Note 132 — Chapter IV · A RÊVERIE

In the time of Marie Antoinette there were at least three grottos at Trianon, of which only one remains intact, and that possibly the last created; it may have been formed along with the Escargot hill, raised in 1781 (Arch. Nat. O1, 1877).

The oldest grotto is mentioned in 1777 as ending at the porte d’entrée (O¹, 1875). Issuing from the side of this first grotto was a “naissance de rivière,” which fed (perhaps by pipes) the small circular lake, whose waters passed under the Rocher bridge, through the great lake to the stream which meandered through the grounds. A small “ruine” having seven columns, a dome roof, and walls, stood above the spring “formant la naissance de la rivière” (O¹, 1878, Desjardins, p. 90).

Such waters as drained naturally through the first grotto seem to have collected in a little pool at the lower end. In June, 1780, a new “petite rivière,” intended to carry these stagnant waters away direct to the great lake, was made; a grotto of “oval form” was dug round it, and a montagne raised to cover it in (O¹, 1875). This second grotto was probably the one described by D’Hezecques: it must have turned at an angle from the first grotto and ended near the Rocher bridge, the tiny ruisseau passing through and beyond it into the great lake (O¹, 1875).