Chapter 3

CHANTILLY

Arriving by the Paris road the tourist will pass under the railway bridge, then 600 yards further on turn to the right and come out on to the "Pelouse" (Lawn). Turning round the Grand Condé Hotel on the left, he follows the Boulevard d'Aumale as far as theMaison de Joffre, shown in the photograph below.

JOFFRE LEAVING GENERAL HEADQUARTERS

Joffre lived here until he was made Marshal of France.

The hundreds of officers and secretaries employed in the tremendous work incumbent on the Generalissimo were lodged in the Grand Condé hotel, near which the tourist has just passed. In contrast with this buzzing hive, Joffre's house seemed the embodiment of silence and meditation.

Only two orderly officers lived with the generalissimo, and his door was strictly forbidden to all unsummoned visitors, whoever they might be.

On leaving his office Joffre had the daily relaxation of a walk in the forest near by. It was thanks to the strict routine to which he subjected himself that the generalissimo was able to carry the crushing weight of his responsibility without faltering. We shall see, however, when comparing the peace time photograph givenon p.1with thaton p.22that these years of war have counted as double.

During the tragic hours of the Marne the general headquarters were first at Bar-sur-Aube and then at Romilly. The commander-in-chief's intense concentration of mind made him dumb and as though absent in the midst of his colleagues, who received all his orders in writing. In a few days his hair and moustache became perfectly white.

The Allies' grand councils of war were held in this house, which has counted among its guests all the great actors of the war.

The military functions were held on the lawn. The photograph on the next page was taken during a review.

After having seen Joffre's house we pass the few villas which separate it from the Rue d'Aumale and bear to the right, skirting the lawn; next we turn to the left into the Avenue de Condé, then to the right into the Rue du Connétable.In front of the "Grandes Écuries" (great stables), which border the extremeend of the road on the right, stands the equestrian statue of the Duc d'Aumale, by Gérome (1899).

JOFFRE HOLDING A REVIEW ON THE LAWN

Leaving the church we turn to the right, passing through the monumental gateway, and go towards the castle.On the lawn (still keeping to the right) we come to the principal façade of the "Grandes Écuries", Jean Aubert'schef-d'œuvre, built between 1719 and 1740. They are seen on the right in the above photograph.

On the opposite side of the lawn stands a little chapel, erected in 1535, by the high constable Anne de Montmorency, at the same time as six others dotted here and there about Chantilly, in memory of the seven churches of Rome which he had visited in order to obtain the indulgences pertaining to this pilgrimage. He obtained the same grant from the Pope for the chapels of Chantilly.

Of these only two now remain, that on the lawn—Sainte-Croix, and another in the park—Saint-Paul.

The photograph below gives a view of the whole of the castle. The little castle dates from the sixteenth century; the big castle is the work of a contemporary architect, Daumet, who erected it on the basement of the old dwelling, demolished during the Revolution. The Castle of Enghien, built in the eighteenth century, is now occupied by the guardians entrusted with its preservation. The water surrounding the castle teems with centenarian carp. One can get bread from the concierge and, on throwing a few crumbs into the moat, which passes beneath the entrance bridge, watch the onrush of the huge fish.

CASTLE OF CHANTILLYLittle CastleChapelGreat CastleThe constable's TerracePorter's LodgeCastle of Enghien

CASTLE OF CHANTILLY

In the pages which follow we give a short historical account of the castle, referring the tourist for further details to the extremely interesting work of the curator, Mr. Gustave Macon:Chantilly and the Condé Museum.

In the Roman epoch Chantilly was the dwelling place of Cantilius. In the Middle Ages it became a fortress belonging to the "Bouteiller" (cupbearer), so named because of his hereditary functions at the court of the Capets. (The "bouteille de France," originally in charge of the king's cellars, became one of the greatest counsellors of the crown).

The castle then became the property of the d'Orgemonts, who rebuilt it in the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century it passed to the Montmorency family. Towards 1528 the high constable Anne de Montmorency had it transformed by Pierre Chambiges. Chambiges' work no longer exists in Chantilly, but the tourist will be able to judge of his talent when he sees the beautiful façades of the transept of the cathedral of Senlis (p.57). The little castle was built thirty years later by Jean Bullant. From that time Chantilly has been famous. Francis I. often stayed there. Charles V. declared that he would give one of his Low Country provinces for such a residence. Henry IV. asked his "compère," the high constable Henri, to exchange it for any one of his royal castles. Montmorency, much embarrassed, extricated himself from this awkward situation by answering, "Sire, the house is yours, only let me be the lodge-keeper."

Henri II. of Montmorency, drawn into a revolt against Richelieu, died on the scaffold in 1632. His property was confiscated and Louis XIII., attracted by the hunting at Chantilly, kept the place for his personal use.

It was there that he drew up with his own hand the "communiqué" to the press, concerning the taking of Corbie (1636): "The king received news, at 4 o'clock this morning, of the surrender of Corbie. He immediately went to church to give thanks to God, then ordered all to be ready by 2 o'clock to sing theTe Deum,the queen and everyone else to be present, and ordered despatches to be sent commanding thanksgiving services in all the churches of this kingdom...."

In 1643, the queen, Anne of Austria, wishing to make some recognition for the splendid victories won by the Duc d'Enghien (the future "Grand Condé") gave Chantilly back to his mother, Charlotte de Montmorency. The latter, married at fifteen, had been obliged to leave France with her young husband in 1609, to escape from the attentions of Henri IV., still gallant despite his fifty-six years.

THE CASTLE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

FESTIVITIES AT CHANTILLY IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

A gay life began again in Chantilly, interrupted in 1650 by the revolt of Condé, his exile and the confiscation of the domain, which then returned to Louis XIV. until the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659). The prince then came into his own again but for long kept aloof from public affairs and devoted himself to the embellishment of Chantilly with the same ardour and mastery that he formerly gave to military operations.

In 1662, the transformation of the park and forest was placed in the hands of the great architect, Le Nôtre. The work continued until 1684. The result was a masterpiece, of which a great part is still in existence, but of which the finest features (particularly the Great Cascades which spread over the actual site of the town) disappeared during the Revolution. Below, we give a view of these "Jeux d'eau" (fountains), which were considered one of the wonders of the day.

In 1671, Louis XIV. spent three days at Chantilly, with all his court. Marvellous festivities were held on this occasion. The guests of the château alone filled sixty large tables; all the adjoining villages were full of officers and courtiers, boarded and lodged at the prince's expense. In one of her letters, Mme. de Sévigné tells of the tragic death of the superintendent, Vatel, who had the responsibility of this vast organisation. Desperate at the thought that fish would be lacking at the king's table, he went up to his room, leant his sword against the wall, and transfixed himself upon it.

All the great men of the seventeenth century visited Chantilly. Bossuet, the intimate friend of the great Condé, presented to him Fénelon and La Bruyère, who became tutor to the Prince of Condé's grandson. Molière and his company came to play (Condé was his patron, by whose intervention the production ofTartufewas allowed). Boileau, Racine and La Fontaine were habitual guests.

The development of Chantilly continued under Condé's successors, and the castle was modified by Mansart. The Duc de Bourbon caused the "Grandes Écuries" to be built by Jean Aubert. He established the manufacture of porcelain there (ceased in 1870), the remaining pieces of which are greatly sought after in our day.

THE OLD CASCADES OF CHANTILLY

In 1722, Louis XV. stayed at Chantilly on his way back from his coronation at Rheims. The festivities lasted four days; 60,000 bottles of wine and 55,000 lbs. of meat being consumed.

It was Prince Louis-Joseph who saw the Revolution. He had spent enormous sums in embellishing Chantilly, besides the twenty-five million francs which it cost him to build the Palais-Bourbon in Paris, the present seat of the Chamber of Deputies. He erected the Castle of Enghien, named after his grandson, the Duc d'Enghien, who was the first to inhabit it. (Early marriages were usual in these great families: at the birth of the Duc d'Enghien his father was sixteen years old and his grandfather thirty-six.) The Duc d'Enghien died in 1804, shot in the moat of Vincennes.

The English garden and the hamlet are due to Louis-Joseph.

In 1789, after the Prince of Condé had gone into exile, the Parisians came and removed the cannon from the castle (see reproduction of engraving below, in which the castle appears as altered by Mansart). Thirty guns taken from the enemy during the Seven Years' War, which were never used except for firing salutes during fêtes, were brought in triumph to the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, whence La Fayette had them sent to the arsenal.

The great cascades, the menagerie, the orangery and the theatre disappeared during the revolutionary era.

Of the great castle nothing remained but the basement, whilst the town grew and encroached on the park.

In 1814, the Prince de Condé returned to Chantilly and commenced the restoration of the domain, a work continued by his son. The latter came to a tragic end in 1830; he was found hanging from the fastening of a window in his castle of Saint-Leu, and with him died the great family of Condé.

In his will he bequeathed Chantilly to one of his great-nephews: Henri of Orleans, Duc d'Aumale, fifth son of King Louis-Philippe. After distinguishing himself in the Algerian campaign, where he carried off the Smalah of Abd-el-Kader in 1843, the Duc d'Aumale was exiled in 1848. He established himself at Orleans House, at Twickenham, near London, where he remained until 1871. It was during that time that he began the splendid collections which later went to enrich the Condé Museum. On his return to France he presided at the tribunal entrusted with the trial of Marshal Bazaine.

THE PARISIANS AT CHANTILLY IN 1789

PICTURE GALLERY WHERE THE GERMANS SLEPT (1914)

In order to house his collections, the Duc d'Aumale had the big castle rebuilt, on plans made by the architect Daumet, from 1875 to 1882.

He died in 1897, bequeathing to the "Institut de France" the domain of Chantilly and the Condé Museum, of which he was the founder.

About 500 Germans stayed at the castle for twenty-four hours. These reserve troops had not yet fought and did not take part in the battle. They committed no excesses during their short stay. The great moral firmness shown by the curators, Messrs. Élie Berger and Macon had great influence on the conduct of the German soldiers. The troops were lodged in the big castle, whilst the officers established themselves in the various suites of the small castle.

PICTURE GALLERY (1917)

The curators had sent the gems of the collection to Paris and sheltered as many of the works of art as possible in the basement. This proceedingcaused some ill humour on the part of the German officer in command. As seen in the photograph (page28) straw was spread in the rooms of the museum, on which the Germans slept. At the end of the room Chapu's touchingJeanne d'Arcoverlooks the scene of desolation. The Germans were much impressed by the copy of the Duc d'Aumale's tomb in the museum, where he is represented in the uniform of a divisional general. Many gave the military salute when crossing the room. However, this did not prevent the commandant from warning the curators that if his troops were fired on, the castle would be burnt and they themselves shot.

If the tourist makes this journey on a day when the castle is closed, or if he has not time to visit it, he will at least be able to glance at the charming corner of the park where stands Sylvie's House. He need only take the path of Avilly (it is the road which is on the right of the main entrance) and skirt the park railings. After five minutes' walk he will reach the place from where the view below is taken. He can return to the gates by the same road.

This little shooting lodge, at first called the "Park House," was built in 1604 by the high constable Henri de Montmorency for King Henri IV.

Sylvie is the poetical name given by Théophile de Viau to his patroness Marie-Félicie Orsini, who in 1612, at the age of fourteen, married Henri II. of Montmorency, aged sixteen. The poet, Théophile de Viau, persecuted in 1623 for the licentious publication of theParnasse Satirique, was given shelter at Chantilly and lodged in the Park House.

Condemned to be burnt alive, he was only executed in effigy through the intervention of the Montmorencys.

In hisOdes to the House of Sylvie, he extolled the grace and goodness of the young duchess:

Mes vers promettent à SylvieCe bruit charmeur que les neveuxNomment une seconde vie....

The wish expressed by the poet in these lines was fulfilled and the name of Sylvie became attached to the house and park surrounding it. The great Condé rebuilt the house as it is to-day. (The rotunda seen in the photograph, page29, was added by the Duc d'Aumale.)

SYLVIE'S HOUSE AND THE PARK

In the eighteenth century Sylvie's House was the scene of the romance of Mlle. de Clermont and Louis de Melun. The head of the house of Montmorency objected to the marriage of his sister, Mlle. de Clermont, with this nobleman, whose rank he considered insufficient. The young girl disregarded this and made a secret marriage, soon ended by the tragic death of Louis de Melun, who was killed by a stag at bay in the course of a hunt in Sylvie's park. These various episodes in the history of Sylvie's House are recalled in the paintings of Luc-Olivier Merson, installed by the Duc d'Aumale when he turned the old house into a museum.

TheCastle,Sylvie's House, theJeu de Paume, and the "Grandes-Écuries"are open to the public from April 15 to October 14:

1,On Sundays, Thursdays and legal holidays, from 1 to 5 p.m., free;

2,On Saturdays, the same hours, one franc charged for each visitor.

TheParkis open to the public all the year round on Thursdays, Sundays and holidays: from 1 to 6 p.m., from April 15 to October 14, and till 4 p.m. for the rest of the year.

The Condé Museum is extremely interesting.

We advise tourists to obtain the guide book sold at the entrance, which gives all useful information for the details of the visit. The plan (p.31) makes it easy to find one's way about the museum. By following the numbering in this plan the various rooms will be seen in the order in which they are marked in the guide book.

The several photographs which follow can give but a faint idea of the richness and interest of the collections made by the Duc d'Aumale.

The following view shows the Gallery of the Stags, formerly the dining room.

The picture on page32represents the magnificent carved and inlaid chest (the work of Riesener, the great cabinet-maker), which stands in room 24 (plan p.31).

The Duc d'Aumale gathered the gems of his collection together in the room that he named theSantuario(No. 19 on plan, p.31).

GALLERY OF THE STAGS

They are:The VirginbyRaphael, described as "of the House of Orleans," having belonged to that family for a very long time. This little panel,painted about the year 1506, was bought for 160,000 francs in 1869. It is reproduced onp.32.

The Three Graces, another small panel painted byRaphaelat about the same time as The Virgin, was bought for 625,000 francs in 1885.

Esther and Ahasuerus, panel of a marriage chest, executed byFilippino Lippi, was bought for 85,000 francs in 1892.

Forty MiniaturesbyJehan Fouquet, taken from theBook of Hours, by Estienne Chevalier: this leading work of the French school of the fifteenth century was acquired for the sum of 250,000 francs in 1891.

Entrance.Grand Vestibule.Gallery of the Stags.Picture Gallery.Rotunda of the Museum (Senlis Tower).Vestibule of the Museum.Gallery of the House.Small Gallery of the House.Vestibule of House.The Smalah.The Minerva Tower (Tower of the High Constable).The Antiquity Room.Giotto Room.Isabelle Room.Orleans Room.Caroline Room.Clouet Room.Psyche's Gallery.Santuario.Treasure Tower.The Tribune.The Anteroom.Guardroom.La Chambre.The Great Study.The Monkey Parlour.The Prince's Gallery.Library.Great Staircase.Gallery of the Chapel.Chapel.Statue of the High Constable.Entrance (portcullis).Court of Honour.Court of the Little Castle.Flower Garden of the Aviary.

CHEST BY RIESENER

We must also mention the collection of portraits painted or drawn in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, divided between the Gallery of the House (7 on plan), the Clouet room (17 on plan) and the Gallery of Psyche (18 on plan). In the Gallery of Psyche, the visitor will notice, besides the pictures, the forty-four sixteenth century windows, representing the legend of Cupid and Psyche. There is also a cast of the head of Henri IV.

Lovers of jewels should visit the treasure tower (20 on plan). Tn the Monkey Parlour (26 on plan) will be seen the screen painted by Huet, representing the Monkey's reading lesson, and on the panels a charming eighteenth century decoration, attributed to the same painter.

In the Prince's Gallery (27 on plan) the great Condé had a series of pictures painted representing the battles he had fought.

In the trophy containing his sword and pistols there is also a flag taken in the Battle of Rocroi in 1643. It is the oldest standard captured from the enemy that exists in France.

In the middle of the gallery stands the Table of the Vinestock, carved out of one piece taken from an enormous vine, for the Connétable de Montmorency.

THE VIRGIN OF ORLÉANS BY RAPHAEL

In the modern chapel (31 on plan), the Duc d'Aumale placed a beautiful altar, carved by Jean Goujon, also some sixteenth century wainscoting and stained glass windows taken from the chapel of the Castle of Ecouen.

In the apse stands the funeral urn which holds the hearts of the princes of the House of Condé.

This takes from three-quarters of an hour to an hour and a quarter.

On coming out of the museum we cross the Terrasse du Connétable, in the middle of which stands the equestrian statue of Anne de Montmorency, by Paul Dubois (1886).Leaving the Château d'Enghien on the right we enter the covered way by the avenue which passes before the little chapel of Saint-Paul.Saint-Paul and Sainte-Croix are all that remain of the seven chapels erected by Anne de Montmorency (see p.23). A little further on, on the left, we come to the Cabotière, a building dating from the time of Louis XIII. It derives its name from that of the barrister Caboud, an enthusiastic amateur horticulturist, who made a magnificent flower garden in the park for the great Condé.

The avenue ends atSylvie's House(see p.29).In the interior can be seen paintings, tapestries, pieces of furniture, and beautiful panelling of the seventeenth century, which have been placed in the rotunda. From Sylvie's House there is a lovely view of the pond and park (see p.29).

Leaving Sylvie's House on the right we walk about 150 yards down the path which skirts it, then turn to the left and follow the path which leads straight to theHamlet(view on p.35).

The Hamlet, which recalls that of the Petit Trianon at Versailles, dates from 1775. At this period, under the influence of J. J. Rousseau's works, nature and country life became the fashion, and it was the correct thing for princes to play at peasants in miniature villages.

PLAN OF PARK

An author of the eighteenth century thus describes the Hamlet of Chantilly: "Seven detached houses, placed without order, with thatched roofs, standin the middle of a lawn that is always green. Here is an ancient elm, there a well; further on a fence encloses a garden planted with vegetables and fruit-trees; a mill, its wheel turned by the brook; in front a stable, a dairy; one house is used as the kitchen, another is the dining-room, so decorated as to resemble a hunting lodge. One fancies one's self in the middle of a thick wood, the seats imitate tree-trunks, green couches and clusters of flowers rise from the ground; a few openings made between the branches of the trees admit the light. A third cottage serves as billiard-room, a fourth is a library. The barn makes a large and splendid drawing-room."

THE CASTLE SEEN FROM THE FLOWER GARDENS

From the time when the hamlet came into being, there was never a big fête at Chantilly without a supper in this pretty corner of the park. Innumerablepots de feuilluminated the thickets; on the canal the guests drifted in gondolas to strains of dreamy music; fancy-dress fêtes were held, and the singing and dancing continued until dawn.

The hamlet is now greatly fallen into decay, nevertheless, it is worth a visit.

Retracing our steps we bear to the left and, having crossed, the first bridge, follow a pretty path which brings us into the flowergarden of Le Nôtre, where we get a good view of the castle(photograph above). One can go straight back to the entrance gates by the staircase shown in the view.It is called theGrand Degré(great stair), and was built in 1682 by the architect Gitard. The groups which adorn the base of the Terrasse du Connétable, on each side of the stairs, were drawn by Le Nôtre and carved by Hardy.

This walk, from the time of leaving the museum until the return to the entrance gates, takes about three-quarters of an hour.

If one wishes to visit theEnglish Gardenand theJeu de Paume, which will take about forty minutes longer, one must walk past the north front of the castle and follow the walk which opens in the middle of the thickets.

The English Garden was laid out in 1817 to 1819 by the architect Victor Dubois, according to the orders of the last of the Condés, just returned from exile. The site occupied by this garden, like the ground on which stands the town of Chantilly, belonged to the ancient park, devastated during the Revolution.

We pass near theTemple of Venus, which shelters a Venus Callipyge of the seventeenth century, near theIsland of Love, dating from 1765 and on which are statues of Aphrodite and Eros. In the eighteenth century the Island of Love contained a luxurious pavilion, in which nocturnal fêtes were held, the canals and park being illuminated. The pavilion disappeared at the time of the Revolution.

THE HAMLET

The ancientCascades of Beauvaisthat one sees before arriving at the Jen de Paume are remnants of the old park. They were the work of Le Nôtre.

The Jeu de Paume, constructed in 1757, is transformed into a museum. It contains various curiosities, notably Abd-el-Kader's tent, carried away when the Smalah was captured by the Duc d'Aumale in 1843.

After 3 p.m. one can leave the park by the gate next to the Jeu de Paume. We come out in front of the "Grandes Écuries" of the castle and can go in and look round them. (Enter at the side that faces the lawn.)

(Cliché André Schelcher.)GENERAL VIEW OF THE CASTLE

(Cliché André Schelcher.)

GENERAL VIEW OF THE CASTLE

(9 km.)

THE CASTLE SEEN FROM THE ROUTE DE VINEUIL

Returning through the monumental gateway, we cross the Rue de Connétable and go straight on, skirting the castle park on the right. We cross the Saint-Jean Canal, then the Great Canal, then turn to the right into the High Street of Vineuil.On the right one soon has a beautiful vista of the castle and park (view above).

We now go through Saint-Firmin.The church, on the left, contains in its choir Renaissance windows which are classed as historical monuments.

From Saint-Firmin to Senlis the road is easy. We enter Senlis by the Creil Gate (see plan inserted between pp.36-37). Turn to the left by the Avenue Vernois and the line of boulevards to reach the station, where starts the itinerary described further on, in Senlis.

GENERAL VIEW OF SENLIS

Senlis is of Gallic origin: it was the capital of theSylvanectes. The Romans surrounded it with fortifications, a great part of which still exist (see view below).

The first kings of France, attracted by the hunting in the surrounding country, frequently stayed at Senlis.

It was in Senlis Castle (see p.61) that Hugues Capet was elected king by the assembly of lords in 987.

The Capetians often returned to the birthplace of their dynasty and it is to them that the town owes its chief buildings.

Taken by the peasants in the war of the Jacquerie in 1358, besieged by the Armagnacs in 1418, it fell into the hands of the English and was delivered by Joan of Arc in 1429. Senlis knew great vicissitudes in the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

After Henri IV., who interested himself greatly in Senlis and lived in its old castle, the kings of France gradually forsook the town in favour of Compiègne, Fontainebleau and Versailles.

Occupied in 1871 by the Germans, it reappears in history in September 1914. The burning of the town and the summary executions which took place there will be recalled in the course of the visit (pp.38-52).

SENLIS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

(See plan inserted between pp.36/37)

THE BURNT STATION(Sept. 1914)

THE BURNT STATION

(Sept. 1914)

At theStationone gets one's first view of the havoc done to the town by the events of September 1914. It was set on fire on the 3rd.

Follow the station road (Avenue de la Gare), which leads to the Compiègne Gate.

This is the road by which the Germans entered Senlis on September 2, at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

BRITISH SOLDIERS IN THE PLACE DE LA GARE(Sept. 1914)

BRITISH SOLDIERS IN THE PLACE DE LA GARE

(Sept. 1914)

INTERIOR OF THE BURNT STATION(Sept. 1914)

INTERIOR OF THE BURNT STATION

(Sept. 1914)

Whilst one part of the advance guard made the tour of the town, following the boulevards and the ramparts which encircle it, other groups descended directly south by the two main streets which cross Senlis, thus making sure of a thorough exploration.

ENTRANCE TO THE RUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE BEFORE THE WAR

The entrance lo theRue de la Républiquesuffered a great deal, as is shown by the two photographs, taken before and after the fire of September 2, 1914.

PRISONERS IN FRONT OF THE GENDARMERIE(Sept. 1914)

PRISONERS IN FRONT OF THE GENDARMERIE

(Sept. 1914)

On the left, the toll-house is completely burnt down; in the centre, the Hôtel du Nord and the Restaurant Encausse are in ruins.

The building on the right is the Gendarmerie.

The German prisoners who appear in the picture opposite are leaning against the wall of these barracks.

They were the few soldiers who, remaining in Senlis after the victory of the Ourcq, were captured by Zouaves sent from Paris in motor-cars.

Only a few years ago the Rue de la République was called the Rue Neuve-de-Paris, although it dated from 1753. It was made in order to spare the Court of Louis XV. the circuitous way and steep ascent of the old road, which followed the Rue Vieille-de-Paris and the Rue du Châtel.

ENTRANCE TO THE RUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE AFTER THE FIRE

GERMAN CYCLIST AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE RUE BELLOY (1914)

Descending the Rue de la République we come to the Rue Bellon, which crosses it. We turn to the right, at the place shown on the opposite photograph, and a few steps further on, reach theCarrefour de la Licorne.This is one of the most devastated places of the town. The first view was taken during the German occupation, a German cyclist being snapshotted while riding. The other views show the state of the ruins in 1914 and the present condition.

RUE ROUGEMAILLE (1914)

RUINS OF THE CARREFOUR DE LA LICORNE (1914)

We return to the Rue de la République.A few yards down, on the right, we see the charred house, the gable-end of which appears in the view on the following page.

BURNT HOUSE RUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE (1914)

We next reach the level of the Hôtel du Grand Cerf, of which the signboard is seen on the view below.The German headquarters staff stayed there, and that is no doubt the reason for its remaining intact. The Mayor of Senlis, M. Odent, was taken there on September 2, after his arrest at the town-hall, just before being taken to Chamant to be shot. The proprietor of the hotel having left the town, the German officers commandeered a restaurant keeper and made him prepare a meal for thirty people, with "ices and champagne."

FIRE RUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE (1914)

RUINS OF THE NOTARY'S HOUSE (1914)

The houses which face the hotel and which were still burning when the above photograph was taken, are those of the local justice of the peace and public notary.

Looking through the entrance gates of the latter residence, one beholds the scene of desolation reproduced in the opposite picture.

BURNT COURT OF JUSTICE(1914)

BURNT COURT OF JUSTICE

(1914)

On the left of the Rue de la Républiquewe come to a building which served as the sub-prefect's office andCourt of Justice. This building, formerly a hospital, dates from the beginning of the eighteenth century.

The work of the incendiaries is seen by comparing the opposite view with that given below.

All the ruins already pointed out, as well as those that will be seen further on, were made systematically.

RUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE(1914)

RUE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE

(1914)

COURT OF JUSTICE BEFORE THE WAR

The soldiers to whom this work was assigned arrived in columns; at the sound of an officer's whistle a certain number of men left the ranks and smashed in the doors of the houses and the shop-fronts; then others came who started the fires with grenades and fuses; lastly, the patrols who followed fired incendiary projectiles into those buildings which did not take fire quickly enough.

The above view was taken during the German occupation. It shows the Red Cross staff conveying the wounded from the overflowing hospital to the College of Saint-Vincent.

RUINS AT THE CORNER OF THE RUE DU TEMPLE

After crossing the Nonette, one arrives at the junction of the Rue de la République and the Rue Vieille-de-Paris.

At the corner stands the inn "Le Débit Simon," of which a view is given below.Simon was without doubt the first victim of the German occupation.

Tn the middle of the afternoon a German patrol, who had just been drinking at the inn, was shot at by a French rearguard, who had left Simon's a few moments before.

Back to Index Next