_To face page 168._] The fifth miniature (which the Duc d'Aumale designates as _La Reine de Mai_)[41] is one of the most charming of the series, for May Day was at that time an occasion of much festivity at the Court of France. A gay cavalcade is passing through a wood, headed apparently by a Prince of the Blood--perhaps even the Sovereign himself--and amid those in attendance the knight of the last picture again appears, his head bound with a chaplet of bay-leaves. He is turning back to gaze at his bride, who rides beside him on a white horse. She wears the same ornaments as in the previous picture, and it is by these that we can identify her. In the background, silhouetted against the horizon, is the Castle of Riom, pleasantly situated in its park and gardens. This picture displays with much effect the gaiety of the persons represented, who all seem to be engaged in animated converse. Pol de Limbourg evidently approaches in this picture his highest capabilities; and becomes more and more independent of convention. In the Month of June[42] the Palais de Justice of Charles V with the Sainte-Chapelle are visible in the rear. The reapers shown in this composition and the two graceful peasant girls busy amid the fresh-cut grass have aroused great enthusiasm amongst modern connoisseurs; and we involuntarily recall the paintings of François Millet and the Barbizon School--a school which, after nearly four centuries, has revived the art of realistic landscape-painting in France. In the Month of July[43] the lofty towers of the Castle of Poitiers, which not long before had been restored by the Duc de Berry, appear in the background. And just as the winter landscape of the Month of February arouses the impression of winter's snow and ice, so this brilliant composition, in which the sunshine blazes upon the cornfields, makes one dream of the burning days of summer. The sheep, in February huddled together in their pens, are now grazing in a meadow, whilst a young peasant woman is busy plying her shears upon their fleecy coats and a youth watches her with marked interest. The Month of August[44] presents a hawking party. Two cavaliers mounted on richly appointed steeds, their ladies mounted on pillions behind them, are carrying hawks. One lady is, however, courageous enough to manage her own palfrey, and holds a hawk upon her left wrist. Behind, labourers are pursuing their toil and bathers are sporting in a stream. At the back rises the Château d'Estampes which the Duc de Berry had recently bought from his brother Louis of Anjou. The landscape is here treated with admirable freedom. The artist has painted what he saw, just as it really was, and the outlines of the château are represented with remarkable fidelity. The Castle of Saumur appears in the September miniature, where a vintage is proceeding with life and vigour. [Illustration: Plate XXXV. Photo. Giraudon. DECEMBER. Pol de Limbourg. From The "Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry."