I remember vividly the three of us, Miss Marbury, Sardou, and I,
standing in the garden on a very rainy day. Sardou was bounding up and
down, saying: "Buy it, buy it! If you don't buy it before twelve o'clock
to-morrow I will buy it myself!" We were standing there soaking wet,
perfectly oblivious to the downpour, wondering if we dared do such an
audacious thing as to purchase property so far from our American
anchorage.
[Illustration: A FINE OLD CONSOLE IN THE VILLA TRIANON]
Well, we bought it, and at our own price, practically, and for eight
years we have been restoring the house and gardens to their Seventeenth
Century beauty. Sardou was our neighbor, and his wonderful chateau at
Marly, overlooking the valley and terraces of St. Germain, was a
never-failing surprise to us, so full was it of beauty and charm, so
flavored with the personality of its owner. Sardou was of great help
to us when we finally purchased our house. His fund of information never
failed us, there seemed to be no question he could not answer. He was
quite the most erudite man I have ever known. He had as much to say
about the restoration of our house as we. He introduced us to Monsieur
de Nolhac, the conservator of the Chateau de Versailles, who gave us the
details of our villa as it had been a century and a half ago, and helped
us remake the garden on the lines of the original one.
Pages:
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215