Eden Amusement Park
Northwest side of the Versailles Palace. 🍓☯ 🍧🐊
In the music room of the Petit Trianon, Queen Mary gestured for the musicians to stop, then turned to Court Official beside her, frowning as she asked:
Are you sure you heard me clearly?
"Yes, Your Majesty. His Crown Prince was having his Carriage prepared at that time. He and Princess Maria should have already left Versailles Palace by then."
Queen Mary appeared somewhat anxious—this official was in charge of looking after the Two Sicilies Princess. He had just reported that the Crown Prince was going to Paris with Maria.
If Clementine doesn't get to Paris soon, her son's heart might be stolen by that Italy girl!
The Queen sighed, "My poor niece, your luck is really terrible— Clementine had set off very early, planning to first travel by ship to Marseille and then to Paris."
As soon as she boarded the ship, a storm broke out in the Tyrrhenian Sea — the Mediterranean Sea weather is often unsettled in January.
For safety reasons, her escorts decided to take the land route, heading north through Eichthal, across the Alps, and then into France. Although it was a long detour, if things went smoothly, she would still arrive in Paris before the Princess of the Two Sicilies.
Before Clementine could even leave Tuscany, news arrived of a Serfs Rebellion in the South Austria caused by Emperor Joseph II's reforms to Serfs —yes, those foolish fellows were actually opposing the reforms that granted them freedom!
Poor Clementine had no choice but to wait until the storm on the Tyrrhenian Sea subsided before setting off. After her continuous journey, she had only just reached the vicinity of Nevers, and was still three or four days' journey from Paris.
Queen Mary picked up her pen and wrote a letter urging her niece to hurry up, then handed it to a messenger to send out, praying in her heart that her son would not fall in love with that Princess Maria...
On the Champs-Élysées in Paris, inside the Paris Angel Boutique, the Crown Prince Guards stood in two rows, separating the Crown Prince and Princess from other peeking customers.
That's right, this is the first place Maria wanted to visit. Indeed, no woman can resist the temptation to make herself more beautiful.
The princess, with her exquisite makeup and light purple Puffy Skirt, was dazzlingly beautiful.
Her eyes swept over the luxuriously packaged Cosmetics, silently reciting their functions, a gleam of surprise in them. Yet, she reservedly selected only a few products and had the shop assistant hand them over to the maid.
Joseph, remembering how his attack plan had caused Princess Maria unnecessary suffering, had always intended to make amends. When he saw her interest in Cosmetics, he immediately instructed the shop assistant to fetch a Gold Card and gave it to Princess Maria.
Holding the gold card worth a thousand Livre, the latter was bubbling with happiness—His Highness the Crown Prince truly cares for me! He gave me such a precious gift on our first "date"! God, thank you so much!
Joseph then helped her choose a whole bunch of Cosmetics, plus a young version of "Lady Joy 'Young Lady's Health" oral liquid, a huge bag full, which he had the shop assistant deliver directly to Maria's room at the Versailles Palace.
Emerging from the shop, Maria looked at Joseph with a dreamy smile and asked softly, "Your Crown Prince, where shall we go next?"
Joseph remembered his original plan to check on the preparations for Fashion Week, and thought it would be a good opportunity to let the princess experience it in advance, hoping she might have some good suggestions for improvement.
"Let's go visit the Tuileries Palace. You may have heard that Paris Fashion Week is about to take place there. It's almost completely set up now."
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
As the motorcade left the Paris Angel Boutique, Joseph was unaware that reporters were already writing articles such as "Crown Prince and Two Sicilies Princess Visit Boutique, Presenting Gold Card as a Gift."
Tuileries Palace.
Princess Maria's gaze swept across the vast Villa area under construction, and she immediately spotted the tall, circular structure on the north side of the Tuileries Garden. Pointing at it curiously, she asked, "Your Highness, what is that for?"
Joseph glanced in the direction she was pointing and said, "Oh, this is called Ferris Wheel. It's an amusement park ride. You can ride it to a very high place and get a panoramic view of Paris."
"By the way, there's an amusement park around the Ferris Wheel with lots of fun things to do. If you'd like, please let me show you."
"I would be delighted, thank you Your Highness."
Soon, the Carriage stopped in front of the world's first dedicated amusement park—"Eden Amusement Park".
Through the white fence, you can see facilities such as Steam Engine- powered carousel, Ferris Wheel, Pirate Ship, Haunted House, and Coffee Cup, as well as some traditional amusement rides like slides and swings.
Of course, due to technological limitations, most of the facilities were far smaller than those in later amusement parks. For example, the Ferris Wheel was only about Domi. Its main body was made from a modified Waterwheel, which was nothing compared to the hundreds of meters tall structures of later times. However, for people in the 18th century, it was already a very novel and amazing thing.
As soon as Maria stepped into the amusement park, she looked around excitedly, just like any other little girl who would go to an amusement park in later generations.
However, what first attracted her was the seemingly fairytale-like carousel. She turned her head and cautiously asked Joseph, "Your Highness, can I ride this?"
"Of course, you can go up and give it a try." Joseph smiled and nodded, then gestured to the amusement park attendant to start the ride.
The carousel was powered by a 12-horsepower Steam Engine. Of course, the Steam Engine was a product of Watt Company. France's own Steam Engine manufacturing plant was still under construction.
After waiting for more than twenty minutes, white smoke finally emerged from the small wooden house next to the carousel; inside was the Steam Engine that powered it.
Then, the huge wooden base slowly began to rotate. Under the action of the levers, the lifelike wooden horses, Merv, and Wooden Elephant carved on it began to rise and fall, rotating along with the disc.
Maria took two steps back, somewhat bewildered. Joseph smiled, pulled her onto the wooden platform, and gestured around. "Which one would you like to ride?"
Maria cautiously pointed to the white Wooden Swan: "Is this alright?"
"Of course. I'll help you up."
Joseph gentlemanly helped the girl onto the seat on the swan's back. The princess sat nervously to the side, gripping the Wood poles tightly with both hands, and began to float up and down to the music playing beside her.
Although the Steam Engine's power was low and the mechanical connections were rather crude, making the carousel move as slowly as a snail, the princess, who had never had a similar experience before, still giggled excitedly, feeling as if she were in a fairy tale world, riding a swan and soaring through the air.
Many thanks to the generous donations from the two esteemed authors, Mao Tui Er and Honey Mountain! The author is deeply grateful!
Today is the last day of the double monthly votes for this month, so Tian Hai Shan is humbly begging readers to give this book more monthly votes! Writing a new book is difficult, and your support is my greatest encouragement!
(End of this chapter)