se and two drawbridges
crossing the moat, which at that time surrounded the entire confines of
the palace. The moat is to-day surrounded, where it still exists, by a
balustrade, due to the rather shabby taste of Louis XV.

An inner courtyard, known as the Cour de la Fontaine, is incomparably of
finer general design than the entrance court, and the Cour Ovale,
absolutely as Henri IV left it, is finer still. At the foot of this
latter court is the Baptistry where were baptised, in 1606, the three
"Enfants de France," the dauphin, afterwards Louis XIII; the Princesse
Elizabeth, afterwards the Queen of Spain; and the Princesse de Savoie.

The Cour Ovale is practically of the proportions of the ancient Manor of
Fontaine Belle Eau, built by Robert le Pieux. There, too, Philippe
Auguste, Saint Louis, Philippe-le-Bel, Charles V and Charles VII
frequently resided. Francois I had no wish that this old manor should
entirely disappear and preserved its old donjon, a relic which has since
gone the way of many another noble fane. There are several other notable
courts or gardens, the Cour des Offices, the Jardin de Diane, the
Orangerie, the Cour des Princes, etc.

All the original gardens were laid out anew by Louis XIV, and that of
Diane underwent a considerable change at the hands of Napoleon, who also
laid out a Jardin Anglais on the site of the ancient Jardin des Pins,
where originally sprang into being the rippling Fontaine Beleau, or
Belle Eau, which gave its name to the palace, the forest and the town.

[Illustration: _Salle du Throne, Fontainebleau_]

The park, as distinct from the great expanse of surrounding forest, is a
finely shaded range of alleys, due chiefly to Henri IV, who cut the
great canal of ornamental water and ordained the general arrangement of
its details.

The principal curiosity of the park is the famous Treille du Roy, or the
King's Grape Vine, which, good seasons and bad, can be counted on to
give three thousand kilos of authentic _chasselas_, grapes of the finest
quality. One wonders who gets them: _Ou s'en vont les raisins du roi?_
This is an interrogation that has been raised more than once in the
French parliament.

In general, the aspect of the exterior of the Palais de Fontainebleau,
the walls themselves, the Cours, the alleyed walks are chiefly
reminiscent of the early art of the Renaissance. Francois I is, after
all, more in evidence than the Henris or the Napoleons. Within, the same
is tr