The wish expressed by the poet in these lines was fulfilled and the name of Sylvie became attached to the house and park surrounding it. The great Condé rebuilt the house as it is to-day. (The rotunda seen in the photograph, page [29], was added by the Duc d'Aumale.)
SYLVIE'S HOUSE AND THE PARK
In the eighteenth century Sylvie's House was the scene of the romance of Mlle. de Clermont and Louis de Melun. The head of the house of Montmorency objected to the marriage of his sister, Mlle. de Clermont, with this nobleman, whose rank he considered insufficient. The young girl disregarded this and made a secret marriage, soon ended by the tragic death of Louis de Melun, who was killed by a stag at bay in the course of a hunt in Sylvie's park. These various episodes in the history of Sylvie's House are recalled in the paintings of Luc-Olivier Merson, installed by the Duc d'Aumale when he turned the old house into a museum.
Visit to the Castle
The Castle, Sylvie's House, the Jeu de Paume, and the "Grandes-Écuries" are open to the public from April 15 to October 14:
1, On Sundays, Thursdays and legal holidays, from 1 to 5 p.m., free;
2, On Saturdays, the same hours, one franc charged for each visitor.
The Park is open to the public all the year round on Thursdays, Sundays and holidays: from 1 to 6 p.m., from April 15 to October 14, and till 4 p.m. for the rest of the year.