Part 6

His inspiration entirely French, Magnard (as Rostand recalls in the above lines) had kept his art free from German influence.

His artist's sensitiveness made him suffer intensely from the horrors of invasion; he warned his friends that he was resolved to die rather than submit to the rule of the conqueror and that his revolver held four bullets for the enemy and one for himself.

He had sent his family back to Paris, only keeping his young son-in-law with him. The Germans entered Baron on September 2. On the 3rd at about 9 o'clock in the morning, a party of soldiers entered the grounds. The composer had locked and barricaded himself in the villa. After summoning him three times the Germans fired from the garden at the façade shown in the view below.

Magnard retaliated through the Venetian blinds of a window on the first floor, killing one of the soldiers and wounding another. The composer's son-in-law returning from a short walk, arrived at the beginning of this scene. Seized and bound to a tree, he only escaped death by passing himself off as the gardener. After having fired a few rounds the Germans awaited the instructions of the commander. The latter at first decided to burn the village as a reprisal but on the entreaties of the Public Notary, Me. Robert, modified the sentence and ordered that the incendiarism should be limited to the villa Magnard. After having hurriedly pillaged the composer's study, the soldiers set fire to the kitchen with straw and grenades. When the smoke began to rise Me. Robert and Magnard's son-in-law heard a report from the interior of the house. The author of _Guercœur_ and of _Bérénice_ had no doubt just died by his own hand. An officer then said to the Notary "He takes the best way out." Magnard's body was consumed in the fire. His revolver was found with three chambers empty.

The village was looted. An officer ordered the Notary, Me. Robert, to open his safe. As he at first refused to obey this order, the officer told two of his men to load their weapons and Me. Robert was forced to hand over the 8,300 francs the safe contained. While the Notary was occupied in satisfying these demands, the Germans stole his silver, his jewellery and that of his wife, even his personal linen, in exchange for which they left him their dirty shirts. The cellar was entirely emptied by the officers, who took 1,471 bottles of rare wine.

The same witness saw an officer wearing nine women's rings and three bracelets.

_Returning from Magnard's house follow the High Street as far as the_ +Church+ (historical monument). This church is of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, with a fine steeple belonging to the fifteenth (_view above_).

There is beautiful panelling to be seen inside (_view below_). Jeanne d'Arc received the sacrament here on the eve of the battle against the English below Montépilloy, in 1429.

_Follow the road which is a continuation of the High Street._ At this point, and as far as Senlis, rearguard actions were fought in Sept. 1914. _After 3½ km., turn to the left._ In the field which forms the corner of the two roads there is a German grave.

_3 km. further on, turn to the left again into the road to Ermenonville, and after having proceeded about 1,200 yards, go down the lane which leads, under the trees, to the entrance of the domain which constituted the ancient abbey of =Châalis=._

=CHÂALIS=

At the very beginning of the twelfth century, on his return from the First Crusade, a lord of Mello founded a priory at _Calisium_. In 1136 the king, Louis le Gros, wishing to honour the memory of his brother, Charles le Bon, who was assassinated in Bruges, transformed this priory into an abbey which was placed under the management of the Order of Cîteaux, whose growing power was beginning to make itself felt.

The Abbey flourished under the protection of the kings of France, the bishops of Senlis, and the lords of Chantilly, and became of great importance.

Its present condition can only give a faint idea of its former disposition and size.

The good king St. Louis often came to share the peaceful life of the monks, cultivating the soil and the vine, looking after the bees, fishing for pike in the ponds, and eating in the common refectory out of a wooden bowl, amidst the tame birds that came from all the country around to join in the meals.

At the time of the Renaissance the Abbey fell in commendam, that is to say it was no longer the property of the community but that of the abbot, who was thenceforth chosen by the king, instead of being elected by the monks. The first commendatory abbot was the Cardinal Hippolyte d'Este, son of Lucretia Borgia. Reducing the monks to a bare pittance, the Cardinal made free use of the Abbey revenues, which enabled him to build his famous Villa d'Este at Tivoli and its magnificent gardens.

In 1570, the great Italian poet Tasso spent several months at Châalis and there worked at his _Jerusalem Delivered_.

In the eighteenth century, the reconstruction of the Abbey was undertaken. Jean Aubert, the architect of the "Grandes Écuries" at Chantilly and the Hôtel Biron in Paris, was entrusted with the plans. The work was begun but not completed. The abbatial building, which to-day contains the museum and which can be seen on the left of the beautiful avenue leading to the entrance gate, shows the dignified style that Aubert wished to apply to the new edifice.

All these works ran the abbey into debt so Louis XVI. had it closed and placed in liquidation. The Revolution completed its ruin. Sold as national property, Châalis greatly suffered.

The buildings were for the greater part destroyed, the old church was sold piecemeal at the rate of twelve sous (6_d._) per cartful of stones.

In the nineteenth century the successive proprietors did their utmost to reconstitute the domain. The grounds were bought back and the ruins consolidated. The abbatial building became a castle, and the park was laid out again. In 1902, Mme. Jacquemart-André bought the estate for 1,200,000 francs. She bequeathed it to the "Institut de France" with the museum that she had established in the castle. The "Institut" took possession of it in 1912, at the donor's death.

+The Church.+

The church, built at the beginning of the eighteenth century, is of great interest from an archæological point of view, for it shows the first application (by the Cistercians) of the Gothic style of architecture which had just made its appearance in the "Ile de France." In the hundreds of abbeys created by the original abbey of Cîteaux (situated near Dijon), the Roman style had hitherto held sway. Beginning with Châalis, the Cistercians proceeded to spread the pointed arch all over Europe, where soon more than 1,800 branch abbeys were scattered.

The church of Châalis was vast, measuring 269 feet by 89 feet.

Its transept (the ruins of the northern part are seen in the view on the preceding page) was remarkable for its enormous size, compared with that of the choir, and for the seven radial chapels--one of which is clearly visible on the right of the view--enclosed in each of its branches. An outline of the nave remains (on the left of the photograph); it had twelve bays, preceded by a porch. The steeple which rose from the tower was destroyed by lightning in the seventeenth century. The monastery was connected with the church, and the outline of the storied galleries is seen in the view below. The abbot's chapel appears in the middle distance, on the right of the view on the preceding page. It is designed in the style of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

+Visit to the Domain of Châalis.+

_From April 15 to November 1, the museum and park are open on Thursday afternoons, from 1 p.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. An interesting guide by the Curator, Louis Gillet, is sold for 2 francs._

For the passing motorist the visit in detail is not indispensable. The Museum, although interesting, is far from equal to that which Mme. Jacquemart André established in her house in the Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, and which she bequeathed to the "Institut" at the same time as Châalis. As far as concerns the park and ruins, an adequate idea of them will be obtained by following our itinerary.

From the entrance gate one sees: in front, the ruins of the church; to the left, the castle, containing the museum. The whole is quite imposing.

_At a moderate pace we take the road (on the right of the gate) which leads to the ponds. After traversing them, through the enchanting scenery, of which the photograph below gives some idea, the road runs through woodlands and brings us back to the high road of Ermenonville, down which we turn to the left._

On the other side of this road spreads the second portion of the domain of Châalis: the Désert, which formerly belonged to the park of Ermenonville. In the neighbourhood of this park it consists of a lovely, wooded landscape, with two ponds in the background; but at the other extremity there is a great contrast, for an arid stretch of land, the "Sea of Sand," faces the ponds of Châalis.

The Désert, like the park of Ermenonville, teems with memories of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (_see p. 73_).

_Skirting the ponds of the Désert we arrive at =Ermenonville= (40 km.)._

The castle, which belongs to Prince Radzivill, is on the left of the road (_it is not open to visitors_). The park (_open to the public on Sundays, Thursdays and holidays_) is on the right.

The castle was occupied in September 1914, by German staff officers, who contented themselves with pillaging the wine cellar.

The park of Ermenonville was designed by the Marquis de Girardin. This ardent disciple of J. J. Rousseau did his utmost to make the park an illustration of the philosopher's work. In the part which now pertains to Châalis, the Désert, he claimed to reproduce in miniature the Alpine landscapes where were laid the scenes of _Julie ou la Nouvelle Héloise_. This touching worship succeeded in dispelling the misanthropy of Rousseau, who was living in Paris in gloomy solitude. He accepted the Marquis's hospitality and settled down at Ermenonville on May 20, 1778. On July 2, the "man of nature" passed away amidst trees, flowers, and birds. He was buried in the Island of Poplars ("L'Ile des Peupliers," view below), in the middle of the pond that comes into view on the right of the road level with the centre of the castle. Rousseau's influence on his century was immense, and for a long time his tomb was the goal of universal pilgrimage. The philosopher's remains are no longer at Ermenonville; the Convention had them exhumed and transferred to the Panthéon.

_Cross the village, leaving the statue of J. J. Rousseau on the left, and when at the top of the hill turn to the left. Four kilometres further on is the Plessis-Belleville School of Aviation. From there go straight on._

_At =Saint-Soupplets=, at the branching off of the road with that of Dammartin (54 km.)_, stands the Belle-Idée Inn, which was the scene of an interesting exploit in September, 1914. A German officer and about fifteen men had stayed in the inn after the evacuation of Saint-Soupplets, when a French patrol, composed of Sergeant Vannerot and six men, entered. The officer immediately fired at the sergeant, but missed. The latter then trans-pierced him with a bayonet thrust, and the rest of the German troop were killed or put to flight.

_At Penchard (61½ km.) turn to the left beyond the town-hall. The road descends towards Meaux, giving a beautiful view of the town, dominated by its cathedral. In Meaux we turn to the left to go under the bridge and arrive at the cathedral (65 km.) (see plan inserted pp. 74-75)._

MEAUX

(See plan inserted between pp. 74-75)

ORIGIN AND MAIN HISTORICAL EVENTS

Meaux was the centre of a little Gallic nation: the _Meldi_--the inhabitants of Meaux are called Meldois--and afterwards the capital of Brie. It was joined to the royal domain in 1284.

Religious life was always very active in Meaux: six assemblies of prelates were held there from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, and two in the sixteenth century.

It was the Treaty of Meaux, in 1229, which put an end to the crusade against the Albigeois. At the time of the Reformation the religious wars in that region became extremely violent. In the seventeenth century the diocese became famous on account of its bishop, Bossuet, who was called the Eagle of Meaux.

The town was taken and set on fire several times in the course of its troubled history.

In 1358, the peasants in revolt, who were called the _Jacques_, were cut to pieces below the walls by the French and English nobles.

MEAUX IN 1914

Happier now than in 1814 and 1870, Meaux escaped in September, 1914, the horrors of invasion; and it was only crossed by some German patrols. A few shells fell in the Faubourg Saint-Nicolas and even in the neighbourhood of the cathedral, but no serious damage was done.

The British troops in retreat crossed the town on September 2 and 3 and blew up the Market bridge (_view below_) also the foot-bridge, further down stream. The floating wash-houses, which might have served as pontoons, had already been sunk.

Thirteen thousand out of the 14,000 inhabitants left Meaux with the civilian authorities. The bishop, Mgr. Marbeau, showed great energy in organising help for those who remained in the town and for the wounded that poured in after September 5. In spite of the abnormal circumstances, a _Te Deum_ was sung in the cathedral for the election of the Pope Benoît XV.

VISIT TO THE TOWN

=St.-Stephen's Cathedral= (historical monument)

_Beautiful panorama is visible from the top of the belfry. To visit, apply to the verger (gratuity)._

The building of the cathedral was begun at the end of the twelfth century and continued until the sixteenth. It has just been completely restored.

The left tower, the only one completed, has no spire. That on the right is called the Black Tower, because of its covering of slates. The façade is in the decorated Gothic style. A beautiful rose window in the middle dominates the three doorways.

The middle doorway and that on the right are surmounted by acute triangular gablets; that on the left, of a more obtuse ogive, is placed under an arch in accolade. The church is preceded by a parvis dating from 1610, which is reached by means of eight steps.

The stone used in the present building has, unfortunately, very little resistance and is weather-worn. In the course of the revolutions witnessed by the old cathedral, mutilations were added to the damage caused by weather.

The three rows of statuettes which adorn each porch are much spoilt, as are the bas-reliefs which decorate the tympanum.

The great statues which filled the niches have disappeared.

_After having viewed the west façade, the tourist, keeping to the right of the cathedral, should go and look at the_ +Lions' Doorway+, which is on the south front.

This thirteenth century doorway, restored in the nineteenth by Viollet-le-Duc, takes its name from the gargoyles, representing lions, which flank it. It is a reproduction of the southern doorway of Notre-Dame de Paris.

_Entering the Cathedral by the Lions' Doorway_, the tourist will be struck by the lightness and richness of the decoration of the interior, which has been subjected to extensive restoration.

The great height of the aisles is noticeable. It is explained by the existence, in the original church, of vaulted galleries which were raised above the aisles, as in Senlis and Notre-Dame de Paris. These galleries disappeared in the great transformations which took place at the end of the twelfth century and the aisles therefore remained notably super-elevated.

The +Tomb of the "Eagle of Meaux"+ is in the choir, on the right, marked by a tablet of black marble.

The +PULPIT+ (see on the right in the opposite view) was made from some of the panels from the old pulpit where preached the great Bossuet. The bishop of Meaux, in spite of his cares at court, worked very energetically in his diocese and preached in the cathedral many sermons with that same inspiration that shone through the magnificent discourses delivered, during his career as a preacher, before the royal audience.

He maintained strict discipline among the clergy and religious orders under his jurisdiction. His contests with the Abbess of Jouarre went as far as a forcible seizure of the abbey buildings.

The opposite view shows the further end of the +TRANSEPT+, to which corresponds the Lions' Door on the exterior. The decoration here is particularly rich.

Above the transept rose a beautiful spire in timber-work covered with lead, but as it was in a very precarious condition it was found necessary to demolish it in 1640.

On the left of the view one sees the commencement of the +CHOIR+, the execution of which shows to what heights of lightness and boldness of construction Gothic architecture had arrived. The walls between the piers are hollowed out by piercings and mouldings; it is a miracle of equilibrium.

Originally the choir had only three chapels, but two intermediary chapels were added in the fourteenth century.

_When making the tour of the choir_ the visitor will see opening on the north into the courtyard of the old chapter house the beautiful +Porte Maugarni+, dating from the fifteenth century. The name of Maugarni (a gaolbird hanged on this spot in 1372, by order of the bailiff of Meaux) came down to posterity by reason of the long lawsuit that the chapter of the cathedral brought against the bailiff because of this execution, carried out in ecclesiastical precincts.

Almost directly in front of the Porte Maugarni, with its back to the choir, is a white marble statue representing the kneeling figure of a young knight, Philippe de Castille. In 1603 his father founded the barefoot order of Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci. The statue comes from the church belonging to the convent of that order.

Beside the door is a stone figure of Christ, of the sixteenth century.

One can also see in the second chapel, beyond the great doorway in the north aisle of the nave, the group (in high relief) of the Visitation (seventeenth century) and the picture of the Adoration of the Wise Men, attributed to Philippe de Champaigne. The symmetrical chapel, on the south, contains the tombstone of Jean Rose and his wife. Jean Rose was one of the great bourgeois of Meaux in the fourteenth century. His name was given to one of the boulevards of the town.

At the entrance to the nave the seventeenth century organ is supported by beautiful arcading.

+Bossuet's Monument+, the work of the sculptor Dubois (1907), stands in the north aisle, near the main entrance.

At the foot of the pedestal, on the right, are represented Turenne and Mlle. de Lavallière, converted by Bossuet: Mlle. de Lavallière appears in the garb of a nun. It will be remembered how, after Mme. de Montespan had replaced her in the favour of the king, Louis XIV., she withdrew to the convent of the Carmelites, under the name of Sister Louise de la Miséricorde. On the left are Henrietta of France, queen of England, whose funeral oration was delivered by the "Eagle of Meaux," and the Dauphin, whose tutor Bossuet had been.

Behind the pedestal is a bust of the Great Condé. Bossuet was his friend, and frequently visited him in his beautiful castle of Chantilly, and often received him at the Bishop's Palace. His death inspired the "Eagle of Meaux" with one of his most magnificent funeral orations.

=The Old Chapter House= (historical monument)

_Leaving the cathedral by the west door one walks into the courtyard of the bishop's palace, the entrance to which is on the right of the square._ At the further end of the courtyard is the old Chapter House.

This old dwelling-place of the canons of the cathedral dates from the thirteenth century, and is in course of restoration. Its curious, covered outside staircase, which is well seen in the opposite view, is well known to archæologists.

We have seen already, in the case of the Porte Maugarni, how vehemently the canons defended their prerogatives.

The Old Bishop's Palace

The old bishop's palace, the courtyard front of which faces the cathedral, dates from the twelfth century, and was altered in the sixteenth and seventeenth. On the ground floor are two fine vaulted twelfth century rooms. An inclined plane leads to the second floor. According to tradition, one of the bishops had it made that he might go up to his rooms without dismounting from his mule.

Amongst the first-floor rooms are those of Marie-Antoinette and the king. Meaux was in fact a halting place for Louis XVI. and the royal family on their return from Varennes.

The king's room was also occupied by Napoléon I. when he came back from the Russian campaign.

The town of Meaux is now establishing a museum in the buildings of the bishop's palace.

The north front looks over a pretty garden, laid out by Le Nôtre _(to be seen on Thursdays and Sundays. On other days apply to the lodge-keeper in the entrance courtyard. Gratuity.)_

At the end of the garden, on the ramparts dating from the Middle Ages, is a terrace. It is reached by a covered staircase placed at the north-east angle. From there one has a beautiful view of the garden, the bishop's palace and the cathedral (_view above_).

On the terrace stands a little pavilion known as +Bossuet's Study+. The great bishop liked to work there, and often, by way of relaxation, took a walk along an avenue of fine yew trees on the ramparts near by.

The Old Mills

_After visiting the bishop's palace we go through the Rue Martimprey to the banks of the Marne._

The view is extremely picturesque; on one side are the mills which dam the river; on the other, is the beautiful +Promenade des Trinitaires+, with its old poplars. The mills shown in the view below were rebuilt in the sixteenth century. The other side of the buildings looks on to the market bridge (_view p. 74_). These buildings, in spite of their age, withstood the blowing up of the bridge in 1914.

Slightly downstream are the modern mills of l'Échelle, which replaced mills similar to those of the market bridge, burnt in 1843.

VISIT

to the

OURCQ BATTLEFIELD

(September 5 to 9, 1914)

=FROM MEAUX TO MARCILLY= (28 km.)

(See plan inserted between pp. 78-79)

via +Chauconin+, +Neufmontiers+, +Monthyon+, +Penchard+, +Chambry+, +Barcy+.

_Start from Meaux in front of the cathedral. Go down the Rue Saint-Rémy, pass under the railway bridge, then turn to the left and take the N 3 for about 2 km. Turn to the right in front of a beetroot factory and follow the road planted with plane trees which leads to +Chauconin+ (4 km.)._

After having a peep at the little country church, we take a few steps along the path shown in the view below. The houses which border it still show traces of the incendiary fires of September, 1914. The Germans occupied the village for a few hours on the 5th, just long enough to pillage the dwellings and partly burn them by means of grenades flung on to the roofs, and sticks of resin thrust under the doors.