tween such heroines as Violante and Elena and the puppets labelled good or evil of earlier writers, Boccaccio himself not altogether excepted. Though in his case, if his dramatis persona are puppets, the hand of a genius far other than Bandello's moved the marionettes. Of chivalry in either the earlier or the later novelle there is little trace. Italy -Dunlop is at pains to account for its absence-was a land of merchants; the soldier's life was held in low repute, nor did a country split into small states and warring factions afford a favorable condition for the development of national traditions corresponding to the cycle of the "Cid" in Spain or the Charlemagne legend of France. Never theless they are by no means wholly without records of magnanimous generosity and chivalrous instinct. Boccaccio himself inscribed the exquisite idyl, best known as Alfred de Musset re-rendered it, of Lisa, the apothecary's little daughter who lay dying for love of the young king, Re Pietro di Raona. Bandello recorded the story of Anselmo and Angelica, where the two feudal enemies are at strife each to outdo the other in "cortesia"-a plot which, while it faintly recalls the famous brother and sister scene of "Measure for Measure," is a measure for measure of nobler fashion and unsullied import; and, to cite no more, the first story of Ser Giovanni's "Pecorone" has the true note of generous romance. "Madonna" -Galgano, her long despised lover, questions the wife of Messer Stricco"greatly I marvel wherefore you have this night sent for me more than at any other time, seeing I have so long desired and followed you who ever refused to see me or to hear;" and she answered him that the praise with which her husband had so greatly lauded him had moved her "di non t'esser più cruda." Galgano said, "Is this thing true?" She answered, "In very deed, yes." "And other reason you had none?" he demanded. She replied, "None." "Truly," then Galgano said, "it shall not please God nor me-since your husband has done me such courtesy-that I towards him do villany." So Galgano left her. Such episodes may be but breaks in the chronicles of ignoble deeds and paltry crimes. Yet we need reminding that such breaks are not so rare as we have been led to imagine. The forbidden tree, the science of human nature, with the novellieri, as in Eden of old, was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good as well as of Evil, and for them it bore its Apples of Beauty as well as its "Apples of Wrath." For the rest-I quote from Boccaccio's own wordsthese stories will not run after any one to make him read them, and for him "chi va tra queste leggendo, lasci star quelle che pungono, e quelle che dilettano, legga." From The Nineteenth Century. CHANTILLY AND THE DUC D'AUMALE. The castle and estate of Chantilly, and the collection there, are celebrated. The spot is a beautiful one. An immense forest forms a thick mantle covering the surrounding hills and valleys. The castle rises amidst the waters, majestic and picturesque. Memories of great people cling around this noble dwelling: the names of the Montmorencys, the Condés and the Bourbons, recur to the mind the moment one's gaze rests upon those walls which have sheltered so many illustrious personages. Recollections of the last possessor mingle therewith and shed a new and enduring splendor on the noble pile. A description of Chantilly Castle would fill a large volume, and each of the principal parts of the collections it contains would require at least three. This is precisely the number of volumes to be devoted to the paintings by M. F. A. Gruyer, to whom the late Duc d'Aumale confided the task of compiling a catalogue with comments and en 1 The original story is in Cinthio's "Hecatom- gravings. Another scholar, M. Léopold miti," Decade 8, Novel 5. Deslisle, was chosen to enumerate the riches of the library, which was added de Boutellier on account of the office to constantly and with the best taste of royal cup-bearer with which it was by a book-loving prince, himself the invested. author of an historical work, ably written and enriched with valuable documents. The other collections abound in works of art and in arms of all sorts and all periods. Each one was to be the subject of a monograph, with plates and figures supplementing the descriptions. The work has already been commenced, and will probably be continued by the Institut de France, to which the Duc d'Aumale has bequeathed (by will dated 1887) the estate and all that it contains, reserving only the usufruct. The noble duke was a member of three sections of that eminent body-the Académie Française, the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques. The other two divisions, the Académie des Sciences and the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, might also have enrolled him, for there are few branches of knowledge which the duke was a stranger. to Although the Chantilly estate has a considerable past and a feudal origin dating pretty far back, the name is not ancient. It comes from a clump of lime trees (campus tilia), the remains of which, it is said, are still to be seen in one of the avenues. There is good reason to believe, however, that the original trees have disappeared and given place to others. What is more certain is that a fortress existed there in the Middle Ages, built by the first owners of the land in the midst of swamps, where it was beyond the reach of the missiles employed before the invention of cannon. On the site occupied by this fortress was erected what has since been called "the old castle." This ancient stronghold, like many others antecedent to the twelfth century, formed, owing to the shape of the ground, an irregular pentagon, with a projecting tower at each angle. The little that is known of its history only reveals that in the tenth century it belonged to the Count de Senlis, and that it afterwards passed to the branch of that house which received the name of In the fourteenth century the estate passed into the hands of Guy de Laval, who sold it to Pierre d'Orgemont, chancellor of France. Marguerite, an heir ess of this Pierre d'Orgemont, brought it back to the family from which she had sprung by her marriage with Jean II. de Montmorency. Here the history commences to be piquant. The two sons whom Jean had had by his first wife fell out with their step-mother and seized the occasion to oppose the king, Louis the Eleventh, by joining the Duke of Burgundy's party. This enraged their father, who, in his judicial capacity, summoned one of them, Jean, lord of Nivelle, in Flanders, to appear before him and hear himself condemned to return to his feudal duty. This summons was made known by the sound of trumpets and the voices of heralds-at-arms. But Nivelle was distant; Jean turned a deaf ear, and failed to put in an appearance. The call was repeated again and again, but still remined unanswered. Montmorency's fury then became ungovernable; he disinherited his son and spoke of him as a "felon" and a "chien." His impotent rage excited no doubt the caustic wit of the clerks of his household, for they humorously said, "ce chien de Jean de Nivelle, il s'enfuit quand on l'appelle.” This has passed into a proverb, and when a man will not hear, or runs off when called, it is commonly said that "il ressemble à ce chien de Jean de Nivelle qui fuit quand on l'appelle." Jean II., remaining loyal to Louis the Eleventh, kept to his resolution to disinherit his son, who remained in Flanders. The Comte de Horn, who was beheaded with the Comte d'Egmont, was Jean de Nivelle's grandson. These things are somewhat apart from our subject, but there is a connecting link in the fact that Jean II. had, by Marguerite d'Orgemont, a son, named Guillaume, who was the father of the famous high constable, Anne de Montmorency, the real founder of Chantilly Castle. The old castle had become too small and resembled a prison. Lawns and flower-beds charmed the eye, while beautiful avenues stretched away into the forest. Anne I., Duke of Montmorency, perished at Saint-Denis at the hand of Robert Stuart. He was seventy-four years old and had had sufficient time to give his residence at Chantilly an air of grandeur, which his descendants have not failed to increase. But the work of the old warrior was destined to undergo some vicissitudes. His grandson, Henri II. de Montmorency, was, for a short time, the idol of the people and the court. A brilliant prince, but weak-willed, he allowed himself to be drawn into a conspiracy against Richelieu. This was the last cry, so to speak, uttered by the feudal spirit. Henri lost his head at Toulouse in 1632, at the age of thirtyeight years. With him the first ducal branch of the Montmorencys became extinct. His sister Charlotte, the most beautiful woman of her time, entered into possession of the sequestrated property. She married Henri II. de Bourbon-Condé, and thus it was that the eaglets of the Montmorencys became united to the fleurs-de-lys of France, and the bipartite escutcheon was able to be sculptured by the Duc d'Aumale on the walls of the restored château. This Princess de BourbonCondé-Montmorency was the mother of the great Condé, of the Prince de Conti, and of Madame de Longueville. The Chantilly estate having thus become the property of the house of France, it ever afterwards remained so. The historians of the end of the sixteenth century are loud in their praises of the beauties of Chantilly, and the pleasures enjoyed by the little court which Prince Henri II. held there. M. Cousin has written eloquently about it in his able work on Madame de Longueville. It is, however, to the Grand Condé that Chantilly chiefly owes its renown. He not only embellished it internally, but caused Le Notre to lay out new gardens, make channels to carry away the waters of the brooks, and enclose the fish-ponds within solid walls. Charles the Fifth had visited Chantilly in the time of the Constable; and later Henri the Fourth had come there, attracted, however, more by the charms of the châtelaine than by the beauty of the spot and the sumptuousness of the new château. The Grand Condé was visited there by Louis the Fourteenth and all his court, whom he entertained with a splendor that quite dazzled Madame de Sévigné. Everybody has read the letter in which she describes those festivities and relates with such unaffected, inimitable art the events of that famous day when Vatel killed himself: On soupa, il y eut quelques tables où le ròti manqua. .. Cela saisit Vatel; il dit plusieurs fois: "Je suis perdu d'honneur; voici un affront que je ne supporterai pas.' Il dit à Gourville: "La tête me tourne; il y a douze nuits que je n'ai dormi; aidez-məi a donner des ordres." . . . Le prince alla jusque dans la chambre de Vatel et lui dit: "Vatel, tout va bien, rien n'était si beau que le souper du roi." Il répondit: "Monseigneur, votre bonté m'achève; je sais que le rôti a manqué à deux tables." "Point du tout," dit le prince; "ne vous fâchez pas; tout va bien." Minuit vient; le feu d'artifice ne réussit pas; il fut couvert d'un nuage. Il coûtait 16,000 francs. A quatre heures du matin, Vatel s'en va partout; il trouve tout endormi; il renseulement deux charges de marée; il attend contre un petit pourvoyeur qui lui apportait quelque temps; sa tête s'échauffait, l crut qu'il n'aurait pas d'autre marée; il trouva Gourville il lui dit: "Monsieur, je ne survivrai pas à cet affront-ci." Gourville se moqua de lui. Vatel monta à sa chambre, mit son épée contre la porte et se la passa au travers du cœur, mais ce ne fut qu'au troisième coup. . La marée cependant arrive de tous côtés; on cherche Vatel pour la distribuer; on monte à sa chambre; on heurte, on enfonce la porte, on le trouve noyé dans son sang; on court à M. le prince qui fut au désespoir." Such is Madame de Sévigné's account of it. To-day Vatel would have felt no uneasiness. In the absence of sea-fish he would have fallen back on freshwater fish, with which the ponds at Chantilly are abundantly stocked. He would have artistically disguised the carp as turbot and the eels as rock lobsters. At a push he would have served breast of chicken as filleted sole, SO great has been the progress made in the culinary art in France since the days of Louis the Fourteenth. they were not afraid to spend money. A well-informed chronicler compiled an account of what it cost the prince to entertain worthily his great cousin the king, and he estimated the expense at two hundred thousand livres, which is equal to eight hundred thousand francs of our money. But this is nothing in comparison with the millions of francs spent two centuries earlier by a merchant of Florence to celebrate his daughter's marriage. Yet Chantilly was still further enlarged and improved by the descendants of the great Condé. They built a church, planted the Parc de Sylvie, and erected various subsidiary buildings, or completed those which were still unfinished. Thus the famous stables with marble troughs were built, which can hold two hundred and forty horses. When Paul the First, Emperor of Russia, came to France, Louis-Henri de Bourbon, grandson of the great Condé, gave, in the central rotunda which forms a riding school, a feast ending with a sort of transformation scene. The screens which shut off the two wings containing the horses were drawn aside, displaying the entire stable to the sight of the guests. The Revolution swept down upon Chantilly as upon many other splendid residences. The old castle was demolished, and the small castle would have shared the same fate had not the buyer delayed its destruction too long. This small castle, called the Château d'Enghien, together with the stables, were turned into barracks. Under the Empire, the forest was an appanage of Queen Hortense, and when the restoration came, Prince Louis-Henri de Bourbon re-entered into possession of the estate and the ruins of the castle. He died in 1818, and his son, the last of the Condés, whose son, the Duc d'Enghien, was shot at Vincennes, himself died shortly after the revolution of He was found hanging to a windowfastening in the Château de Saint-Leu, where he was then staying. Full light has never been thrown upon his tragic end. By his will the youthful Duc d'Aumale was made universal legatee. The immense fortune of the Condés could not have come into better hands. 1830. The young prince had the traditional valor of the Bourbons. His military disposition, of which he gave such brilliant evidence in Africa, was coupled with a passionate fondness for Iterature and art. Early in life, when master of his ideas, he formed the design of bringing back to Chantilly its past splendors, and of using the revenues of the domain for the complete restoration of the home of the Condés. The revolution of 1848, which broke out while he was governor of Algeria, prevented him from executing his plans at that time. Popular with the army which he had led to victory, beloved and respected in France, he might easily have brought over his troops and commenced with the provisional government a struggle, the issue of which would scarcely have been doubtful. But he preferred exile to civil war. From this, and from the reserved attitude which he always maintained after his return to France, a writer has tried to draw the conclusion that in submitting to exile, and in appearing to lend his words and actions to the passing of laws contrary to equity and jus tice, the Duc d'Aumale adhered to their principles, and abandoned for his part the rights of his family. This writer is mistaken. He seems to have forgotten the high-spirited letter which the prince addressed to M. Grévy, when the latter countersigned the decree taking from him the dearest of his titles, that of general in his country's service. He had been forbidden to serve on the battle-field at a time when France had dire need of a valiant captain, but he was thought of when a military judge was wanted, in which capacity he performed his duty with an ability and high-mindedness which extorted the admiration of all Europe. He had even been visited in his retirement in order to be asked to place the collar of the Golden Fleece around the neck of the President of the Republic. His duty done and the dictates of courtesy satisfied, the hero of Abder Kader had been struck off the rolls of the army; after his family's banishment had come his own degradation. The cup was full; he repulsed it with indignation, an action which cost him a new period of exile lasting three years. When the Duc d'Aumale came back, political feeling had no doubt become less strong, for his return gave general satisfaction. He found that great progress had been made with the works at Chantilly under the direction of the architect, Viollet-Leduc. The latter died before finishing his task and was succeeded by M. Daumet, who carried it to completion. The reconstruction of the château having been terminated, the duke was able to give effect to an idea long entertained by him. He had wished to bequeath the whole estate of Chantilly to that great society, the Institut, to which he belonged in three different capacities. He did better, he made it over irrevocably by a donation in due legal form with the adhesion of all his family, simply reserving to himself the possession thereof during his lifetime, in order to embellish it still further. This arrangement has not been without advantage to Chantilly. The collections, all of which are comprised in the dona tion, have been increased, especially the library and the picture-gallery. Both were started in England, some masterpieces on canvases and on panels, as well as some rare books, having been acquired by the duke during his exile. They cannot be described here, but we must not omit to mention a few of them. First in chronological order is a painting in tempera by Giotto called "La Mort de la Vierge, a notable work on account of the solemnity of its subject. It contains twenty-one figures within its small frame. This valuable picture belonged to the collection of M. Reiset, a former curator of the Louvre Gallery. The whole of the Reiset collection was acquired by the Duc d'Aumale in 1879. Next, there are some paintings, not striking in appearance, but useful for the history of the art of the early schools of Sienna and Florence. The quattrocentisti appear in a few paintings by Fra Angelico and his school. Then there are a Saint John-Baptist, at once hard, rigid and mystical, by Andrea del Castagno; a charming "mystic marriage of Saint Francis to humility, poverty, and chastity," three figures very touching in their idealism, by Pietro de Sano; a virgin between two saints, by Filippo Lippi, a curious example of realism; a profile portrait of the beautiful Simonetta Vespucci, the friend of Julian de Medicis, which is attributed to Pollajuolo and might also be attributed to Botticelli; a "Vierge glorieuse" by Perugini, formerly in the Northwick collection; an "Annunciation," by Francia; "Autumn," by Botticelli; and "Esther and Ahasuerus," a scene into which Filippo Lippi has put all the grace and savor of his genius. The examples of the earlier period of the Milanese and Venetian schools show us nothing very remarkable prior to an infant Jesus by Bernardino Luini, which seems to have come from Raphael's pencil. The "Christ with the reed," by Titian, of which there is a replica at Vienna, was bought by the Duc d'Aumale at Brescia. Much negotiation took place before this picture was allowed to pass the frontier. A |