343 HORTICULTURAL TOUR. 



withdrawing protection from the Protestants in 1685: he 

 added, that there are still a good many Protestants in it, 

 but no reformed place of worship. 



At Clermont the country and the climate began to im- 

 prove. Here we first saw grapes on standard vines, and on 

 vines so trained as to form arbour-walks. On some chasselas 

 vines trained to the walls, the bunches were now of consi- 

 derable size. We soon afterwards came to Chantilly, and 

 took a hasty view of the remains of the superb hunt- 

 ing seat of the Prince of Conde. In former times the park 

 was more than twenty miles in circumference, and abound- 

 ed in feathered game, particularly the red partridge and 

 the quail. The park seems to have been partitioned and 

 subdivided during the revolution ; but much of the fine 

 wood remains. We entered one of the avenues lead- 

 ing to the g?-ande etoile, and were delighted with the beauty 

 and vigour of many of the trees. A suite of buildings, the 

 extent and grandeur of which attracted our notice, we as- 

 certained to have been the Prince's stables and offices. 

 They are now partly converted into dwelling-houses. The 

 celebrated ancient garden of Le Notre and the modern 

 English garden of Le Roy seem equally to have suffered 

 dilapidation : but we had not time to make particular ob- 

 servations. Beyond the Park properly so called, there is a 

 forest of great size, extending eastwards, where the royal 

 parties used to hunt the marcassins or young boars. 



At Luzarches we procured some bunches of white mus- 

 cat or Frontignac grapes, but they were not ripe, nor so 

 good as might be procured at Edinburgh, though certain- 

 ly cheaper. We now entered on the northern confines of 

 vineyard-plots or vignobles, in this direction from Paris; 

 fbf they extend farther north on the Calais route. Among 

 die yarietiefi of vines cultivated in these, we could recog- 



