798 FINAL JOURNEYS AND WORK. [1887, 



Pakis, June, 1887. 



. . . The views on the garden and park side of the 

 Palace of Fontainebleau, and over the carp pond, which 

 came up to the walls, were very pretty : partly clipped 

 and trimmed trees made into green walls, partly more 

 English. 



... At half past one, in an open light carriage 

 with a canopy overhead, keeping off the hot sun, and 

 letting through the fresh air, we were off for our two 

 hours' drive through the famous forest. The main 

 avenues, long and straight, and formal ; but the for- 

 est was voted very handsome. A change came when 

 we reached the ruin of the hermitage of Franchard, 

 and the extensive region of rocks and dells. We 

 were taken through by an old guide, who, with much 

 pride, paraded the little and queer English he had 

 picked up, and showed off all the sights, the most im- 

 portant to him being those in which bits of rock could 

 be likened to a lion's head, a beef's tongue, a turtle, 

 and the like. First and foremost, in a sort of over- 

 arched grotto, was " La roche qui pleure," a great dis- 

 appointment ! A sort of crack or joint betv/een two 

 layers of the rock exuded a little moisture in one 

 spot ; voila tout. We shed about as many tears in 

 our laughter at the sight ; more indeed, for we could 

 see not a drop. I dare say at some seasons there 

 may be a little drip. But the dells among the rocks 

 were fine, and the stories of the boar hunts, and all 

 that, by the kings and queens and courtiers, could be 

 made fairly real on the spot, and the famous points of 

 view, one of Maria Theresa, one of Eugenie, were 

 effective. A drive back by another route took us 

 through some older forest ; occasionally a really old 



