ateau.

For a century, though, the chateau belonged to the family of its
founder, and in 1658 the surrounding lands were made into a Marquisate.
In 1671, on the day of the death of Philippe, Duc d'Anjou, Maisons may
be said to have become royal for the court there took up its residence.
Later, the Marquis de Soyecourt became the owner and Voltaire stayed
here for a time; in fact he nearly died here from an attack of smallpox.

In 1778 the property was acquired by the Comte d'Artois and the royal
family of the time were frequent guests. The king, the queen and each
of the princes all had their special apartments, and if Louis XVI had
not been too busy with other projects, more ambitious ones, there is
little doubt but that he would have given Maisons an eclat which during
all of its career it had just missed. At the Revolution it was sold as
National Property and the proceeds turned into public coffers.

With the Empire the chateau became more royalist than ever. Marechal
Lannes became its proprietor, then the Marechal de Montebello, who here
received Napoleon on many occasions. With the invasion of 1815 the
village was devastated, but the chateau escaped, owing to its having
been made the headquarters of the invading allies. After this, in 1818,
the banker Laffitte came into possession. He exercised a great
hospitality and lived the life of an opulent bourgeois, but he destroyed
most of the outbuildings and the stables built by Mansart, and cut up
the great expanse of park which originally consisted of five hundred
hectares. His ideas were purely commercial, not the least esthetic.

The scheme of decoration within, as without, is distinctly unique. Doric
pilasters and columns support massive cornices and round-cornered
ceilings, with here and there antique motives and even Napoleonic
eagles as decorative features. To-day all the apartments are deserted
and sad. The finest, from all points of view, is that of the
Salle-a-Manger, though indeed some of the motives are but plaster
reproductions of the originals. The chimney-piece, however, is left, a
pure bijou, a model of grace, more like a pagan altar than a
comparatively modern mantel. The oratory is in the pure style of the
Empire, and the stairway, lighted up by a curiously arranged
dome-lantern, gives a most startling effect to the entrance vestibule.

In general the design of Maisons is gracious, not at all outre, though
undeniably grandiose; too much so for a st