[Illustration: CHIMNEY-PIECE IN THE PRÉFECTURE (FIFTEENTH CENTURY)] =Notre-Dame de l'Épine= (historical monument) (See plan inserted between pp. 198-199 and map between pp. 212-213) [Illustration: NOTRE-DAME DE L'ÉPINE IN THE MIDST OF RUINS] In order to reach Notre-Dame de l'Épine, which is eight kilometres from Châlons, _leave Châlons by the Avenue de Metz, which begins at Saint-Jean Square. This avenue rejoins_ N. 3, _in which turn to the right. It is a straight road to l'Épine._ Notre-Dame comes into view suddenly at the entrance to the village, which, as the above photo shows, has suffered greatly. A large number of its houses have been destroyed by fire, but the old church had a miraculous escape. Notre-Dame, which dates from the fifteenth century, replaced an earlier edifice built on the spot where, according to legend, a heavenly light disclosed a statue of the Virgin in a bush. From the beginning of the thirteenth century, pilgrims flocked to say their prayers at the foot of the miraculous statue. Although now seven hundred years old this pilgrimage still retains its famous reputation. [Illustration: FRONT OF NOTRE-DAME DE L'ÉPINE] The church was built by the inhabitants of the district, pious workmen coming from as far as Bar and Verdun; and the expression "aller à l'Épine," meaning to work for nothing, still exists. The church was finished in the sixteenth century. Three doorways in the fifteenth century front open on the ground floor, and are surmounted by angular pediments. The central doorway, the largest and most interesting of the three, is dedicated to Christ. A crucifix is to be seen in the centre of the pediment. In the tympanum is represented the Birth of Christ; and scenes from the Passion are carved on the lintel. A sixteenth century Virgin, holding in her arms the Infant Jesus, stands with her back to the pier which supports the tympanum and divides the entrance into two parts. The curve of the arch and the side doors of the porch were ornamented with sculptures, of which many now are missing or mutilated. A beautiful rose-window and two large windows light the front below the towers. The spires of unequal height are of stone, and are formed of eight branches united in a crown in their middle: that on the right is a royal crown with the lilies; that on the left is an imperial one, bearing eight eagles. In 1798 Claude Chappe, the inventor of aerial telegraphy, installed an apparatus on the left spire. This was destroyed, but was restored again in the nineteenth century. [Illustration: SOUTH FRONT OF NOTRE-DAME DE L'ÉPINE] Walk round the exterior of the church in order to examine the succession of gargoyles projecting from the buttresses. They have been carved in a keen, satirical spirit. [Illustration: ROOD-LOFT OF NOTRE-DAME DE L'ÉPINE]