tree will be noticed on the left of the road (the 38th on the way out)
which has been pierced by a '75' shell as if by a punching-press.
[Illustration:
Varreddes
Road from Meaux to Soissons
The Ourcq Canal
Road to Étrépilly
F. +PANORAMA OF THE VARREDDES HOLLOW+]
_40 yards beyond the canal, on the right, are seen several tracks which
scale the heights. We climb the one on the right_ up to the summit,
where the above panorama was taken. This gives a view of the Varreddes
hollow in the opposite direction to that of panorama E (_pp. 112-113_).
Germigny, seen on the right of the photograph, is known through having
been Bossuet's summer residence. The Germans had a heavy battery there,
which bombarded Meaux in the early days of September. On the 8th they
re-crossed the Marne, blowing up the bridge behind them.
The appearance of a French reconnoitring party composed of a
sergeant-major and nine men had sufficed to cause the evacuation of
the position, which, with the river behind it, seemed a dangerous one.
These ten heroes were killed in the course of the battle and buried at
Germigny. On the 9th, the Marne was crossed on a pontoon bridge built
by British engineers, under fire, whose heroic tenacity triumphed after
seventeen fruitless attempts.
The Germans, attacked besides on the heights where the tourist now
stands, were obliged to retire rapidly from the hollow by the Soissons
Road, under fire from the French batteries.
_On the crest of the hill a track crosses the ascending one, near two
isolated walnut-trees._ On the right this road goes to Étrépilly; it
constituted the German line of defence which is the subject of panorama
B (_pp. 90-91_).
_The tourist will go to the left between the two walnut-trees_ and
explore the crest which formed the redoubtable position occupying the
background of the view on p. 89. It was well provided with trenches,
machine-guns and light batteries, and all attacks against it failed,
until September 9.
_Turning again to the left 1 km. further on, at the first fork in the
road, the reader will follow a little path which brings him back to the
Route Nationale at the point where he left it. The walk takes about
30 minutes._ The two paths, by which the ascent and descent have been
made, served the Germans as channels for bringing up supplies. Their
rearguard, which disputed the ground foot by foot, was routed there by
a bayonet attack.
_We now return towards Meaux._ The retreating Germans followed this
road, but in a contrary direction and pursued by the French shells.
At the highest point, on the right, is seen the trunk of a tree
decapitated by artillery fire, at the top of which the workmen of the
entrenched camp of Paris have fixed a branch to form a cross: humble
and touching tribute to the brave men killed in going up to the attack.
Before arriving at Meaux we have a beautiful view of the town. _We
pass under the railway; then, on the right, take the N. 3 or Rue du
Faubourg-Saint-Nicolas, which brings us back to the +Cathedral+ (19
km.)._
II
THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND
COULOMMIERS-PROVINS-SEZANNE
=FROM MEAUX TO COULOMMIERS= (44 km.)
(See map opposite)
FROM MEAUX TO CRÉCY-EN-BRIE
_Leaving Meaux Cathedral by the Rue Saint-Étienne, which skirts it and
is continued by the Rue Saint-Nicolas, turn to the right 100 yards
beyond the apse of the cathedral into the Rue du Grand-Cerf in order to
gain the "Pont du Marché." After crossing it, keep straight on along
the Rue du Marché, leaving on the right the market where the famous
Brie cheeses are sold wholesale. Take the Rue Cornillon and the Rue du
Faubourg-Cornillon, and at the top of the slope, look back in order to
have a general view of Meaux, dominated by its cathedral. On leaving
the town continue straight along N. 36 to =Couilly= (9 km.) where we
reach the valley of the Grand-Morin._
(The quickest road from Couilly to Crécy-en-Brie is N. 34, which turns
to the left into the paved street of Couilly before arriving at the
bridge, but the prettiest road is that indicated to the tourist, on the
opposite bank of the Morin.)
_Make for =Saint-Germain=, traversing the bridge and the
level-crossing, and turn to the left immediately beyond the railway
into the Rue de la Gare. Turn to the left again into the Rue de
Villiers, which is bordered by telegraph poles. The road follows the
railway which is on the left._
On the other side of the valley are to be seen the red-tiled roofs of
the modern buildings of the "Home" for actors, built on the site of
the old Abbey of Pont-aux-Dames. This abbey, which was founded in the
thirteenth century, was destroyed during the Revolution. Louis XIV.
sent the abbess of Port-Royal-des-Champs to end her days there, after
the destruction of the famous abbey of the Jansenists. Mme. du Barry,
favourite of Louis XV., after an eventful life, became acquainted with
the calm and self-denial of Pont-aux-Dames, when the king was no more.
[Illustration: BRIDGE OVER THE MORIN]
The "Home" was founded in 1903 by the comedian Coquelin _aîné_, who
died there in 1909 while on one of his visits to it. He is buried
in the grounds, where is also his statue. Pont-aux-Dames has room
for eighty inmates. There is also an open-air theatre used for
performances. It is open to visitors on Thursdays and Sundays from
2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (one franc each). The entrance is 1,200 yards from
Couilly bridge on N. 34 which follows the right bank of the river.
[Illustration]
_The road draws nearer to the Morin, and the railway changes over to
the right bank. One hundred yards beyond "La Picardie" (little rustic
inn) we arrive at =Villiers-sur-Morin= and turn sharply to the left at
the first street._
At this crossing, standing against the house on the right, is a
pyramidical monument to the memory of the painter Amédée Servin, who
died in 1884. His medallion was engraved by Falguière. It was Servin,
together with the native poet Jules Grenier, who introduced the Valley
of the Morin to the public. A little school of artists was formed
there, which recalled that of Barbizon in the Forest of Fontainebleau,
or that on the banks of the Yvette. The part known by the name of the
"Morin des Peintres" (the artists' Morin) stretches from Couilly to
Tigeaux (south of Crécy); many artists visit there each year.
_Traverse the bridge over the Morin and the level-crossing.
Immediately afterwards turn to the right (14½ km.) into N. 34 towards
Crécy-en-Brie_.
[Illustration: PLAN OF CRÉCY]
The Grand Morin was crossed on September 6, 1914, at the beginning of
the battle of the Marne by the British troops, who utilised the several
bridges between Villiers-sur-Morin and Coulommiers. The Germans offered
but a feeble resistance; their forces at this point consisting merely
of a screen of cavalry supported by a few artillery and infantry units.
Their task was to cover the retreat northwards of the two army corps
recalled by Von Kluck to resist the flank attack of the Army of Paris,
to the north-west of Meaux.
_Shortly before arriving at Crécy, the road traverses, by means of a
level-crossing, the little railway line already met with several times
since Couilly and which has its terminus at Crécy._
CRÉCY-EN-BRIE
The entrance to the burgh (16½ km.) is marked by a little brick belfry
surmounting a tower which belongs to the ancient fortifications. That
part of the Morin which flows at its foot forms the boundary of the
town, and also served as moat to the ramparts erected in the Middle
Ages. Of these important defences only a few scattered towers remain of
the original fifty-five.
From the bridge we have, on the right, a picturesque view of the
tanneries shown in the photograph opposite.
[Illustration: ARM OF THE MORIN]
_The tourist would be advised not to cross the bridge, but to follow on
the left the pretty avenue, planted with trees, which encircles Crécy
on the outside._
[Illustration: FOOT-BRIDGE OVER AN ARM OF THE MORIN]
_This avenue, however, is not accessible to motors. The latter may take
the Rue du Marché, the Rue Serret, and on the left of the Place Camus,
the Rue Barrois and its continuation, the Rue Jean-de-Compans. At the
bridge over the Morin, at the extremity of the town (view opposite),
the motor may await the tourists, who will rejoin it by the pretty
shady walk beside the Morin shown in the photograph above._
[Illustration: BRIDGE OVER AN ARM OF THE MORIN]
Each one of the houses bordering the river has communication with
the boulevard by means of a foot-bridge, some of which are also
draw-bridges. The little wash-houses fitted up in the lower storeys of
the houses add to the picturesqueness of this rustic corner.
[Illustration: TOWER BELONGING TO THE OLD WALL]
The ramparts, which in former times were reflected in the Morin, have
almost disappeared; the opposite view depicts a remaining vestige: and
during the walk others will be noticed.
_Having returned to the car and if it is intended to visit the
beautiful church of La Chapelle-sur-Crécy (see pp. 120-121), cross the
bridge over the Morin and follow the Route Nationale (N. 34) for about
1 km._
(This is also the road to take if, instead of following the tour by
the valley of the Grand Morin described hereafter, tourists prefer to
go straight on to Coulommiers, 14 km. from Crécy. The tour is much
prettier, but 11 km. longer.)
_After visiting La Chapelle-sur-Crécy return to Crécy by the same road,
cross the bridge over the Morin, follow the Rues Jean-de-Compans and
Barrois and come to a halt at the Place Camus. Take a few steps towards
the church in the Rue de Penthièvre_ and glance at the arm of the Morin
which crosses the street. On the right is an old mill; on the left the
charming scene reproduced below; in front is the tower of the church,
and its most interesting part.
_Returning to the car, take the Rue Dam-Gilles, immediately to the left
of the Rue de Penthièvre._
[Illustration: ARM OF THE MORIN]
_Cross the Morin (19½ km.), then at the fork in the road 50 yards
beyond the bridge turn to the left into G. C. 20 towards Tigeaux and
Dammartin._
La Chapelle-sur-Crécy
[Illustration: THE CHURCH SEEN FROM THE ROAD]
This beautiful church, classed as an historical monument, dates from
the thirteenth century and was restored in the fifteenth thanks to the
generosity of Jeanne de Navarre, wife of Philippe de Bel.
Its situation, on a lower level than the Route Nationale, has
necessitated the raising of the ground. At the present time, the height
of the building is diminished by about ten feet, a fact which destroys
the balance of its proportions.
This impression strikes us at once on entering, for the door is almost
reduced to its ogival part. In the interior, as the view below shows,
there is a flagrant disproportion between the height of the pillars and
that of the arcades.
The triforium encircling the nave and choir is worthy of notice. The
capitals of the pillars are finely carved; and the grimacing heads,
which terminate the vaulting shafts of the choir supporting the ribs of
the vault, show spirited workmanship. Before the window, at the end of
the church and on the right on entering, is a group in painted stone
dating from the Renaissance. It is reproduced in the photograph on p.
121.
[Illustration: NAVE OF THE CHURCH]
FROM CRÉCY-EN-BRIE TO COULOMMIERS
VIA THE VALLEY OF THE GRAND MORIN
[Illustration: GROUP REPRESENTING THE TRINITY]
_Turning to the left on leaving Crécy into G. C. 20, beyond the bridge
over the Morin, a mill is to be seen on an island in the middle of
the river. Then, on the other bank, standing out boldly against the
sky line, is the church of La Chapelle-sur-Crécy. Leaving the houses
behind, telegraph posts begin to mark the road, and on following them
we soon reach =Tigeaux= (24 km.), through which we pass to arrive at
=Dammartin=. Enter the latter and turn to the left beyond the cemetery.
Go up towards the church (26½ km.), but skirt it and leave to on
the left hand. Take the first road to the left beyond the church,
and follow the wall of the castle park. A little before the end of
the wall, take on the right the "Chemin Vicinal" to Guérard, which
dominates the Valley of the Morin. This road rejoins the railway,
and fringes it, leaving it on the right. A pretty descent through
woods leads down to the valley. When the road begins to mount, before
arriving at Guérard, take the road which goes up on the right (31 km.),
but without entering the village. 800 yards further on, at the cross
roads, turn to the left towards =La Celle=, through which we pass (32
km.)._
We leave on the left, in La Celle, the road which crosses the Morin,
and which, after following the right bank, rejoins, by way of Tresmes
and near Pommeuse (6 km. further on), D 16 coming from Faremoutiers.
We advise tourists to take the latter (D. 16) in order to give more
variety to the tour by climbing the height above the river.
_After passing through the lower part of La Celle, the road begins to
mount, traverses a level-crossing, and then by a series of zig-zags
reaches the height on which the other part of the village of La
Celle is built. Turn to the left in the Grand'rue (D. 16) towards
=Faremoutiers=, whose church, surmounted by a tiny steeple, may be
perceived in the distance. On arriving at the Place du Marché at
Faremoutiers, turn to the left into the Rue de Moutiers, then to the
right into the Avenue de Garenne, which runs between the church and the
town-hall, and descend into the valley._
Faremoutiers was the "moûtiers" (monastery) of Sainte-Fare, who founded
a convent there in the sixth century. Among its abbesses was a daughter
of Charlemagne. The nuns, who were much talked of, belonged to the
Order of St. Benedict. They had also many disputes with the bishops of
Meaux. The monastic building was destroyed during the Revolution.
_Still following D. 16, traverse a rather dangerous level-crossing,
after which turn to the right towards =Pommeuse=. At the cross roads
preceding the village, turn to the left, thus leaving the church on
the right. Cross the Grand-Morin, and 50 yards farther on, turn to the
right (38 km.). It is here that we once again meet the road which we
crossed at La Celle, and which follows the right bank of the Morin._
At Pommeuse, during the short German occupation at the beginning of
September, 1914, the inhabitants were obliged to erect a barricade
which was destined to bar the passage of the Morin against the British.
One of the workers not displaying sufficient ardour was tied to a
cart-wheel.
_D. 16 leaving =Mouroux= on the right joins N. 34 coming from Crécy;
turn to the right towards =Coulommiers= (44 km.)._
[Illustration: COULOMMIERS]
COULOMMIERS
ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL FACTS
[Illustration: LODGE OF THE GUARDIAN OF THE CASTLE]
The following is a poetical version of the origin of Coulommiers. When
Julius Cæsar arrived in the region, a tower dominating a few huts stood
on the site of the present town. A large number of doves had made their
nests in this tower, and flew around it, a fact which caused the spot
to be known as _Castrum Columbarium_, from which is derived Coulommiers
(the inhabitants are called Columériens).
Coulommiers developed greatly under the Counts of Champagne. The tower
was surrounded by ramparts, and protected by a moat fed by the waters
of the Grand Morin. These fortifications have disappeared, only a few
fragments, situated in the Avenue Victor-Hugo, remaining. Coulommiers
was occupied by the English in the fifteenth century, by the Russians
in 1814, and by the Germans in 1870.
On September 4, 1914, the retreating British army abandoned
Coulommiers, from which the greater part of the population had fled,
barely 600 inhabitants remaining in the town. The Germans entered on
the 5th and remained until the morning of the 7th. During this short
stay they pillaged methodically, and it was owing only to the energy
of the mayor, M. Delsol, 77 years of age, and of the "Procureur de
la République," M. Chatry, whose adventures are related below, that
Coulommiers did not experience the horrors of Senlis.
VISIT TO THE TOWN
_Enter Coulommiers by the Rue de Paris, which crosses the Rue de Melun
opposite the Hôtel de l'Ours. Cross this street in order to follow the
Rue des Capucins, which forms the continuation of the Rue de Paris._
_We arrive before a gateway, on the right, opening into the picturesque
grounds of the old castle. Enter by the gateway on the left of the
principal building._ A German Staff established itself here during the
occupation of September, 1914.
Of the eighteenth century castle, built by the Duchess of Longueville,
only the large moat and a few quaint ruins remain.
[Illustration: BRIDGE OVER THE CASTLE MOAT]
We cross the moat by the bridge shown in the photograph opposite,
and pass in between two little lodges, on which some curious carving
is still to be seen (_view above_). Enter the inner courtyard of the
castle, now transformed into a garden. On the right and on the left
a few ruins are to be seen. The view on p. 124 is of those on the
left. After having re-crossed the bridge turn to the left in order to
take a glance at the ancient chapel of the Capucins dating from the
seventeenth century. At the far end is a rood-loft whose rich wood
carvings contrast with the dismantled walls of the chapel.
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE CASTLE]
Leaving the grounds, _take the Rue des Capucins again, and on arriving
at the Hôtel de l'Ours_ (where the Germans held orgies as well as at
the Hôtel du Soleil Levant, a little lower down, in the Rue de la
Pêcherie,) _turn to the right into the Rue de Melun_.
We arrive at the bridge from which the photograph below was taken. The
building on the left, of which only a corner is to be seen, is the
town-hall. Further to the right, in the background and half-hidden by
the trees, is a large house, which lodged a German staff during the
occupation. Behind the trees is the theatre.
A little beyond the bridge is a green painted house, 7. Rue de la
Pêcherie, where M. Chatry, Procureur de la République, was held
prisoner. The latter, in his account before the Enquiry Commission,
recalled the incidents of his arrest and of his imprisonment.
"_In the evening I was at the town-hall, when a rough-looking Staff
Officer came up to me in the secretary's office, saying: 'Take your
casque_ (the magistrate's "toque") _and follow me,' continuing: 'You
said you did not know where to find any oats; we have just found some,
so you lied; you are a liar and a swine. Come with me and see.' I
accompanied him to the granary of the town-mill, which had been broken
into and pillaged by the Germans. I remarked that after all there were
oats there, and I became again the object of redoubled insults: 'Swine,
you will be shot.' And when I protested, declaring my ignorance of this
provision of oats, the officer shouted repeatedly: 'Swine, shut your
mouth'; at the same time, I was roughly handled and my arm and shoulder
bruised._
"_He then forced me to go round the town looking for more oats. I was
again insulted and roughly used in a shop where the officer kicked
those who were there. 'If, within an hour,' he told me, 'you have not
found more oats, you will be shot.'_
"_After a fresh search, I returned to the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville,
to be again insulted by the same officer, with whom was another,
tall, pale, and bareheaded, with a monocle in his right eye, who said
mockingly: 'You are responsible for this; it is all your fault.'_
[Illustration: THE MORIN]
"_The first officer then complained that the gas gave a bad light,
and it was in vain that I explained to him that all the men from the
gasworks had left us. He continued: 'We know that the town is rich, we
could ask for one million or even two million francs here, but if at
eight o'clock to-morrow morning you have not found 100,000 francs, you
will be shot, and the town bombarded and set on fire' I replied: 'You
can do what you like with me, but I cannot possibly find you this sum,
all the inhabitants having left and taken their money with them.' I was
then arrested, hungry and dinnerless._
[Illustration: M. CHATRY, PROCUREUR DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE]
"_Shortly after, the mayor, M. Delsol, and the town-clerk, M. Bard,
came to join me. Armed soldiers then conducted the three of us to the
Rue de la Pêcherie, to the house (No. 7) of a druggist named Couesnon.
This house had been broken into by the Germans, and served them as a
lock-up. We were led into the dressing room._
"_During the night I overheard the following conversation which took
place in German between the soldiers guarding us. I repeat it word for
word: 'The Procureur de la République will be shot; the "gay brothers"
of the Company have been fetched to kill him; and the street has
been swept to look nice.' Another soldier replied: 'Be careful, he
understands German and is listening to all you say, for he is awake.'_
* * * * *
"_About 2 a.m. the platoon came to fetch us, and we descended the
stairs. Below, in the dining-room, a German soldier played Chopin's
'Funeral March,' and other pieces of music for our benefit. We were
ordered out into the street, and made to stand on the pavement, all
three of us on the same side, whilst the platoon, with arms ready,
stood on the opposite pavement facing us. We waited, thus for fully
twenty minutes, after which we were ordered to join the main body of
the army. At about 300 yards beyond Montanglaust_ (the hill overlooking
the town to the north) _a superior officer of the Death's Head Hussars
said to us: 'You are free.'_"
* * * * *
The preceding minute account shows how heavy and painful was the task
of the civil authorities in the occupied towns.
* * * * *
[Illustration: CHURCH OF SAINT-DENIS]
(_Leave M. Couesnon's house, and on coming to the Rue le Valentin,
turn to the right and continue for a few steps towards the Place de
l'Hôtel-de-Ville, in order to have a view of an arm of the Morin
bordered by picturesque old houses. Return to the Rue de la Pêcherie.)
We arrive at the Place Saint-Denis_, where is the old thirteenth and
seventeenth century church of that name, transformed into barracks
during the war (_view opposite_).
* * * * *
_Turn to the right in front of the church and take the Rue du
Palais-de-Justice which leads to the Place Beaurepaire_, on which is
the statue to the hero of Verdun of 1792. (Major de Beaurepaire killed
himself rather than sign the capitulation of the town decided upon by
the communal council.)
=FROM COULOMMIERS TO PROVINS= (44 km.)
_Leave Coulommiers by the Avenue de Rebais skirting the new church, and
passing it on the right. Cross a little bridge after about 2 km., and
1,500 yards further on take the road on the right (G. C. 66), which
follows the Morin in the direction of La Ferté-Gaucher._
This part of the river was crossed by the Franco-British forces
only on September 7, the British crossing at Coulommiers and in the
neighbourhood, the 2nd French Cavalry Corps at La Ferté-Gaucher.
_Pass through =Chauffry= (8 km.) then =Jouy-sur-Morin= (17 km.). Turn
to the right in the latter village, and leaving the church on the left,
cross the Morin before turning to the left. Here the road passes over
the railway, then skirts it to rejoin N. 34, in which turn to the left
(19 km.) in order to descend towards =La Ferté-Gaucher=. At 400 yards
from this crossing, turn to the right into D. 4 in the direction of
Courtacon and Provins (a line of telegraph-poles breaks off from N.
34 to follow D. 4). The road ascends and gives a pretty view of La
Ferté-Gaucher shown in the photograph below._