|BOTH Abelard and Thomas à Becket are identified with this venerable
fortress town, which was lately noted for its haricot-beans, and whose
people, steeped in trade with Paris, were entirely oblivious to the
value and beauty of the great cathedral of Notre Dame, SS. Gervais and
Protais, the equal of which was perhaps not in all France.
Here Abelard was imprisoned in a tower which was shown, to those who
sought it out, by a lame old priest. This tower was surmounted by a
small chapel; it contained nothing, however, which was identified with
the prisoner. There was also to be seen the ancient Abbey of St. Jean
des Vignes, in which Thomas à Becket "spent nine years." The chief and
most interesting part of this was the west façade or "portail," in the
style of the thirteenth century, and flanked by a great tower more
than 200 feet high, some say 225 feet, which could be seen from a great
distance.
The approach to the town by way of the river bank was all that could
be desired for picturesqueness, and above the trees and the quaint red
tiled roofs of the many gabled houses, the great tower of the venerable
cathedral lifted its heavy gray mass against a fleecy sky. The river
was full of quaintly fashioned barges, and heavily built boats with
huge rudders painted with stripes of vivid green and red, something
like those on the Maas in Holland. Here and there a small black steamer
belched forth pungent sooty smoke, and there seemed to be a great deal
of business going on all about, and an air of prosperity and alertness,
entirely out of keeping in so venerable a town, and which one could not
decide to be quite as it should be or not. There were modern shops also
with windows dressed quite _à la Paris_, and a good hostelry, the _Lion
Rouge_, where one was made extraordinarily comfortable for a rather
small sum. The streets were filled with quaint and unusual characters,
and now and again we saw costumes and some headdresses on the peasant
women that we had not seen elsewhere.
An old traveler writing of Soissons said: "At a small inn, 'Des Trois
Pucelles,' I had a noble salmon, that still excites emotions in me when
I think of it. I have never met with its like since--and there was also
venison, a whole haunch brought to table, and claret the like of which
would grace the king's table."
I looked for "Des Trois Pucelles," but alas, it had been pulled down
long since.