Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Part 11

In the Rue de Pouilly, close to the Hotel-de-Ville, are the =ruins= of the _Galeries Remoises_ stores. These shops were partly housed in a Gothic building, of which only a few chimney-stacks remain (_see chimney in photo below_).

_Opposite the Hotel-de-Ville take the Rue Colbert to the Place des Marches._

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RUE COLBERT, BETWEEN THE TOWN HALL AND THE MARKET-PLACE]

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUINS IN THE MARKET-PLACE _Seen from the Rue de Tambour. The "Maison de l'Enfant d'Or" is among the ruined houses seen in the middle (see pp. 75 to 77). The "Hotel de la Salle" and "Maison Fossier" (p. 76), on the right-hand side of the Square, are not visible in the above photograph._]

=The Place des Marches=

Built on the site of the ancient _forum_, the Market Square, before the war, still contained several remarkable 15th century wooden houses.

Unfortunately, they were destroyed by the terrible bombardment of May 8-15, 1918, together with the Square.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE "HoTEL DE LA SALLE"

_On the left: the Carriage Entrance with Caryatids: Adam and Eve._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE COURTYARD OF THE "HoTEL DE LA SALLE"

_The graceful Turret has partially collapsed._]

_After turning to the right, on leaving the Rue Colbert, and quite close to the Square, at No. 4 in the Rue de l'Arbalete_, is the house, dating from the middle of the 16th century, where =J. B. de la Salle= was born.

Although this house suffered from the bombardments of 1918, its front is practically intact. It is the finest Renaissance front in Rheims, after that of =Le Vergeur's House= (_see p. 85_).

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 s.h.i.+eld 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=.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BEFORE THE WAR _See text, page 75._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: AFTER THE WAR THE "MAISON FOSSIER," BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR _See Itinerary, p. 61 (No. 5 of Explanatory Notes)._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: SEE TEXT. _p. 75_ RUINS OF THE "MAISON DE L'ENFANT D'OR"

_Second house on the left, after the Rue des Elus. (See p. 77.)_]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THIS VERY CURIOUS 15TH CENTURY HOUSE STOOD IN THE MARKET-PLACE It was completely destroyed (_see p. 76._) THE "MAISON DE L'ENFANT D'OR," BEFORE THE WAR]

[Ill.u.s.tration: BRACKET OF THE "MAISON DE L'ENFANT D'OR," REPRESENTING SAMSON SLAYING THE LION]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PLACE ROYALE IN 1765 THE INAUGURATION OF THE STATUE OF "LOUIS LE BIENAIMe."

_August 20, 1765; engraving by Varin. The original statue (by Pigalle) is in the middle of the Square._]

=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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE PLACE ROYALE IN 1918 _The plinth of the statue was protected by masonry-work._]

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 bal.u.s.trade. 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STATUE OF LOUIS XV., PLACE ROYALE, WITH PARTIALLY BUILT PROTECTING WALL OF MASONRY _The two allegorical figures are supposed to be likenesses of the Sculptor Pigalle and his wife._]

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 G.o.ddess 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE STATUES OF THE MUSICIANS' HOUSE _The house was destroyed by bombardment, but the statues were saved._]

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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 14TH CENTURY DOORWAY, 22 RUE DE TAMBOUR]

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 fas.h.i.+on 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=.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE RUE DE MARS. THE TOWN HALL IS ON THE LEFT]

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARS GATE]

=The Mars Gate=