_Retracing our steps we bear to the left and, having crossed, the first bridge, follow a pretty path which brings us into the flower_ garden of Le Nôtre, where we get a good view of the castle _(photograph above). One can go straight back to the entrance gates by the staircase shown in the view._ It is called the +Grand Degré+ (great stair), and was built in 1682 by the architect Gitard. The groups which adorn the base of the Terrasse du Connétable, on each side of the stairs, were drawn by Le Nôtre and carved by Hardy. _This walk, from the time of leaving the museum until the return to the entrance gates, takes about three-quarters of an hour._ _If one wishes to visit the +English Garden+ and the +Jeu de Paume+, which will take about forty minutes longer, one must walk past the north front of the castle and follow the walk which opens in the middle of the thickets._ The English Garden was laid out in 1817 to 1819 by the architect Victor Dubois, according to the orders of the last of the Condés, just returned from exile. The site occupied by this garden, like the ground on which stands the town of Chantilly, belonged to the ancient park, devastated during the Revolution. We pass near the +Temple of Venus+, which shelters a Venus Callipyge of the seventeenth century, near the +Island of Love+, dating from 1765 and on which are statues of Aphrodite and Eros. In the eighteenth century the Island of Love contained a luxurious pavilion, in which nocturnal fêtes were held, the canals and park being illuminated. The pavilion disappeared at the time of the Revolution. [Illustration: THE HAMLET] The ancient +Cascades of Beauvais+ that one sees before arriving at the Jen de Paume are remnants of the old park. They were the work of Le Nôtre. The Jeu de Paume, constructed in 1757, is transformed into a museum. It contains various curiosities, notably Abd-el-Kader's tent, carried away when the Smalah was captured by the Duc d'Aumale in 1843. _After 3 p.m. one can leave the park by the gate next to the Jeu de Paume. We come out in front of the "+Grandes Écuries+" of the castle and can go in and look round them. (Enter at the side that faces the lawn.)_ [Illustration: (_Cliché André Schelcher._) GENERAL VIEW OF THE CASTLE] =FROM CHANTILLY TO SENLIS= (9 km.) [Illustration: THE CASTLE SEEN FROM THE ROUTE DE VINEUIL] _Returning through the monumental gateway, we cross the Rue de Connétable and go straight on, skirting the castle park on the right. We cross the Saint-Jean Canal, then the Great Canal, then turn to the right into the High Street of Vineuil._ On the right one soon has a beautiful vista of the castle and park (_view above_). _We now go through Saint-Firmin._ The church, on the left, contains in its choir Renaissance windows which are classed as historical monuments.