pictures, elaborate pieces of Boule and ormolu furniture, ornate clocks, and many other beautiful objects, but restraint and constraint are the prevalent notes. Bare polished floors and staircases with only small mats or rugs here and there remain characteristic of the _chateau_ interior. Too often there is no more individuality in a house than would exist were it thrown open to the public as a show-place or museum. In many of the _chateaux_ of the wealthy the charm of what is essentially French is linked with modifications in the directions of Anglo-Saxon convenience and comfort, producing much the same result as is found in those English homes wherein an affection for a Louis XV. atmosphere has introduced the tall silken or tapestried panels and the stilted and elaborate furniture of the eighteenth century. Surrounded by extensive forests containing wonderful green perspectives, the _chateau_ is often quite cut off from the sights and sounds of the outer world. When the time of the _chasse_ comes round, the woods may perhaps be enlivened by visions of the _chasseurs_ in pink or green coats, three-cornered hats, and tall boots, and the sound of their big circular horns may be heard. The silence is more effectually broken when shooting parties meet and the _battue_ takes place. [Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL AND PART OF THE OLD CITY OF CHARTRES.] Motor-cars have made neighbours more accessible, and changes are taking place on this account. In pre-motor days the mistress of a _chateau_ was often quite unprepared for visitors. Madame Waddington, the American wife of a senator, who has put some of her experiences of social intercourse in the country into a charming volume,[11] describes a visit paid to a _chateau_ that was half manor, half farm. [11] _Chateau and Country Life in France_, Mary K. Waddington, 1908.