On the face of the north and south wings Louis Philippe caused to be
engraved the dedication of the huge pile and its contents "To all the
Glories of France." The sum expended under the direction of the
architect, Nepveu, for the creation of the National Museum of
Versailles, exceeded 20,000,000 francs (about $4,000,000). The
inauguration of the museum in June, 1837, was attended by Louis
Philippe and his Queen, by officers of the Army and Government and
representatives of French Law, Commerce, Art and Education. Arriving
from Trianon, where they had been in residence, the King and his wife
entered the palace by the Marble Stairway, traversed the Grand Hall of
the Guards (to-day called the Hall of Napoleon) and the halls leading
to the Grand Gallery of Battles, where they saw portrayed on canvas all
the important military engagements of French armies, from Tolbiac to
Wagram. In the Chamber of Louis XIV the King and Queen examined the
restorations of the furniture, and found them well done. A royal
banquet was laid in the Grand Gallery and in adjacent salons. At eight
o'clock His Majesty, the royal family and 1500 guests assembled in the
brilliantly illuminated Opera House, where they witnessed a performance
of Moliere's _Misanthrope_ and extracts from the opera, _Robert le
Diable_, by Meyerbeer. The spectacle was concluded by a piece written
by Eugene Scribe, the famous French librettist, in celebration of the
founding of the Museum.
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