Holidays in Eastern France | Page 8

of King Solomon, Haroun al Raschid, and the thousand and one nights,
we shall not be disappointed. The very name of Rothschild fills us with
awe and bewilderment! We prepare ourselves to be dazzled with gold
and gems, to tread on carpets gorgeous as peacock's tails, softer than
eider-down, to pass through jasper and porphyry columns into regal
halls where the acmé of splendour can go no farther, where the walls
are hung with rich tapestries, where every chair looks like a throne, and
where on all sides mirrors reflect the treasures collected from different
parts of the world, and we are not disappointed.
Quitting the railway at the cheerful and wealthy little town of Lagny,
we drive past handsome country-houses, and well-kept flower-gardens,
then gradually ascend a road winding amid hill and valley to the
château, a graceful structure in white marble, or so it seems, proudly
commanding the wide landscape. The flower-gardens are a blaze of
colours, and the orange trees give delicious fragrance as we ascend the
terrace, ascend being hardly the word applicable to steps sloping so
easily upwards, so nicely adjusted to the human foot that climbing
Mont Blanc, under the same circumstances, would be accomplished
without fatigue. It is impossible to give any idea of the different kinds
of magnificence that greet us on every side, now a little Watteau-like
boudoir, having for background sky-blue satin and roses; now a
dining-hall, sombre, gorgeous, and majestic as that of a Spanish palace;
now we are transported to Persia, China, and Japan, the next we find
ourselves amid unspeakable treasures of Italian and other marbles.
To come down to practical details, it might be suggested to the
generous owner of this noble treasure-home of art that the briefest
possible catalogue of his choicest treasures would unspeakably oblige
his visitors. There is hardly a piece of furniture that is not interesting,

alike from an historic and artistic point of view, whilst some are
chefs-d'oeuvre both in design and execution, and dazzlingly rich in
material. Among these may be mentioned a pair of chimney ornaments,
thickly hung with pendants of precious stones, a piano--which belonged
to Marie Antoinette--the case of which is formed of tortoiseshell, richly
decorated with gold; an inlaid cabinet, set with emeralds, sapphires,
and other jewels; another composed of precious stones; chairs and
couches crowned with exquisite tapestry of the Louis Quinze period;
some rare specimens of old cloisonné work, also of Florentine
mosaics--these forming a small part of this magnificent museum.
The striking feature is the great quantity and variety of rich marbles in
every part. One of the staircases is entirely formed of different kinds of
rare marble, the effect being extra-ordinarily imposing. Elsewhere, a
room is divided by Corinthian columns of jasper and porphyry, and on
every side are displayed a wealth and splendour in this respect quite
unique. Without doubt, nothing lends such magnificence to interiors as
marbles, but they require the spaciousness and princeliness of such a
château to be displayed to advantage.
Next in importance, as a matter of mere decoration, must be cited the
tapestries of which there is a rare and valuable collection, chiefly in the
hall, so called, where they are arrayed about the running gallery
surmounting the pictures. What this hall must be worth would perhaps
sound fabulous on paper, but it is here that some of the most precious
treasures are found; cabinets of ivory, ebony, gems, gold, and silver,
and the pictures alone represent a princess's dowry. Examples of some
of the greatest masters are here: Velasquez, Rembrandt, Rubens,
Claude Lorraine, the Caracci, Bordone, Reynolds, lastly among
moderns, Ingres and Hippolyte Flandrin. Much might be said about
these pictures, if space permitted, but they alone are worth making the
journey from Paris or Couilly to see.
We find a very pleasing Murillo and some exquisite little specimens of
the early German school in other parts of the château, although the
gems of the collection are undoubtedly the Bordones, Rembrandts, and
Reynoldses. But the crème de la crème of Baron Rothschild's treasures

is not to be found in this sumptuous hall, in spite of tapestries, pictures,
marbles and rare furniture, nor in the state salon, but in the dining-room,
a marvellously rich and gorgeous apartment, where the wealth of gold
and splendid colours is toned down, and the eye is rather refreshed than
dazzled by the whole. On the walls, reaching from base to ceiling, are
hung a series of paintings on leather, known as the Cuirs de Cordoue,
leather paintings of Cordova. They are historic and allegorical subjects,
and are painted in rich colours with a great abundance of gold on a dark
background, the general effect being that of a study in gold and brown.
As good luck would have it, immediately after my