The Church of Ste. Croix, just mentioned, was consecrated in 1107 by Pope Pascal II., but not finished until some years later. The nave and south-west tower were ruined in 1557 during the religious wars. The choir, with picturesque stilted arches, the transepts, and the central tower, are all that remain of one of the finest Romanesque basilicas in France. The road goes northwards through the mossy-roofed village of Mesves, which has a twelfth-century barn, and for mile after mile the Loire appears on the left as a blue ribbon threaded through the lacework of the intervening trees. Pouilly is a cheerful little town with high-pitched roofs and stone walls, a seventeenth-century château, and a partially Gothic church. The white wine of the neighbourhood is considered exceedingly good. COSNE is a considerable town with iron foundries, barracks, and a hospital. The church of St. Aignan has a fine Romanesque apse with richly carved capitals to its pillars, and a greatly enriched west door of the same period. Pope Pius VII., when in France under Napoleon’s orders, stayed at the Hôtel du Grand Cerf. One passes through the village of Myennes, with the houses standing back from the road, and two or three hamlets, including Bonny-sur-Loire, with the oddest spire to its church, and then enters the village of Briare, where the road to Orleans goes off to the left. The quaint Hôtel de France, with a courtyard, can furnish a modest _déjeuner_. SECTION XXIV BRIARE TO MELUN, 64 MILES (103 KILOMETRES) DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE Kil. Miles. =Briare= to Montargis =41= 25½ =Montargis= to Nemours =32= 20 =Nemours= to Fontainebleau =15= 9¼ =Fontainebleau= to Melun =15= 9¼ TWO ALTERNATIVE ROUTES 1. =Briare= to =Orleans= via =Gien=, **Ouzouer-sur-Loire, and **Châteauneuf =70= =43½= For the route from =Orleans= to =Rouen=, =Havre=, =Dieppe=, and =Calais=, see Sections I. to IV. 2. =Fontainebleau= to =Chartres= =97= =60¼= =Fontainebleau= to Milly =18= 11¼ =Milly= to Maisse =5= 3 =Maisse= to Étampes =18= 11¼ =Étampes= to Authon-la-Plaine =16= 10 =Authon-la-Plaine= to Ablis =13= 8 =Ablis= to Chartres =27= 16¾ NOTES FOR DRIVERS Ascent from =Briare= fairly steep; after that level to Montargis. =Montargis= to =Fontainebleau=.--Practically a flat road, chiefly in the valley of the Loing. PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE =Briare.=--A village at the junction of the roads from Orleans and Paris. =La Boussière.=--A hamlet with a small château in a park. =Mormant.=--A small village with a Romanesque church.