I asked M. Flammarion if he thought that the colours with which we are surrounded have an effect on our characters, and he replied:
“There is no doubt, is there, that each of us is better satisfied with his appearance in one colour than in another? That is proved by experience, for everybody will tell you: ‘I love this colour,’ or ‘I don’t care for that one.’ Isn’t it also said that such and such a colour ‘suits’ or ‘doesn’t suit’ on such and such a person? All that appears to prove that colour must exert some sort of influence, moral or physical, or perhaps both simultaneously.”
It is only when you become intimately acquainted with Flammarion that you appreciate what a deep thinker he is.
Photo Ellis
M. AND MME. CAMILLE FLAMMARION, TAKEN AT JUVISY
In all his work he is ably seconded by his wife. She, too, is a deep thinker and a woman of remarkable initiative. She is one of the charter members of the Association for Disarmament, and she gives a great deal of time to other good works; yet these activities do not prevent her from being one of the simplest of women and most accomplished of housekeepers.
It may be interesting to describe briefly Flammarion’s country house. They live in a château at Juvisy, in the very place where Louis XIII. first conceived the project of building a royal palace. The terracing was finished and the park laid out when there occurred a slight earthquake, and Louis XIII. renounced his plan, turning his attention to Versailles. But from that day to this no other earthquake has ever occurred there. The remarkable situation of Juvisy merits a visit from any one who loves natural beauty. The panorama that is unfolded from it is one of the loveliest in France.
The château, which antedates Louis’ project, is still in existence. There it was that Napoleon stayed for a while when on his way to Fontainebleau. He held a council in the shade of a venerable tree, which, from its superb height, dominates the grassy hill in front of the château. Under the tree were installed the table and the stone bench, which are still shown, in order that the Emperor might hold a council of those who were faithful to him, and be free from the prying eyes of inquisitive persons. Behind the château is the famous lane, a great avenue completely covered by the branches of two rows of trees, where according to tradition Napoleon passed some hours in congenial company.
The château once became the property of an amateur astronomer. He had an observatory built on it, and on his death he bequeathed this wonderful estate to a man whom he had never met. This man was Camille Flammarion.
I once attended a varnishing day with Camille Flammarion. I wanted to do him the honour of going dressed in my best, and so I bought for the occasion a costume which, I think, must have been very pretty. To go with the gown I selected a hat with long ribbons hanging behind.