His  bedroom,  wherein  he  died,  was  on  the  rear  of  the
house,  and  its  windows  looked  over  the  garden  of  the
Palais-Royal,  to  which  he  had  access  from  his  terrace
below,  and  thence  by  steps  down  to  a  gate  in  the  gar-
den wall.  Thus  he  could  get  to  his  theatre  by  way  of
those  trim  paths  of  Richelieu's  planning,  as  well  as
by  going  along  the  street  and  around  the  corner.  You
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  galleries  of  the  Palais-
Royal,  with  their  shops,  were  not  constructed  until
1784,  and  that  Rues  de  Valois  and  Montpensier  were
not  yet  cut ;  so  that  the  garden  reached,  on  either  side,
to  the  backs  of  the  houses  that  fronted  on  Rues  de
Richelieu  and  des  Bons-Enfants.  Many  of  the  occu-
pants had,  like  Moliere,  their  private  doors  in  the
garden  wall,  with  access  by  stone  steps.  One  of  these
staircases  is  still  left,  and  may  be  seen  in  Rue  de  Valois,
descending  from  the  rear  of  the  Hotel  de  la  Chancel-
lerie  d'Orleans,  whose  Doric  entrance-court  is  at  No.
19  Rue  des  Bons-Enfants.
