theme of Louis XIV’s reign. All these festivities came at a price, bringing about the marquise’s financial ruin. She was forced to abandon her furniture and home to creditors in 1934. The furnishings were sold at auction, which gave the Château de Versailles the opportunity to recover an enormous pink marble tub that had been purchased by Montesquiou and placed in his “Pavillon de l’Amour” in the garden. The house was handed over to Auguste-Eustache Leprévost, a creditor of Luisa Amman (the Marquise de Casati), who was ostensibly acting on behalf of the Société civile du Palais Rose. The company attempted to resell the Palais Rose to the municipality of Vésinet. This effort failed in 1936. In order to settle the marquise's debts, the Société civile du Palais Rose decided to divide the domain to maximize its options, and the property was split into eight lots. Lot no. 1, comprising the Palais Rose and the Ermitage, was purchased by Olivier Scrive in 1938. Together with his family, he attempted to reconstitute the property, restoring it to the state in which it was left by the Comte de Montesquiou in 1921 by buying four additional lots. In 1948, Olivier Scrive sold the Palais Rose to the Société Nouvelle du Palais Rose, of which he was the majority shareholder. He kept the Ermitage for his own use. At the beginning of the Battle of France, Général de Gaulle, en route to take command of the Fourth Armored Division, accepted Mr. Scrive's hospitality. The general stayed at the Ermitage of the Palais Rose from May 12 to 15, 1940. A plaque mounted on the building and visible from rue Diderot commemorates this occasion. During the 1950s, the plan for the municipality of Vésinet to purchase the property was revived by , the wife of the famous painter Maurice Utrillo. She proclaimed to anyone who would listen that the municipality was about to acquire the property for the couple's use; in exchange, they would bequeath Maurice Utrillo’s paintings to the town. Due to failures of communication between the parties concerned, the plan never came to fruition. When Olivier Scrive died in 1955, the Ermitage remained jointly owned by his heirs until they sold it in 1972 to Arnaud d’Aboville. It seems that Josephine Baker was among the ranks of potential purchasers, but she died before the sale. The Palais Rose itself, owned by the