Part 13 (1/2)

A near neighbour of Vincennes is Conflans, another poor, rent relic of monarchial majesty The Chateau de Conflans was situated at the juncture of the Seine and Marne, but, to-day, the i that one can hardly believe that it ever pleased any one's fancy, least of all that of a kingly castle builder

Banal dwellings on all sides are Conflans' chief characteristics to-day; but the old royal abode still lifts a long length of roof and wall to mark the spot where once stood the Chateau de Conflans in all its glory

Conflans was at first the country residence of the Archbishops of Paris, and Saint Louis frequently went into retreat here When Philippe-le-Bel acquired the property, he proave it to the Comtesse d'Artois who made of it one of the ”_plus beaux castels du teallery, the portion of the edifice which exists to-day in the humble, emasculated form of a warehouse of some sort, in memory of her husband Othon Here the countess held s and princes frequently partook of her hospitality

[Illustration: CONFLANS from an OLD PRINT]

After the death of the countess, the French king made his residence at Conflans, and Charles VI, when dauphin, was also lodged here that he ht require his presence A contemporary account mentions the fact that his _valet de cha his royal master

Conflans was the preferred suburban residence of the Princes and the Ducs de Bourgogne, and Philippe-le-Hardi there organized his tourneys and his _passes d'ar one hundred and fifteen thousand _livres_ in prizes to the participants

This castle, for it was nificent in the neighbourhood of the Paris of its tiarden and a forest in miniature, really a part of the Bois de Vincennes of to-day, where roaly kind

The view from the terrace of the chateau must have been wonderfully fine, the towers and roof-tops of old Paris being silhouetted against the setting sun, its s do current of the two rivers at the foot of the fortress walls

The greatest event of history enacted under the walls of Conflans was the battle and the treaty which followed after, between Louis XI and the Comte de Charolais, in 1405

Commynes recounts the battle as follows: ”Four thousand archers were sent out fro, who fired upon the castle from the river bank on both sides”

Bows and arroere hardly effective weapons hich to shoot down castle walls, but stragglers who left themselves unprotected were froe actually ensued

Finally a treaty of peace was arranged, by which, at the death of Charles-le-Tee, Louis XI absorbed the proprietary rights in the castle andit upon one of his favourites, Das of France about this time developed a predilection for the chateaux on the banks of the Loire, and Conflans was offered for sale in 1554 Divers personages occupied it from that time on, the Marechal de Villeroy, the Connetable de Montmorency and, for a brief time, Cardinal Richelieu

It was in the Chateau de Conflans that was planned the foundation of the French Academy; here Moliere and his players first presented ”La Critique de l'Ecole des Fee of La Grande Maden of Louis XIV Fr de Harlay-Chauvallon, Archbishop of Paris, bought the property of Richelieu, and, with the aid of Mansart and Le Notre, considerably ene, in one of her many published letters, writes of the splendours which she saw at Conflans at this epoch

Saint-Siardens were so immaculately kept that when the Archbishop and ”La Belle” duchesse de Lesdiguieres used to proardener ith a rake, sought to remove the traces of each footprint as soon as made

Later, the Cardinal de Beaumont, the persecutor of the Jansenists, resided here

”Notre archeveque est a Conflans C'est un grand solitaire C'est un grand so C'est un grand so C'est un grand solitaire”

The above verse is certainly banal enough, but the cardinal himself was a _drole_, so perhaps it is appropriate At any rate it is contemporary with the churchman's sojourn at Conflans

CHAPTER XI

FONTAINEBLEAU AND ITS FOREST

[Illustration: ORIGINAL PLAN OF FONTAINEBLEAU]

Of all the French royal palaces Fontainebleau is certainly the , despite the popularity and accessibility of Versailles It is moreover the cradle of the French Renaissance Napoleon called it the Maison des Siecles, and the simile was just

After Versailles, Fontainebleau has ever held the first place a the suburban royal palaces The celebrated ”Route de Fontainebleau” of history was as much a _Chemin du Roi_ as that which led froeous, even splendid, if you will; but it had not the unique characteristics, nor winsomeness of Fontainebleau, nor ever will have, in the minds of those who know and love the France of monarchial days