Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Part 13

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SIGN WHICH GAVE ITS NAME TO THE RUE DE LA GRUE _It was at No. 5, but has been destroyed._]

_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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUINS OF THE HOUSE WHERE COLBERT WAS BORN _At the corner of the Rues Ceres and de Nanteuil._]

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 G.o.dinot, 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 princ.i.p.al 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LOUIS XIII. DOOR _At No. 20 Rue du Carrouge._]

_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 princ.i.p.al entrance in particular being stiff to excess.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUE CARNOT _The Place Royale is seen in the background._]

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 princ.i.p.al 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 sh.e.l.ls, 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 pa.s.sage which pa.s.s 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DOOR OF THE CHAPTER-HOUSE COURTYARD _The Northern Transept of the Cathedral is seen in the background._]

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 b.u.t.tresses 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=

[Ill.u.s.tration (Map)]

_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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUE CHANZY]

[Ill.u.s.tration: DOOR AND BALCONY OF THE HoTEL DE COURTAGNON, (_18th Century_), _at No. 71 Rue Chanzy_]

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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ORNAMENTAL RAIN-WATER PIPE-HEAD OF LEAD UNDER THE ROOF OF THE HOSPICE NOeL CAQUe (_see p. 97_)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: GALLO-ROMAN BAS-RELIEF _at No. 65, Rue de l'Universite.

This bas-relief and the one opposite, on the wall of the Lycee, are the last remaining vestiges of a Gallo-Roman gate_.]

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._)

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FAcADE OF THE LYCeE DESTROYED BY THE BOMBARDMENTS]

_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 sh.e.l.l-fire.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DOOR OF THE PEt.i.t LYCeE, _5, Rue Vauthier-le-Noir_. _On either side of the arcade are heads of "Jean qui rit" and "Jean qui pleure."_]

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 _Pet.i.t 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 G.o.dinot, 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 princ.i.p.al sculptural subject of which was a nude woman, helmeted, suckling two children.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUINS OF THE ABBEY OF ST. PIERRE-LES-DAMES, _8, Rue St.

Pierre-les-Dames_.]