FRENCH GARDENS: i6th AND EARLY ijth CENTURIES 8i 



From the plan of the gardens of this period by Du Cerceau we see that 

 they were laid out upon a piece of meadow-land alongside the Seine, 

 known as the Tuileries on account of the tile-yards long established upon 

 the spot. They had elaborate com-partiments de broderie, designed by Claude 

 Mollet near the palace, and there was a small bosquet and a rectangular 

 basin beyond. A plan by Merian shows the gardens as they existed 

 in 1 615, with a series of quaint treillage pavilions. The voliere or 

 aviary, consisting of several buildings, was planned in the middle of 

 the Quai des Tuileries. ^he most famous feature of the garden was the 

 "echo," a kind of grotto with numerous hydraulic surprises, the work of 

 Palissy. Here it 

 was that the gal- 

 lants of the day 

 betook themselves 

 to serenade their 

 mistresses. Some 

 little distance 

 from the "echo" 

 was the menagerie^ 

 containing a col- 

 lection of wild 

 animals. A con- 

 temporary account 

 of a visit of the 

 Swiss Ambassa- 

 dors to the garden 



relates that : " In the morning the Ambassadors set out for the garden of 

 the Queen called the Tuillerie. The garden is very large and very pleasant. 

 A broad path divides it into two parts, planted on each side with tall trees, 

 elms and sycamores, which afford shade to the walkers. There is a laby- 

 rinth designed with such art that, once inside, exit is difficult. There 

 are tables made of branches and leaves, beds, etc. The astonishing thing 

 is that this labyrinth is almost entirely formed of bent cherry trees. 

 There are several fountains with nymphs and fauns, holding urns from 

 which the water flows. One is especially remarkable. It is a rock over 

 which run various reptiles, serpents, snails, tortoises, lizards, frogs, etc. 



o 



LA FONTAINE DE MEDICIS, LUXEMBOURG GARDEN. 



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