The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-10-24 00:00:00

The Special Correspondent of the Daily New thus
deacrthee &dimwit :

'The Chateau d'Esclimont, one of the country
residences of the Duc de is Rochefoucauld.Bisaccia,
was, presumably on account of the great and ancient
family to which it belongs, famous in former ages,
and it has suddenly become famous now on account
-4 the Prince of Wales's visit; but there has been a
long intervening period during which it was little I
known. No mention of such a place is made in that I
meet valuable and far.searching compilation • Murray's
Handbook;' and ' Jouanne's French Guide' is equally ,
silent. It is not marked in any of the railway
maps that I know of, and the French 'Brad-
thaw' does not indicate any station from which
it may be reached. I had considerable difficulty in
finding it out Nobody that I inquired of in Paris had
ever been there, and few had ever heard of it. . . . A.
traveller, going along the Rambouillet road, which
Enesaidetf oorleootilleadt o,,ratint
menatyrae be s,eewnolfdrodinsetairieceoluyt:iuz
Esclimont lies in a hole. A mean wall surrounds the
home grounds, called in French nomenclature a
' park.' Thick but neither high nor pretty trees
inside the wall alike impede the view of the I
public, of what is within, and of the inmates, of
what is without. Nothing of the ch.lteau, unless
just the tops of the pointed roofs, can be seen any-
where half a mile off, and the view which the Duke's
family get from their windows, confined to a lawn and
well kept garden, is less extensive than that from a
Parisian apartment looking on the Parc Monceau.
They can see nothing whatever outside the garden
wall. By this privation they do not lose much, for a
less picturesque country than the Duke's fertile
estate of 30,000 acres can scarcely be found in France.
There are few trees, and no fine ones, no streams, and
no meadows. _

"The reason, so far as I can collect, why so little is
known of the chateau of Faclimont is that during the
life of the Due Sosthenes de Rochefoueauld, who died
only a few years ago, it was not kept up. He lived at
the far more splendid family estate of 1m Gaudiniere,
near Vendome. By a family arrangement the eldest
of the two co-belie, the Due de la Rochefoucauld-
Doudeauville, kept the princely La Gaudiniere, and gave
up to his brother, the Due de Is Rochefoucauld-Bisaccia,
all the other properties, which, taken together. are
probably worth more than La Gaudiniere. When
the Due de la Rochefoucauld-Bisaccia thus came
into Esclimont he proceeded to restore it at very
great cost. Everything about the place looks
new, but the house is not nearly so big as it originally
was. Only two sides of what was once a square
building have been rebuilt. The residence, though
comfortable and sufficient for the wants of a grand
family, is by no means large. There are but three
rooms on the ground-floor, and the dining-room could
not hold more than forty persons without inconvenient
crowding. Over the entrance is an equestrian statue
of Francis de la Rochefoucauld, who had the honour of
being godfather to Francis -I. The Due de la
Rochefoucauld-Bisaccia, who is very rich, keeps up
lahitually all the state of a grand seigneur.
It is • subject of curious reflection that the La
Rochefoneaulds, like many other of the old French
noblesse, have hitherto contrived to keep their pro-
perty together, notwithstanding the abolition of entails
and the law which rigorously divides property equally
ameng all children. They do this by making rich
marria4es and encouraging celibacy and conventual
life among younger members of the family. It is no
infrequent thing for one only out of ten children to
marry, while, for the sake of keeping up the faitaily,
his brothers and sisters are content to gi%e up to him
their portion of the estate in consideration of being ,
boarded and lodged for life in the ancestral mansion.
There will be a strain upon the unity of the La
Rochefoucanbl estates someday, for they are a prolific
rave. The Due Bisaccia has six children.
" . . . . The Prince has accepted an invitation from
Baron de Rothschild, and will go to his splendid
country mansion at Ferrii-res after he leaves the Due
de la Tremouille. The Baron will rival his former
hosts in giving a battue. Ills Royal Highness will have
the gratification of eating his dinner off a service of
Sevres porcelain worth 100,000 francs, which was
brought out for Napoleon 111. But he will only be
able to see the gold knives and forks which were
placed on the table on the same occasion the Baron
having made a vow that they should never be used
again."

The Correspondent of The TiWM gives the following
lescription of the departure of the Prince of Wales from
Esdimont, and his &ITIVIII at the Mitten de DampJerre :
PARIS, Monday, Oct 19.

The Prince of Wales left the ChAteau d'Esclimont,
where he had been entertained by the Due de la
llochefoucauld-Bisaccia, late French Ambassador in
I.ondwn. at noon yesterday. Ilia Royal Highness
entered a carriage drawn by four horses, the lfisc
and Duchess° de la Rochefaucauld accompanying
him. Mr. and Mrs. Standish., General Charrette,
the Comte de Breteuil Hallz CLsparede, Colonel Tees-
dale, and Mr. Francis Knollys followed in four other
carriages. The entire household, the Guards, the
Major Dome of the Castle, and a crowd of peasants
collected to give the Prince a last greeting. He
started amid prolonged cheering and Esclimout Castle
speedily resumed it usual asjwct, the personnel re-
turning to their posts and the labourers to their work.
About three o'clock the Prince and his suite reached the
Château Is Dampierre, one of the finest seats in France,
the hereditary domain of the I)ucis de I.uynes. tee last
of whom heroically fell at the head of his battalion in
the field of Patsy. he family is now represented by
sis or seven years of age, his only surviving ISOII,

the issue of his marriage with a daughter of the Disc de
la Rochefoucauld by his first marriage. The Duchesee
de Luynes still wean the mourning which she aosumed
four years ago on learning the death of her brave
husband. he devotes herself almost exclusively to the
education of her son. Her son went to Eschmont to
take part in the reception of the Prince of Wales, and
she invited the Prince to luncheon at Dam Merre when he
left her father. Next to the works of as t and the stables
hie Royal Highness seemed specially interested in the
splendid collection of manuecripts atitampierre Castle,
the result of the patience and labours of several gene-
rations. He admired also the stern and grandiose
beauty of the place, where a hearty reception awaited
him from the household and the inhabitants of the
neighbourhood. He next proceeded to the Chateau of
Rambouillet, on a visit to the Due and Duchene de
Tremouille. This is a spacious and elegant building,
situated in a charming country at the gates of Paris.
It exhibits various styles of architecture, dating from
the reign of Francis I. to that of Louis XV., and is
associated with the mysterious and fascinating story
entitled " The Crimes of Limours." The Duke is one
of the French nobles who have taken pains to under-
stand modern ideas and the exigencies connected with
them. He is one of those who perceive that modern
society has rules and doctrines demanding a sincere
homage, and that the world as it existed before the
Resolution was sullied in errors and abuses, which
were wisely corrected and 'premed. This is the more
defeerving of mention inasmuch as the Duke is evidently
one of those who may be called upon at any moment
to reconcile two social chimes which have hitherto
Misunderstood each other, or have been antagonistic.
In the course of yesterday there arrived at Rambouillet
the Due and Ducheese de Chartres, the Comte and
Condesse de dui gnR, Mesdames Nathaniel and Alphonse
de Rothschild, the l'ilarquisMe Gallifet, M. and Mdnie.
Traders, Madame de Montgomery, Comte de Fitej amen,
M. de Vargorlity, M. O'Connor, Marquis de Lau, M.
Costa, Colonel de Kodolitach and M. de St. Paul, Sub-
Prefect of Rambouillet. All the guests set them-
selves to assist in decorating the castle. Dukes
and duchesses, counts and marquises, were seen
perched on stools, mounted on ladders, climbing along
walls—to fasten a wreath here, a banner there, a
Venetian lantern at another point elsewhere, or fixing
a bouquet or a wreath of foliage on the park railings.
I peed not dwell on the bursts of laughter in which
these amateur decorators indulged while at their self-
allotted took, nor on the crowd of curious spectators
who collected to watch these grand lords and ladies
who reminded one of some forgotten picture of the
happy days when the most lowhante of .1, rench Queens
forgot under the shelter of the Trianon the distant
rumbling which threatened the destruction of French
Royalty. It would be difficult to give an idea of the
charming appearance of Rambouillet at about half-
past five p.m., when the preparations were all com-
pletesl and dusk approached. A profusion of lights
began to burn among the tufts of foliage. The
Castle walls up to the very summit of the perrou
seemed to disappear under masses of verdure and
flowers, The salons sparkled, the dining-room was
brilliant; nothing could 'have succeeded better than
the rich, yet simple ornamentation of the table. All
around glittered lustres and candelabra. Between
these last, which were ranged in line from one ex-
tremity of the table to the other, was a parterre of
rare and precious flowers. At the foot of each
candelabrum was a nest, as it were, of green moss, on
which was the rarest fruit.
The Prince of Wales, who was cheered at the park
gates, arrived at six o'clock. The Duke and Duchess
received him at the foot of the perrmf, while their
guests were stationed at the top of it, the valets holding
torches Offering his arm to the Duchess, he proceeded
to the salons, where the company were presented to him.
The company then sat down to dinner, the Prince
being stated in the centre, with the Duchesse de is
Tremouille on his right and the Duchess de la Roche-
foucauld on his left. The Due de Is Treniouille has the
first cook in France, and he is owner, through the
Countess Duchatel, the Duchess's mother, of one of the
moat recherchS vineyards of the Bordelais. Here is the
menu, winch confirmed the opinion of all the guests as
to the unrivalled powers of the Duke's chef Potages
- bisque d'ecrevisses ; consomme k la Royale;
tartelettes is la Talleyrand ; roast beef, pommescle-
terre Dauphine; poulardes Regence ; satire supreme ;
filets de lapereaux ; purée de ibier ; mayonnaise de
homard ; faisans It la Bohemienne ; rameluins au
frontage ; Opinards an veloute ; glaeee is 1 Orleans.
The dinner lasted 50 minutes, after which the guests
stayed en pactte to taste some unrivalled wines from
the Duke's cellars.

The guests conversed in groups, until the modern
spirit, in the guise of a telegraphic despatch invaded
the salon, where were collected the flower of the
French aristocracy. The message was from the Sub-
Prefect announcing the progress of the Elections. It
excited great curiosity, but did not throw much light
on the final result. The Duke of Padua seemed
fighting with success against 31. Senard. Subsequent
bulletins, however, showed that the Duke had no
chance, and at 2 a.m. it was evident that the
Imperial battalions were vanquished and that the
Republicans were advancing victoriously. The Prince
had an opportunity of making some valuable
observations by watching the company. This
French nobility, which formerly had but one device--
"the King" seemed drawn in various directions
yesterday. Some of the guests appeared alarmed at
the threatened triumph of the Imperialist candidates;
others were dismayed at a Republican victory.
Since the King of the French noblesse shattered the
hopes of those who believed in his accession they
have been vacillating without a leader, without a
probable political future, between horror of the
Empire and terror of Radicalism. They no longer
pursue one road on which they can tread with safety,
but advance hesitatingly on a narrow path which at
every step gives way under their feet. They no longer
possess sincere enthusiasm for a came which bhould
be their own. They have an aversion from causes
to which they are strangers or hostile until the
moment arriv,s when the lassitude produced by a
barren struggle, the folly provoked by an irresistible
fear, weariness of everything and of themselves, will
drive them, perhaps, towards the future Empire of
which they will he one of the chief sources of weak-
ness. Whether the Prince of Wales remarked this I
cannot say, but a disinterested observer might have
watched the conflicting impression produced by the
despatches which followed each other like the strophes
of the Chorus in the ancient tragedies, reminding the
guests that for nearly 100 years Modern France has
been waging a desperate war with that Ancient
France whose glories and errors many of them repre-
sented.
At 3 a.m. a special train conveyed most of the guests
to Paris. The Prince was to have some shooting
to-day in the Rambouillet preserves. His Royal
Highness and Colonel Teesdale proved themselves the
best shots at Esclimont. To-day only ten of the best
marksmen were to accompany the Prince. On Wednes-
day and Thursday there is to be hunting at Chantilly.
The Duke, scrupulously adhering,to the traditions of
the old French Hunt, will bring his hunting equi-
I page. The sporting costume is blue trimmed with
gold, the outlass attached to the girdle, the coat
I cut away, with white trousers, and hunting boots,
and the bugle hanging over the shoulders. The Duc
d'Aumale has a deserved reputation for his bearing at
the head of his hunts, and leads them with vigour and
dash. On Friday the Prince will shoot with Marshal
MacMahon in the Manly preserves, and4n Saturday
I he will return to Paris, where the Princess of Wales is
expected to meet him. The Prince's sport is likely to
be Interfered with by the weather, which has suddenly
changed. Up to yesterday October was beautiful, as
it often is in Paris; but to day raip fell almost with
out interruption till a late hour of the night.

The Paris Correspondent of The Times, Writing on Tuesday,
says
' "

- •
The Prince of Wales was not deterred by the heavy
ram which fell yesterday from enjoying the day's
shooting which had been arranged for him at the
Chateau of Rambouillet. At ten o'clock Due de la
Rochefoucauld-Bisaccia and his guests sat down to
breakfast, among those invited to join the Prince
being the Due de Chartres, Colonel Teesdale, the
Due de la Tremouille, Baron Hottinguer, Count
Hallez Clapareile, Baron de Soubeyran, Count de
Juigne, and the Marquis de Lau. About noon the party
started, amid a regular downpour. Twelve hundred
head of game were shot, comprising 1,100 pheasants.
The Prince again distinguished himself, bringing down
nearly 300 birds. The party returned to the Castle
at half-past five, and dinner was served at seven,
c wars being laid for forty. The company included
the Duchesse de la Rochefoucauld-Bisaceia, Duchesse
d'Uzes, Baron Alphonse de Rothschild and Baron
Nathaniel de Rothschild, Princess de Sagan Baroness
de Soubeyran, Marquise de Gallifet, Comtesse de Mont-
gomery, Comtesse do June, Due drUzes, Comte de
Saint-Priest, Comte Louis de Turenne, Comte H. de
Breteuil, GtMeral Charette, Comte Robert de Fitz-
james, M. O'Connor Baron R. de Redorte, the Sous-
Praet. de Ramboudet, ,Roc. The ladies' dresses were
very brilliant. The dinner was followed by a ball,
but the rain prevented the projected fete de nuit and
excursion on the water. •
-

--
To-day, the Prince, who has been exceedingly grati-
fied by his visit to the Due de la Rochefoueauld-
Bisaccia, took leave of his host and returned to Paris
to dinner. He starts to-morrow for Chantilly. where
he will be the guest ,of the Due d'Aumale. Chantilly
ran boast of Royal visitors. Charles V., Charles
IX., and Henry IV. were entertained within its
walls, and it was there that the Grand Conde
received Louis XIV.. expending 200,000 livres in
the festivities. Joseidi 11. of Austria, Gustavus
111. of Sivaden, and Paul I. of Russia also visited
Chantilly shortly before the Revolution. When
the Restoration came, the Conde Princes found that
the old Château had been destroyed, although the
smaller building still existed. The estate had been
sold in lots, and the forest was the property of the
Queen Hortense. What remained of the building
was so dilapidated that when the Emperor
Nicholas visited it in 1815 the ceiling of the
galleries was not watertight and umbrellas had to be
hoisted. The l'rince Ile Condei restored the Château
and re-purchased portions of the estate, bequeathing
the property to the Due d'Aumaie, who con-
tinued the work of restoration until the Revolution
of 1848 drove him into exile. Under the decrees
of 1852 Chantilly was brought to the hammer, and fell
into the hands of Messrs. Coutts, the London bankers,
being tenanted successively by Lord Cowley, M.
Duehatel, and the Due de la Tremouille. On the fall
of the Empire it became again the property of the
Due d'Aumale.

It appears from a statement in the Fro tire that the
bomber of electors who recently voted for Republican candi-
dates for the Councils-General in France was 1,5431.139. The
anti Republican votes, divided among Legitimists, Orleanists,
Bonapartists, and Meptennatiats, were 1,447,831. Than the
majority for the Republicans was 113,308.
During last week 5,37'J births and 3,536 deaths were
registered in London and twenty other large towns of the
United Kingdom The natural increase of population was
1,043 The mortality from all causes was at the average rate
of 24 deaths annually in every 1,000 persons living. In Lon-
don 2,383 births am! 1,344 deaths were registered. Allowing
for increase of population, the births exceeded by 51, where-
as the deaths were 97 below, the average numbers in the
. corresponding week of the last ten years. The deaths re-
ferred to scarlet fever, which in each of the two previous
weeks had been 107, furtlur rose last week to 118, and
exceeded the corrected weekly average by 27 ; 53 were re-
corded in the east, 19 lathe north, 10 both in the central and
south, and 11 in the west groups of districts. The mean
temperature at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. was 55
degreea, or fly above the avenge of the corresponding week
ta fie Yeern

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