|THE château and the Chapel Palatine of Gèrbéviller were unique in many
respects. Dating from the thirteenth century, the chateau served as
appanage to the Cadets of Lorraine, to whom they were given by Charles
the Bold, and transmitted in 1486 to Huet du Châtelet, whose illustrious
family founded the _Maison des Cannes_.
In 1641 it came into the hands of Charles-Emmanuel de la Tornielle,
step-brother of Christian du Châtelet of the powerful Tornielle family,
thence it descended successively to the Lombartyes, in whose possession
it remained until it was seized and sold by the state in the troublous
times of 1796.
The chapel was restored, almost reconstructed and consecrated on the
nineteenth of July, 1865, by Monsignor Lavigerie with great splendor and
pomp in the presence of the Lombartye family and a score of dignitaries
of the state.
The château itself, constructed in the eighteenth century, was possessed
of what the French call "grand air," and was certainly imposing in size
from a distance, shining among the dark green of the heavy foliage
which surrounded it. Its façade on the road was somewhat marred by the
narrowness of the approach. But the façade on the parkway, through which
a small brook called the "Montagne" meandered most delightfully, was
most impressive. The sketch which I made of it will serve to show
the character of the great house better than many pages of written
description.
The reputation enjoyed by this great typical château of France was not
by any means confined to the country. It was known throughout Europe,
and for this reason, I suppose, was a shining mark for the Teutons.
At the side of the château was the grand entrance, used only upon state
occasions. This entrance was flanked by two immense "vasques" or vases
of dark gray marble, a little too monumental, perhaps architects might
think, but taken together with the "grand air" of the château entirely
in keeping, to my mind. These it is claimed still stand unharmed amid
the ruins all about.