ouillet must be added those of Chantilly;
their sojourn here added much of moment to the careers and reputations
of Boileau, Racine, Bourdaloue and Bossuet. It was the latter, who, in
the funeral oration which he delivered on the death of the Prince de
Conde, said:

"Here under his own roof one saw the Grand Conde as if he were at the
head of his armies, a noble always great, as well in action as in
repose. Here you have seen him surrounded by his friends in this
magnificent dwelling, in the shady alleys of the forest or beside the
purling waters of the brooks which are silent neither day nor night."

The Grand Conde died, however, at Fontainebleau. The heir, Henri-Jules
de Bourbon, did his share towards keeping up and embellishing the
property, and to him was due that charming wildwood retreat known as the
Parc de Sylvie.

Louis-Henri de Bourbon, Minister of Louis XV at the commencement of his
reign, had gained a fabulous sum of money in the notorious "Law's Bank"
affair, and, with a profligate and prodigal taste in spending, lived a
life of the grandest of grand seigneurs at Chantilly, to which, as his
donation to its architectural importance, he contributed the famous
Ecuries, or stables. To show that he was _persona grata_ at court he
gave a great fete here for Louis XV and the Duchesse du Barry.

The last Prince de Conde but one before the Revolution built the Chateau
d'Enghien in the neighbourhood, and sought to people the Parc de Sylvie
with a rustic colony of thatched _maisonettes_ and install his
favourites therein in a weak imitation of what had been done in the
Petit Trianon. The note was manifestly a false one and did not endure,
not even is its echo plainly audible for all is hearsay to-day and no
very definite record of the circumstance exists.

Chantilly in later times has been a favourite abode with modern
monarchs. The King of Denmark, the Emperor Joseph II and the King of
Sweden were given hospitality here, and much money was spent for their
entertainment, and much red and green fire burned for their amusement
and that of their suites.

The Revolution's fell blow carried off the principal parts of the
Conde's admirable constructions and it is fortunate that the Petit
Chateau escaped the talons of the "Bande Noire." Immediately afterwards
the Chateau d'Enghien and the Ecuries were turned over to the uses of
the Minister of War, and the authorities of the Jardin des Plantes were
given permission t