BÉZIERS is an ancient Roman town, which has still a few relics in the shape of Roman walls, but no classic buildings of any importance. It stands upon a steep hill with almost perpendicular faces towards the river Orbe, which flows round its base. The town was strongly fortified, and held a prominent place as a fortress in the Middle Ages. Large masses of these fortifications are still observable to the right of the terrace at the west [Illustration: FIG. 96. BÉZIERS, FROM THE ORBE.] end of the cathedral (Fig. 96), now crowned with a large block of building occupied as a House of Detention. The spacious main street of the town ascends the hill from the south-east, and presents on either hand indications of the chief industry of the place in the immense and cavernous-looking cellars filled with innumerable barrels of alcohol, which, being in many cases too numerous for the cellars to contain, encumber the street in great piles. The effect of a street composed of these great vaulted caves is unique and remarkable. The Cathedral of St Nazaire stands on the summit of the hill. It was surrounded with a fortified enceinte, and, forming the chief citadel of the town, it was strongly built and designed for defence. The transept is the oldest portion, dating from the twelfth century. The southern angle buttresses are crowned with a parapet, pierced with flanking loop-holes, angled so as to send missiles in every direction. The cornice of these parapets is remarkable, and presents a good illustration of the Oriental or Saracenic influence above referred to (Fig. 97). The south transept commands the cloister, the walls of which were crenellated. [Illustration: FIG. 97. TOWER SOUTH SIDE OF ST NAZAIRE, BÉZIERS.] Béziers suffered more, perhaps, than any other place during the Albigensian Crusades. On one occasion, when the town was taken, every human being was put to the sword, to the number, it is said, of 60,000 souls. The buildings and defences were in great measure destroyed, and the cathedral was partly rebuilt and re-fortified in the fourteenth century. The west end commands the walls which crown the escarpments above the Orbe, and is strongly defended with two crenellated towers, and by a wide arched machicolation surmounting the west doorway and Rose window above it (Fig. 96). An embrasured parapet is placed above this, and three ornamental corbels jut out from the face of the wall, to enable the defenders to approach the parapet and man it. These corbels are, however, not joined to the parapet, although they divide the long arched machicolation into four smaller ones. The embrasures and machicolations are all provided (as usual in fourteenth and fifteenth century work) with bold beads or mouldings, to prevent arrows and bolts from ricocheting within the parapet. [Illustration: FIG. 98. APSE, ST NAZAIRE, BÉZIERS.]