l arms. It is overlooked from the north by an eminence on
which stands a ruined medieval castle; within the enclosure of this
building is a gorgeous chapel, begun in 1816 by the dowager duchess of
Orleans, and completed and adorned at great cost by Louis Philippe. It
contains the tombs of the Orleans family, chief among them that of Louis
Philippe, whose remains were removed from England to Dreux in 1876. The
sculptures on the tombs and the stained glass of the chapel windows are
masterpieces of modern art. The older of the two hotels-de-ville of
Dreux was built in the early 16th century, chiefly by Clement Metezau,
the founder of a famous family of architects, natives of the town. It is
notable both for the graceful carvings of the facade and for the fine
staircase and architectural details of the interior. The church of St
Pierre, which is Gothic in style, contains good stained glass and other
works of art. The town has a statue of the poet Jean de Rotrou, born
there in 1609. Dreux is the seat of a subprefect. Among the public
institutions are tribunals of first instance and of commerce, and a
communal college. The manufacture of boots and shoes, metal-founding and
tanning, are carried on, and there is trade in wheat and other
agricultural products and poultry.

Dreux was the capital of the Gallic tribe of the _Durocasses_. In 1188
it was taken and burnt by the English; and in 1562 Gaspard de Coligny,
and Louis I., prince of Conde, were defeated in its vicinity by Anne de
Montmorency and Francis, duke of Guise. In 1593 Henry IV. captured the
town after a fortnight's siege. It was occupied by the Germans on the
9th of October 1870, was subsequently evacuated, and was again taken, on
the 17th of November, by General Von Tresckow. In the 10th century Dreux
was the chief town of a countship, which Odo, count of Chartres, ceded
to king Robert, and Louis VI. gave to his son Robert, whose grandson
Peter of Dreux, younger brother of Count Robert III., became duke of
Brittany by his marriage with Alix, daughter of Constance of Brittany by
her second husband Guy of Thouars. By the marriage of the countess
Jeanne II. with Louis, viscount of Thouars (d. 1370), the Capetian
countship of Dreux passed into the Thouars family. In 1377 and 1378,
however, two of the three co-heiresses of Jeanne, Perronelle and
Marguerite, sold their shares of the countship to King Charles V.
Charles VI. gave it to Arnaud Amanien d'Albret, but took it ba