Burgundy: The Splendid Duchy

g along the Rue de l'Arquebus, you emerge upon an open space, where stands a statue to

ublic place, quite irrespective of any ulterior considerations, such as whether such a monument is in any way expressive of the celebrity's particular talent or ge

f a more worthy memorial-such as a house that can be lived in-a wall-tablet is sufficient for all practical purposes. M. Emile Montégut, in his "Souvenirs

ng down the Roman Road. His helmet lies at his feet, and he carries a shield on which a battle scene is engraved. The figure stands upon a historic site; for here, on the

ir God of poetry, of youth, of joy, of prosperity, and of beauty; he was the he

e the haunted

the water, a

hierarchy of Augustodunum, and his temple was probably the most important of them all, until

restored to more than its former beauty. The house was restored; but not the cult. Influences more powerful than the decree of Constance Chlore, or of Constantine, were at work within the Roman city. Eve

s, shewing that strings of bricks were used in the construction of the building,[36] point to the reign of Constantius Chlorus, or of his son Constantine,[37] a

ere the children of the Gaulish nobility were wont to apply themselves eagerly to the study of the liberal arts, while Eumenes speaks of them as "a sanctuary consecrated to instruction and eloquence, a very home of literature; for," says he, "the study of letters is the foundation of all the virtues; they are, indeed

uty, and adds this interesting detail-that "the buildings were surrounded by galleries or porticos, in which the students could see every day the extent of all the lands and of all the seas, the towns restored by the good-will of the invincible emperors, the nations conquered by their valour, and the barbarous countries chained by the terror of their arms. There were shewn the name and situation of each count

that is to say, the whole of the Roman Empire. Maeniana,-in French, Ménienne,-means a construction projecting from the front of an edifice, an exterior gallery

f restoring the porticos, and repainting the map of the world; but, probably, the work was never carried out, and the schools remained in thei

orinthian capitals, fragments of entablatures, statuettes, groups of goddesses, etc., have been found on this site, suggesting that it was once occupied by a building of great importance,[42] decorated as one would expect of such a temple, and dedicated, as the Capitol was, to the principal divinities of the of

he Faubourg des Marbres, on the right side of the downward slope, a board with the legend "Caves Joyaux." Then, turning up the path to the right, passing a hideous modern cottage devoted principally to "tir," from the walls of which the c

nd looking down more closely into the semi-circle, one observes irregularities in the surface of the horseshoe, lines suggestive of terracing; strangely shaped, hollow, grassy boulders that seem to

there were the entrances and exits by which the spectators passed to and from the staircases and corridors. From the flat semi-circle

ree familiar with the forms of these monuments, no great effort of the imagination is needed to restore the play-house to some of its ancient glory, and to re-people it with the voices of the past. Moreover, the spectator, though he cannot see the graceful columns, that, probably, as at Arles, rose from the back of the stage, nor the sculptured frieze, nor the marble

when moonlight has shed her revealing myste

existence.[43] This comparatively happy condition of affairs might have endured until to-day, but for an unfortunate temptation that overcame Gabriel de Roquette, Bishop of Autun, in 1675, to make use of the Roman theatre as a quarry for the new seminary he was building. It was a deed doubly inexcusable, because, at so late a period, after the publication

buildings of the kind; coming immediately after that of Bacchus at Athens, and those of Ephesus and Sm

est description we have, dating from the 17th century, mentions that the circumference of the theatre is broken by several cham

lature. Later, a certain worthy Autunois, whose line of business has not come down to us with his name, decided that these vaulted chambers would suit him excellently as a domicile. No doubt his venture proved successful, for the Grotto soon became known as the "C

estaurant or hotel. To go twice a day, with credit, through the six courses of a French déjeuner and dinner, is a gastronomic effort of which we confess ourselves wholly incapable; consequently, before setting forth on our day's excursion, we may be seen passing into the épic

s, than any other people of Europe, and their dinners, like the country's monuments-rich rather than dainty-need a healthy appetite to do them justice. Further, the secrecy that these picnic methods necessarily involve-for you cannot proclaim your i

e will not be in

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e were not in to

ss, screwing up her courage for the plunge, e

?" The speaker looked at my wife; my wife l

's eyebrows rose slightly.

ing all day yest

e fact is, we never lunch at

e said to her husband, an hour later, I leave to th

py. Things get blown away sometimes, or are faste

ble powers of imagination in recreating the traditions of the spot. Also she is proving, unwittingly, the excellent acoustic properties of the natural theatre, constructed in the Greek, rather than in the Ro

l of confetti,-souvenirs of the great fair or festival of St. Lazare, that, for nearly the whole of September, d

le ages, was known by the same name as its neighbour, the Theatre, and suffered a similar fate. It was situate to the north of the Caves Joyaux, close to the wall of the town, in such a position that the Faubourg des Marbres

those of the Arènes of Arles and N

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f the construction had vanished, except the oval site, which, being at a lower level than the surrounding land, is still popularly known as the Crot-Volu (Creux Volu), the latter name being that of a 14th century family who occupied part of it.[49] One of t

ual observer with a sense of the grandeur and extent of the Roman city. Modern Autun is a town of respectable dimensions; but here, within the Roman Enceinte, the few dwel

f her foes, and the scarcely less destructive ignorance and folly of certain of her inhabitants, enough of A

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