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flexible boughs into resembling Grecian vases, startled 

 fawns, or long-tailed peacocks. 



The grounds are interesting on account of their 

 quaint, solemn old-fashioned appearance, which har- 

 monises admirably with the heavy and formal architec- 

 ture of the Palace, and is in perfect keeping with the 

 notions of art which prevailed in the time of Louis 



XIV. Here and there you notice marble statues and 

 vases copied from some celebrated originals ; groups of 

 animals in bronze, standing sentry over lawns ; in 

 bosquets ; or amid crystal basins of gushing water. 



One of the greatest sights is the playing of the 

 Grandes Eaux : this generally takes place on the first 

 Sunday of every month from May to October, attract- 

 ing crowds of visitors ; the jet of some is about 74 feet 

 in height. About one half-mile to the north-west of the 

 terrace of the palace, a hand some villa of one story, in 

 the form of a horse-shoe, was erected by Louis XIV, 

 from plans by Mansart, for Madame de Maintenon. We 

 found some of the apartments richly furnished and 

 decorated with paintings by Mignard, LeBrun and Bou- 

 cher. In one room we noticed fine malachite vases — 

 given, we were told, by Alexander I, of Russia to Napo- 

 leon ; also portraits of Napoleon I, Henri IV, Louis 



XV. It was in the principal salon of this villa, that 

 the famous trial of Marshal Bazaine took place in 1 873. 

 Our guide brought us next to an adjacent building — 

 the Mus6e des Voitures, being a collection of most 

 ponderous, gilt state carriages from the time of the first 

 Emperor up to the baptism of the Prince Imperial in 

 1856. Among some very massive specimens, is shown 

 a gorgeous carriage of Napoleon I — the one which 

 Marshal Soult brought over to England in 1838, and 

 cut such a figure in at the coronation of the Queen. A 

 little to the north-east of the building, is the Petit Trai- 

 non, erected by Louis XV for Madame Du Barry, a 

 miniature of a chateau standing amidst gardens, trees 

 and an artificial lake ; these lovely grounds were in the 



