A whole school of local architects and painters were employed to adorn the ducal palace, which under his rule and that of his immediate successors became, in the words of a contemporary, "as fine a dwelling-place for a great Prince as could possibly be desired."[321] King René had rebuilt the older portions of the house; his son now added the noble gateway known as "La Grande Porterie," with his own equestrian statue carved by Mansuy Gauvain, and the magnificent upper gallery called "La Galerie des Cerfs," from the antlers and other trophies of the chase which hung upon its walls.[322] A wealth of delicate sculpture was lavished on the façade. Flowers and foliage, heraldic beasts and armorial bearings, adorned the portal; "le bœuf qui prêche"--an ox's head in a pulpit--appeared in one corner, and on the topmost pinnacle, above the busts of René and Antoine, a monkey was seen clad in a friar's habit. Within, the vaulted halls were decorated with stately mantelpieces and richly carved friezes. Without, the roofs glittered with gilded copper fretwork and a tall bronze _flèche_, bearing the cross of Lorraine and the thistle of Nancy, crowned the "Tour du Paradis," which enclosed the fine spiral staircase leading to the Galerie des Cerfs. Another round tower, containing an inclined way broad enough for a horse and chariot, stood in the older part of the palace, and led up to the Treasury, where the Crown jewels were kept. Here, too, were the apartments occupied by the ducal family. On one side they opened on to the "Cour d'Honneur," where tournaments and pageants were held. On the other the windows looked down on the gardens, with their cut yews and box hedges, their arbours and bosquets, and in the centre a superb fountain adorned with _putti_ by Mansuy Gauvain; while beyond the eye ranged across the sleepy waters of the moat to green meadows and distant woods.[323] The grand portal and state-rooms at the new end of the palace looked down on the Grande Rue, and were only divided by a narrow street from the shops and stalls of the market-place. The fact that the Duke's house stood in the heart of the city naturally fostered the affection with which he was regarded by the people of Nancy. The citizens were familiar with every detail of the ducal family's private life, and took the deepest interest in their comings and goings, their weddings and funerals, in the guests who arrived at the palace gates, and in the children who grew up within its walls.