[Illustration: RELIQUARY OF ST. ANDRÉ] [Illustration: HÔTEL THIRET DE PRAIN IN 1916 _19 Rue Eugène Desteuque._] _Return to the Esplanade Cérès, turn to the left at the beginning of the Boulevard de la Paix, then to the right into the_ =Rue Eugène Desteuque=. _At No. 19 of this street_ are the ruins of the =Hôtel Thiret de Prain=. =The Hôtel Thiret de Prain= This was a mansion in the days of Henry IV. and Louis XIII. Richelieu stayed there in 1641. [Illustration: HÔTEL THIRET DE PRAIN IN 1918 _These two photographs illustrate the systematic destructions practised by the Germans._] An imposing building, bordered with streets on its four sides, it had retained its original appearance. The carriage-entrance in the Rue Eugène Desteuque alone had been rebuilt in 1697. The principal entrance was surmounted with a gallery, the walls, ceiling and beams of which were covered with delicate decorative paintings. On the first floor one of the corner rooms, looking east, contained a large Henry IV. mantelpiece, above which were the arms of the nobles of Prain. Only the metallic portion remains. [Illustration: INTERIOR FAÇADE OF THE CLOISTER OF THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS _In the courtyard of No. 9, Rue des Trois-Raisinets._] The dove-cot of the Hôtel, a massive square tower with pent-house roof, overlooking the Rue d'Avenay, was destroyed by the bombardments. _On the left of the Rue Eugène-Desteuque, opposite the Hôtel Thiret-de-Prain, is the_ Rue des Trois-Raisinets. At No. 9 are the ruins of a Franciscan Cloister (_photo above_). This street (_photo below_), like the Cloister, suffered severely from the bombardments. [Illustration: RUINS OF THE MARGOTIN FACTORY _14, Rue des Trois-Raisinets._] _Return to the Rue Eugène-Desteuque and follow the same as far as the_ Rue de la Grue (_on the right_). This street was badly damaged by shell-fire and is impracticable for motor-cars. It was named after the sign carved on a stone (_photo, p. 91_) of the house at No. 5 (entirely destroyed by the shells). At the end stood the house where J. B. Colbert was born (at the corner of the Rues Cérès and de Nanteuil, _photo below_). [Illustration: THE SIGN WHICH GAVE ITS NAME TO THE RUE DE LA GRUE _It was at No. 5, but has been destroyed._] _Return to the Rue Eugène-Desteuque, follow it as far as the_ Rue de l'Université. _Turn into the latter on the left._ This street was destroyed as early as September, 1914. At No. 25 are the ruins of a Professional School for Girls, formerly the St. Martha Hospital. The latter, also known as the "Hôpital des Magneuses," was founded in the 17th century by Mesdames de Magneux, and rebuilt in the 18th century in the Louis XVI. style. [Illustration: RUINS OF THE HOUSE WHERE COLBERT WAS BORN _At the corner of the Rues Cérès and de Nanteuil._]