bination of features is
graceful and _piquant_. The elegance and delicacy of some of the
carved decoration in the interior is unsurpassed.

[Illustration: FIG. 71.--WINDOW FROM A HOUSE AT ORLEANS. (EARLY
16TH CENTURY.)]

In the valley of the Loire there exist many noblemen's chateaux of
this date, corresponding in general character with Chambord and Blois,
though on a smaller scale. Of these Chenonceaux, fortunate alike in
its design and its situation, is the most elegant and the best known:
yet many others exist which approach it closely, such, for example, as
the Chateau de Gaillon--a fragment of which forms part of the Ecole
des Beaux Arts at Paris--the Hotel de Ville of Beaugency, the Chateaux
of Chateaudun, Azay-le-Rideau, La Cote, and Usse; the Hotel d'Anjou at
Angers, and the house of Agnes Sorel at Orleans.

In the streets of Orleans houses of this date (Fig. 71) are to be
found, showing the style cleverly adapted to the requirements of town
dwellings and shops. Several of them also possess courtyards with
arcades or other architectural features treated with great freedom and
beauty, for instance, the arcades in the house of _Francois Premier_
(Fig. 72). An arcade in the courtyard of the Gothic Hotel de
Bourgtherould at Rouen, is one of the best known examples of the style
remaining, and instances of it may be met with as far apart as at Caen
(east end of church of St. Pierre) and Toulouse (parts of St. Sernin).

One Paris church, that of St. Eustache, belonging to this transitional
period claims mention, since for boldness and completeness it is one
of the best of any date in that city. St. Eustache is a five-aisled
church with an apse, transept, and lateral chapels outside the outer
aisle. It is vaulted throughout, and its plan and structure are those
of a Gothic church in all respects. Its details are however all
Renaissance, but not so good as those to be found at Blois, nor so
appropriately used, yet notwithstanding this it has a singularly
impressive interior.

[Illustration: FIG. 72.--CAPITAL FROM THE HOUSE OF FRANCIS I.,
ORLEANS. (1540.)]

Meantime, and alongside the buildings resulting from this fusion of
styles, others which were almost direct importations from Italy were
rising; in some cases, if not in all, under the direction of Italian
architects. Thus on Fontainebleau, which Francis I. erected, three or
four Italian architects, one of whom was Vignola, were engaged. It may