defined base of
a gateway or tower. Mediaevalism is rampant throughout Compiegne.

The park surrounding the palace is quite distinct from the wider radius
of the Foret de Compiegne. It is of the secular, conventional order, and
its perspectives, looking towards the forest from the terrace and vice
versa, are in all ways satisfying to the eye.

One of the most striking of these alleyed vistas was laid out under the
orders of the first Napoleon in 1810. It loses itself in infinity,
almost, its horizon blending with that of the far distant Beaux Monts in
the heart of the forest.

In the immediate neighbourhood of the palace are innumerable statues,
none of great beauty, value or distinction. On the south side runs a
Cours, or Prado, as it would be called in Catalonia. The word Cours is
of Provencal origin, and how it ever came to be transplanted here is a
mystery. Still here it is, a great tree-shaded promenade running to the
river. The climate of Compiegne is never so blazing hot as to make this
Cours so highly appreciated as its namesakes in the Midi, but as an
exotic accessory to the park it is quite a unique delight.

Within the park may still be traced the outlines of the moat which
surrounded the palace of Charles V, as well as some scanty remains of
the same period.

Another distinctive feature is the famous _Berceau en Fer_, an iron
trellis several thousands of feet in length, which was built by Napoleon
I as a reminder to Marie Louise of a similar, but smaller, garden
accessory which she had known at Schoenbrunn. It was a caprice, if you
like, and rather a futile one since it was before the time when
artistically worthless things were the rage just because of their
gigantic proportions. Napoleon III cut it down in part, and pruned it to
more esthetic proportions, and what there is left, vine and flower
grown, is really charming.

The Foret de Compiegne as a historic wildwood goes back to the Druids
who practiced their mysterious rites under its antique shade centuries
before the coming of the kings, who later called it their own special
hunting preserve. Stone hatchets, not unlike the tomahawks of the red
man, have been found and traced back--well, definitely to the Stone
Age, and supposedly to the time when they served the Druids for their
sacrifices.

[Illustration: _Cours de Compiegne_]

The soldiers of Caesar came later and their axes were of iron or copper,
and though on the warpath, too, their way