The Chapel of Louis XIV at Versailles was resplendent on that morning in 1770 when the dauphin (later Louis XVI) married Marie Antoinette of Austria. Sunlight pierced the stained-glass windows, illuminating the frescoed ceiling and the embroidered brocades and silks of the guests—the aristocracy of Europe and a few lords from the colonies. It was a state affair, too sublime for common folk. Only nobles whose coats of arms bore many quarterings were permitted inside Versailles's marble walls and mirrored hallways. All went smoothly until a thunderstorm rained out a postnuptial display of...
Modern Living: Franco-American Follies
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