236.There are several small villas in the neighbourhood of Sceaux worthy of notice. All these, as well as the public garden of that place, were formed out of the park of Penthievres. Next in interest to the grounds of Admiral Tchitchagoff were those of M. Vandermarcq: the former depended chiefly on art, the latter on nature. They consisted of twenty or thirty acres, with considerable diversity of surface. They were laid out during the consulate for Mademoiselle Mars, the celebrated actress, by the architect Berthoud, who laid out Malmaison. The place was not without considerable beauties, but it was deficient in small groups; and when we saw it, in 1828, it was, like most other French villas, very badly kept. The villa formerly belonging to the Countess de Bruce is chiefly remarkable for its greenhouses and its exotics; that of M. Comte for the architectural remains of the palace of Penthievres; and that of M. Sartoris is a good deal in the English manner. This last place, in 1840, was found very greatly improved by the growth of the trees; the excellent effect produced by grouping them being visible from the public road.
