the Middle Ages it became a fortress belonging to the "Bouteiller"
(cupbearer), so named because of his hereditary functions at the court
of the Capets. (The "bouteille de France," originally in charge of the
king's cellars, became one of the greatest counsellors of the crown).
The castle then became the property of the d'Orgemonts, who rebuilt
it in the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century it passed
to the Montmorency family. Towards 1528 the high constable Anne de
Montmorency had it transformed by Pierre Chambiges. Chambiges' work
no longer exists in Chantilly, but the tourist will be able to judge
of his talent when he sees the beautiful façades of the transept of
the cathedral of Senlis (_p._ 57). The little castle was built thirty
years later by Jean Bullant. From that time Chantilly has been famous.
Francis I. often stayed there. Charles V. declared that he would give
one of his Low Country provinces for such a residence. Henry IV. asked
his "compère," the high constable Henri, to exchange it for any one of
his royal castles. Montmorency, much embarrassed, extricated himself
from this awkward situation by answering, "Sire, the house is yours,
only let me be the lodge-keeper."
Henri II. of Montmorency, drawn into a revolt against Richelieu, died
on the scaffold in 1632. His property was confiscated and Louis XIII.,
attracted by the hunting at Chantilly, kept the place for his personal
use.
It was there that he drew up with his own hand the "communiqué" to the
press, concerning the taking of Corbie (1636): "_The king received
news, at 4 o'clock this morning, of the surrender of Corbie. He
immediately went to church to give thanks to God, then ordered all to
be ready by 2 o'clock to sing the_ Te Deum, _the queen and everyone
else to be present, and ordered despatches to be sent commanding
thanksgiving services in all the churches of this kingdom...._"
In 1643, the queen, Anne of Austria, wishing to make some recognition
for the splendid victories won by the Duc d'Enghien (the future "Grand
Condé") gave Chantilly back to his mother, Charlotte de Montmorency.
The latter, married at fifteen, had been obliged to leave France with
her young husband in 1609, to escape from the attentions of Henri IV.,
still gallant despite his fifty-six years.
[Illustration: THE CASTLE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY]
[Illustration: FESTIVITIES AT CHANTILLY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.]
A gay life began again in Chantilly, interrupted in 1650 by the revolt
of Condé, his exile and the confiscation of the domain, which then
returned to Louis XIV. until the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659). The
prince then came into his own again but for long kept aloof from public
affairs and devoted himself to the embellishment of Chantilly with the
same ardour and mastery that he formerly gave to military operations.
In 1662, the transformation of the park and forest was placed in the
hands of the great architect, Le Nôtre. The work continued until
1684. The result was a masterpiece, of which a great part is still in
existence, but of which the finest features (particularly the Great
Cascades which spread over the actual site of the town) disappeared
during the Revolution. Below, we give a view of these "Jeux d'eau"
(fountains), which were considered one of the wonders of the day.
In 1671, Louis XIV. spent three days at Chantilly, with all his court.
Marvellous festivities were held on this occasion. The guests of the
château alone filled sixty large tables; all the adjoining villages
were full of officers and courtiers, boarded and lodged at the prince's
expense. In one of her letters, Mme. de Sévigné tells of the tragic
death of the superintendent, Vatel, who had the responsibility of this
vast organisation. Desperate at the thought that fish would be lacking
at the king's table, he went up to his room, leant his sword against
the wall, and transfixed himself upon it.
All the great men of the seventeenth century visited Chantilly.
Bossuet, the intimate friend of the great Condé, presented to him
Fénelon and La Bruyère, who became tutor to the Prince of Condé's
grandson. Molière and his company came to play (Condé was his patron,
by whose intervention the production of _Tartufe_ was allowed).
Boileau, Racine and La Fontaine were habitual guests.
The development of Chantilly continued under Condé's successors, and
the castle was modified by Mansart. The Duc de Bourbon caused the
"Grandes Écuries" to be built by Jean Aubert. He established the
manufacture of porcelain there (ceased in 1870), the remaining pieces
of which are greatly sought after in our day.
[Illustration: THE OLD CASCADES OF CHANTILLY]
In 1722, Louis XV. stayed at Chantilly on his way back from his
coronation at Rheims. The festivities lasted four days; 60,000 bottles
of wine and 55,000 lbs. of meat being consumed.
It was Prince Louis-Joseph who saw the Revolution. He had spent
enormous sums in embellishing Chantilly, besides the twenty-five
million francs which it cost him to build the Palais-Bourbon in Paris,
the present seat of the Chamber of Deputies. He erected the Castle of
Enghien, named after his grandson, the Duc d'Enghien, who was the first
to inhabit it. (Early marriages were usual in these great families: at
the birth of the Duc d'Enghien his father was sixteen years old and his
grandfather thirty-six.) The Duc d'Enghien died in 1804, shot in the
moat of Vincennes.
The English garden and the hamlet are due to Louis-Joseph.
In 1789, after the Prince of Condé had gone into exile, the Parisians
came and removed the cannon from the castle (see reproduction of
engraving below, in which the castle appears as altered by Mansart).
Thirty guns taken from the enemy during the Seven Years' War, which
were never used except for firing salutes during fêtes, were brought in
triumph to the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, whence La Fayette had them sent
to the arsenal.
The great cascades, the menagerie, the orangery and the theatre
disappeared during the revolutionary era.
Of the great castle nothing remained but the basement, whilst the town
grew and encroached on the park.
In 1814, the Prince de Condé returned to Chantilly and commenced the
restoration of the domain, a work continued by his son. The latter came
to a tragic end in 1830; he was found hanging from the fastening of a
window in his castle of Saint-Leu, and with him died the great family
of Condé.
In his will he bequeathed Chantilly to one of his great-nephews: Henri
of Orleans, Duc d'Aumale, fifth son of King Louis-Philippe. After
distinguishing himself in the Algerian campaign, where he carried off
the Smalah of Abd-el-Kader in 1843, the Duc d'Aumale was exiled in
1848. He established himself at Orleans House, at Twickenham, near
London, where he remained until 1871. It was during that time that he
began the splendid collections which later went to enrich the Condé
Museum. On his return to France he presided at the tribunal entrusted
with the trial of Marshal Bazaine.
[Illustration: THE PARISIANS AT CHANTILLY IN 1789]
[Illustration: PICTURE GALLERY WHERE THE GERMANS SLEPT (1914)]
In order to house his collections, the Duc d'Aumale had the big castle
rebuilt, on plans made by the architect Daumet, from 1875 to 1882.
He died in 1897, bequeathing to the "Institut de France" the domain of
Chantilly and the Condé Museum, of which he was the founder.
The Castle in 1914
About 500 Germans stayed at the castle for twenty-four hours. These
reserve troops had not yet fought and did not take part in the battle.
They committed no excesses during their short stay. The great moral
firmness shown by the curators, Messrs. Élie Berger and Macon had great
influence on the conduct of the German soldiers. The troops were lodged
in the big castle, whilst the officers established themselves in the
various suites of the small castle.
[Illustration: PICTURE GALLERY (1917)]
The curators had sent the gems of the collection to Paris and sheltered
as many of the works of art as possible in the basement. This
proceeding caused some ill humour on the part of the German officer
in command. As seen in the photograph (_page 28_) straw was spread in
the rooms of the museum, on which the Germans slept. At the end of the
room Chapu's touching _Jeanne d'Arc_ overlooks the scene of desolation.
The Germans were much impressed by the copy of the Duc d'Aumale's tomb
in the museum, where he is represented in the uniform of a divisional
general. Many gave the military salute when crossing the room. However,
this did not prevent the commandant from warning the curators that if
his troops were fired on, the castle would be burnt and they themselves
shot.
Sylvie's House
_If the tourist makes this journey on a day when the castle is closed,
or if he has not time to visit it, he will at least be able to glance
at the charming corner of the park where stands Sylvie's House. He need
only take the path of Avilly (it is the road which is on the right of
the main entrance) and skirt the park railings. After five minutes'
walk he will reach the place from where the view below is taken. He can
return to the gates by the same road._
This little shooting lodge, at first called the "Park House," was built
in 1604 by the high constable Henri de Montmorency for King Henri IV.
Sylvie is the poetical name given by Théophile de Viau to his patroness
Marie-Félicie Orsini, who in 1612, at the age of fourteen, married
Henri II. of Montmorency, aged sixteen. The poet, Théophile de Viau,
persecuted in 1623 for the licentious publication of the _Parnasse
Satirique_, was given shelter at Chantilly and lodged in the Park House.
Condemned to be burnt alive, he was only executed in effigy through the
intervention of the Montmorencys.
In his _Odes to the House of Sylvie_, he extolled the grace and
goodness of the young duchess:
Mes vers promettent à Sylvie
Ce bruit charmeur que les neveux
Nomment une seconde vie....
The wish expressed by the poet in these lines was fulfilled and the
name of Sylvie became attached to the house and park surrounding it.
The great Condé rebuilt the house as it is to-day. (The rotunda seen in
the photograph, page 29, was added by the Duc d'Aumale.)
[Illustration: SYLVIE'S HOUSE AND THE PARK]
In the eighteenth century Sylvie's House was the scene of the romance
of Mlle. de Clermont and Louis de Melun. The head of the house of
Montmorency objected to the marriage of his sister, Mlle. de Clermont,
with this nobleman, whose rank he considered insufficient. The young
girl disregarded this and made a secret marriage, soon ended by the
tragic death of Louis de Melun, who was killed by a stag at bay in
the course of a hunt in Sylvie's park. These various episodes in the
history of Sylvie's House are recalled in the paintings of Luc-Olivier
Merson, installed by the Duc d'Aumale when he turned the old house into
a museum.
Visit to the Castle
The +Castle+, +Sylvie's House+, the +Jeu de Paume+, and the
"+Grandes-Écuries+" _are open to the public from April 15 to October
14_:
1, _On Sundays, Thursdays and legal holidays, from 1 to 5 p.m., free;_
2, _On Saturdays, the same hours, one franc charged for each visitor._
_The +Park+ is open to the public all the year round on Thursdays,
Sundays and holidays: from 1 to 6 p.m., from April 15 to October 14,
and till 4 p.m. for the rest of the year._
The Condé Museum is extremely interesting.
_We advise tourists to obtain the guide book sold at the entrance,
which gives all useful information for the details of the visit. The
plan (p. 31) makes it easy to find one's way about the museum. By
following the numbering in this plan the various rooms will be seen in
the order in which they are marked in the guide book._
The several photographs which follow can give but a faint idea of the
richness and interest of the collections made by the Duc d'Aumale.
The following view shows the Gallery of the Stags, formerly the dining
room.
The picture on page 32 represents the magnificent carved and inlaid
chest (the work of Riesener, the great cabinet-maker), which stands in
room 24 (_plan p._ 31).
The Duc d'Aumale gathered the gems of his collection together in the
room that he named the +Santuario+ (_No. 19 on plan, p. 31_).
[Illustration: GALLERY OF THE STAGS]
They are: +The Virgin+ by _Raphael_, described as "of the House of
Orleans," having belonged to that family for a very long time. This
little panel, painted about the year 1506, was bought for 160,000
francs in 1869. It is reproduced on _p. 32_.
+The Three Graces+, another small panel painted by _Raphael_ at about
the same time as The Virgin, was bought for 625,000 francs in 1885.
+Esther and Ahasuerus+, panel of a marriage chest, executed by
_Filippino Lippi_, was bought for 85,000 francs in 1892.
+Forty Miniatures+ by _Jehan Fouquet_, taken from the _Book of Hours_,
by Estienne Chevalier: this leading work of the French school of the
fifteenth century was acquired for the sum of 250,000 francs in 1891.
[Illustration:
1 Entrance.
2 Grand Vestibule.
=3 Gallery of the Stags.=
=4 Picture Gallery.=
5 Rotunda of the Museum (Senlis Tower).
6 Vestibule of the Museum.
=7 Gallery of the House.=
8 Small Gallery of the House.
9 Vestibule of House.
10 The Smalah.
11 The Minerva Tower (Tower of the High Constable).
12 The Antiquity Room.
13 Giotto Room.
14 Isabelle Room.
15 Orleans Room.
16 Caroline Room.
=17 Clouet Room.=
=18 Psyche's Gallery.=
=19 Santuario.=
=20 Treasure Tower.=
21 The Tribune.
22 The Anteroom.
23 Guardroom.
=24 La Chambre.=
25 The Great Study.
=26 The Monkey Parlour.=
=27 The Prince's Gallery.=
28 Library.
29 Great Staircase.
30 Gallery of the Chapel.
=31 Chapel.=
A Statue of the High Constable.
B Entrance (portcullis).
C Court of Honour.
D Court of the Little Castle.
E Flower Garden of the Aviary.]
[Illustration: CHEST BY RIESENER]
We must also mention the collection of portraits painted or drawn in
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, divided between the Gallery of
the House (_7 on plan_), the Clouet room (_17 on plan_) and the Gallery
of Psyche (_18 on plan_). In the Gallery of Psyche, the visitor will
notice, besides the pictures, the forty-four sixteenth century windows,
representing the legend of Cupid and Psyche. There is also a cast of
the head of Henri IV.
Lovers of jewels should visit the treasure tower (_20 on plan_). Tn the
Monkey Parlour (_26 on plan_) will be seen the screen painted by Huet,
representing the Monkey's reading lesson, and on the panels a charming
eighteenth century decoration, attributed to the same painter.
In the Prince's Gallery (_27 on plan_) the great Condé had a series of
pictures painted representing the battles he had fought.
In the trophy containing his sword and pistols there is also a flag
taken in the Battle of Rocroi in 1643. It is the oldest standard
captured from the enemy that exists in France.
In the middle of the gallery stands the Table of the Vinestock, carved
out of one piece taken from an enormous vine, for the Connétable de
Montmorency.
[Illustration: THE VIRGIN OF ORLÉANS BY RAPHAEL]
In the modern chapel (_31 on plan_), the Duc d'Aumale placed a
beautiful altar, carved by Jean Goujon, also some sixteenth century
wainscoting and stained glass windows taken from the chapel of the
Castle of Ecouen.
In the apse stands the funeral urn which holds the hearts of the
princes of the House of Condé.
Visit to the Park
_This takes from three-quarters of an hour to an hour and a quarter._
_On coming out of the museum we cross the Terrasse du Connétable_,
in the middle of which stands the equestrian statue of Anne de
Montmorency, by Paul Dubois (1886). _Leaving the Château d'Enghien on
the right we enter the covered way by the avenue which passes before
the little chapel of Saint-Paul._ Saint-Paul and Sainte-Croix are all
that remain of the seven chapels erected by Anne de Montmorency (_see
p. 23_). A little further on, on the left, we come to the Cabotière, a
building dating from the time of Louis XIII. It derives its name from
that of the barrister Caboud, an enthusiastic amateur horticulturist,
who made a magnificent flower garden in the park for the great Condé.
_The avenue ends at =Sylvie's House= (see p. 29)._ In the interior
can be seen paintings, tapestries, pieces of furniture, and beautiful
panelling of the seventeenth century, which have been placed in the
rotunda. From Sylvie's House there is a lovely view of the pond and
park (_see p. 29_).
_Leaving Sylvie's House on the right we walk about 150 yards down the
path which skirts it, then turn to the left and follow the path which
leads straight to the +Hamlet+ (view on p. 35)._
The Hamlet, which recalls that of the Petit Trianon at Versailles,
dates from 1775. At this period, under the influence of J. J.
Rousseau's works, nature and country life became the fashion, and it
was the correct thing for princes to play at peasants in miniature
villages.
[Illustration: PLAN OF PARK]
An author of the eighteenth century thus describes the Hamlet of
Chantilly: "Seven detached houses, placed without order, with thatched
roofs, stand in the middle of a lawn that is always green. Here is an
ancient elm, there a well; further on a fence encloses a garden planted
with vegetables and fruit-trees; a mill, its wheel turned by the brook;
in front a stable, a dairy; one house is used as the kitchen, another
is the dining-room, so decorated as to resemble a hunting lodge. One
fancies one's self in the middle of a thick wood, the seats imitate
tree-trunks, green couches and clusters of flowers rise from the
ground; a few openings made between the branches of the trees admit the
light. A third cottage serves as billiard-room, a fourth is a library.
The barn makes a large and splendid drawing-room."
[Illustration: THE CASTLE SEEN FROM THE FLOWER GARDENS]
From the time when the hamlet came into being, there was never a big
fête at Chantilly without a supper in this pretty corner of the park.
Innumerable _pots de feu_ illuminated the thickets; on the canal the
guests drifted in gondolas to strains of dreamy music; fancy-dress
fêtes were held, and the singing and dancing continued until dawn.
The hamlet is now greatly fallen into decay, nevertheless, it is worth
a visit.
_Retracing our steps we bear to the left and, having crossed, the first
bridge, follow a pretty path which brings us into the flower_ garden of
Le Nôtre, where we get a good view of the castle _(photograph above).
One can go straight back to the entrance gates by the staircase shown
in the view._ It is called the +Grand Degré+ (great stair), and was
built in 1682 by the architect Gitard. The groups which adorn the base
of the Terrasse du Connétable, on each side of the stairs, were drawn
by Le Nôtre and carved by Hardy.
_This walk, from the time of leaving the museum until the return to the
entrance gates, takes about three-quarters of an hour._
_If one wishes to visit the +English Garden+ and the +Jeu de Paume+,
which will take about forty minutes longer, one must walk past the
north front of the castle and follow the walk which opens in the middle
of the thickets._
The English Garden was laid out in 1817 to 1819 by the architect
Victor Dubois, according to the orders of the last of the Condés, just
returned from exile. The site occupied by this garden, like the ground
on which stands the town of Chantilly, belonged to the ancient park,
devastated during the Revolution.
We pass near the +Temple of Venus+, which shelters a Venus Callipyge
of the seventeenth century, near the +Island of Love+, dating from
1765 and on which are statues of Aphrodite and Eros. In the eighteenth
century the Island of Love contained a luxurious pavilion, in which
nocturnal fêtes were held, the canals and park being illuminated. The
pavilion disappeared at the time of the Revolution.
[Illustration: THE HAMLET]
The ancient +Cascades of Beauvais+ that one sees before arriving at the
Jen de Paume are remnants of the old park. They were the work of Le
Nôtre.
The Jeu de Paume, constructed in 1757, is transformed into a museum. It
contains various curiosities, notably Abd-el-Kader's tent, carried away
when the Smalah was captured by the Duc d'Aumale in 1843.
_After 3 p.m. one can leave the park by the gate next to the Jeu de
Paume. We come out in front of the "+Grandes Écuries+" of the castle
and can go in and look round them. (Enter at the side that faces the
lawn.)_
[Illustration:
(_Cliché André Schelcher._)
GENERAL VIEW OF THE CASTLE]
=FROM CHANTILLY TO SENLIS= (9 km.)
[Illustration: THE CASTLE SEEN FROM THE ROUTE DE VINEUIL]
_Returning through the monumental gateway, we cross the Rue de
Connétable and go straight on, skirting the castle park on the right.
We cross the Saint-Jean Canal, then the Great Canal, then turn to the
right into the High Street of Vineuil._ On the right one soon has a
beautiful vista of the castle and park (_view above_).
_We now go through Saint-Firmin._ The church, on the left, contains in
its choir Renaissance windows which are classed as historical monuments.
_From Saint-Firmin to Senlis the road is easy. We enter Senlis by the
Creil Gate (see plan inserted between pp. 36-37). Turn to the left by
the Avenue Vernois and the line of boulevards to reach the station,
where starts the itinerary described further on, in Senlis._
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF SENLIS]
[Illustration: SENLIS]
SENLIS
ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL EVENTS
Senlis is of Gallic origin: it was the capital of the _Sylvanectes_.
The Romans surrounded it with fortifications, a great part of which
still exist (_see view below_).
The first kings of France, attracted by the hunting in the surrounding
country, frequently stayed at Senlis.
It was in Senlis Castle (_see p. 61_) that Hugues Capet was elected
king by the assembly of lords in 987.
The Capetians often returned to the birthplace of their dynasty and it
is to them that the town owes its chief buildings.
Taken by the peasants in the war of the Jacquerie in 1358, besieged by
the Armagnacs in 1418, it fell into the hands of the English and was
delivered by Joan of Arc in 1429. Senlis knew great vicissitudes in the
fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.
After Henri IV., who interested himself greatly in Senlis and lived
in its old castle, the kings of France gradually forsook the town in
favour of Compiègne, Fontainebleau and Versailles.
Occupied in 1871 by the Germans, it reappears in history in September
1914. The burning of the town and the summary executions which took
place there will be recalled in the course of the visit (_pp. 38-52_).
[Illustration: SENLIS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.]
VISIT TO THE TOWN
(See plan inserted between pp. 36/37)
[Illustration: THE BURNT STATION
(Sept. 1914)]
At the +Station+ one gets one's first view of the havoc done to the
town by the events of September 1914. It was set on fire on the 3rd.
_Follow the station road (Avenue de la Gare), which leads to the
Compiègne Gate._
This is the road by which the Germans entered Senlis on September 2, at
about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
[Illustration: BRITISH SOLDIERS IN THE PLACE DE LA GARE
(Sept. 1914)]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE BURNT STATION
(Sept. 1914)]
Whilst one part of the advance guard made the tour of the town,
following the boulevards and the ramparts which encircle it, other
groups descended directly south by the two main streets which cross
Senlis, thus making sure of a thorough exploration.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE RUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE BEFORE THE WAR]
The entrance lo the +Rue de la République+ suffered a great deal, as
is shown by the two photographs, taken before and after the fire of
September 2, 1914.
[Illustration: PRISONERS IN FRONT OF THE GENDARMERIE
(Sept. 1914)]
On the left, the toll-house is completely burnt down; in the centre,
the Hôtel du Nord and the Restaurant Encausse are in ruins.
The building on the right is the Gendarmerie.
The German prisoners who appear in the picture opposite are leaning
against the wall of these barracks.
They were the few soldiers who, remaining in Senlis after the victory
of the Ourcq, were captured by Zouaves sent from Paris in motor-cars.
Only a few years ago the Rue de la République was called the Rue
Neuve-de-Paris, although it dated from 1753. It was made in order to
spare the Court of Louis XV. the circuitous way and steep ascent of the
old road, which followed the Rue Vieille-de-Paris and the Rue du Châtel.