broad periods than to refer, as most French writers
prefer to do, to the work of each prominent monarch's reign
separately.

Francis the First (1515-1547) made the architecture of Italy
fashionable in his kingdom, and his name is borne by the beautiful
transitional style of his day. This in most cases retains some Gothic
forms, and the principles of composition are in the main Gothic, but
the features are mostly of Italian origin, though handled with a
fineness of detail and a smallness of scale that is not often met
with, even in early Italian Renaissance. There are few buildings more
charming in the architecture of any age or country than the best
specimens of the style of Francis the First, and none that can bear so
much decoration and yet remain so little overladen by the ornaments
they carry. The finest example is the Chateau of Chambord, a large
building, nearly square on plan, with round corner towers, capped by
simple and very steep roofs, at the angles; and having as its central
feature, a large and lofty mass of towers, windows and arcades,
surmounted by steep roofs, ending in a kind of huge lantern. The
windows have mullions and transoms like Gothic windows, but pilasters
of elegant Renaissance design ornament the walls. The main cornice is
a kind of compromise between an Italian and a Gothic treatment. Dormer
windows, high and sharply pointed, but with little pilasters and
pediments as their ornaments, occur constantly; and the chimneys,
which are of immense mass and great height, are panelled profusely,
and almost ostentatiously displayed, especially on the central
portion. In the interior of the central building is a famous
staircase; but the main attractions are the bright and animated
appearance of the whole exterior, and the richness and gracefulness of
the details.

The same architecture is to be well seen in the north side of the
famous Chateau of Blois--a building parts of which were executed in
three different periods of French architecture. The exterior of the
_Francois premier_ part of Blois is irregular, and portions of the
design are wildly picturesque; on the side which fronts towards the
quadrangle, the architecture is more symmetrically designed, and
beauty rather than picturesque effect has been aimed at. An open
staircase is the part of the quadrangle upon which most care has been
lavished. Throughout the whole block of buildings the character of
each individual feature and of every com