t
of thing in France. No one here penned bitter jibes and lascivious
verses merely to keep out of jail, as did Nash and Marlowe in England.
In short, one must give due credit to the court chroniclers and
ballad-singers of France as being something more than mere pilfering,
blackmailing hacks.

All the French court and its followers in the sixteenth century shouted
epigrams and affected being greater poets than they really were. It was
a good sign, and it left its impress on French literature. Following in
the footsteps of Francis I and the two Marguerites nobles vied with each
other in their efforts to produce some epoch-making work of poesy or
prose, and while they did not often publish for profit they were glad
enough to see themselves in print. Then there were also the professional
men of letters, as distinct from the courtiers with literary ambitions,
the churchmen and courtly attaches of all ranks with the literary bee
humming in their bonnets. They, too, left behind them an imposing
record, which has been very useful to others coming after who were
concerned with getting a local colour of a brand which should look
natural.

It is with such guiding lights as are suggested by the foregoing resume
that one seeks his clues for the repicturing of the circumstances under
which French royal palaces were erected, as well as for the truthful
repetition of the ceremonies and functions of the times, for the court
life of old, whether in city palace or country chateau, was a very
different thing from that of the Republican regime of to-day.

Not only were the royal Paris dwellings, from the earliest times, of a
profound luxuriance of design and execution, but the private hotels, the
palaces, one may well say, of the nobility were of the same superlative
order, and kings and queens alike did not disdain to lodge therein on
such occasions as suited their convenience. The suggestive comparison is
made because of the close liens with which royalty and the higher
nobility were bound.

It is sufficient to recall, among others of this class, the celebrated
Hotel de Beauvais which will illustrate the reference. Not only was this
magnificent town house of palatial dimensions, but it was the envy of
the monarchs themselves, because of its refined elegance of
construction. This edifice exists to-day, in part, at No. 68 Rue
Francois Miron, and the visitor may judge for himself as to its former
elegance.

Loret, in his "Gazette" in