A new history of Texas for schools : also for general reading and for teachers preparing themselves for examination Page: 13 of 412

:ERA I.

ERA OF DISCOVERIES AND MISSIONS.
(1685-1790.)
INTRODUCTION.
OME two hundred years ago, had one been in Ver-
sailles (ver salz'), he would have found Louis XIV.
on the throne, with all France delighting to honor the
"Grand Monarque." What sights were to be seen in the
gay capital! The king's magnificent palace, with its
beautiful grounds, playing fountains, fragrant flowers,
and singing birds, was the center of all life and pleasure.
Groups of richly dressed ladies and gentlemen were on
all sides, for Louis would have none other about him.
But one morning there were even more gaiety and ani-
ination than usual, for wonderful news had come to the
king and his court. "La Salle (.a sal) has returned from
America " was the announcement that caused such
a stir among the royal household. America was still a
continent of which little was known, but much was told.
People were ready to believe that there they could find
the "Fountain of Perpetual Youth," that the Indians
possessed uncounted treasures, that the wealth of Sindbad