the wear and tear of rural life even
when that life borders on royal.
There is, for example, the
Commanderie de Farges, seat
of Bernard and Michelle Jouffroy
Gonsans, deep in Berry, George
Sand country. The public rooms of
this house glisten with rare furniture,
silver and crystal, as in the dining
room papered in deep yellow toile,
set with Tournai porcelain and
Louis XV cane chairs; but then
there are more rustic corners,
such as the marvelous round
tower reading room which is plain,
peeling, magical. As de Nicolay
writes of this contrast, "Inside the
house, two worlds live side by
side, the small-scale one of the
HYLAND
