[Illustration: THE CHURCH OF ST. SEPULCHRE IN 1919.] [Illustration: CHURCH OF ST. SEPULCHRE, THE CHANCEL.] [Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. SEPULCHRE. (_Seen from the Chancel, near the Porch_).] At the end of the right aisle is an _Entombment_ (1549-1582), a gift of the De Baillon family. The Tomb, which was protected during the war, comprises _The Burial Scene_ and an _Ecce Homo_ at the top of the arch over the former. The latter group was finished long before the other one, and is more natural and of finer finish than that of the Tomb. The figures kneeling at the praying-desks on the front of the Tomb represent Pierre de Baillon and his wife, Marguerite de la Morlière. At the other end of the right aisle stood the baptismal font (1539), mutilated and covered with whitewash in 1870. The church of La Boissière possesses an identical font dating from the same period, but much better preserved. The font probably lies buried under the débris. In the font chapel there is a stone bas-relief (protected during the war), said to have come from the old church. It was consecrated to the Virgin, who is seen receiving the benediction of the Eternal Father. The carvings and inscriptions around the Virgin, symbolically recalling the principal episodes in her life, are taken from the Song of Solomon. Unfortunately, this bas-relief was daubed over in 1870, and some of the carvings, particularly _Les trois enfants qui pissent_, were mutilated because of their realism. [Illustration: MONTDIDIER.--THE LOWER TOWN, SEEN THROUGH A SHELL-HOLE IN THE CHURCH OF ST. SEPULCHRE.] _Go down Rue Parmentier, then turn left into Boulevard Béjot, in the direction of Compiègne._ From Montdidier to Cuvilly, =via Assainvillers, Piennes, Rollot, Boulogne-la-Grasse, Conchy-les-Pots and Orvillers-Sorel=. _Follow Boulevard Béjot, then take Boulevard de Compiègne, on the right, and a little further on, N. 35, also on the right, to_ =Assainvillers=, entirely razed. _Take the second road on the left and cross the light railway, 0 km. 700 beyond which are_ several lines of trenches. _Take the left-hand street, which leads straight to the church and village of_ =Piennes=. (_See sketch-map below._) [Illustration: ASSAINVILLERS IN RUINS.] Piennes. [Illustration] The church of Piennes (_Hist. Mon._) dating from the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century, was a remarkable structure. The tierce-point doorway comprised two round-arched bays, with a blind Flamboyant tympanum. The dividing pillar was surmounted by a statue of the Virgin resting on a crescent. [Illustration: ASSAINVILLERS CHURCH.] Between the doorway and the buttresses framing it, an elaborate Gothic canopy sheltered an empty niche on either side. The front of each buttress was ornamented with a niche under a Gothic canopy containing mutilated statues of St. Catherine and St. Marguerite. [Illustration: PIENNES CHURCH.]