igenous
grouse.

Previous to 1830 the forest was well supplied with big game, deer and
wild boar without number; but, in later times, as was but natural, these
have been greatly thinned out. Rabbits and hares, to say nothing of
foxes and the like, were formerly so abundant that, under Louis
Philippe, it was necessary to carry out what was practically a war of
extermination. To-day they exist, of course, but in no great numbers.

Another sort of publicity has been given the Forest of Fontainebleau by
its association with the painters of the thirties. Theodore Rousseau,
in 1836, lived at Barbison, which at that time was but a hamlet of a few
houses, with no encumbering hotels, garages and merry-go-rounds as
to-day.

A certain Pere Ganne kept a sort of a lodging house where artists were
made welcome at an exceedingly modest price. Not only the really famous
and much exploited painters of the time gained fortunes here, but those
of a more conservative school, who never rose to really great
distinction, also drew much of their inspiration from the neighbourhood,
among them Hamon, Boulanger and Celestin Nanteuil.

Without having to go far to hunt up their subjects, the Forest of
Fontainebleau lying near Barbison offered to painters much that was not
available within so small a radius elsewhere.

Diaz was here already when, in 1849, Jacque and Millet arrived upon the
scene, and at more or less frequent intervals, and for more or less
lengthy stays, there came Corot, Dupre and Daubigny.

Just what the Barbison school produced in the way of painting all the
world knows to-day, but these men were originally the target of every
prejudiced critic of the Boulevards and the Faubourgs. The present day
has brought its reward and appreciation, though it is the dealers who
have profited--the men are dead.

[Illustration: _Monument to Rousseau and Millet at Barbison_]

In memory of the fame brought to this little corner of the forest in
general, and to Barbison in particular, there was placed (in 1894), at
the entrance to the village, a bronze medallion showing the heads of
Millet and Rousseau. It was a delicate way of showing appreciation for
the talents of those two great men who actually founded a new school of
painting.

At the other end of the forest is the little village of Marlotte, also a
haven for many painters of a former day, and no less so for those of
to-day. The old forest in three quarters of a century has seen i