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THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



rope, the exemplar of all that was best in 

 his age and the very ideal of a Christian 

 king. Under his just and beneficent rule 

 France enlarged her boundaries and made 

 great advances in learning and the arts. 

 The exquisite Sainte Chapelle, built by him 

 in 1245, may still be seen in Paris; in the 

 palace at Fontainebleau visitors are shown 

 the Salle de Saint Louis; and in the forest, 

 on a main road leading from the palace, is 

 this aged beech, the Tree of Saint Louis, 

 bearing many scars on its trunk and 

 branches from rough handling by wind and 

 weather, but apparently sound and healthy 

 still. 



Under this tree the king and his court, a 

 large and brilliant company, assembled to 

 worship. The custom was especially in 

 vogue at the close of the seventeenth century 



The Tree of Saint Louis (Louis IX) has added ring after ring 

 of wood slowly marking the years of all the centuries of French 

 history from about 1200 a.d. until today. The peasants of Fon- 

 tainebleau still hang crowns of beads upon the tree in memory of 

 the pious king whose name it bears 



when Louis XIV created the royal and mili- 

 tary order of Saint Louis and designed a 

 medal bearing his image. This manner of 

 worship doubtless had its origin in druidism, 

 which was common among the Gauls in the 

 days of Julius Caesar. Druids were then 

 men of rank who practised mystic rites in 

 woody retreats and held the oak sacred, 

 esteeming everything that grew upon it a 

 special gift from heaven. Druidism re- 

 sembles oriental pantheism and is probably 

 connected with the ancient religion of the 

 fire worshipers in the plains of Persia, 

 where the plane tree was venerated. Why 

 the beech was chosen in this instance instead 

 of the oak it is impossible to determine with 

 certainty. I noticed, however, that the beech 

 is very abundant and very beautiful in this 

 part of the forest, that the region is level 

 and easy of access to parties 

 coming on horseback from the 

 castle, and that its distance, 

 as well as its attractiveness, 

 must have made it a very de- 

 sirable spot for ceremonies of 

 this kind. 



The ornaments upon the 

 tree are crowns of beads 

 placed there by the peasants 

 of the neighborhood. After 

 the French Eevolution, such 

 homage to royalty was judged 

 illegal and forbidden, but the 

 descendants of the old ser- 

 vants who were driven from 

 the palace by the Revolutfdii 

 still cherish the ancient cus- 

 tom and come for miles dur- 

 ing the night with their trib- 

 utes to Saint Louis. These 

 crowns or wreaths of woven 

 beads are commonly used 

 upon graves and monuments. 

 The statue representing the 

 city of Strasbourg, in the 

 Place de la Concorde, has been 

 decorated with them continu- 

 ally since Strasbourg passed 

 into the hands of the Ger- 

 mans. They also constitute a 

 large part of the offerings of 

 lovers at the tomb of Abelard 

 and Heloise in Pere-La- 

 chaise. 



The historic associations 

 connected with the forest and 

 castle of Fontainebleau are of 



