Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-10
SSz2lNayMESMNlzANyIEIHSA

hers to quit and furniture to pack away;
her husband being president of the sem
ate, they live rent free in the LuXem-
bourg Palace, and the moving Will be
done when their trunks arrive at the
Elysee. 1t is easy, therefore, to see how
the lady finds agreeable occupation at
the Garde Meuble
In the old days. as 1 have said, it was
the kings furniture storehouse, affected
to the equipment of his kingly residences
and those Of raft of princes 1t was a
high kind Of show place, and had, latest
of ALL built for 1T the grandiose palaces
on the Place de la ConcOrde, one OF which
is now the ministry of marine, while the
Automobile Club has its place in sec
ton of the other.
In the time, even, of Napoleon III the
Garde Meuble was great show place.
Since his fall it has been in the position
of a kings storehouse-without king;
the central authority that felt the joy
tand responsibility of ownership is
lacking; and for thirty years and more
the Garde Meuble has been settled in an
immense building on the Quai dOrsay.
practically forbidden to the public; but
having an administrator, three heads OF
departments and four expert workshops,
for the repairing of carpets, cabinet
making fine Joiner work and the fitting
and repairing of locks and chandeliers
The Louvre Museums Gain.
Up to the late Paris exposition it had
museum of its own, and full of extraordi-
nary precious objects. At the eXpositfon's
end the Louvre Museum began to set up
its own halls of decorative art. Two ar
guments were then brought out by its
direction why the Louvre should be al
lowed to filch quantity of the more deli
cate and historically precious objects
from the Garde Meuble Museum:
l. The Garde Meuble Museum had no
visitors Few people knew its where
abouts, and still fewer took the trouble
to look it up And,
2. The generosity of Felix Faure. 1t
was common knowledge. for example,
that Miss Lucie Faure had requisitloned
for her own use an historic writing desk
that had belonged to Marie Antoinette
and "a particularly precious set or Louis
XVI furniture in woodwork of white,
sage and gold. which had escaped pillage
in the little apartments at versailles.
Such historic things. with many an an
cient vase of Chinese, Dresden or SeVfes
ware, with many a BUM caplnet anu
table, many a screen and panel painted by
a Fragonard or Lancrety would DE SAFER
placed for public education and me history
of styles in museum not SUBJECT 10 requ our
sitions from the president, ana, III less
degree, his cabinet
Such objects ought no longer to be l3ed
IT therefore came about that the Mu-
scum of the Louvre was allowed 10 take ;s
to itself a quantity of fragile and historic
things that made the glory or the Mu-
scum of the Garde Meuble-whlch exists
no longer And each year, as 1t SHIFTS It's
roomful from the old Garde Meuple u
self.
Amendments of the Palace.
In this way the shopping opportunity of
Madame Fallieres becomes the more
unique. The Loubets welcome her to
make her studies of the palace that is
soon to be her home The ground floor is
given up to state apartments, twelve in
number. scarcely sufficient fer their pur-
pose The Elysee has never been large
enough Napoleon III moved out OF IT as
soon as he became emperor. president
MscNahon whose official residence was
Versailles, used it only for fetes. Nine. Gre
W. who made her own preserves III the
Elysee kitchens, and Grevy himseif, VINO
cared only for the billiard room, scarcely
received" The more swell and hospitabie
Carnots felt it necessary to enlarge the pal
ace and Sadi drew up the plans himself IL
is therefore 70 Carnot that the Eiysee
owes its right wing, sheet-irou shed IN the
style of the Polytechnic Schools best teach
ing but scarcely up 70 the standard of the
CoInte d Evereux. who built the Elysee in
IT'S.
The rest of the ground floor has an I'M
pressive effect It is due chiefly TO the in
speetor of palaces. M. de Gourlet, man
of taste. whose advice with regard TO fur
nishing ard decoration Is worthy OF atten-
ton For these great show rooms the Felix
Faures left very much to him, and Nj. Lou
bet has changed little IN them. The car
pets and wall hangings are particularly
pleasing. but some of the best pieces have
suffered from politics. One immensely val
liable carpet has undergone three modihca-
, lions successivefy-feur de lys for the old
kings who made 1t: crowns Ms and ca
giles for the Napoleons, and r. f." for the
republic-the patchwork being more or less
visible.
The carved woodwork of the walls and
ceiling Is rema rkabie throughout. 1t stays.
The grande sale. I'm which state banquets
are given. is true museum of the gor-
geous second empire STYLE The salon de Mu-
rat, In Loubet's time one of the most adj
n,ired of the state rooms, is furnished IN
pure empire style. The salon de Phemicy-
cie-the old bed room of Napoleon Icon
tains an extremely valuable tapestry before
which every visitor stands smiling.
1t is a Judgment of Paris" after the
cartoon by Raphael; but Nine. de Mainle-
non, the sanity wife of Louis xIy's later
sourish years. deemed the three goddesses
too lightly clad--and had some draperies
added. The new draperies. now old, are ca
silly distinguished
Naturally the presidential fanily take