_On leaving Saint-Ayoul take a few steps along the first street on the right_ in order to glance at the tower of Notre-Dame-du-Val (classed as historical monument). The tower may be seen in the view at the foot of p. 130. It was built in the sixteenth century on the site of an ancient gate. Its construction occupied four years and cost only 1,400 "livres" (about £56), the workmen at this period receiving 2 sous (one penny) a day. The church and the cloister belonging to the tower disappeared during the Revolution. _Returning to the Place Saint-Ayoul, cross it on the right side, and at the far end take the Rue de la Cordonnerie, which is a continuation._ It was at No. 17 that the poet Hégésippe Moreau was brought up, and where he worked as a typographer. He has sung of Provins and the Voulzie in verses which are well-known:-- La Voulzie, est-ce un fleuve aux grandes iles? Non, Mais, avec un murmure aussi doux que son nom, Un tout petit ruisseau coulant, visible à peine: Un géant altéré le boirait d'une haleine, Le naiu vert Obéron, jouant au bord des flots, Sauterait par-dessus sads mouiller ses grelots. [Illustration: DOORWAY AT SAINTE-CROIX] _Cross the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, and following the Rue du Val, stop at the corner of the Rue Sainte-Croix in order to visit the church of this name a few steps further on._ _Whilst the tourist continues his walk towards the Hospital-General and the ramparts, which are not accessible to motor-cars, the latter may go and wait at the Porte de Jouy. This is reached by following the Rue du Val and its continuation the Rue St.-Thibaut, which brings one to the upper town. Here cross diagonally the Place du Châtel, follow the Rue Couverte and the Rue de Jouy till the porte is reached._ Church of Sainte-Croix This Church was originally the Chapel of Saint-Laurent-des-Ponts (it was impossible to enter it save by bridges thrown across the ditches, which are now covered in). [Illustration: STAINED GLASS WINDOWS, SAINTE-CROIX CHURCH] It was enlarged in the thirteenth century, and took its present name on the return from the crusades of Count Thibaut IV. of Champagne, who presented it with a fragment of the Cross, which he had brought from Jerusalem. The church was destroyed by fire in the fourteenth century, and rebuilt during the sixteenth. During the Revolution it became a saltpetre factory. The most interesting part of the façade is the doorway of the side aisle (_see p. 132_) which is a beautiful specimen of sixteenth century art. Above the transept rises a twelfth century tower, whose semi-circular belfry windows on the lower stage have been blocked up. The upper part is surmounted by a modern spire.