He much preferred pretty girls to pompous ministers of state,
and spent most of his time with the ladies and the rest of the time
either hunting or gambling. In spite of the fact that he was married,
Louis very easily fell in love with a charming face; at one time he was
infatuated by the duchess of Chateauroux, then by Madame de Pompadour,
and later by Madame du Barry. Upon his mistresses he was willing to
lavish princely presents,--he gave them estates and titles, had them
live at Versailles, and criminally allowed them to interfere in
politics; for their sake he was willing to let his country go to ruin.
The character of the king was reflected in his court. It became
fashionable to neglect one's wife, to gamble all night, to laugh at
virtue, to be wasteful and extravagant. Versailles was gay; the ladies
painted their cheeks more brightly than ever, and the lords spent their
fortunes more recklessly.
But Versailles was not France. France was ruined with wars and taxes.
Louis XIV had said, "Live at peace with your neighbors"; but since his
death four wars had been waged, culminating in the disastrous Seven
Years' War (1756-1763), by which French commerce had been destroyed and
the French colonies had been lost.
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