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Show llliPBE PEMiirara Description of Ancient City Used as Headquarters by American Army. GENERAL HEADQUARTERS AMERICAN AM-ERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, CIIAUMONT, France. Nov. 30. (Correspondence (Cor-respondence of tho Associated Press) In such sparo lime as thoir duties permit many of tho officers of the American headquarters staTf have studied stu-died the interesting historical relics of this l.ittlo city. 'While not so old as soke of Its neighboring towns, ncv-'- ertheless Chaumont is a fertile field of Investigation It was once the seat and stronghold of the Counts of Champagne. On the edge of a tree-clad precipice that commands com-mands a wide sweep of field and forest for-est still stands the large Tour Haute-feuille, Haute-feuille, a relic of the castle of the counts of Champagne. A massive I square structure of masonry, lichened jand gray with age, it now forms one angle of the more modern Palais de Justice and is in such good condition j that it is hard to realize it dates from I the 11th centurly. Below it are the cells of the court house, and around its base is a quaint walled garden I shadowed by ancient trees, liu's was once the castle garden, and from a dc?ep ravine a stairway tunneled from the rock leads to the old tower. Many of Chaumont's houses date to the twelfth century, but next to tower Hautefouille in interest is the Church of St. Jean, Crowded in between buildings on all sides this beautiful old edifice shows to less advantage j than many newer churches and cathe-'drals, cathe-'drals, but few of them hold moro of interest. It dales from the loth, 15lh and 16th centuries and retains exquisite exqui-site monuments of each period. The beautiful double porch of the south portal is well kuown to architects archi-tects and its flamboyant Gothic is in strong contrast to the severe Renais-jsance Renais-jsance style of the west portal. The j interior ornamentation is rich and varied, var-ied, the triforium in the transept being be-ing embellished, with an exquisite cornice cor-nice supported on corbels. The church also holds a painting of St. Alexis ascribed as-cribed to Andrea del Sarto. A chapel in the north aisle holds a cruious Holy Sepulchre dating fro 11C0. The pulpit and stalls are the work of Bouchardon, father of the famous sculptor who was a native of Chaumont, Chau-mont, having been born here in 1G9S. But Chaumont's place in later history his-tory probably rests on tho fact that here was signed the famous treaty of 1811 by which the Allied Sovereigns pledged themselves lo reduce France to the limits of 17S9. In. an ancient blulding in the Rue Bouchardon, fence a convent, but now the residence of a 'wealthy citizen, and for the present Moaned as the official American "guest -I house" and officers' club, there is a .'stained glass window commemorating j v. i-QHiJmm.n un.1.,., (j).,.n.itfrw!A the signing of the treaty. It is claim- 1 ed that the historic event took place I In this building. 1 1 Chaumont was the birthplace and home of Phillipe Lebon the pioneer of . gas lighting in France, and near tho ' .railway station is a bronze statute oi him by Pechinet. Lebon was born in ;1T07-- .'il |
