A lake, a stream
with ornamental bridges, clusters of trees, supplanted the symmetrical
design of a botanical garden that had been much admired. A gallant
attached to the Court wrote an _Elegie_ in praise of the Petit Trianon,
its flowers, tulip trees and fragrant walks. At one end of the lake a
hamlet was created, with a picture-mill and a dairy, fitted with marble
tables and cream jugs of rare porcelain. There was also a farm where the
Queen pastured a splendid herd of Swiss cattle. Among these bucolic
surroundings the King of France, forgetful of his people and their
growing anguish, played shepherd to his shepherdess Queen. In the Temple
of Love they basked on summer days among rosy vines, while the music of
Court players wafted through the trees from a nearby pavilion. Every
Sunday during the summer season there was a ball in the park, where any
one might dance whose clothes and behavior were respectable. The Queen,
sensing the need to propitiate a disgruntled populace, shared in the
afternoon's revelries, petted the children that flocked about her knees,
chatted with their nurses and parents. Often, Marie Antoinette resided
for weeks at a time at her favorite dwelling, fishing in the lake,
tending her herd, picking berries in her garden patch. The King and the
princes came every day for supper, and were received by a Queen dressed
in white with a fichu of net--sometimes in a "rumpled gown of cotton.
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