Chapter III: Part 3

The carriage entrance is flanked with two life-size caryatids, popularly called _Adam and Eve_, on account of their nudity. Along the first storey runs a broad frieze ornamentated with trophies of arms and a shield of unknown significance. Between two windows of this storey a niche, resting on a console, is crowned with a canopy. The shops on the ground-floor somewhat spoilt the general look of the building. The interior of the house was less interesting than the front.

In the courtyard is a strikingly graceful three-storey turret (_photo above_), one side of which has collapsed.

Among the wooden houses destroyed by the bombardments of 1918 in the Place des Marches, the following must be mentioned: the =Maison Fossier= (_see p. 76_), which stood in the Square at the right-hand corner of the Rue de l'Arbalete, and especially the =Maison de l'Enfant d'Or= (sometimes wrongly called the House of Jacques Callou), which stood near the Rue des Elus. The latter house took its name from an old sign representing the gilt figure of a sleeping child. Hence, punningly, the name _Golden_ or _Sleeping_ Child.

In spite of alterations, this house (_photo, p. 77_), with its pent-house roof, two overhanging storeys, windows crowned with finials, and sculptural decoration (_see carved console, p. 77_), was a well-preserved specimen of 15th century architecture.

_From the Place des Marches, follow the Rue Colbert to the_ =Place Royale=.

=The Place Royale=

The Place Royale, which had previously suffered severely on September 19-22, 1914, was completely destroyed by fire, with the exception of the modern buildings of the Societe Generale Bank, during the bombardment of April 8-15, 1918.

Commenced in 1756, from plans by the architect Legendre, it formed an oblong, of severe and imposing appearance, at the cross-ways of the four main streets of the City. In order to carry out Legendre's plans, forty-nine houses had to be acquired and pulled down. The Square remained unfinished, only three of its sides being built. The Louis XV.-XVI. transition style houses were of uniform construction, and were remarkable for their arcades and eaveless roofs, around which latter ran a balustrade. The central house (formerly the _Hotel des Fermes_) had a Doric front with a statue of Mercury surrounded by children arranging bales or carrying grapes to the wine-press. A =statue of Louis XV.=, in the middle of the Square, was protected from the bombardments by masonry-work (_photos, p. 78 and below_).

The monarch is represented in a Roman mantle and laurel wreath. On either side of the pedestal are two allegorical bronze figures. One, a woman, holding a helm with one hand and leading a lion with the other, symbolizes _gentleness of Government_; the other, a contented man resting in the midst of abundance, represents _the happiness of nations_. The wolf and the lamb sleeping side by side at their feet are symbolical of the Golden Age.

The monument, inaugurated in 1765, is the work of Pigalle, but the two allegorical figures, which are supposed to be portraits of the sculptor and his wife, alone are original.

The original statue of Louis XV. was removed at the time of the Revolution (August 15, 1792), and sent to the foundry. It was first replaced by a pyramid surmounted by a "Fame," in memory of the defenders of the _Patrie_, then by a plaster Goddess of Liberty, and in 1803 by a trophy of arms and flags. The present statue, erected under Louis XVIII. (1818), is due to the sculptor Cartellier, and is an exact replica of the original one.

It was on the steps of the monument that the Conventionist Ruhl smashed the Sacred Ampulla under the Revolution.

_From the Place Royale, return to the Market Square, cross over to the Rue de Tambour (parallel with the Rue Colbert)._

The Rue de Tambour owes its name either to the statue of a tambourine-player on one of its houses, or to the presence of the town-drummer who lived in it. It was first damaged, then burnt, in April, 1918.

Previous to 1918, old houses in this street were still numerous. The most celebrated was the now completely destroyed =Musicians' House= (_photo above_), the true origin of which is unknown.

It has variously been supposed to have been the house of a rich burgess, of the Tom Fiddlers' Brotherhood, and the Mint of the Archbishops of Rheims. The first storey of the facade had been preserved intact since the 13th century. In the Gothic niches which separated the mullioned and transomed windows, five large seated figures on carved consoles (_photo above_) represented _a tambourine and flute player_, _a piper_, _a falconer_ with crossed legs, _a harpist_ and _an organ-grinder_ crowned with a garland of flowers. The falcon on the wrist of the central figure was removed by the organisers of the consecration of Charles X., as it was feared that the royal banners might get caught on it.

Fortunately, these statues, which are remarkable for their natural expression and vigour were removed to a place of safety before the house was destroyed.

Thanks to a public subscription, the town was able to acquire them shortly before the war, thus preventing them from being sold abroad.

The cellars of this house are curious, but there exists no proof that they date back, as has been said, to the Roman period.

The adjoining house (No. 22) is 14th century, and probably dates back to about the end of the reign of Philippe-le-Bel. Its front has been greatly spoilt, but still contains a fine door surmounted by an elliptical arch (_photo above_).

At No. 13 of this street, two 13th century carved heads, one of a man and the other of a woman wearing one of the mortar-shaped hats in fashion until the end of the reign of St. Louis, have been built into the facade.

_At the end of the Rue de Tambour, take the Rue de Mars, on the right of the Hotel-de-Ville, at the end of which, on the left, stands the Triumphal Arch of the_ =Mars Gate=.

=The Mars Gate=

This monument was long believed to be a Roman =gate=--hence its name--although the ornamentation of its four sides proves that it cannot originally have been connected with the ramparts. It was only in the Middle Ages that it was included in the fortified castle (_photo, p. 6_) built by the archbishops a few steps to the rear. About 1334 its arcades were walled up, while towards 1554 it was buried under a mass of rubbish during the building of the fortifications. Partly disinterred in 1594, when the archbishops' castle was pulled down, it was not completely cleared until 1816-1817. Restored, then classed as an _historical monument_ (thanks to Prosper Merimee), it is one of the largest Roman structures remaining in France. Forty-four feet high, one hundred and eight wide, and sixteen thick, it was really a triumphal arch built on the Caesarean Way at the entrance to the town, probably in the 4th century. It comprises three arches separated by fluted Corinthian columns which support the entablature. On the two main facades between the columns are carved medallions and niches which have lost their statues. The vaulting of the arches is divided into sunken panels, the carving of which is mostly in a good state of preservation. Under the eastern arch _Romulus and Remus_ are seen suckled by the she-wolf. Under the middle arch, the twelve months of the year, represented by persons (five of whom have been destroyed), occupied in the labours of the four seasons, surround Abundance and Fortune. Under the western arch Love is seen descending from the sky above Leda and the Swan.

_Behind the Mars Gate is the Place de la Republique, containing_ a statue by Bartholdi, damaged by shell-fire. _In front of the Gate, take the Rue Henri IV., leading behind the Hotel-de-Ville, then turn to the left into the Rue de Sedan._ The house at No. 3 was destroyed by shells, except the =Louis XVI. front= with its gracefully carved garlands, which escaped injury.

_Take the Rue du Grenier-a-Sel, on the right, to the_ =Hotel Noel de Muire=, _on the left, at the corner of the Rue Linguet._

This house consists of the remains of a sort of Henry II. manor with turrets and dormer-windows. The walls, rounded at the corners like those of the Templars, are of brick and dressed stone. The plinth separating the two stories is decorated with carved wreathed foliage. Fret-work and hexagonal points frame the windows, while a broad cornice on consoles carries the roof. Formerly the residence of the lords of Muire, this house was popularly known as the _Maison des Petits Pates_, on account of the polygonal shape of the stones in relief. Theodore de Beze, one of the leaders of the Reformation in France, lived there with his friend, Noel de Muire.

_Take the Rue du Marc, which continues the Rue du Grenier-a-Sel (photo above)._

The =Rue du Marc= was the quarter where the old noble families and the higher _bourgeoisie_ of Rheims lived. It suffered considerably from the bombardments.

At No. 3 is a Henry IV. house, the windows of which are framed with graceful ornamentation (_photo below_).

However, the most remarkable house in the street is undoubtedly the =Hotel Nicolas le Vergeur= (No. 1), which, unfortunately, was partly destroyed by the shells (_see p. 85_).

=The Hotel Nicolas Le Vergeur=

The interior building, which has a 17th century carriage entrance, offers two fine examples of 15th and 16th century architecture. It is the finest Renaissance structure in Rheims. The main front, incomparably the most graceful, was but little damaged by the bombardments (_photo below_).

On the ground-floor the great arched doorway is divided by a wooden post into two delicately carved compartments. Pilasters decorated with heads, flowers, birds, and horns of plenty frame the three stone-mullioned windows. Above these runs a frieze of trophies and medallions, with portraits of noble lords with upturned moustaches and pointed beards, and of great ladies with _collerettes_ and high head-dresses, gracious or haughty, standing well out in relief.

On the first storey, carved panels above the window form a sort of broad frieze of bas-reliefs representing men-at-arms or knights of the time of Francois I. and Henri II. fighting at tournaments with lance, sword, or pike.

In one of the rooms overlooking the Rue Pluche were, a fine stone _mantelpiece_ decorated with graceful delicate foliage; a timber-work _ceiling_ with large and small beams, carrying panels decorated with scrolls, and 15th century _tile-flooring_ of terra-cotta, varnished and painted green and yellow.

At the back of the courtyard, a building, supposed by some to be an old chapel, had been transformed into vast cellars and store-rooms. The _oaken ceiling_ of the latter, about fifty feet long and twenty-one broad, destroyed in 1918, was one of the most beautiful in the world. The beams, whose extremities carried grotesque figures, were carved on all their sides with foliage, dragons, birds, and fruits. The beams were connected by joists resting on stems, which represented apes, dragons, persons, and foliage. Between the joists the panels had the appearance of scrolls.

_After visiting the Hotel Le Vergeur, turn to the right into the Rue Pluche, which leads to the Place des Marches. Skirt the Square on the left, then take the first street on the left_: =Rue Courmeaux=.

_At No. 18 are the_ ruins of the =Hotel Rogier de Monclin=, destroyed after April, 1918. This house dated back to the Louis XV. period, but had been disfigured by modern alterations. The facade overlooking the courtyard, the entrance-hall, and the staircase with ornamental balustrade, were interesting. At the time of the consecration of Louis XVI., one of the saloons was furnished for the King's brother, the Comte (or _Monsieur_) d'Artois, whence the name "_Rue de Monsieur_," formerly borne by the Rue Courmeaux.

_At No. 30_ is a Renaissance door, almost intact (_photo below_). _At No. 34, at the corner of the Rue Legendre_, is a late 16th century house, whose interior arrangement and facade are intact, except for the woodwork of the windows, which was modernised in the 18th century. It was built on the site of the old wool-market, after Marshal de Saint-Paul, at the time of the League, had compelled the inhabitants of the Faubourg Ceres to destroy their houses.

_Return to the Rue Courmeaux and take the Rue Bonhomme on the left, which leads to the Rue Ceres._

The =Rue Ceres= was totally destroyed by fire, from the Place Royale to the Post Office, which had to be given up in the autumn of 1914.

_At No. 30_ is the =Chamber of Commerce=, one of the finest late 18th century buildings in Rheims. The magnificent Louis XVI. rooms escaped practically uninjured. The staircase leading to the first storey, with its delicate balustrade, is very remarkable.

_The Rue Ceres ends at the Esplanade Ceres_ (_photo, p. 87_), which was made outside the old ramparts near the Ceres Gate. The name Ceres is derived from a tower that long served as a prison (_carcer_, whence by corruption _chair_, _cere_, and then by false mythological association, _Ceres_). It was in this tower (no longer existing, but famous as early as the 9th century) that, according to the _chansons de geste_, Ogier the Dane, handed over by Charlemagne to the custody of the Bishop of Rheims, was incarcerated.

_From the Esplanade continue, if desired, by the Rue du Faubourg Ceres_ (greatly damaged by the bombardments), to the =Church of St. Andre=, a modern building erected by the architect Brunette.

It was struck several times by shells and will have to be rebuilt. As early as the first bombardment of September 4th, 1914, shell splinters damaged the doorway, transept, stained glass (part of which was 16th century and came from the old church), small organ, and the painting of the _Baptism of Clovis_. Subsequently, the vaulting and parts of the walls collapsed.

The Church possesses a precious =reliquary= of copper (15th century) and a =statue of St. Andre= (patron of the church) of painted and gilded stone, attributed without authority, to Pierre Jacques.

_Return to the Esplanade Ceres, turn to the left at the beginning of the Boulevard de la Paix, then to the right into the_ =Rue Eugene Desteuque=.

_At No. 19 of this street_ are the ruins of the =Hotel Thiret de Prain=.

=The Hotel Thiret de Prain=

This was a mansion in the days of Henry IV. and Louis XIII. Richelieu stayed there in 1641.

An imposing building, bordered with streets on its four sides, it had retained its original appearance. The carriage-entrance in the Rue Eugene Desteuque alone had been rebuilt in 1697. The principal entrance was surmounted with a gallery, the walls, ceiling and beams of which were covered with delicate decorative paintings.

On the first floor one of the corner rooms, looking east, contained a large Henry IV. mantelpiece, above which were the arms of the nobles of Prain. Only the metallic portion remains.

The dove-cot of the Hotel, a massive square tower with pent-house roof, overlooking the Rue d'Avenay, was destroyed by the bombardments.

_On the left of the Rue Eugene-Desteuque, opposite the Hotel Thiret-de-Prain, is the_ Rue des Trois-Raisinets. At No. 9 are the ruins of a Franciscan Cloister (_photo above_).

This street (_photo below_), like the Cloister, suffered severely from the bombardments.

_Return to the Rue Eugene-Desteuque and follow the same as far as the_ Rue de la Grue (_on the right_). This street was badly damaged by shell-fire and is impracticable for motor-cars.

It was named after the sign carved on a stone (_photo, p. 91_) of the house at No. 5 (entirely destroyed by the shells). At the end stood the house where J. B. Colbert was born (at the corner of the Rues Ceres and de Nanteuil, _photo below_).

_Return to the Rue Eugene-Desteuque, follow it as far as the_ Rue de l'Universite. _Turn into the latter on the left._

This street was destroyed as early as September, 1914. At No. 25 are the ruins of a Professional School for Girls, formerly the St. Martha Hospital. The latter, also known as the "Hopital des Magneuses," was founded in the 17th century by Mesdames de Magneux, and rebuilt in the 18th century in the Louis XVI. style.

At No. 40, opposite the Sub-Prefecture, now in ruins, is the =Maison de Jean Maillefer=, named after the rich merchant who built it in 1652. It was scarcely finished, when it was chosen--and this was a source of pride to its owner--as an abode for Anne of Austria, at the time of the consecration of Louis XIV. The inside of the courtyard alone has retained practically its ancient appearance. The front looking on the street had recently been put back and altered. Some of the sculpture which adorned it came from another house.

_A short distance farther on, on the left, is the_ Place Godinot, named after a canon of the 18th century, who caused numerous alterations to be made in the decoration of the choir and sanctuary of the Cathedral.

_Take the Rue St. Just on the right, and follow its continuation_ (_the Rue des Anglais_) as far as the Rue d'Anjou, _which take on the right_.

The =Hotel de la Pourcelette= (No. 7) evokes memories of _Mabillon_, who lived there when a young student at the University of Rheims.

_At the end of the Rue d'Anjou, turn to the left into the Rue du Cardinal de Lorraine, and follow the same to the short_ Rue des Tournelles _on the left_.

In the house at No. 3 of this street were incorporated the turret and two principal windows of an old Gothic 16th century structure, situated at No. 18 of the Rue des Anglais, and in ruins since 1898. The drawing-room likewise contains a large stone chimney-piece, which formerly stood in the great hall of the old house.

_At the end of the Rue des Tournelles, turn to the right into the Rue des Fusiliers, which leads to the Place du Parvis. Cross the latter to the Rue Tronson Ducoudray. Follow this street, which runs between the_ Palais de Justice _and_ _the_ Theatre, _turn to the left, in front of the latter, into the Rue de Vesle, and take the first street on the right_, the Rue de Talleyrand.

_Follow this street_, the greater part of which was destroyed by fire during the bombardments of April, 1918. It suffered further damage in the months that followed, and a number of interesting old houses were destroyed.

_Turn into the first street on the right (Rue du Cadran St. Pierre), and follow the same as far as the Rue de la Clef. Take the latter on the right._

Before doing so, however, take a look at the =fine Louis XIII. entrance= (_photo, p. 92_) of the house at No. 20 of the Rue du Carrouge opposite.

_At No. 4 of the Rue de la Clef are the_ ruins of the former =Hotel de Bezannes=, partly built by Pierre de Bezannes, Lieutenant of Rheims in 1458 This house contains some fine 16th and 18th century woodwork.

_The Rue des Deux Anges, which continues the Rue de la Clef, leads to the_ Place du Palais, destroyed during the bombardments of April, 1918. _In this square stands the_ =Palais de Justice=. The _Palais_ replaced the old Hotel-Dieu, but has been almost entirely rebuilt. It is a building of little note, the principal entrance in particular being stiff to excess.

Its only interest is provided by two relics of the past: the vast cellars or subterranean vaults with pointed arches supported by columns with Gothic capitals; and the facade of the Audience-Chamber, formerly the principal ward of the old Hotel Dieu, the exterior of which has retained its venerable appearance and the interior, vestiges of its lofty timber-work and wainscoted vaulting.

The ground-floor of the _Palais_ alone escaped damage from fire and the shells, thanks to a terrace of reinforced concrete.

_On the left of the Palais take the Rue Carnot_, destroyed by the bombardments of April, 1918.

The Rue Carnot communicates with the courtyard of the Chapter-House, also burnt, by a great gate and passage which pass right through a house.

This entrance was built about 1530, in the transition style between the Gothic and Renaissance. Its elliptical arch bears a scutcheon with the arms of the Chapter. Consoles, decorated with grotesque figures, support the beams. The points of the turrets have disappeared, a supporting shaft has been mutilated, and the carved wooden leaves of the door have been removed to the Lycee, yet the gate is still imposing.

It is the last remaining vestige of the Chapter buildings which, with their gates closing at the same time as those of the city, at the sound of the bell, formed a "city within a city." In point of fact, the Chapter was once lord of that part of the city which lies around the Cathedral, and which it administered. The canons, jealous of their prerogatives, were often in conflict with the archbishops.

A few capitals and shafts of the ancient cloister of the Chapter, adjoining the Cathedral, were recently discovered and placed under one of the penthouses built between the buttresses of Notre-Dame.

_Go through the gate, cross the Place du Chapitre, follow the Rue du Preau towards the Cathedral, then turn to the right into the Rue Robert de Coucy, which leads back to the Place du Parvis Notre-Dame._

=SECOND ITINERARY FOR VISITING RHEIMS=

_Starting from the Place du Parvis-Notre-Dame, take the Rue Libergier, opposite the Cathedral. Turn to the left into the_ Rue Chanzy, which was destroyed by the bombardments of April-August, 1918.

The ruins of the 18th century =Hotel Lagoille de Courtagnon= may be seen at No. 71 of this street. It was destroyed by the bombardments of April, 1918, with the exception of a part of the front. The finely carved door and remarkable ironwork of the balcony are visible in the above photograph.

The =Hospice Noel Caque= (formerly Hospice St. Marcoul), _on the right_, was seriously damaged by the bombardments of April, 1918. It dated from the middle of the 17th century, and was well preserved, with the exception of the chapel, rebuilt in 1873.

_Take the Rue de Contrai, on the left, which leads to the_ Rue de l'Universite. Inserted in the facade of the house at No. 65 (_on the right_), and in the wall of the Lycee (_on the left_), are two stone =bas-reliefs= ornamented with trophies of arms and Roman insignia, the sole remaining vestiges of the _Porte Basee_ (_from Basilea_) which formerly stood there on the Caesarean way, at the southern extremity of the Gallo-Roman town. (_See photo above of the right-hand bas-relief._)

_Follow the Rue de l'Universite and skirt the_ =Lycee de Garcons=, of which only the chapel and one of the buildings are left. The rest was burnt or destroyed by shell-fire.

The Lycee replaced the old _College des Bons Enfants_, founded in the Middle Ages, and rebuilt in the 16th century by the Cardinal de Lorraine, founder of the University of Rheims.

Of the old _College_, only the central part remained, in the second court built by Archbishop Charles Maurice Le Tellier in 1686 and the following years.

The gate of the _Cour des Etudes_ dates from 1688.

The ancient door of the College--the tympana of whose arcading contain two laughing and crying heads--was transferred to the entrance of the _Petit Lycee_, at No. 5 of the street on the right of the Lycee (Rue Vauthier-le-Noir) (_photo above_).

_Shortly after the Lycee, turn to the right into the Place Godinot, then take the Rue St. Pierre-les-Dames on the right._ At No. 8 are the ruins of the =Abbey of St. Pierre-les-Dames=.

Of this celebrated Abbey, where several royal persons stayed: _Mary Stuart_ twice, in her childhood and after she was widowed; _Henry IV._, on a visit to his cousin, the Abbess Renee II.; _Anne of Austria_, of whom the _Congregation_ library contains a portrait; there remains hardly anything but two 16th century _pavillons_ belonging to the period when Renee de Lorraine, sister of the Queen of Scotland and aunt of Mary Stuart, was abbess of the convent. Built of stone and brick with marble incrustations, and adorned with beautiful carvings, these _pavillons_ were pure Renaissance in style. The head of an angel with unfolded wings and the head of a grinning demon surmounted the two windows of one of the ground-floors. On the first floor of the same _pavillon_ the window, framed with delicate ornaments, opened above a cornice, the principal sculptural subject of which was a nude woman, helmeted, suckling two children.

_The Rue St. Pierre-les-Dames leads to the Rue des Murs, into which turn to the right, then to the left into the Rue du Barbatre. Follow the latter to the end._ This street suffered greatly from the early bombardments, and was almost entirely destroyed in the summer of 1918.

_At Nos. 137 and 139, at the corner of the Rue Montlaurent_, are the ruins of the =Hotel Feret de Montlaurent=.

=Hotel Feret de Montlaurent.=

This large building, occupied by the _Cercle Catholique_, was commenced about 1540 by Hubert Feret, a _Lieutenant_ of the people, and the most celebrated member of a family which played an important part at Rheims in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The outside facade has been greatly altered. At No. 137 it was entirely rebuilt under Louis XVI. At No. 139 the ground-floor openings have been modified.

As in many of the mansions of the 16th century, most of the decoration is on the inner facades. Inside the courtyard, on the ground-floor of the wing abutting on the Rue Montlaurent, there is a six-arched gallery which was damaged but not destroyed (_photo,_ p. 99). Between the arch-centres and at the ends of the gallery are seven niches, three feet high, enclosing stone statues of the sun and the six planets known in the 16th century.

Taken in their order they are: =Saturn=, with a scythe in his hand and serpent round his arm, devouring a child, and the zodiacal signs Aquarius and Capricornus at his feet; =Jupiter=, holding a lighted torch, with Sagittarius at his feet; =Mars=, armed from head to foot, surmounting Cancer and Aries; the =Sun=, personified by Phoebus with flowing mantle, a lion at his side; =Venus=, clothed only in her hair, surmounting Taurus and Baloena; =Mercury=, with wings on his head and heels, the caduceus in his hand, Virgo and Gemini at his feet; the =Moon=, represented by Diana bearing a crescent; below her Scorpio.

The escutcheons on the wall at the back of this facade bear the initials of Regnault Feret, who completed the mansion. In the second court there are still vestiges of the chapel of this family.

_At No. 142 of the same street_, the entrance to the =Cour Maupinot= (one of the numerous _cours_ which have survived in Rheims) is framed in pilasters, the carved entablature of which supports a triangular pediment (_photo below_).

_The Rue Barbatre is continued by the Rue des Salines, which leads to the Place St. Nicaise._

The Place St. Nicaise was destroyed by the bombardments of April-August, 1918. It took its name from the celebrated Bishop of Rheims, who, with his sister St. Eutropia, was put to death by the Vandals in 407.

The Church of St. Nicaise, rebuilt in the 13th century by Libergier and Robert de Coucy, was destroyed at the time of the Revolution. Amongst other curiosities it contained a loose pillar, which Peter the Great had pointed out to him at the time of his journey through Rheims.

At the corner of the Place St. Nicaise, between the Boulevard Victor-Hugo and the Rue St. Nicaise, is the entrance to the =Champion Cellars=, in which the _Dubail_ school was installed during the war (_see p. 24_).

_Take the Rue St. Nicaise to the Boulevard Henry Vasnier (photo below), turn into the latter, on the right, and follow same as far as the_ =Rond-Point St. Nicaise=.

All this part of the town, which was quite close to the German lines, was constantly under the fire of their guns. It was violently bombarded during the German offensives of May, June and July, 1918.

_Near the Rond-Point de St. Nicaise are the_ =Pommery Cellars=, which gave shelter to many citizens and school-classes during the war (_see p. 24_).

=The Pommery Cellars=

These cellars are among the finest in Rheims, and form, with their eleven miles of streets, squares and boulevards lighted by electricity, rail-tracks, waggons, lifts, electric pumps and siphons, quite an underground city. A visit to them will give the tourist an idea of the importance and complexity of the Champagne wine industry in Rheims.

_The Boulevard Diancourt, which skirts the Square St. Nicaise, begins at the_ Rond-Point St. Nicaise.

This square was much cut up by the bombardments, and by the trenches and defensive works made there during the war (_photo above_).

The square contains two eminences, from the top of which there is a fine panoramic view of Rheims.

The photograph on page 27 was taken from the eminence nearest the Rond-Point St. Nicaise.

The other eminence is crowned by a limestone tower--all that remains of the ancient city ramparts.

_Follow the Boulevard Diancourt to the Place Dieu-Lumiere._

The name _Dieu-Lumiere_, borne by the old gate through which Joan-of-Arc and the Dauphin entered Rheims, was not derived, as supposed at the Renaissance, from the Sun-God Apollo, but from the old Gate _Dieu-li-Mire_ (God the Physician), so called in the Middle Ages on account of the proximity of a Cistercian hospital.

_Cross the square and take the Rue Dieu-Lumiere on the right to the_ Place St.-Timothee. The wood-panelled houses, whose _loges_ faced the Place St.-Timothee, were destroyed by the bombardments of April-September, 1918, except the one at the corner of the Rue St. Julien. This house, though severely damaged, has retained its butcher's stall with 17th century wooden balustrading.

_Take the Rue St. Julien on the left to the Place St.-Remi, in which stands the_ =Church of St. Remi=.

=The Church of St. Remi=

The Church of St. Remi is the oldest church in Rheims, and one of the oldest in all France. Although it is not certain that it replaced a Roman basilica, said to have stood on the site of the present transept, there is no doubt that Gallo-Roman building materials, taken from neighbouring edifices, were used in its construction or restoration.

To-day, the church covers a ground-space of about an acre and a quarter. In shape a Latin cross, it measures inside about 450 feet in length, 98 feet in breadth and 124 feet in height under the vaulting. Only the southern facade shows to advantage, but in spite of its varied styles, which mark the different stages of its growth, the church realises to the full the purpose of its founders. Its architecture and decoration, especially in the interior, make it, as was intended, a grand and dignified depository for sacred remains.

The Church of St. Remi stands on the site of a former cemetery, in the middle of which was the Chapel of St. Christopher, where St. Remi was buried. The chapel soon became popular and grew rapidly, especially between the 6th and 9th centuries, when it became a great fortified church. The present church, which replaced it, is not only one of the finest Romanesque churches in the north of France, but also forms a curious epitome of the history of architecture for several centuries. Begun in 1039 under Abbot Thierry, it was still far from finished when consecrated in 1049 by Pope Leo IX. Building was continued in 1170 by Abbot Pierre de Celle, the future Bishop of Chartres, whose restorations were the first application of the Gothic style to a great building in Rheims; in the 13th and 14th centuries, under Abbot Jean Canart, and in the 15th century, under Abbot Robert de Lenoncourt. Partially transformed at the end of the 16th century, it has been restored and partly rebuilt at intervals since 1839.

=The Church of St. Remi during the War=

The Church of St. Remi escaped severe damage until the middle of 1918. The bombardment of September 4, 1914, injured one of the tapestries depicting the life of St. Remi, and destroyed a fine painting: _The Entry of Clovis into Rheims_. The bombardment of November 16, 1914, wrecked the apsidal chapel of the Virgin, bringing down the vaulting, destroying the key-stone and pointed arches, crushing the altar beneath a heap of ruins, smashing the magnificent windows of the apsidal gallery, and destroying the priceless 12th century stained-glass depicting _Christ crucified between the Virgin and St. John_. The Church narrowly escaped destruction when the Hotel-Dieu Hospital was burnt down in 1916. From April, 1918, it was marked down by the German batteries. The roof was entirely burnt, and the dummy vaulting of the nave collapsed. Of the fine 15th century timber-work nothing remains, but parts of the lofty 13th century vaulting over the choir and transept withstood the bombardment. The treasure, tapestries, sacristy doors, storied tile-flooring of the chapel of St. Eloi, the old stained-glass of the lofty windows, and the apsidal windows round the gallery of the first storey, were saved by the Historical Monuments Department.

The tomb of St. Remi is intact. The relics of the saint which, at the request of the Archbishop of Rheims had not been disturbed, were removed by the vicar of the parish at the time of the final evacuation of the town. The reliquary was taken away by officers at a later date, while the church was burning.

=The Apse of St. Remi Church=

The Apse was rebuilt under Pierre de Celle in 1170, in early Gothic. Five three-sided radiating chapels arranged in three stages, one behind the other, have flowing and elegant lines, broken by the enormous projections of the buttresses which were added at a later period.

This apse is one of the earliest religious edifices in France, in which flying buttresses were employed.

The latter, very simple in design, rest on outside fluted columns detached from the wall of the apse. This is one of the last examples of fluting, as applied to columns, the process disappearing generally with the introduction of pointed architecture, only to reappear at the Renaissance.

The persistence of this fluting is doubtless explained by the influence of the many specimens of Roman architecture which Rheims had preserved.

=The Doorway of the Southern Transept=

Although the transept dates from the 11th century, its southern facade was built in 1480 by Robert de Lenoncourt.

The doorway, which bears the Lenoncourt arms, comprises only one door, divided by a pillar with statues of St. Remi and the Virgin.

The deep vaulting of the door is ornamented with vine-foliage. At the base, in the supporting walls, are statues of St. Sixtus and St. Sinicius (the first missionaries to Rheims) bare-footed, clothed in long embroidered mantles and holding books. In the vaulting above the head-covering of the missionaries are eight groups of statuettes representing episodes in the Life and Passion of Jesus.

Tourists who follow the Itinerary on page 95, come out by the Rue St. Julien, in front of the doorway of the south transept. The latter is between the ruined apse (_on the right_) and the south lateral facade (_on the left_).

The 15th century leaves of the door are composed of wood panels in blind arcading, ornamented with flowering clover.

On the buttresses which frame the doorway are five statues of saints, including St. Remi, St. Benedict, and St. Christopher carrying a kneeling Jesus on his shoulder.

The tympanum of the gable above the great flamboyant window is arranged on a Gothic pediment. Its decoration represents the _Assumption of the Virgin and her crowning in Heaven_.

On the top of the pediment, and crowning the whole, is St. Michael trampling Satan underfoot.

The whole of the doorway is a beautiful example of Flamboyant Gothic. Its rich carvings and delicate ornamentation are in striking contrast with the severity of the rest of the building.

At the intersection of the transept, there was formerly a wooden spire, built in 1394, which was pulled down as unsafe in 1825, by order of those who had charge of the arrangements connected with the consecration of Charles X.

On the right-hand side of the transept, and also in the north transept, are small semi-circular chapels.

=South Lateral Facade=

This front has the bare, massive appearance of the 11th century buildings. The remarkable Roman arches, massive buttresses and blind doorway, framed by two primitive capitals with a wreath-shaped astragal, are apparently vestiges of constructions of an earlier date than those of Abbot Thierry.

The semi-cylindrical abutments are among the oldest of mediaeval buttresses. They are crowned with cones or capitals, the greater part of which are devoid of decoration.

=The West Front of St. Remi Church=

Between its two towers, this gabled facade, the recesses and blind arcading of which form almost its sole decoration, is in strong contrast with the principal facade of the Cathedral. At once elegant and severe, like most of the monastic buildings of the 12th century, it lacks unity. All that part situated above the five windows of the first storey, including the rose-window, has been rebuilt in modern times. The very simple rose-window, between two lines of superimposed arcading, is protected, in the Champagne style, by a relieving-arch. The northern tower (_on the left_) was almost entirely rebuilt in the 19th century, on the lines of the old one. The simpler southern tower (_on the right_), with its arched windows and loopholes, is Roman of the 11th or 12th century. The pointed part of the facade is late 12th century, and dates from the time of the restorations by Pierre de Celle.

Three doors open on the nave. The central one is flanked by two columns with statues of St. Peter and St. Remi. The marble and granite columns came, no doubt, from some neighbouring Gallo-Roman building. These statues, with arms pressed close to their sides in the ancient stiff manner, are probably from the original basilicas.

=The Inner Side of the Western Doorway=

Here, the architecture is peculiar. Pierced columns form a gallery connecting the upper courses. The galleries of the first storey are supported by two great columnar shafts, each formed of two portions joined by a stone ring and surmounted by bell-shaped marble capitals. The columns and capitals are Gallo-Roman.

=The Nave=

Alterations were made at different times to the nave which, in the 11th century, had a timber-work roof. Pierre de Celle lengthened it by two bays, the pointed arches of which contrast with the circular ones of the lower bays, and also increased its height. _Note the ogives above the round arches._ The visible timber-work was replaced with vaulting on diagonal ribs sustained by clusters of small Gothic columns backing up against the Roman piers, the latter being still visible. These heavy piers (composed of fourteen small columns) which surround the central nave, and whose capitals (_photo, p. 108_), with Barbaric wreathed astragals and foliage, recall the Carolingian period, contrast strikingly with the lightness of the apse. They are undoubtedly 11th century. All the stone vaulting of the nave, as far as the transept, was replaced after 1839 with wood and plaster, which collapsed under the bombardments of 1918, when the roof was burnt.

The pulpit, with its Benedictine monogram, is late 17th century. It is ornamented with three bas-reliefs: _St. Remi receiving the Sacred Ampulla_, _St. Benedict imploring the Holy Spirit_, and _St. Benedict giving the Injunction to his monks_. As far as the pulpit, on both sides of the nave, the granite columns resting on the piers date from the Gallo-Roman period.

The side-aisles of the nave are surmounted with a triforium (_photo above_) with semi-circular vaulting at right-angles to the nave. The south aisle is almost entirely in ruins (_photo, p. 107_).

=The Tapestries=

The priceless tapestries which, before the war, decorated the tribunals of the side-aisles, were saved.

Those given by Robert de Lenoncourt and restored by _Les Gobelins_, are rich in composition and decorative effect. In an architectural frame of the Renaissance period, they represent the following legendary scenes from the life of St. Remi, the costumes belonging to the period of Francois I.:--

1. The blind hermit Montanus visits the new-born Remi, who, touching him with his fingers wet with milk, restores his sight.

2. The hermit St. Remi, called by the people to the bishopric, receives the mitre.

3. Four miracles are performed by the saint: he extinguishes a fire lighted by demons in the city; he restores life to a girl; he is served at table by angels; when wine ran short at the table of his cousin Celsa, he blessed an empty cask, which was immediately filled.

4. The Battle of Tolbiac; Clovis instructed and baptized by Remi; the miraculous dove and an angel bring from heaven the Sacred Ampulla and the fleur-de-lys scutcheon.

5. Remi gives Clovis a cask of wine, telling him that he will always be victorious so long as the cask remains full; a miller who refused to give his mill to the Church, sees his wheel turn the wrong way and his mill fall down; St. Genebaud, Bishop of Soissons, punished by Remi for his sins, is afterwards delivered from his fetters by the saint.

6. The miracle of Hydrissen: Remi raises a man from the dead, who confirms his wish to leave a portion of his wealth to the Church, to the confusion of his son-in-law who contested the will.

7. Remi contemplating a heap of corn which he had collected to provide against famine, and which some drunkards had burnt. At a Council, Remi paralyses the tongue of a heretic priest, and then restores speech to him after repentance.

8. Remi, singing Matins in the chapel of the Virgin, is assisted by St. Peter and St. Paul and blessed by Mary. Remi, blind, dictates his will in the presence of St. Genebaud and St. Medard. Remi recovers his sight, celebrates mass and gives the Communion to his clergy. Remi dies and four angels carry away his soul.

9. Remi's funeral; the procession goes towards the church of St. Timothy, where it is proposed to bury the saint, but in front of St. Christopher's, on the site of the present basilica, the saint, by making it impossible to lift his coffin, manifests his desire to be interred in this chapel. The saint's winding-sheet, carried in procession, dispels the plague that had been ravaging the city.

10. Angels transfer the relics of the saint to his mausoleum. A soldier who had tried to break in the door of the church, cannot withdraw his foot. Remi punishes the Bishop of Mayence, guilty of theft. Remi reveals himself with the Virgin and St. John. The Archbishop of Rheims, Robert de Lenoncourt, kneeling, presents the ten pieces of tapestry to the saint.

The latter tapestry was riddled with splinters (_photo, p. 110_) during the bombardment of September 4, 1914.

=The Treasure=

This was kept in the sacristy, the 15th century carved wood doors of which have Flamboyant style frames.

Formerly the richest of all the church treasures of France, it was impoverished in the course of the centuries, through wars and revolutions.

The =enamels= by Landin of Limoges (1633), dedicated to the lives of St. Timothy and St. Remi, a 12th century abbot's =crozier=, =reliquaries= and =sacerdotal ornaments= are noteworthy.

The treasure was removed, together with the doors of the sacristy, by the Historical Monuments Department.

=The North Transept=

Three small white marble Gallo-Roman or Carolingian capitals crown the colonnettes of the triforium.

Formerly, the church contained several tombs. Let into the wall of the north transept is a Latin epitaph, praising the virtues of a woman named Guiberge, who seems to have combined in her person the perfections of six women, _i.e._ the beauty of Rachel, the fidelity of Rebecca, the modesty of Susanna, the piety of Tabitha, the warm affections of Ruth, and the high morals of Anna.

=The South Transept=

The first chapel on the right of the apse, against the transept, is the chapel of St. Eloi.

In 1846, forty-eight storied flag-stones, taken from the flooring of the sanctuary of the church of St. Nicaise and collected by the architect Brunette, were placed there.

These 14th century lozenge-shaped stones are engraved in black, the hollowed-out portions being filled with lead. Each stone has a pretty border with a square medallion, in the middle of which two or three figures represent a scene from the Old Testament, from Noah to Daniel in the lions' den.

This chapel also contained two very expressive mediaeval statues of painted wood and a 14th century Christ, all of which came from the old church of St. Balsamic.

The second chapel on the eastern side of the south transept contained an Entombment dating from 1531. In this group, which belonged to the old church of the Commandery of the Temple of Rheims, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus hold the winding-sheet. Salome, and Mary the mother of St. James, stand near the tomb, while the Virgin, overcome with grief, is supported by St. John.

Facing this Burial Scene was the Altar-screen of the Three Baptisms, the work of Nicolas Jacques and the gift of Jean Lespagnol in 1610. This screen, which formed the background of the baptismal fonts, represented in three bas-reliefs: The baptism of Clovis (_on the right_), the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (_in the centre_), and the baptism of Constantine (_on the left_).

The railing round the baptismal fonts belongs to the second half of the 18th century, and was taken from the church of St. Pierre-le-Vieil.

=The Choir of St. Remi Church=

The Choir was rebuilt by Pierre de Celle. The plan is very like that of the choir of the Cathedral, of which it is the prototype.

As in the Cathedral, it intrudes upon the nave, of which it occupies the three last bays. In the latter, the columns placed against the six piers were removed. The groups of small columns which support the ribs of the vaulting rest upon a corbel-table carried by three consoles (_photo above_), which in turn rest on colonnettes with crocketed capitals. The central consoles are ornamented with figures of angels and symbolic animals, while under the lateral consoles are statuettes of prophets holding scrolls, on which their names are inscribed in painted letters.

Five circular radiating chapels open out on the vast ambulatory. The plan of the latter, like that of Notre-Dame-de-Chalons, evokes all that is most original in the Gothic architecture of Champagne. The bays with their alternations of square-ogival and triangular vaulting do not correspond with the breadth of the radiating chapels, which are connected to one another by three arcades resting on light columns. In the lower nave, from the curiously large number of points of support, it would seem that the builders had doubts as to the strength of the pointed style and, by way of precaution, greatly increased the number of points of support inside the church and of the exterior buttresses. The tribunes rising above the arcades are surmounted with a triforium lighted by high windows, which still retain their beautiful early 18th century stained-glass. The somewhat stiff figures stand out on a uniformly blue ground. In the upper part, apostles, evangelists, and the sixteen greater prophets are grouped around a stately Virgin. In the lower part, the principal archbishops of Rheims on thrones are seated round St. Remi who occupies the place of honour below the Virgin. In the two last windows are effigies of Archbishops Samson (_deceased in 1161_) and Henry of France, during whose episcopate Pierre de Celle caused the apse to be built.

The choir is surrounded by a Renaissance railing which is out of harmony with the general scheme. It was erected between 1656 and 1669, at the joint expense of the widow of the famous barrister Omer Talon, the Town Council, the Duke of Longueville, and the Grand Prior of St. Remi. The sculptor Francois Jacques seems to have co-operated therewith.

The great _crown of light_ hanging at the entrance to the choir was an imitation of the original crown, destroyed in 1793, and which was garnished with ninety-six candles, symbolizing the ninety-six years of St. Remi's life (_see p. 108_).

The 18th century high-altar of red marble which, like the cross and the six chandeliers, came from the church of the Minims, was crushed beneath the falling vaulting.

At the time of the Revolution (1792) the chandelier (masterpiece of the old Rheims metal-founders), which adorned the centre of the Sanctuary, was broken and melted down, with the exception of a portion of one of the feet. This fragment (_photo above_), preserved in the Archaeological Museum, was destroyed by the bombardment of 1914.

=The Tomb and Reliquary of St. Remi=

The present tomb, erected in 1847, is only a memorial of the sumptuous mausoleum, profusely decorated with gold medals, diamonds and sapphires, which was destroyed at the time of the Revolution.

It is a Renaissance chapel, ornamented with the statues of the original tomb, which form by far the most interesting part of the monument. The twelve Peers are represented in their coronation robes: the Archbishop, Duke of Rheims, carries the Cross; the Archbishop, Duke of Laon, the sceptre; the Bishop, Count of Beauvais, the royal mantle; the Bishop, Count of Chalons, the ring; the Bishop, Count of Noyon, the girdle; the Duke of Burgundy, the crown; the Duke of Aquitaine, the standard; the Duke of Normandy, a second standard; the Count of Flanders, the sword; the Count of Toulouse, the spurs; the Count of Champagne, the military standard of the King.

The Reliquary of St. Remi, which is in the mausoleum, dates from 1896. It was bought by national subscription and presented to the church on the occasion of the centenary of the baptism of Clovis. In the niches of the lower part of the reliquary are statuettes of the twelve apostles. Higher up, in the recesses of the long sides, enamels illustrating episodes in the life of St. Remi are imbedded. On the two ends, two enamels represent the Battle of Tolbiac and the Baptism of Clovis.

_Leave the Church of St. Remi by the western doorway, which faces the Place de l'Hopital civil, cross the square, then turn to the right into the Rue Simon. The entrance to the_ Hotel-Dieu Hospital _is on the right_.

=The Hotel-Dieu=

This hospital is installed in the buildings of the ancient Abbey of the Benedictine monks of St. Remi who, for centuries, were the guardians of the relics of the famous Bishop of Rheims.

During the invasion, at the time of the Revolution, the Abbey was transformed into a military hospital, but it was only in 1827 that it became officially the _Hotel-Dieu,_ in place of the old Municipal Hospital (_see "Palais de Justice" p. 93_). The furnishings of the latter were then transferred to the Abbey buildings, disaffected since the Restoration.

Of the ancient abbey, where _Charles-le-Simple_ and the _Duc Robert_ were proclaimed king, and where several archbishops were elected, only a few vestiges remain. Damaged by the fires of 1098, 1481, and 1751, it was completely destroyed by the great conflagration of January 15, 1774. The present abbey, rebuilt by Duroche, the King's architect, was scarcely finished when the Revolution broke out.

Incendiary bombs dropped by German aeroplanes in August, 1916, destroyed most of the buildings.

The monumental facade which faces the Court of Honour is Louis XVI. in style.

The second court, that behind the main buildings, is bordered by a cloister built by the Rheims architect, Nicolas Bonhomme, in the first part of the 18th century, in place of the 13th and 14th century cloister destroyed in 1707. The buttresses of the side which abuts on the church of St. Remi, and those of the opposite side, are 12th century.

The marble fountain with bronze furnishings, in the centre of the court, was formerly in the Place St. Nicaise. It was erected in 1750 from designs by _Coustou_.

_At the back of the court, on the left_, is an exceedingly fine Louis XVI. staircase with wrought-iron handrail (_photo above_).

The =Lapidary Museum=, which was formerly in the crypt of the archi-episcopal chapel (_see p. 65_), was installed under one of the galleries of the cloister in 1896. Of the tombstones, storied floor-tiles, and various carvings which it contains, the most remarkable is the =Tomb of Jovinus=.

Consul in 367, Jovinus commanded the armies in Gaul, under the Emperor Julian, and successfully resisted three attempts at invasion by the Alemanni. As a Christian, he founded a basilica at Rheims.

The white marble tomb with carvings is apparently Graeco-Roman of the 3rd century, and dates back before the time of Jovinus, who died in 370. It is possible that Jovinus had the first occupant of the tomb ejected, or that he bought an old sarcophagus and had his own portrait affixed to it.

The chapel installed in the old library of the abbey contained some fine Louis XVI. wood carvings (_see photo below of the ruins of the chapel_).