The town, reduced to famine, was to surrender on April 18 if no help arrived, and six hostages were handed over as guarantee: two abbots, two nobles, and two commoners. Help was signalled on the day of the 18th; but the Armagnacs, before leaving, decapitated four hostages at the foot of the ramparts on which the tourist is standing. In return, the besieged flung down from the walls the heads of twenty prisoners captured during a sally. Six centuries have elapsed, but it will be seen that, towards hostages, the Germans still retain the mental attitude of the Middle Ages. A picture by Mélingue (reproduced above), which hangs in the town-hall, commemorates the execution of the hostages of Senlis in 1418. The next rampart is called the +Montauban+, after the square tower which was added to it in 1588. It was in the dry moat below that the Archers' Company held their practice. The head of the company, the "King of the Crossbow," was exempted by Henri III. from paying taxes, and ever since that remote period archery has always been held in honour at Senlis. At certain fêtes as many as 4,000 archers were assembled, part of them belonging to the town, the others coming from the surrounding country. From the rampart, the view of old Senlis, spread out at the foot of the cathedral, is particularly picturesque. [Illustration: SOLDIERS' GRAVES IN THE CEMETERY] _From the Creil Gate, where you come out on leaving the ramparts, the +Arena+ can be visited (see p. 65). After that, turn down the Avenue Vernois, at the end of which is seen the entrance to the cemetery._ The monument raised in memory of the hostages who were murdered in 1914 (_view below_) is in the western part of the cemetery. In the northern part is the grave of the soldiers who fell during the battles of Senlis (_view above_). [Illustration: MONUMENT OF THE HOSTAGES IN THE CEMETERY] From the Boulevard Pasteur, which is a continuation of the Avenue Vernois, there is a pretty view of the country. At the corner of the Rue Saint-Joseph stands a convent where seventy nuns remained during the German occupation. Some German soldiers made them open the door and demanded wine: "Oh!" answered the Reverend Mother, "the nuns only drink liquorice-water." _The tourist now finds himself at the Compiègne gate, from where he began his visit to the town. This is also the starting point fixed in the itinerary for the journey to Meaux (see p. 66)._ ARTISTIC SENLIS (See plan inserted between pp. 36-37) =The Cathedral of Notre-Dame= (historical monument) [Illustration: CATHEDRAL] The cathedral was begun in 1153 on the site of a church which had been destroyed and rebuilt several times since the third century. The work of construction was slow, as funds were often lacking, despite the help given by the kings of France. For several consecutive years collections were repeatedly made throughout the country in order to obtain resources for the bishop.