A double row of young trees is planted here, at the foot of the artificial mound which supports the castle walls, and at the end of the alley is the reservoir, with the square tower of Gaston Phoebus above it.

I was startled by a sudden apparition, so vivid that it seemed impossible to mistake its form, passing by the reservoir, as if after descending the steep which leads to it.

I _seemed to see_ a grey, transparent figure in armour, the head covered with a helmet, with a pointed frontlet, such as I had seen in an old gallery, filled with rusty coats of arms, at the Chateau of Villebon, near Chartres, where Sully had lived for five-and-twenty years, and where he died.

The figure was slight, and moved slowly, waving its head gently: it was in good proportion, but at least eight feet high.

I stopped astonished, for the vision was so very plain--and then it was gone.