Dear ☼King Louis XIV☼,
I had the pleasure to come visit Versailles, your palace, and it is marvelous. During the 2 days that I spent here, I have really appreciated what it is like to be nobility. I have also seen where some of the issues in our country have come from. Do not get me wrong, the palace is majestic, but there needs to be focus on the people of France too.
When I arrived at Versailles, I was in awe. I had never seen anything so beautiful. The outside was magnificent. The royal gardens were my favorite part. The lush green trees and vibrantly colorful flowers made for a jaw dropping display of colors and wildlife. In the middle of the garden there was a large stone fountain, spewing water 10 feet into the air, in all directions. On the inside the floors were made of bright, white marble and the walls were lined with shiny metallic bronze. There were salons with polished chandeliers and clear, crisp mirrors. One of my favorite rooms was the Salon de Guerre, or the hall of war. Besides for the beautiful minerals that gave the room dazzling aesthetics, there were oil paintings of war, and statue of heros. In the middle, there was a large bronze statue of you as a Roman god of war. There were hundreds of rooms throughout the palace, that were able to fit upwards of 10000 people at a time. Before going to sleep we went to a “going to sleep” ceremony where you would undress and get into his night clothes. The higher ranking nobles were eager to receive your shoes and other clothing garments as this was a great honor. There was another ceremony in the morning, which was almost the same except for the fact that you were getting dressed, not undressed. The two days I spent here were the best of my life.
With that being said, there needs to be change. For the first time in my entire life, I slept on a large, comfortable bed, by myself. I was able to eat all of the food that I wanted and I was given comfortable clothes. At home, I sleep on a small, uncomfortable bed, with my wife. I live in my house with my wife, our 3 children, her parents and her brother. That is 8 people crammed into a small house. We are fortunate enough to have two rooms. One was for cooking, eating, storage, and a place to stay during our waking hours. My parent-in-laws sleep in there as well as well as my brother-in-law. In the other room i sleep with my children and my wife. I work about 11 hours a day, and get paid skimpily for it. I am writing this letter asking for change. People all around rural France live a horrible life. They work all day to come home and get little to no sleep, and then the go to work the next day. I think that working this much deserves more pay, so I can have a nicer, more enjoyable life. I saw the way you live every day. I am not asking for that. But am asking for a better life, and I want all of the people in France to be given the chance to enjoy life and be able to live comfortably.
When I walked into your palace I was awestruck. As I walked through the halls, I saw things I had never seen before. But that night, as I lay in bed, I realized there needed to be change. The people of France deserved to live a happy, enjoyable life, and they are not given that opportunity. There needs to be change in France in order for it to still be a thriving country, and that change needs to happen now.
-Erik Bonnabeau
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