St. Rémy, a few leagues to the northeast of Arles, is described by all writers as wonderfully impressive and appealing to all who come within its spell;--though the guide-books all say that it is a place without importance. René Bazin has this to say: "_St. Rémy, ce n'est pas beau, ce St. Rémy_." Madame Duclaux apostrophizes thus: "We fall at once in love with St. Rémy." With this preponderance of modern opinion we throw in our lot as to the charms of St. Rémy; and so it will be with most, whether with regard to its charming environment or its historical monuments, its arch, or its funeral memorials. One will only come away from this charming _petite ville_ with the idea that, in spite of its five thousand present-day inhabitants, it is something more than a modern shrine which has been erected over a collection of ancient relics. The little city breathes the very atmosphere of mediævalism. [Illustration] XIV ST. CASTOR DE NÎMES Like its neighbouring Roman cities, Nîmes lives mostly in the glorious past. In attempting to realize--if only in imagination--the civilization of a past age, one is bound to bear always in mind the _motif_ which caused any great art expression to take place. Here at Nîmes the church builder had much that was magnificent to emulate, leaving style apart from the question. [Illustration: _St. Castor de Nîmes_] He might, when he planned the cathedral of St. Castor, have avowed his intention of reaching, if possible, the grace and symmetry of the _Maison Carée_; the splendour of the temple of Diana; the majesty of the _Tour Magna_; the grandeur of the arena; or possibly in some measure a blend of all these ambitious results. Instead, he built meanly and sordidly, though mainly by cause of poverty. The Church of the Middle Ages, though come to great power and influence, was not possessed of the fabulous wealth of the vainglorious Roman, who gratified his senses and beautified his surroundings by a lavish expenditure of means, acquired often in a none too honest fashion. The imperative need of the soul was for a house of worship of some sort, and in some measure relative to the rank of the prelate who was to guard their religious life. This took shape in the early part of the eleventh century, when the cathedral of St. Castor was built. Of the varied and superlative attractions of the city one is attempted to enlarge unduly; until the thought comes that there is the making of a book itself to be fashioned out of a reconsideration of the splendid monuments which still exist in this city of celebrated art. To enumerate them all even would be an impossibility here. The tiny building known as the _Maison Carée_ is of that greatness which is not excelled by the "Divine Comedy" in literature, the "Venus of Milo" in sculpture, or the "Transfiguration" in painting.