8. La Petite Vis, or Petit Escalier, in one chamber of which the corpse of the Duc de Guise was burned. 9. Portico and Galerie de Louis XII. 10. Portico. 11. Salle des Gardes,--of the queen on the ground floor and of the king on the first floor. 12. Bedchamber,--of the queen on the ground floor and of the king on the first floor. 13. Corps de Garde. 14. Kitchen. (To-day Salle de Réception for visitors.) ERECTED FROM THE TIME OF FRANÇOIS I. TO HENRI III. 15 and 16. Portico and Terrace Henri II. (In part built over by Gaston.) 17. Grand Staircase. 18. Galerie de François I. 19. Staircase of the Salle des États. (Destroyed by the military.) 20. First floor, Salle des Gardes of the queen; second floor, Salle des Gardes of the king. 21. Staircase leading to the apartments of the queen mother. Here also Henri III. had made the cells destined for the use of the Capucins, and here were closeted "_pour s'assurer de leur discretion_," the "_Quarante-Cinq_" who were to kill the Duc de Guise. 22. Cabinet Neuf of Henri III. (Second floor.) 23. Gallery where was held the reunion of the Tiers Etats of 1576. 24. First floor, bedchamber of the king; second floor, bedchamber of the queen. 25. Oratory. 26. Cabinet. 27. Passage to the Tour de Moulins. 28. Passage to the Cabinet Vieux, where the Duc de Guise was struck down. 29. Cabinet Vieux. 30. Oratory, where the two chaplains of the king prayed during the perpetration of the murder. 31. Garde-robe, where was first deposited the body of De Guise. ERECTED BY GASTON D'ORLEANS 32. Peristyle. (Destroyed by the military.) 33. Dome. 34. Pavilion des Jardins. 35. Pavilion du Foix. 36. Petit Pavilion of the Méridionale façade. (Destroyed in 1825.) 37. Terraces. 38. Bastions du Foix and des Jardins. 39. L'Eperon. 40. Le Jardin Haut, or Jardin du Roi. [Illustration: _The_ CHÂTEAUX _of_ BLOIS (DIAGRAM)] The interior court is partly surrounded by a colonnade, quite cloister-like in effect. At the right centre of the François I. wing is that wonderful spiral staircase, concerning the invention of which so much speculation has been launched. Leonardo da Vinci, the protégé of François, has been given the honour, and a very considerable volume has been written to prove the claim. [Illustration: _Cypher of François Premier and Claude of France, at Blois_]