftly for his health ; that he left Verfailles everyTuefday night, and came hither with a feleft company of lords and ladies ; that he re-turned not till Saturday night, and fometimes intermitted ten or fourteen days ; fo thathe fpent half of his time here in repofe ; that he was the molt affable prince in the world,and never out of humour, of a pleafant and open converfation where it pleated him ;eafy of accefs, and never fent any one away difcontented; the mod bountiful mafter inthe world, of which there were ten thoufand inftances ; nothing of merit in any kind,but he moft readily and cheerfully rewarded, ever, of late years at leaft, preferring thevirtuous ; fo on the other hand, he never fpared the rebellious and obftinate ; that thegovernment of his people could not be carried on with lefs feverity and ftri&nefs ; northe taxes which were neceffary to fupport it, railed ; that he delighted not in blood orperfecution ; but that the art of government had different rules, according to the cli-mate and nature of the people, where and upon whom it was to be put in pra&ice. Hisgreat wifdom appeared in nothing more, than in preferving himfelf amidft his troops,his converts, his court and numerous family, all in a manner fit for the throne. Thegreatnefs of his mind, and magnificence, in his buildings. This was the fum of the dif-courfe thefe gentlemen were pleafed to entertain me with.
At my return to Paris I was to fee the pipinerie, or royal nurfery of plants, in theFauxbourg of St. Honorie; where I met the mafter or comptroller of it, MonfieurMorley, one of the uthers of the bed-chamber to the king.
He, like the relt of the French nation, was civil to me; and fliewed me a writtenalmanac of fl wering plants for the whole year, which he faid was an original; it mightindeed, be fo in French , but w^e have had almanacs for fruit and flowers, for everymonth in the year, printed divers times, for above this 30 years, thanks to Mr. Evelyn.
This ground inclofed with high walls is vaftly big, as it ought to be, to fupply thekings’ gardens ; here are feveral acres of young pines, cypreffes, vues, &c. alfo vafl bedsof flock July flowers, of all forts of bulbes, as tulips, daftodills, crocus’s, &c. and there-fore I could eafily believe him when he told me, he had fent from hence to Marli alone,in four years time, eighteen millions of tulips and other bulbous flowers, for which heoffered to fhew me his m tnoirs.
He further told me, that the furnifliing the Trianon (d peculiar houfe of pleafure,with its parterres at the end of the gardens at Verfaiiles) with flower pots in feafon,every fourteen days in the fummer, took up no lefs than ninety-two thoufand pots fromhence.
A1 To from hence he could plant and furniffi in fourteen days time, any new garden theking fhould caufe to be made.
Here befides the plants common to us and them, I faw a multitude of pots well con»ditioned of ftaschas citrina folio latiufculo. '
K 2 Alfo