their council there, while it was a royal residence, is secured by a
door of great solidity, and each prison at the angles had three doors
covered with iron plates, with double locks and treble bolts. The
doors were so contrived as to open crossways, each serving as a
security to the other. The first acted as a bar to the second, and
this to the third, so that it was necessary to close one before the
other could be opened.--Such was the mode of confinement in this
prison, the walls of which are sixteen feet thick, and the arches
thirty feet high.
The other eight towers were also prisons. The one called "La tour de
la surintendance" contains cells six feet square; the bed places are
of stone. There is a square hole to descend into the vaults beneath,
where, like a tomb, the miserable prisoner was immured for ever!!!
Often, alas! for imaginary crimes, or for causes which make us shudder
at their wantonness and barbarity, an unfortunate victim has been torn
from the bosom of his family, to perish unheard of and unknown!
The French Government have, I understand, issued an order to prevent
any one from entering this place from motives of curiosity; and let us
hope that the humane and enlightened policy of the restored Monarch
will close its cells for ever!
The following beautiful lines, with which I close an account of the
most horribly interesting spot I ever visited, are from the pen of
Delille:
"..........................
Voyez gémir en proie à sa longue torture,
Ce mortel confiné dans sa noire clôture.
Pour unique plaisir et pour seul passe-temps,
De sa lente journée il compte les instans,
Ou de son noir cachot mesure l'étendue,
Ou médite en secret sa fuite inattendue;
Ou, de ceux qu'avant lui renferma la prison,
Lit, sur ces tristes murs, la complainte et le nom:
Et lui-même y traçant sa douloureuse histoire,
A ceux qui le suivront en transmet la mémoire.
C'est peu d'être enchaîné dans ces tristes tombeaux,
Combien de souvenirs viennent aigrir ses maux!
Hélas! tandis qu'auprès de leurs jeunes compagnes;
Dans les riches cités, dans les vastes campagnes;
Ses amis d'autrefois errent en liberté,
Lorsque l'heure propice à la société,
Reconduit chaque soir la jeunesse folâtre
Aux entretiens joyeux, à la danse, au théâtre,
Ou, d'un plaisir plus doux annonçant le retour,
Du moment fortuné vient avertir l'amour,
Il est seul; ... en un long et lugubre silence,
Pour lui le jour s'achêve, et le jour recommence;
Il n'entend point l'accent de la tendre amitié,
Il ne voit point les pleurs de la douce pitié:
N'ayant de mouvement que pour traîner des chânes,
Un coeur que pour l'ennui, des sens que pour les peines,
Pour lui, plus de beaux jours, de ruisseau, de gazon;
Cette vôute est son ciel, ces murs son horizon,
Son regard, élevé vers les flambeaux célestes,
Vient mourir dans la nuit de ses cachots funestes;
Rien n'égaie à ses yeux leur morne obscurité;
Ou si, par des barreaux avares de clarté,
Un faible jour se glisse en ces antres funêbres,
Il redouble pour lui les horreurs des ténêbres,
Et, le coeur consumé d'un regret sans espoir,
Il cherche la lumière et gémit de la voir."
DELILLE. CHATEAU DE SAINT GERMAIN.
This ancient pile of building is now a barrack for the King's Gardes
du Corps, containing two troops, one of Luxembourg, and the other of
Grammont, which are relieved every three months.
It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Robert, but there
appears to be no certainty as to the exact period. It is interesting
to the English traveller, from having been the last refuge of James
the Second of England, and the residence, at various times, of very
celebrated and distinguished characters. It was taken, and pillaged,
and partly burnt, during the reign of Philip VI, in 1346, by Edward
the Third, and again by the English in 1419, and rebuilt by Francis
the First. During the war of the League in 1574, Catherine de Medicis
retired to this Castle, but from the predictions of an astrologer,
that she would die there, quitted it shortly after, and returned to
the Tuilleries, which Palace she had founded.[14] Henry the Fourth
often frequented Saint Germain. The Château Neuf, and one of the
towers, called Le Pavilion de Gabrielle, which is still in good
preservation, were erected by him, close to the Castle, for the
residence of his favourite, La belle Gabrielle:[15] and the superb
terrace was begun in his reign. From this spot the view is very
interesting and extensive: nothing can surpass the admirable
assemblage of hills, meadows, gardens, and vineyards, which charm the
eye, and which as they are viewed from its different points on a clear
summer's evening, appear at every turn, in new beauty, and endless
variety.
[Footnote 14: According to Mezeray, this palace had its name from the
spot whereon it is situated, which was called Les Tuilleries, because
tiles (des tuiles) were made here. Catherine de Medicis built it 1564.
It consisted of nothing but the large square pavilion in the middle,
the two wings, and the two pavilions which terminate the wings. Henry
IV. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. afterwards extended, elevated, and
embellished it. It is said to be neither so well proportioned, so
beautiful, or so regular, as it was at first. The Tuilleries is,
nevertheless, a very splendid palace. An astrologer having predicted
to Catherine de Medicis, that she would die near St. Germain, she
immediately flew, in a most superstitious manner, from all places
and churches that bore this name; she no more resorted to St.
Germain-en-Laye, and because her palace of the Tuilleries was situated
in the parish of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, she was at the expense of
building another, which was the Hotel de Soissons, near the church
of St. Eustache. When it was known to be Laurence de Saint Germain,
Bishop of Nazareth, who had attended her upon her death-bed, people
infatuated with astrology averred that the prediction had been
accomplished.]
[Footnote 15: Henri IV se plaisait beaucoup à Saint-Germain, et y vint
souvent, quand son coeur fut épris des charmes de la belle Gabrielle.
Ce prince galant et libéral, qui déjà lui avait prouvé son amour par
le don d'une infinité de maisons de campagne, aux environs de Paris,
voulut encore lui donner une preuve de sa tendresse, en bâtissant pour
elle, à deux cents toises de l'ancien château, une nouvelle et belle
habitation, qu'on appela le Château Neuf. Elevé sur les dessins
de l'architecte Marchand, il était surtout remarquable par son
architecture simple, ses nombreuses devises, les chiffres amoureux
et les emblèmes allégoriques qui le décoroient, et qui faisoient une
ingénieuse allusion à la passion du monarque pour sa mâitresse.
L'une des ailes de ce château s'appelait même le Pavillon de
Gabrielle.--_Hist. Topo. des Environs de Paris_.]
The City of Paris is seen in the distance. The fine aqueduct of Marly,
the mountain de Coeur volant, Mount Calvary,[16] and Malmaison to the
right; in front the forest of Vésinet, and beyond it the vale of Saint
Denis; on the left the hills which encompass the beautiful vale of
Montmorency; the Seine winding at the foot, and extending its course
until it loses itself in the distance--all within one sweep of the
eye!--Such is the enchanting prospect which presents itself.
It was at different times the residence of Louis XIII.[17] of Anne of
Austria, Christiana of Sweden, and of Madame La Valière, when Madame
de Montespan rivalled her in the affections of Louis XIV. After the
former had retired to the Convent of the Carmelites at Paris, it was
assigned in 1689 to the unfortunate James the Second, whose bigotry
had driven him from the throne of England. Here, together with his
Queen, and those of his court who fled with him to seek an asylum in
France, and surrounded by those priests and monks, whose pernicious
councils had led to his fall, the unhappy James remained until his
death, the 16th Sept. 1701. The apartment in which he breathed his
last is still preserved; but the whole of the interior has been very
much neglected. It served as a quarter for a body of Prussians in
1815, and the following year was a barrack for the English troops
quartered at St. Germain. A French poet of his time wrote these lines
descriptive of the life he led in his retirement.
"C'est ici que Jacques second,
Sans Ministres et sans maîtresse,
Le matin allait à la Messe,
Et le soir allait au sermon".
[Footnote 16: On the top of this height is the Pavilion de Lucienne,
built by Madame Dubarry, Mistress to Louis XV. afterwards the property
of Madame La Princesse de Conti, now the residence of M. de Puy: at
the foot is the village of Lucienne, surrounded by numerous villas:
among the most remarkable is the residence of General Comte Campon.]
[Footnote 17: Lewis XIV. would not reside here, because the steeples
of the Abbey of St. Denis, where he was to be interred, could be
seen from the Château. The amount of the immense treasure which the
consequent erection of the Palace of Versailles cost was never known,
the King Mary Stewart, daughter of James, died here in April 1712, and
his Queen, in May 1718. These were the last persons of any consequence
who inhabited this palace, which in its exterior still preserves all
its ancient appearance of grandeur. It is built of stone, with a
facing of red brick, the windows are of great height, and the whole is
surrounded by a deep ditch, forming a very striking contrast to the
buildings of the present age, having destroyed the bills with his
own hand. In the neighbourhood of Versailles stands the celebrated
Military School of St. Cyr, which was originally an establishment for
the gratuitous admission of two hundred and fifty young ladies
of rank, who were to receive an education correspondent to their
situation in life. Madame de Maintenon is buried in the Chapel of the
Convent.]
FOREST OF SAINT GERMAIN.
This forest is enclosed by a wall of thirty miles in circumference,
according to M. Prudhomme. It is now preserved exclusively for the Duc
de Berri, who is the Ranger.
Of all the ancient forests with which Paris is surrounded, this is the
most extensive. It is stocked with prodigious quantities of game, with
deer, and wild boar. The pheasants and partridges are reared in an
extensive _faisanderie_, in the centre of the forest, enclosed by a
high wall, and such vigilance is exercised by the keepers, that no
person can possibly destroy the game. It is guarded by a captain and
two lieutenants, who have under them a corps of gardes de chasse.
The royal chace is, at the commencement of the season, quite a state
ceremony, at which all the royal family and the court assemble to be
spectators. The dress of the hunt is green and gold, with gold laced
cocked hats and swords. The Duke invites his party, and gives them
permission to wear the uniform, which is considered a high honour.
Nothing can be more delightful than the walks and rides through this
forest; the roads are kept in the best possible state. At intervals
are large open spaces called Etoiles, from whence branch off sometimes
ten and twelve roads with direction posts, each bearing a separate
name, either from some memorable event, or remarkable person; as the
croix de Poissy, croix de la Pucelle, croix de Montchevreuil, croix de
Berri, and croix de Noailles, &c. &c.
A story is related of a lamentable occurrence which took place the 7th
June 1812, at the Etoile des Marres, and a similar one happened in
August this year, near the same spot.
The first of these events was occasioned by the parents of a young
lady having refused their consent to her being married to her lover,
whose want of fortune was the chief obstacle. The lovers, in despair,
came to the fatal resolution of putting a period to their lives, and
this forest was fixed upon as the spot for the dreadful deed! Having
partaken of a repast which they had brought with them, and sworn
to love each other (if it were permitted them) after death, they
discharged, at the same moment, their pistols at themselves. The
unhappy girl fell dead, but the hand of her lover having missed its
aim, he was only wounded. Having no other means left of accomplishing
his dreadful purpose, he took the handkerchief from her bosom and
suspended himself by it to a tree. In this state they were discovered,
and their bodies deposited in the same grave! The other circumstance
was of the same romantic and melancholy nature.[18] This forest
supplies Paris with great quantities of wood. In 1814, and in 1815,
the palisades that were made to surround Paris for its defence against
the Allied armies, were cut in this wood, and the large timber has
consequently been greatly thinned.
[Footnote 18: There never was known in this country so many fatal
instances of suicide as at the present period; few days pass over
without some persons throwing themselves out of their windows, or into
the river Seine; and among the disappointed partizans of the late
ruler, it has been usual to hurl themselves from the top of the column
in the Place Vendôme, which has been shut up in consequence by an
order from Government.
Among the instances of deliberate self-destruction, the following is a
remarkable fact, inasmuch as it serves to prove the pernicious effects
of the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau in the minds of youth, when
at an age incapable of discriminating between fanaticism and real
piety!
The person in question was a youth not turned sixteen, who destroyed
himself last summer, while at college, and who left the following
paper as his last will. The lady who gave it me copied it from the
original.
"Testament de Villemain.
"Samedi. July 6th, 1816.
"Je donne mon corps aux Pédants: je lègue mon âme aux manes de
Voltaire et de J.J. Rousseau, qui m'ont appris à mépriser toutes les
vaines superstitions de ce monde, et tous les vains préjugés qu'a
enfantés la grossièreté des hommes, et surtout les subtiles noirceurs
des fourbes de Prêtres.
"J'ai toujours reconnu un Etre suprême, et ma religion a toujours été
la religion naturelle.
"Quant à mes biens terrestres, je donne: (Here he mentions various
articles to his favorite school-fellows).
"A Mondésir, mon dernier soupir.
"J'ai toujours connu, je l'ai dit plus haut, reconnu un Etre suprême,
j'ai toujours pensé que la seul religion digne de lui, etait la vertu
et la probîté!
"J'ose dire que je m'en suis rarement écarté malgré la faiblesse, et
la fragilité humaine.
"Je parois devant l'Etre suprême en disant avec Voltaire: 'Un Bonze,
honnête homme, un Dervis, charitable, trouveront plutôt grâce à ses
yeux, qu'un Pontife ambitieux.'"
Then follows a Latin quotation, "All things are due to death, and
without delay, sooner or later, hasten to the same goal: Hither we all
tend: This is our last asylum".
"De tout les Pédants qui m'ont le plus tourmenté je compte surtout
Poir, son Jeannes et Veissier, qui sont la cause du vol que je fais à
la nature en tranchant moi même le fil de mes jours; je leur pardonne,
l'équité le fait aussi: Je n'ai cessé de répéter avec Rousseau avant
de mourir. 'Tu veux cesser de vivre, sais-tu si tu as commencé.'
"Adieu!!! Mortels et foiblesses! VILLEMAIN".]
Here conclude my notes, and if my reader has condescended to accompany
me through my little Tour without feeling fatigue or displeasure
at his "Compagnon de Voyage," my aim and ambition as an author are
satisfied--so wishing that all the journeys he may ever take, may
prove as delightful to him as this has been to me, I sincerely thank
him for his attention, and kindly bid him Farewell!
FINIS.