It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Robert, but there
appears to be no certainty as to the exact period. It is interesting
to the English traveller, from having been the last refuge of James
the Second of England, and the residence, at various times, of very
celebrated and distinguished characters. It was taken, and pillaged,
and partly burnt, during the reign of Philip VI, in 1346, by Edward
the Third, and again by the English in 1419, and rebuilt by Francis
the First. During the war of the League in 1574, Catherine de Medicis
retired to this Castle, but from the predictions of an astrologer,
that she would die there, quitted it shortly after, and returned to
the Tuilleries, which Palace she had founded.[14] Henry the Fourth
often frequented Saint Germain. The Chateau Neuf, and one of the
towers, called Le Pavilion de Gabrielle, which is still in good
preservation, were erected by him, close to the Castle, for the
residence of his favourite, La belle Gabrielle:[15] and the superb
terrace was begun in his reign. From this spot the view is very
interesting and extensive: nothing can surpass the admirable
assemblage of hills, meadows, gardens, and vineyards, which charm the
eye, and which as they are viewed from its different points on a clear
summer's evening, appear at every turn, in new beauty, and endless
variety.

[Footnote 14: According to Mezeray, this palace had its name from the
spot whereon it is situated, which was called Les Tuilleries, because
tiles (des tuiles) were made here. Catherine de Medicis built it 1564.
It consisted of nothing but the large square pavilion in the middle,
the two wings, and the two pavilions which terminate the wings. Henry
IV. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. afterwards extended, elevated, and
embellished it. It is said to be neither so well proportioned, so
beautiful, or so regular, as it was at first. The Tuilleries is,
nevertheless, a very splendid palace. An astrologer having predicted
to Catherine de Medicis, that she would die near St. Germain, she
immediately flew, in a most superstitious manner, from all places
and churches that bore this name; she no more resorted to St.
Germain-en-Laye, and because her palace of the Tuilleries was situated
in the parish of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, she was at the expense of
building another, which was the Hotel de Soissons, near the church
of St. Eustache. When it was known to be Laurence de Saint Germain,
Bishop of Nazareth,