When King Louis the XIVth opened the gates to the palace of Versalles to invite his noble guests to enjoy his gardens, a serious problem arose. The King enjoyed entertaining and loved his lush, glorious gardens. The problem was that the nobility that he invited didn’t have as much regard for the gardens as he did. They, of course, thought that they were beautiful, however, they did not treat the grounds with respect. They would drop their trash around, jump into the fountains, and trample the flowers, bushes, and grass. In speaking to his gardener about this problem they came up with the idea of putting signs up all around the garden. One of these was, Do Not walk on THE GRASS. In French of course. These little signs showed people how to behave and the next time he invited his guests they knew what to and what not to do. What is French for little signs? Etiquette, and that’s what etiquette is little signs, indicators of the desired comportment.
The Artistry of Etiquette 