River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-02-27
The Rothschild Chateau.

| From Fraser's Magazine.
With princely liberality Baron Roths.
child admits any one to his Fairyland
who takes the trouble to write for permits
sion, and however much we may have been
thinking of Haroun al Raschid, King Solo
man and the Thousand and One Nights
beforehand, we shall not be disappointed.
| Quitting the railway at the cheerful little
town of Lsngny we drive past handsome
country houses and well-kept flower gar
dens, and thel gradually ascend road
winding amid hill and valley up to the
| chateau, graceful structure IN white
marble, o. so it seems, proudly command
| ing the wide landscape. The flower gar
dens are a blaze of colors, and the orange
trees give delicious fragrance as we ascend
the terrace; ascend, indeed, being hardly
the word applicable to steps sloping so
easily upward, and so nicely adjusted to
the human foot that climbing Mont Blanc
under the same circumstances could be
accomplished without fatigue. 1t is
impossible to give any idea of the differ
emit kinds of magnificence that greet us
on every side. Now little Vatican
world in tapestries, having for back
ground sky blue satin and roses; now
dining-hall, somber, gorgeos and majestic
as that of a Spanish palace; now we are
transported 10 Persia, China and Japan;
next we find ourselves amid unspeakable
treasures of Italian and other marbles.
To come down to practical details 1t
might be suggested to the generous own
CT Of this nor le trt sule-house of art that
the brielest possible catalogue OF his
choicest treasures would unspeakably
oblige MS visitors. There is hardly piece
Cf furniture that is not interesting, alike
from historic and artistic point Of view,
while some are chefs a'guUre both in de-
sign and execution, and dazzlingly rich
in material. Among these may be
mentioned pair of chimney ornaments
thickly hung with pendants of precious
stones; piano which belonged to Marie
Antoinettee-the case of which is formed
OF tortoise-shell richly decorated with
gold "a cabinet set with emeralds, sapphires
and other jewels; another composed OF
various precious stones; chairs and
couches covered with exquisite tapestry
OF the Louis Quinze period; sorle rare
specimens of old cloisonne work, also OF
Florentine mosaics-these forming small
part of this magnificent museum. The
etr;king feature is the great quantity and
variety If rich marbles in every part.
One of the staircases is entirely formed OF
different kinds of rare marble, the effect
being extraordinarily imposing, Else
where room is DIVIDED by Corinthian
columns of jasper and porphyry, and on
every side is displayed a wealth and
splendor quite unique. Without doubt,
nothing lends such magnifcence to in
teriors as marbles, but they require the
spacioasness and princeliness of such
chateau as this to be displayed to ad
vantage Next in Importance, as matter
of mere decoration, must be cited the
tapestries, of which there is a rare and
valuable collection, chiefly in the hall, SO
called, and where they are arranged
about the running gallery surrounding
the pictures. What this hall would be
worth would perhaps sound fabulous on
paper; it is here that some of the most
precious cabinets are found; treasures of
ivory, ebony, gems, gold and silver; and
the pictures alone represent princess
dowry, examples of some of the great
masters are here--Velasques, Rembrandt,
Rubens, Claude Lorraine, BOrdOne,
Reynolds; lastly, among moderns, lngres
ard Hippolyte Flandrin. Much might
be said about the pictures if space per
mitted, bur they alone are worth making
the Journey from Paris to see.