he two rivers.

There are some forty kilometres of roadway within the limits of the Bois
de Vincennes, and a dozen kilometres or more of footpaths; but, since
the military authorities have taken a portion for their own uses as a
training ground, a shooting range and for the Batteries of La
Faisanderie and Gravelle, it has been bereft of no small part of its
former charm. There are three lakes in the Bois, the Lac de Sainte
Mande, the Lac Daumesnil and the Lac de Gravelle.

A near neighbour of Vincennes is Conflans, another poor, rent relic of
monarchial majesty. The Chateau de Conflans was situated at the juncture
of the Seine and Marne, but, to-day, the immediate neighbourhood is so
very unlovely and depressing that one can hardly believe that it ever
pleased any one's fancy, least of all that of a kingly castle builder.

Banal dwellings on all sides are Conflans' chief characteristics to-day;
but the old royal abode still lifts a long length of roof and wall to
mark the spot where once stood the Chateau de Conflans in all its
glory.

Conflans was at first the country residence of the Archbishops of Paris,
and Saint Louis frequently went into retreat here. When Philippe-le-Bel
acquired the property, he promptly gave it to the Comtesse d'Artois who
made of it one of the "_plus beaux castels du temps_." She decorated its
long gallery, the portion of the edifice which exists to-day in the
humble, emasculated form of a warehouse of some sort, in memory of her
husband Othon. Here the countess held many historic receptions and
ceremonies during which kings and princes frequently partook of her
hospitality.

[Illustration: CONFLANS from an OLD PRINT.]

After the death of the countess, the French king made his residence at
Conflans, and Charles VI, when dauphin, was also lodged here that he
might be near the capital in case of events which might require his
presence. A contemporary account mentions the fact that his _valet de
chambre_ was killed by lightning at Conflans while serving his royal
master.

Conflans was the preferred suburban residence of the Princes and the
Ducs de Bourgogne, and Philippe-le-Hardi there organized his tourneys
and his _passes d'armes_ with great eclat, on one occasion alone
offering one hundred and fifteen thousand _livres_ in prizes to the
participants.

This castle, for it was more castle than palace, was reputed one of the
most magnificent in the neighbourhood of the Paris of its time,