_Follow this street to the Place de Béthune and to the Place Richebé_; see the bronze equestrian =Statue= of _General Faidherbe_ (1896), at the foot of which are two feminine figures with palm-branches and arms symbolising France and Lille. Two =bas-reliefs= representing the battles of Pont-Noyelles and Bapaume adorn the sides. The Monument is the combined work of the architect _Pugol_ and the sculptor _Mercié_. _In front of the statue_: Boulevard de la Liberté and the fine Place de la République; _on the right_ is the =Prefecture=, _on the left_, the =Palais des Beaux Arts=. [Illustration: THE PREFECTURE, PLACE DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE] The =Prefecture= is a richly ornamented building, erected in 1869 from the plans of the architect _Matteau_. The walls have been deeply scarred in places by shell splinters _(note the white patches on the blackened façade)_. [Illustration: THE PALAIS DES BEAUX-ARTS.] The =Palais des Beaux-Arts= was inaugurated in 1892. Composite in style, it is very richly ornamented. Flanked by two round pavilions with cupolas containing staircases, its principal façade is in the Rue de la République. The =Museum of Lille= is installed there. THE MUSEUM OF LILLE This is one of the finest provincial museums in France. As early as 1795 it contained 183 works of art. A Consular Decree, dated the 14th Fructidor, Year IX, added 46 paintings taken from the collections of the Louvre and Versailles. The first catalogue, dated 1850, comprised 274 works of art, which number had increased to 1,275 at the time of the inventory of January 1st, 1908. The Museum during the War The Museum was the edifice which most suffered from the German bombardments. On October 11th, 1914, it was struck by 75 shells. The curator took measures at once to have the roof repaired and protect the collections. However, the Museum was not proof against German greed. On Saturday, November 17th, two officers, accompanied by military policemen, came to "requisition" the works of art, in the name of the German authorities. After visiting the different rooms, and being unable to obtain the keys of the cabinets, they broke open the latter and took all the medals and miniatures, which they placed in paper bags from a neighbouring grocer's shop. The curator protested the same day, both verbally and in writing, to the Kommandantur and Military Governor. [Illustration: THE BELLE JARDINIÉRE, _near the Museum (Boulevard de la Liberté)_.] The miniatures were brought back on November 19th, and the medals on December 3rd, less various antique gold jewels, two miniatures, and two gold medals, which had been "lost."