On the 23rd November a shell struck and went right through a bell-turret in the south tower at the top; on the 27th another shell, falling between the south buttresses, burst on the vault of the aisle. A third shell which fell on the vaults above the south apse, brought down a great deal of plaster in the church. A huge shell, which fell to the right of the cathedral, a little in front of the façade, damaged three statues over the small entrance to the right which until then had escaped. It was but one of many other calamities and one which completed the ruin of an historic monument. After the 20th November other shells destroyed a pinnacle, a part of the upper gallery in the apse and a part of this gallery beside the Salle des Rois. Of the archbishop’s palace and the musées there remain, in a word, only the walls. As for the statues in the cathedral which appear unharmed, they are burnt right through and crumble away at the touch. The crime of the barbarians is complete. THE BOMBARDMENT OF THE CATHEDRAL OF REIMS IS INEXCUSABLE In the words of M. Delcassé, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the protest addressed by him to the governments of neutral states on the morning after the first bombardment, the Germans committed this crime “without being able to appeal even to the appearance of military necessity and for the mere lust of destruction.” Nevertheless the Germans tried to justify it by alleging— (1) That by means of strong entrenchments the French had made Reims the chief corner-stone of their defence, and thus forced Germans to attack the town by every means. (2) That by the order of the German higher command, the cathedral was to be spared as long as the enemy did not utilise it to his own advantage; but in spite of the white flag which had been hoisted upon it from the 20th September, the Germans declared that there was on the cathedral towers an observation post which assisted the operations of the French artillery. (3) That as soon as this post was destroyed the German field artillery ceased firing. (4) That only the roof of the cathedral was burnt, while the towers and the framework of the building were uninjured. (This statement goes back to the 21st September and emanates from the German chief headquarters.) (5) Finally, that the fire was due to the scaffolding erected in front of the cathedral to carry out some repairs, and that when beams which had caught fire had fallen on the roof, the French had done nothing to put out the fire. These several excuses are worthless— (1) General Joffre has formally declared that “at no time did the military commandant of Reims place any observation post on the towers of the cathedral.” (2) It was not on the 20th, but on the 4th September, on the day of the first bombardment of Reims by the Germans, that the white flag was hoisted on the cathedral.