_The road leads to_ =Belloy=, _which pass through, leaving the pond on the left. Just outside the village, there is_ a "Calvary", _whilst a little further on, are_ battery positions with shelters. =Méry=, whose church is in _the third street on the left, is next reached_. The oldest parts of the church (choir, left transept and tower) date from the 16th century. The rest is 18th century. There are underground shelters in the village and surroundings, the entrances to which are nearly all blocked up. As in the other villages on this plateau, ancient _sarcophagi_ have been discovered at Méry. _Turn back and take G.C. 146 to_ RESSONS-SUR-MATZ. Trenches with wire entanglements are to be seen along the road. [Illustration: ARTILLERY PASSING THROUGH RESSONS-SUR-MATZ.] From Belloy Plateau to Compiègne, =via Ressons-sur-Matz, Marquéglise, Margny-sur-Matz, Élincourt-St. Marguerite, Marest-sur-Matz, Coudun and Bienville.= _At the crossing of the road with N. 17, on the left, is_ the CHATEAU OF SÉCHELLES. _Continue along G.C. 146; 2 kms. further on, there is a very bad level-crossing over a narrow-gauge railway. After crossing a normal gauge railway (l. c.) and another narrow-gauge line_, =Ressons-sur-Matz= _is reached. Turn left to reach the church._ [Illustration: RESSONS-SUR-MATZ.--THE MAIN STREET.] Ressons is a very ancient market-town. St. Amand, bishop of Maestricht, preached the Gospel there about the year 632. It was formerly a fairly important place, especially in the 16th century. A fortified castle, standing at the end of the village on the road to Séchelles, was taken by the Burgundians in 1430, and afterwards recaptured by the French. The church (_Hist. Mon._) dates from various periods: the nave and side-aisle with their richly ornamented buttresses were rebuilt in the middle of the 16th century; the most ancient parts (cornices of the nave, and the northern transept and choir) are 12th century; fragments of the stained-glass windows bear the date "1561". The building was considerably damaged in 1918: the stained-glass windows were destroyed and the bell disappeared. _Turn back, and beyond Place du Marché take G.C. 41 on the left. On leaving Ressons, there is a bad level-crossing over a narrow-gauge railway, another in very bad condition beyond Bayencourt Farm, and a third 1 km. further on, after which_ =Marquéglise= _is reached. (See sketch-map, p. 114.)_ [Illustration: MARQUÉGLISE.--A CORNER OF THE VILLAGE.] The old Château opposite the church is in ruins; the surrounding walls and outlying pavilions alone remain standing. The church is mainly 16th century. The choir vaulting contains several keystones bearing coats-of-arms. A pretty 15th or 16th century cross with a Virgin on one of its sides, which used to stand in the cemetery, was destroyed. [Illustration: MARQUÉGLISE. THE CHURCH AND FRENCH MILITARY GRAVES.]