COMPIEGNE AND ITS FOREST
One of the most talked of and the least visited of the minor French
palaces is that of Compiegne. The archeologists coming to Compiegne
first notice that all its churches are "_malorientees_." It is a minor
point with most folk, but when one notes that its five churches have
their high altars turned to all points of the compass, instead of to the
east, it is assuredly a fact to be noticed, even if one is more
romantically inclined than devout.
Through and through, Compiegne, its palace, its hotel-de-ville, its
forest, is delightful. Old and new huddle close together, and the _art
nouveau_ decorations of a branch of a great Parisian department store
flank a butcher's stall which looks as though it might have come down
from the times when all trading was done in the open air.
Compiegne's origin goes back to the antique. It was originally
Compendium, a Roman station situated on the highway between Soissons and
Beauvais. A square tower, Caesar's Tower, gave a military aspect to the
walled and fortified station, and evidences are not wanting to-day to
suggest with what strength its fortifications were endowed.
[Illustration: Compiegne]
It was here that the first Frankish kings built their dwelling, and here
that Pepin-le-Bref received the gracious gift of an organ from the
Emperor Constantine, and here, in 833, that an assembly of bishops and
nobles deposed Louis-le-Debonnaire.
Charles-le-Chauve received Pope Jean VIII in great pomp in the palace at
Compiegne, and it was this Pope who gave absolution to Louis-le-Begue,
who died here but a year after, 879. The last of the Carlovingians,
Louis V (le-Faineant), died also at Compiegne in 987.
The city is thus shown to have been a favourite place of sojourn for the
kings of the Franks, and those of the first and second races. As was but
obvious many churchly councils were held here, fourteen were recorded in
five centuries, but none of great ecclesiastical or civil purport.
The city first got its charter in 1153, but the Merovingian city having
fallen into a sort of galloping decay Saint Louis gave it to the
Dominicans in 1260, who here founded, by the orders of the king, a Hotel
Dieu which, in part, is the same edifice which performs its original
functions to-day.
The first great love of Compiegne was expressed by Charles V, who
rebuilt the palace of Charles-le-Chauve in a manner which was far from
making it a monumental or artistically disposed edifice. It was
originally called the Louvre, from the Latin word _opus_
(_l'oeuvre_), a word which was applied to all the chateaux-forts of
these parts. The same monarch did better with the country-houses which
he afterwards built at Saint Germain and Vincennes; perhaps by this time
he had grown wise in his dealings with architects.
Like all the little towns of the Valois, Compiegne abounds in souvenirs
of the Guerre de Cent Ans, Jeanne d'Arc, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Napoleon I
and Napoleon III, and as its monuments attest this glory, so its forest,
one of the finest in France, awakens almost as many historical memories.
Wars and rumors of war kept Compiegne in a turmoil for centuries, but
the most theatrical episode was the famous "_sortie_" made by Jeanne
d'Arc when she was attempting to defend the city against the combined
English and Burgundian troops. It was an episode in which faint heart,
perhaps treason, played an unwelcome part, for while the gallant maid
was taking all manner of chances outside the gates the military
governor, Guillaume de Flavy, ordered the barriers of the great portal
closed behind her and her men.
Near the end of the Pont de Saint Louis Jeanne d'Arc fell into the hands
of the besiegers. An archer from Picardy captured her single handed,
and, for a round sum in silver or in kind, turned her over to her
torturer, Jean de Luxembourg. A statue of the maid is found on the
public "Place," and the Tour Jeanne d'Arc, a great circular donjon of
the thirteenth century, is near by. Another souvenir is to be found in
the ancient Hotel de Boeuf, at No. 9 Rue de Paris, where the maid
lodged from the eighteenth to the twenty-third of August, 1429, awaiting
the entry of Charles VII.
With the era of Francis I that gallant and fastidious monarch came to
take up his residence at Compiegne. He here received his "friend and
enemy," Charles V, but strangely enough there is no monument in
Compiegne to-day which is intimately associated with the stay here of
the art-loving Francis. He preferred, after all, his royal manor at
Villers-Cotterets near by. There was more privacy there, and it formed
an admirable retreat for such moments when the king did not wish to bask
in publicity, and these moments were many, though one might not at first
think so when reading of his affairs of state. There were also affairs
of the heart which, to him, in many instances, were quite as important.
This should not be forgotten.
In 1624 a treaty was signed at Compiegne which assured the alliance of
Louis XIII with the United Provinces, and during this reign the court
was frequently in residence here. In 1631 Marie de Medici, then a
prisoner in the palace, made a notable escape and fled, doomed ever
afterwards to a vagabond existence, a terrible fall for her once proud
glory, to her death in a Cologne garret ten years later.
In 1635 the Grand Chancellor of Sweden signed a treaty here which
enabled France to mingle in the affairs of the Thirty Years' War.
During the Fronde, that "Woman's War," which was so entirely
unnecessary, Anne d'Autriche held her court in the Palace of Compiegne
and received Christine de Suede on certain occasions when that royal
lady's costume was of such a grotesque nature, and her speech so
_chevaleresque_, that she caused even a scandal in a profligate court.
Anne d'Autriche, too, left Compiegne practically a prisoner; another
_menage a trois_ had been broken up.
The most imposing event in the history of Compiegne of which the
chronicles tell was the assembling of sixty thousand men beneath the
walls by Louis XIV, in order to give Madame de Maintenon a realistic
exhibition of "playing soldiers." At all events the demonstration was a
bloodless one, and an immortal page in Saint-Simon's "Memoires"
consecrates this gallantry of a king in a most subtle manner.
Another fair lady, a royal favourite, too, came on the scene at
Compiegne in 1769 when Madame du Barry was the principal _artiste_ in
the great fete given in her honour by Louis XV. She was lodged in a tiny
chateau (built originally for Madame de Pompadour) a short way out of
town on the Soissons road.
Du Barry must have been a good fairy to Compiegne for Louis XV lavished
an abounding care on the chateau and, rather than allow the architect,
Jacques Ange Gabriel, have the free hand that his counsellors advised,
sought to have the ancient outlines of the former structure on the site
preserved and thus present to posterity through the newer work the two
monumental facades which are to be seen to-day. The effort was not
wholly successful, for the architect actually did carry out his fancy
with respect to the decoration in the same manner in which he had
designed the Ecole Militaire at Paris and the two colonnaded edifices
facing upon the Place de la Concorde.
This work was entirely achieved when Louis XVI took possession. This
monarch, in 1780, caused to be fitted up a most elaborate apartment for
the queen (his marriage with Marie Antoinette was consecrated here), but
that indeed was all the hand he had in the work of building at
Compiegne, which has practically endured as his predecessor left it. The
Revolution and Consulate used the chateau as their fancy willed, and
rather harshly, but in 1806 its restoration was begun and Charles IV of
Spain, upon his dethronement by Napoleon, was installed therein a couple
of years later.
The palace, the park and the forest now became a sort of royal appanage
of this Spanish monarch, which Napoleon, in a generous spirit, could
well afford to will him. He lived here some months and then left
precipitately for Marseilles.
Napoleon affected a certain regard for this palatial property, though
only occupying it at odd moments. He embellished its surroundings, above
all its gardens, in a most lavish manner. Virtually, all things
considered, Compiegne is a _Palais Napoleonien_, and if one would study
the style of the Empire at its best the thing may be done at Compiegne.
On July 30, 1814, Louis XVIII and Alexander of Russia met at Compiegne
amid a throng of Paris notabilities who had come thither for the
occasion.
Charles X loved to hunt in the forest of Compiegne. In 1832, one of the
daughters of Louis-Philippe, the Princesse Louise, was married to the
King of the Belgians in this palace.
From 1852 to 1870 the palace and its grounds were the scenes of many
imperial fetes.
Napoleon III had for Compiegne a particular predilection. The
prince-president, in 1852, installed himself here for the autumn season,
and among his guests was that exquisite blond beauty, Eugenie Montijo,
who, the year after, was to become the empress of the French. Faithful
to the memory of his uncle, by reason of a romantic sentiment, the Third
Napoleon came frequently to Compiegne; or perhaps it was because of the
near-by hunt, for he was a passionate disciple of Saint Hubert. It was
his Versailles!
The palace of Compiegne as seen to-day presents all the classic coldness
of construction of the reign of Louis XV. Its lines were severe and that
the building was inspired by a genius is hard to believe, though in
general it is undeniably impressive. Frankly, it is a mocking, decadent
eighteenth century architecture that presents itself, but of such vast
proportions that one sets it down as something grand if not actually of
surpassing good taste.
In general the architecture of the palace presents at first glance a
coherent unit, though in reality it is of several epochs. Its
furnishings within are of different styles and periods, not all of them
of the best. Slender gold chairs, false reproductions of those of the
time of Louis XV, and some deplorable tapestries huddle close upon
elegant "_bergeres_" of Louis XVI, and sofas, tables and bronzes of
master artists and craftsmen are mingled with cheap castings unworthy of
a stage setting in a music hall. A process of adroit eviction will some
day be necessary to bring these furnishings up to a consistent plane of
excellence.
One of the facades is nearly six hundred feet in length, with forty-nine
windows stretching out in a single range. It might be the front of an
automobile factory if it were less ornate, or that of an exposition
building were it more beautiful. In some respects it is reminiscent of
the Palais Royal at Paris, particularly as to the entrance colonnade and
gallery facing the Louvre.
The chief beauty within is undoubtedly the magnificent stairway, with
its balustrade of wrought iron of the period of Louis XVI. The Salle de
Spectacle is of a certain Third Empire-Louis Napoleon distinction, which
is saying that it is neither very lovely nor particularly plain, simply
ordinary, or, to give it a French turn of phrase, vulgar.
One of the most remarkable apartments is the Salle des Cartes, the old
salon of the Aides de Camp, whose walls are ornamented with three great
plans showing the roads and by-paths of the forest, and other decorative
panels representing the hunt of the time of Louis XV.
The Chambre a Coucher of the great Napoleon is perhaps the most
interesting of all the smaller apartments, with its strange bed, which
in form more nearly resembles an oriental divan than anything European.
Doubtless it is not uncomfortable as a bed, but it looks more like a
tent, or camp, in the open, than anything essentially intended for
domestic use within doors. After the great Napoleon, his nephew Napoleon
III was its most notable occupant, though it was last slept in by the
Tzar Nicholas II, when he visited France in 1901.
The sleeping-room of the Empress Eugenie is fitted up after the style of
the early Empire with certain interpolations of the mid-nineteenth
century. The most distinct feature here is the battery of linen coffers
which Marie Louise had had especially designed and built. The Salon des
Dames d'Honneur, with its double rank of nine "scissors chairs," the
famous _tabourets de cour_, lined up rigidly before the _canape_ on
which the empress rested, is certainly a remarkable apartment. This
was the _decor_ of convention that Madame Sans Gene rendered classic.
[Illustration: _Napoleon's Bedchamber, Compiegne_]
Like all the French national palaces Compiegne has a too abundant
collection of Sevres vases set about in awkward corners which could not
otherwise be filled, and, beginning with the vestibule, this thing is
painfully apparent.
The apartments showing best the Napoleonic style in decorations and
furnishings are the Salon des Huissiers, the Salle des Gardes, the
Escalier d'Apollon, the Salle de Don Quichotte--which contains a series
of designs destined to have served for a series of tapestries intended
to depict scenes in the life of the windmill knight--the Galerie des
Fetes, the Galerie des Cerfs, the Salle Coypel, the Salle des Stucs and
the Salon des Fleurs, through which latter one approaches the royal
apartments.
In the sixteenth century, or, more exactly, between 1502 and 1510, was
constructed Compiegne's handsome Hotel de Ville, one of the most
delightful architectural mixtures of Gothic and Renaissance extant. It
is an architectural monument of the same class as the Palais de Justice
at Rouen or the Hotel Cluny at Paris. Its frontispiece is marvellous,
the _rez-de-chaussee_ less gracious than the rest perhaps, but with the
first story blooming forth as a gem of magnificent proportions and
setting. Between the four windows of this first story are posed
statuesque effigies of Charles VII, Jeanne d'Arc, Saint Remy and Louis
IX. In the centre, in a niche, is an equestrian statue of Louis XII, who
reigned when this monument was being built. A _balustrade a jour_
finishes off this story, which, in turn, is overhung with a high, peaked
gable, and above rise the belfry and its spire, of which the great clock
dates from 1303, though only put into place in 1536. The only false note
is sounded by the two insignificant, cold and unlovely wings which flank
the main structure on either side.
It is a sixteenth century construction unrivalled of its kind in all
France, more like a Belgian town-hall belfry than anything elsewhere to
be seen outside Flanders, but it is not of the low Spanish-Renaissance
order as are so many of the imposing edifices of occidental and oriental
Flanders. It is a blend of Gothic and Renaissance, and, what is still
more rare, the best of Gothic and the best of Renaissance. Above its
facade is a civic belfry, flanked by two slender towers. Within the
portal-vestibule rises a monumental stairway which must have been the
inspiration of many a builder of modern opera-houses.
Opposite the Hotel Dieu is the poor, rent relic of the Tour de Jeanne
d'Arc, originally a cylindrical donjon of the twelfth century, wherein
"La Pucelle" was imprisoned in 1430.
Between the palace and the river are to be seen many vestiges of the
mediaeval ramparts of the town, and here and there a well-defined base of
a gateway or tower. Mediaevalism is rampant throughout Compiegne.
The park surrounding the palace is quite distinct from the wider radius
of the Foret de Compiegne. It is of the secular, conventional order, and
its perspectives, looking towards the forest from the terrace and vice
versa, are in all ways satisfying to the eye.
One of the most striking of these alleyed vistas was laid out under the
orders of the first Napoleon in 1810. It loses itself in infinity,
almost, its horizon blending with that of the far distant Beaux Monts in
the heart of the forest.
In the immediate neighbourhood of the palace are innumerable statues,
none of great beauty, value or distinction. On the south side runs a
Cours, or Prado, as it would be called in Catalonia. The word Cours is
of Provencal origin, and how it ever came to be transplanted here is a
mystery. Still here it is, a great tree-shaded promenade running to the
river. The climate of Compiegne is never so blazing hot as to make this
Cours so highly appreciated as its namesakes in the Midi, but as an
exotic accessory to the park it is quite a unique delight.
Within the park may still be traced the outlines of the moat which
surrounded the palace of Charles V, as well as some scanty remains of
the same period.
Another distinctive feature is the famous _Berceau en Fer_, an iron
trellis several thousands of feet in length, which was built by Napoleon
I as a reminder to Marie Louise of a similar, but smaller, garden
accessory which she had known at Schoenbrunn. It was a caprice, if you
like, and rather a futile one since it was before the time when
artistically worthless things were the rage just because of their
gigantic proportions. Napoleon III cut it down in part, and pruned it to
more esthetic proportions, and what there is left, vine and flower
grown, is really charming.
The Foret de Compiegne as a historic wildwood goes back to the Druids
who practiced their mysterious rites under its antique shade centuries
before the coming of the kings, who later called it their own special
hunting preserve. Stone hatchets, not unlike the tomahawks of the red
man, have been found and traced back--well, definitely to the Stone
Age, and supposedly to the time when they served the Druids for their
sacrifices.
[Illustration: _Cours de Compiegne_]
The soldiers of Caesar came later and their axes were of iron or copper,
and though on the warpath, too, their way was one which was supposed to
lead civilization into the wilderness. Innumerable traces of the Roman
occupation are to be found in the forest by those who know how to read
the signs; twenty-five different localities have been marked down by the
archeologists as having been stations on the path blazed by the Legions
of Rome.
After the Romans came the first of the kings as proprietors of the
forest, and in the moyen-age the monks, the barons and the crown itself
shared equally the rights of the forest.
Legends of most weird purport are connected with various points
scattered here and there throughout the forest, as at the Fosse Dupuis
and the Table Ronde, where a sort of "trial by fire" was held by the
barons whenever a seigneur among them had conspired against another.
Ariosto, gathering many of his legends from the works of the old French
chroniclers, did not disdain to make use of the Foret de Compiegne as a
stage setting.
During the reign of Clothaire the forest was known as the Foret de
Cuise, because of a royal palace hidden away among the Druid oaks which
bore the name of Cotia, or Cusia. Until 1346 the palace existed in some
form or other, though shorn of royal dignities. It was at this period
that Philippe VI divided the forests of the Valois into three distinct
parts in order to better regulate their exploitation.
The Frankish kings being, it would seem, inordinately fond of _la
chasse_ the Foret de Compiegne, in the spring and autumn, became their
favorite rendezvous. Alcuin, the historian, noted this fact in the
eighth century, and described this earliest of royal hunts in some
detail. In 715 the forest was the witness of a great battle between the
Austrasians and the Neustrians.
Before Francis I with his habitual initiative had pierced the eight
great forest roads which come together at the octagon called the Puits
du Roi, the forest was not crossed by any thoroughfare; the nearest
thing thereto was the Chaussee de Brunhaut, a Roman way which bounded it
on the south and east.
Louis XIV and Louis XV, in turn, cut numerous roads and paths, and to
the latter were due the crossroads known as the Grand Octagone and the
Petit Octagone.
It was over one of these great forest roads, that leading to Soissons,
that Marie Louise, accompanied by a cortege of three hundred persons,
eighty conveyances and four hundred and fifty horses, journeyed in a
torrential rain, in March 1807, when she came to France to found a
dynasty.
A marriage had been consummated by procuration at Vienna, and she set
out to actually meet her future spouse for the first time at Soissons.
At the little village of Courcelles, on the edge of the forest between
Soissons and Compiegne, two men enveloped in great protecting cloaks had
arrived post-haste from Compiegne. At the parish church they stopped a
moment and took shelter under the porch, impatiently scanning the
horizon. Finally a lumbering _berlin de voyage_ lurched into view, drawn
by eight white horses. In its depths were ensconced two women richly
dressed, one a beautiful woman of mature years, the other a young girl
scarce eighteen years.
The most agitated of the men, he who was clad in a gray redingote,
sprang hastily to the carriage door. He was introduced by the older
woman as "_Sa Majeste l'Empereur des Francaises, mon frere_." The
speaker was one of the sisters of Napoleon, Caroline, Queen of Naples;
the other was the Archduchess Marie Louise, daughter of Franz II,
Emperor of Austria.
An imposing ceremonial had been planned for Soissons and the court had
been ordered to set out from Compiegne with the emperor, in order to
arrive at Soissons in due time. When the actual signal for the departure
was given the emperor was nowhere to be found. As usual he had
anticipated things.
For weeks before the arrival of the empress to be Napoleon had passed
the majority of his waking hours at Paris in the apartments which he had
caused to be prepared for Marie Louise. He selected the colour of the
furnishings, and superintended the very placing of the furniture. Among
other things he had planned a boudoir which alone represented an
expenditure of nearly half a million francs.
Lejeune, who had accompanied Marechal Berthier to Vienna to arrange the
marriage, had returned and given his imperial master a glowing
description of the charms of the young archduchess who was to be his
bride. The emperor compared his ideal with her effigy on medals and
miniatures and then worked even more ardently than before that her
apartments should be worthy of her when she arrived.
It was just following upon this fever of excitement that Napoleon and
the court had repaired to Compiegne. So restless was the emperor that
he could hardly bide the time when the archduchess should arrive, and it
was thus that he set out with Murat to meet the approaching cortege.
The pavilion which had been erected for the meeting was left to the
citizens of the neighbourhood, and the marvellous banquet which had been
prepared by Bausset was likewise abandoned. Napoleon had no time to
think of dining.
All the roadside villages between Soissons and Compiegne were hung with
banners, and the populace appeared to be as highly excited as the
contracting parties. It still rained a deluge, but this made no
difference. Two couriers at full gallop came first to Compiegne, crying:
"Place": "Place": The eight white horses and the _berlin de voyage_
followed. Before one had hardly time to realize what was passing,
Napoleon and his bride whisked by in a twinkling.
At nine o'clock an outpost in the park at Compiegne announced the
arrival of the emperor and his train. At ten o'clock a cannon shot rang
out over the park and the emperor and empress passed into the chateau to
proceed with certain indispensable presentations; then to souper, a
_petite souper intime_, we are assured.
On the morrow all the world of the assembled court met the empress and
avowed that she had that specious _beaute du diable_ which has ever
pleased the French connoisseur of beautiful women. They went further,
however, and stated that in spite of this ravishing beauty she lacked
the elegance which should be the possession of an empress of the French.
The faithful Berthier silenced them with the obvious statement that
since she pleased the emperor there was nothing more to be said, or
thought.
Flying northward on the great highroad leading out from Paris to
Chantilly and Compiegne gadabout travellers have never a thought that
just beyond Pont Saint Maxence, almost in plain view from the doorway of
the Inn of the Lion d'Argent of that sleepy little town, is a gabled
wall which represents all that remains of the "Maison de Philippe de
Beaumanoir," called the Cour Basse.
THE END
INDEX
_Aiguillon_, Duchesse d', 217
_Alcuin_, 358
_Alexander_, Emperor, 221, 330, 349
_Alphonse XIII of Spain_, 7
Amboise, 26, 28, 86
_Amboise, Bussy d'_, 72
_Ancre, Marechal d'_, 67
_Andelot, Coligny d'_, 72-73
_Andilly, Arnauld d'_, 267
Anet, Chateau d', 29, 111
_Angennes, Jacques d'_, 44, 299, 311
Angers, Chateau d', 22
_Anglas, Boissy d'_, 114
_Angouleme, Duchesse d'_, 321
_Anjou, Ducs d'_, 22, 136, 212
_Anne of Austria_, 96-97, 136-137, 284-287, 289, 347
_Arc, Jeanne d'_, 345-346, 354
Ardennes, 54
Arlors, 25
_Artois, Comtesse d'_, 176
_Aubert, Jean_, 333
_Aubigne, D'_, 299
_Aumale, Duc d'_, 29, 327, 331-332, 335, 338, 339
_Auvergne, Louis d'_, 162-163
_Ayen, Duc d'_, 299
Bagatelle, Chateau de, 163, 203-206
_Bailly, Sylvain_, 104
_Barbes_, 173
Barbison, 200-201
_Baril, Jean_, 25
_Barry, Mme. du_, 211, 242-243, 245, 250, 275, 329, 348
_Bassompierre_, 195, 262
Bastille, 71, 145, 173
_Bausset_, 361
_Baviere, Isabeau de_, 69, 151, 182
_Beauharnais, Eugene_, 220, 222
_Beauharnais, Hortense_, 215, 220, 221
_Beaujon_, 164
_Beaumont, Cardinal de_, 179
Beauvais, Hotel de, 11
_Becker, General_, 221
_Becket, Thomas a_, 182
_Bedford, Duke of_, 69
_Belleveu_, 241-242
_Berquin, Louis de_, 67
_Berry, Duc de_, 165
_Berry, Duchesse de_, 50, 321
_Berthier, Marechal_ (see _Wagram, Prince de_)
_Blanchard_, 130
_Blanqui_, 173
_Blois_, 21, 26, 305
_Blondel_, 37
_Blucher_, 173, 209
_Boileau_, 328
Boissy, Forest of, 49
_Bonaparte, Caroline_, 359
_Bonaparte, Jerome_, 147
_Bonaparte, Louis_, 235
_Bonaparte, Lucien_, 145
_Bonheur, Rosa_, 202
_Bordeaux, Duc de_, 166
_Borghese, Princesse_, 208
_Bossuet_, 328
_Boulanger_, 200
_Boullee_, 164
Boulogne, Bois de, 168, 174, 175, 203, 206, 209
_Bourbon Family_, 164-165, 329, 331, 341
Bourbon, Palais, 120, 159-161
_Bourdaloue_, 328
Bourg-la-Reine, 3
_Boyceau_, 30, 262, 270
_Breton, Mme. de_, 121-122
_Brunet_, 223
_Brunswick, Duchesse de_, 154
_Bullant, Jean_, 109, 327, 336
_Cadoudal_, 173
_Cambaceres, Consul_, 115-116
Cardinal, Palais (_see_ Royal, Palais)
_Carpeaux_, 118
_Carrier-Belleuse_, 202
_Cartouche_, 67
_Cellini_, 182, 192
_Chabanne, Comte de_, 73
_Chabrol_, 147
_Chalgrin_, 154
_Chambiges, Pierre_, 91, 281-282
Chamblay, 54-56
Chambord, 71, 86, 310
_Chamillard, Michael_, 252-253
_Champaigne, Philippe de_, 135
_Champollion-Figeac_, 184
Chantilly, Chateau and Forest of, 324-340, 362
_Chappell, Comte des_, 72
Charenton, 152
_Charlemagne_, 18, 116, 281
_Charles II_, 344
_Charles V_, 22, 23, 25, 62-63, 66, 68, 77, 82-84, 170, 190, 247, 281,
327, 344, 356
_Charles VI_, 63, 66, 69, 176-177, 229
_Charles VII_, 69, 182, 190, 346, 354
_Charles VIII_, 21, 299
_Charles IX_, 89, 91-94, 106, 108-110, 171, 209, 291, 312, 327
_Charles X_, 57, 108, 118, 146, 173, 192, 204, 212, 237-238, 303,
317, 319-320, 349
_Charles IV, Emperor_, 63
_Charles V, Emperor_, 85, 88, 346
_Charles I, of England_, 104, 137, 289
_Charles the Bold of Burgundy_ (see _Charolais, Comte de_)
_Charolais, Comte de_, 177-178
_Chartres, Ducs de_ (see _Orleans, Ducs de_)
_Chateauroux, Mme. de_, 250
_Chatou_, 210
Chenonceaux, 26, 32, 71
_Chevalier, Etienne_, 339
_Childerbert I_, 216
_Christina, Queen_, 222
_Cinq-Mars_, 73, 134
_Clagny, Chateau de_, 228, 277
_Clement, Jacques_, 93, 230-232
_Clothaire_, 357
_Clotilde_, 61
_Clovis_, 61, 76, 216
_Coictier, Jacques_, 66, 152
_Colbert_, 3, 87, 98, 100, 269
_Coligny, Admiral_, 93
_Collo, Jean_, 27
_Commynes_, 177
Compiegne, Palace and Forest of, 52-53, 165, 232, 335, 342-362
Conciergerie, 61, 65-68
_Conde Family_, 73, 269, 324, 327-331, 333, 337, 339
Conflans, Chateau de, 2, 175-179
_Constantine, Emperor_, 344
Consulat, Palais du (_see_ Luxembourg, Palais du)
_Conti Family_, 211, 242, 327
_Corneille_, 73, 133, 151
_Corot_, 200
_Cottereau, Jean_, 299, 300-305, 307
Courcelles, 359
_Cousin, Jean_, 170
_Coypel_, 137
_Cromwell_, 137
_Crozat_, 162
_Dagobert_, 54
_Damiens_, 67, 263-264
_Dante_, 24
_Dardelle_, 123
_Daru_, 100
_Daubigny_, 200
_Daumesnil, Baron_, 173
_Daumet, Henri_, 332
_Debanes_, 22
_Debrosse, Jacques_, 64, 154, 158
_Decamps_, 202, 338
_Delille, Abbe_, 143
_Delorme, Marion_, 73
_Delorme, Philibert_, 34, 108-111, 189
_Denecourt_, 198-199, 201
Deputes, Chambre des (_see_ Bourbon, Palais)
_Desmoulins, Camille_, 145
_Diaz_, 200
Directoire, Palais du (_see_ Luxembourg, Palais du)
_Donon_, 100
_Dorbay_, 110
_Drouais_, 211
_Ducamp, Maxine_, 126
_Ducerceau_, 92, 94, 110, 112
_Ducrot, General_, 222
_Dugastz_, 232
_Dupaira_, 95
_Duperac_, 110
_Dupre_, 200
_Durfort, Madame_, 49
Egalite, Palais (_see_ Royal, Palais)
Enghien, Chateau d', 340
_Enghien, Duc d'_, 169, 172-174, 331
_Epernon, Ducs d'_, 103, 232
_Erard, Sebastian_, 210
_Este, Maria d'_, 290
Estival, Convent of, 49
_Estrees, Gabrielle d'_, 102, 210
_Etampes, Duchesse d'_, 86, 185, 192, 294
_Etoiles, Normand d'_, 204
_Eugenie, Empress_, 120-122, 125-126, 238, 350, 352
_Evans, Dr._, 122
_Fallieres, President_, 166-167
_Famin_, 314-315
_Faure, Felix_, 56, 58-59
_Feraud_, 114
_Ferrare, Duc de_, 70
_Flandre, Comte de_, 82
_Flavy, Guillaume de_, 345
Fleury, Chateau de, 195
_Fontaine_, 99, 127
Fontainebleau, Forest of, 6, 50, 52, 181, 183, 196-202, 279, 294
Fontainebleau, Palais de, 2, 26, 28, 33, 34, 87, 91, 111, 180-196,
329, 335, 336
_Fouche_, 221
_Fould_, 53
_Fouquet, Jean_, 339
_Fouquet, Nicolas_, 269
_Fragonard_, 211
_Francine, Thomas and Alexandre_, 196
_Francis I_, 8, 10, 12, 16, 21, 32, 44-45, 62, 64, 67, 77, 79, 81,
84-89, 108, 110, 170, 181, 183-187, 189-191, 194, 209, 229, 281-282,
290, 292, 299, 306, 310-311, 321, 326, 346, 358
_Franz II_, 359
_Gabriel_, 276, 348
Gaillon, Chateau de, 33
_Ganne, Pere_, 200
_Girardini_, 160
Gisors, Castle of, 82
_Gondi_, 230, 232
_Goujon, Jean_, 89, 90
Grand Trianon, 39, 248, 258, 259, 260, 263, 264, 274-276
_Gregory of Tours_, 215
_Grevy, Jules_, 58
_Gros, Baron_, 338
Grosbois, Chateau de, 51
_Guilbert, Abbe_, 184
_Guillain, Guillaume_, 282
_Guise, Ducs de_, 70, 72-73, 103
_Hamon_, 200
_Harlay-Crauvallon, Archbishop De_, 178-179
_Haussmann, Baron_, 3, 13, 152
_Hebert_, 201
_Hennequin, Dame Gillette_, 178
_Henri II_, 26, 32, 44, 69-70, 78, 85, 87, 89, 90, 91, 108, 110, 170,
193, 229, 230, 282, 294-295, 311, 327
_Henri III_, 29, 92-93, 101, 109, 230-232, 312
_Henri IV_, 16, 26, 27, 29, 45-46, 71-72, 87, 89, 92, 94-95, 102-103,
111-112, 118, 172, 186, 190, 191, 194-197, 206, 209, 210, 231, 232,
238, 282-283, 306, 327
_Henrietta of England_, 233, 289
_Henriette de France_, 104, 137
_Henry V of England_, 63, 326
_Henry VI of England_, 63, 69
_Henry VIII of England_, 311
Herivaux, Bois de, 340
_Hohenzollern, Prince de_, 53
_Hortense, Queen_, 330
_Hugo, Victor_, 73
_Hugues Capet_, 62
Institut, Palais de l', 159-160
_Isabey_ (_Pere_), 40
_Jacob of Cologne_, 87
_Jacque_, 200
_James II of England_, 290
_Jarnac, Gui Chabot de_, 294
_Joachim, Prince_, 52, 56
_John II of France_, 83, 170
_John VIII, Pope_, 344
Joinville, Forest of, 169
_Josephine, Empress_, 174, 215, 217-222, 323
Justice, Palais de (_see_ La Cite, Palais de)
_Karr, Alphonse_, 149
_La Barauderie, De_, 30
_Labaudy_, 50
_La Brosse_, 102
La Cite, Palais de, 12, 61-68, 75, 81, 82, 93, 152, 153, 170
_La Chataigneraie_, 294
_Laffitte, Pierre_, 212, 213, 243
_Lambesc, Prince de_, 144
La Muette, Chateau de, 111, 203, 209-210
_Lancret_, 338
Langeais, 33
_Lannes, Marechal_, 213
_Laporte_, 284
_La Quintinye_, 267-269
La Reine Blanche, Chateau de, 341
_Laschant_, 232
_Latini, Brunetto_, 24
_Lauzan_, 178, 289
_La Valliere, Louise de_, 289
_Lebrun, Charles_, 97, 255, 256
_Lebrun, Consul_, 115
_Le Calabrese, Henri_, 27
_Lecouteux de Canteleu_, 217, 222
_Ledoux_, 211, 243
_Lefuel_, 100
_Lejeune_, 360
_Leloir_, 239
L'Elysee, Palais de, 153, 162-167
_Lemercier, Jacques_, 96, 100, 135, 262
_Le Moyne_, 239
_Le Notre_, 16, 22, 25, 26, 28, 30, 31, 35, 39, 40, 104, 128, 129-130,
179, 233, 248, 264-266, 270, 277, 288, 292, 307-308, 327, 330
_Lepaute_, 240
_Le Roy_, 262
Les Bruyeres, 222
_Lescot, Pierre_, 88-90, 109
_Lesdiguieres, Duchesse de_, 179
_Levau_, 97-98, 110, 247, 249
_Lomenci, Martial de_, 247
_Longueil, Rene de_, 212
_Longueville, Mme. de_, 73, 327
_Loret_, 11
_Lorraine, Cardinal de_, 111
_Lorraine, Chevalier de_, 233
_Louis I_, 344
_Louis V_, 344
_Louis VI_, 281
_Louis VII_, 169, 181, 182
_Louis IX_, 23, 62, 77, 169, 176, 182, 190, 281, 295, 341, 344, 354
_Louis XI_, 21, 66, 69, 152, 172, 177-178, 299, 326
_Louis XII_, 26, 69, 299, 305, 306, 326, 354
_Louis XIII_, 16, 48, 87, 96, 112, 132, 134, 136, 171, 189, 190, 194,
209, 247, 249, 262, 266, 283-284, 306, 347
_Louis XIV_, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 29, 33, 38, 39, 46, 48, 49, 50, 85,
87, 97-99, 104, 112, 118, 127, 136-137, 152, 158, 170, 178, 186,
189, 190, 206, 217, 223-224, 226, 233, 240, 245, 247, 249, 251-253,
255-257, 261, 264, 268, 270, 273, 274, 277, 283, 284, 288-290, 291,
293, 296, 297, 299, 303-307, 312, 328, 345, 347, 358
_Louis XV_, 4, 14, 16, 17, 38, 48, 112, 152, 162, 163, 174, 185, 186,
189, 190, 192, 205, 207, 209, 211, 227, 241, 243, 246, 250, 253,
263-264, 275-276, 284, 290, 312, 320, 323, 329, 345, 348, 350-352,
358
_Louis XVI_, 37, 39, 41, 43, 57, 108, 113, 118, 143, 144, 152, 154,
210, 213, 227, 250, 261, 235-236, 352, 356, 358-362, 290, 312-313,
316, 320, 322, 348, 351
_Louis XVIII_, 118, 161, 174, 237, 250, 316, 349
_Louis Philippe_, 105, 108, 117-118, 146, 149, 154, 162, 166, 186, 194,
199, 207, 238, 254-255, 350 (_see also Orleans Family_)
Louveciennes, Chateau de, 210-212, 242, 288
Louvre, 4, 12, 13, 22, 25, 32, 44, 62, 68, 75-105, 108, 109, 110, 111,
112, 118, 124, 131, 132, 152, 233, 351
_Lude, Comtesse de_, 49
_Luxembourg, Jean de_, 346
Luxembourg, Palais de, 28, 40, 115, 136, 144, 153-158
Machine de Marly, 223-224
Madrid, Chateau de, 111
_Magnan, Marechal_, 242
_Maine, Duc de_, 159
Maintenon, Chateau de, 242, 296-308, 312
_Maintenon, Mme. de_, 158-159, 194, 227, 249, 274, 296-299, 302-303,
305-308, 312, 347
Maisons-Laffitte, Chateau de, 203, 212-214, 288
Malmaison, Chateau de, 215-223, 323
_Mandrin_, 67
_Mansart, Francois_, 212-213
_Mansart, Jules Hardouin_, 35, 137, 179, 226, 233, 241, 249, 274, 276,
291, 327, 333
Mantes, 55
_Mantes, Mlle. de_, 159
_Marat_, 116
_Marceliano, Pucello and Edme_, 26
_Marie Antoinette_, 49, 115, 194, 204, 210, 237, 245, 256, 276-277, 320,
322, 349
_Marie Louise_, 6, 117, 208
_Marie Sophie_, 320
_Marie Therese_, 11
_Marigny, Enguerrand de_, 62, 172
_Marigny, Marquis de_, 99
Marlotte, 201
Marly-le-Roi (_or_ -le-Bourg _or_ -le-Chatel), 2, 224-228, 283, 288
_Mary Tudor, of England_, 69
Marseilles, 91
_Massena, Duc de_, 217
_Masson, Frederic_, 236
_Matignon, Marechal de_, 70
_Mayenne, Duc de_, 101
_Mazarin, Cardinal_, 87, 104, 136, 159, 169, 283-285
Mazarin, Palais (_see_ Institut, Palais de l')
_Medici, Catherine de_, 26, 31, 33, 44, 48, 68, 69-71, 90-91, 93-94,
97, 107, 108, 110, 111, 171, 195, 230, 247, 311
_Medici, Marie de_, 72, 103, 154, 155, 158, 206, 347
_Menars et de Marigny, Marquis de_, 163
_Menours, Jacques de_, 30, 262-263
_Mercogliano_, 18
_Messonier_, 338
_Metezeau, Thibaut_, 92, 94
_Metternich, Prince de_, 121
Meudon, Bois de, 240
Meudon, Chateau de, 34, 111
_Michelet_, 192
_Mignard_, 233, 239, 306
_Millet, Eugene_, 290, 291
_Millet, Jean Francois_, 200, 201
_Mirabeau_, 172
_Moliere_, 73, 104, 178, 249
Molineaux, Chateau de, 278
_Mollet, Claude_, 29, 30
_Mollien_, 100
_Monconseil, Marquise de_, 204
_Mongomere, Comte de_, 67
_Montansier, Duc de_, 269
Montargis, 28
_Montebello, Marechal de_, 213
_Montespan, Marquise de_, 159, 249, 275, 312
_Montesson, Marquise de_, 234
Montgaillard, 50
_Montgolfier_, 130
_Montgomeri, Sieur de_, 70
Montmartre, 288
_Montmorency Family_, 178, 324, 326-327, 339
Montmorency, Forest of, 49, 288
_Montpensier, Mlle. de_, 136
_Moreau, Architect_, 138
_Moreau, Hegesippe_, 123-124
_Moskowa, Prince de la_, 53
_Muette, Chateau de la_, 111
_Murat, Princes de_, 52-56, 165, 235, 361
_Murillo_, 164
Musee de Cluny, 12
_Musset, De_, 274
_Nacret_, 239
Nanterre, 281
_Nanteuil, Celestin_, 200
_Napoleon I_, 6, 13, 40, 51-52, 57, 79, 88, 100, 108, 115-118, 127,
129, 145, 154, 155, 160, 165, 171, 173-174, 180, 186, 187-188, 190,
194, 208, 213, 217-222, 235-237, 250, 254, 274, 296, 298, 313-316,
320, 321, 322, 345, 349, 352, 355-356, 359-362
_Napoleon III_, 13, 58, 92, 100, 105, 118-122, 147, 152, 166, 195,
197, 222, 238, 290, 313, 318, 323, 345, 350-352, 356
_Nattier_, 338
_Neckar_, 144
_Nemours, Duc de_, 70
_Neufforge, De_, 37
Neuilly and its Chateau, 206-209, 238
_Nicholas II_, 352
_Nicolo dell' abbate_, 193
_Nigra, Chevalier_, 121
_Noailles, Ducs de_, 298-300, 306
Noisy, Chateau de, 278
_Nolhac, M. de_, 274
_Olivier, Emile_, 125
_Oppenard_, 137
_Orgemont, Marguerite d'_, 326
_Orleans, Ducs d'_, 137-140, 143, 144-149, 161, 209, 233, 234,
286-287, 337
Orleans, Palais d' (_see_ Royal, Palais)
_Ormesson, D'_, 73
_Osman_, 230-231
_Oursins, Juvenal des_, 66
_Palatine, Princesse_, 233
_Palissy, Bernard_, 31-32
_Panseron_, 37
_Pare, Ambroise_, 171
_Paul, Saint Vincent de_, 73
_Penthievre, Duc de_, 306, 312, 322
_Pepin-le-Bref_, 343
_Percier_, 100, 127
_Perrault, Charles_, 98-99
Petit Luxembourg, Palais du, 155, 157
Petit Trianon, 39, 260, 264, 274, 276-277, 329
_Pfnor_, 184
_Philippe Auguste_, 12, 62, 77, 80-82, 169, 182, 190
_Philippe III_, 62, 177
_Philippe IV_, 62, 170, 176, 182, 190, 295
_Philippe VI_, 170, 358
_Philippe II, of Spain_, 69
_Philippe-Egalite_, 138-139
_Picard, Achille_, 125
_Pichegreu_, 173
Pierrefonds, 290, 335
_Pisan, Christine de_, 23
_Pius VII_, 6, 115, 194, 235
_Poirson_, 184
_Poissin_, 164
Poissy, 23, 232, 292, 293
_Poitiers, Diane de_, 29, 44, 70-71, 193
_Pompadour, Mme. de_, 163, 204-205, 241-242, 246, 250, 275, 348
_Potter, Paul_, 164
_Poussin_, 338
_Prieur, Barthelemy_, 196
_Primaticcio_, 87, 188, 192, 193
_Provence, Comte de_, 154
Quatre Nations, Palais des (_see_ Institut, Palais de l')
_Rabelais_, 322
_Racine_, 297, 303, 308, 328
Rambouillet, Chateau and Forest of, 44-45, 50, 55-59, 242, 296, 298,
309-323, 328, 335, 336
_Rambouillet, Seigneur de_, 299
_Raphael_, 87, 170
_Raspail_, 173
_Ravaillac_, 67, 102
_Redon_, 128
_Regnier, Henri de_, 244
_Remusat, Mme. de_, 174, 219
_Retz, Marechal de_, 247
Revolution, Palais de la (_see_ Royal, Palais)
_Richelieu, Cardinal_, 72, 73, 95, 100, 131-139, 151, 178, 179, 216-217
_Rigaud_, 307
_Rigby_, 334
_Robert II_, 62, 190, 281
_Rochefort, Henri_, 120-121
_Romain, Mme._, 141
_Ronsard_, 34, 90, 109, 111
_Roosevelt, Theodore_, 166-167
_Rosier, De_, 210
_Rosny_, 55
_Rosso_, 182, 192
_Rousseau, Theodore_, 200, 201
_Rousselle_, 123
Rouvray, Forest of, 229
_Rovigo, Duc de_, 221
Royal, Palais, 131-150, 284, 351
Royale, Place (_see_ Vosges, Place des)
_Rubens_, 164
Rueil (_see_ Malmaison)
_Sadi-Carnot_, 58
Saint Cloud, Palais de, 13, 93, 228, 229-243
Saint Cyr, 296-298, 303
Saint Germain-en-Laye, 28, 91, 111, 136, 203, 206, 223, 232, 242, 256,
279-295, 311, 324, 336, 345
Saint Germain, Forest of, 212, 292-295
_Saint James, Baudart de_, 208
_Saint Louis_ (see _Louis IX_)
Saint Maur, Chateau de, 111
_Saint Ouen_, 54
_Saint-Simon_, 179, 262, 348
_Sarto, Del_, 192
_Savoie, Louise de_, 108
_Savoie, Philippe de_, 66
_Scarron, Mme._ (see _Maintenon, Mme. de_)
_Schickler, Baron_, 318
_Schopin_, 195
Senat, Palais du (_see_ Luxembourg, Palais du)
Senlis, 6
Senlis, Foret de, 340
_Senlis, Seigneurs de_, 324
_Seran, Comtesse de_, 275
_Serlio_, 88, 185
_Serres, Olivier de_, 33
_Servandoni_, 112
_Sevigne, Mme. de_, 179, 277, 328
Soissons, 359-361
_Soyecourt, Marquis de_, 212
_Sualem, Rennequin_, 223
_Sully, Duc de_, 102, 103
_Talmon, Prince de_, 73
_Tesse, Marquis de_, 73
Thermes, Palais des, 12, 62, 153
_Thierry III_, 224
_Thiers, President_, 122-123
Thomery, 202
_Thou, De_, 73
Temple, The, 144
_Tiercelin, Jean_, 108
Tillet, Maison du, 232
_Toulouse, Comte de_, 321
_Toulouse, Comtesse de_, 312, 320
Tournelles, Palais des, 66, 68-71, 81, 152
_Trepsat_, 313-314
Trianon (_see_ Grand Trianon)
_Triboulet_, 186
Tribunat, Palais du (_see_ Royal, Palais)
_Trochu, General_, 120
Tuileries, Palace and Gardens of the, 3, 13, 31, 33-34, 40, 76, 78, 82,
91, 92, 94, 106-130, 131, 155, 157, 166, 218, 227, 317
_Turenne_, 73
_Turgot_, 100
Valerian, Mont, 288
_Vallet, Pierre_, 27
_Valois, Charles, Comte de_, 170
_Valois, Elizabeth de_, 69
_Valois, Marguerite de_ (1492-1549), 8, 10
_Valois, Marguerite de_ (1553-1615), 10, 69, 111, 209
_Van Loo_, 164
_Vasari_, 181
_Vauban_, 252
Vaux-le-Vicomte, 36, 42
_Vendome, Duc de_, 102, 206
_Vernet, Joseph_, 164, 239
_Verneuil, Marquis de_, 207
_Veronese_, 338
Versailles, 2, 36, 42, 85, 88, 99, 112, 118, 145, 163, 180, 196, 205,
215, 223-224, 226, 228, 239, 240, 242, 244-278, 279, 283, 296, 305,
324, 334, 335, 336, 350
Vesinet, Bois de, 288
_Vexin, Comte de_, 159
_Vignole_, 188
_Vignon_, 113
Villa Normande, 54
_Villeray, Marquis de_, 299
_Villeroy, Marquis Neuville de_, 108
_Villeroy, Marechal de_, 178
Villers-Cotterets, 28, 165, 346
Vincennes, Chateau de, 168-175, 331, 345
Vincennes, Bois de, 168, 174-175, 177
_Vinci, Leonardo da_, 87, 192
_Visconti_, 100
_Vivonne, Francois de_, 294
_Voltaire_, 263
_Von Ostade_, 164
Vosges, Place des, 71-74, 152.
_Wagram, Prince de_, 51, 52, 360, 362
_Wallace, Sir Richard_, 205
_Wellington_, 208-209
_William I, Emperor_, 255
_Wolsey_, 132