l residence, and
so it remains to-day.

One of the most notable of modern events connected with the Elysee
Palace was the _diner de ceremonie_ offered by the president of the
Republic and Madame Fallieres to Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt in April, 1910.
The dinner was served in the "Grand Salle des Fetes" and the music which
accompanied the repast was furnished by the band of the _Garde
Republicain_, beginning with the national anthem of America and
finishing with that of France. Never had a private citizen, a foreigner,
been so received by the first magistrate of France. The toast of
President Fallieres was as follows: "Before this repast terminates I
wish to profit by the occasion offered to drink the health of Monsieur
Theodore Roosevelt, an illustrious man, a great citizen and a good
friend of France and the cause of peace. I raise my glass to Madame
Roosevelt who may be assured of our respectful and sympathetic homage,
and I am very glad to be able to say to our guests that we count
ourselves very fortunate in being allowed to meet them in person and
show them this mark of respect."

CHAPTER X

VINCENNES AND CONFLANS

[Illustration: VINCENNES UNDER CHARLES V]

Vincennes is to-day little more than a dull, dirty Paris suburb; if
anything its complexion is a deeper drab than that of Saint Denis, and
to call the Bois de Vincennes a park "somewhat resembling the Bois de
Boulogne," as do the guidebooks, is ridiculous.

In reality Vincennes is nothing at all except a memory. There is to-day
little suggestion of royal origin about the smug and murky surroundings
of the Chateau de Vincennes; but nevertheless, it once was a royal
residence, and the drama which unrolled itself within its walls was most
vividly presented. A book might be written upon it, with the following
as the chapter headings: "The Royal Residence," "The Minimes of the
Bois de Vincennes," "Mazarin at Vincennes," "The Prisoners of the
Donjon," "The Fetes of the Revolution," "The Death of the Duc
d'Enghien," "The Transformation of the Chateau and the Bois."

Its plots are ready-made, but one has to take them on hearsay, for the
old chateau does not open its doors readily to the stranger for the
reason that it to-day ranks only as a military fortress, and an
artillery camp is laid out in the quadrangle, intended, if need be, to
aid in the defence of Paris. This is one of the things one hears about,
but of which one may not have any personal knowledg