AISXE. 



AIX. 



154 



S.S.E. from St.-Quentin, on the right bank of the Oise, has 1471 

 inhabitants, who grow flax and weave linen. A fine old castle which 

 dated from the 12th century stood here till 1839, when it was sold 

 and demolished for the materials of which it was built. Ribemont, 

 on a hill above the left bank of the Oise, 8 miles E. by S. from 

 St.-Quentin, is a manufacturing town of 2791 inhabitants. It partly 

 occupies the site of the strong old castle of Ribemont, in which 

 Philip I. hH a parliament in 1084, and which is distinguished in 

 French history for the number of its sieges, between the year just 

 mentioned and its final capture and demolition by the Prince de Conde' 

 in 1653. Linen, muslin, and calico are among the industrial pro- 

 ducts. Ribemont is the birthplace of Condorcet. Vermand, which 

 perpetuates the name of a Gallic people called by the Romans 

 Veromandui, is 5 miles N.W. from St.-Quentin, and has 1255 

 inhabitants. A Roman elliptic camp, in fine preservation, exists in 

 the centre of the village on the little river Auvignon. Betticonrt, a 

 village of 1255 inhabitants, 8 miles N. from St.-Quentin, may be 

 mentioned as being near the southern entrance to the great tunnel of 

 the Stk-Quentin Canal. 



The fourth arroudissement is named from its chief town Veniiu, 

 situated 23 miles N.N.E. from Laon, on the high road from Paris 

 to Mons, in 49 50' N. lat., 3 54' E. long : population, 2677. It 

 waa taken by Henry VIII. in 1544, and its history before and for a 

 century after this date presenta a series of sieges. A treaty was 

 concluded here between Spain and France, May 2, 1598. The town 

 stands, it is said, on an ancient site. It is built on the slope of a hill 

 above the Vilpion, a small tributary of the Serre, and has a college, 

 a tribunal of first instance, and an hospital founded in 1570, near 

 which is a chapel adorned with paintings. The industrial products 

 of Vervins include woollen stockings, linen, muslin, earthenware, 

 beer, paper, 4c. Aubentun, near the source of the Oise, 11 miles E. 

 from Vervins, and near the junction of the Aube and the Ton, has a 

 population of 1593, a handsome parish church, and manufactures of 

 woollen cloth and carpets. /." Oapttte, 8 miles N. from Vervins, 

 population 1532, has chicory-mills and breweries. Quite, a fortified 

 town of the third class, situated on the left bank of the Oise, 13 miles 

 W.N'.W. from Vervins, has a population of 3543. The fortifications 

 consist of an encircling rampart and a strong citadel built on a 

 perpendicular rock. The history of the town presenta a long 

 succession of sieges from A.D. 1050 to 1815, when it was taken by the 

 allies. Guise and its territory were conveyed to Charles of Anjou, 

 with the title of Count, on his marriage to Isabella of Luxembourg 

 in 1443. It afterwards became the property of the house of Lorraine, 

 in whose favour it was erected into a duchy in 1528. Charles of 

 Blois, the competitor of Jean de Montfort for the duchy of Bretagne, 

 and Camille Desmoulins, a leader in the first French revolution, were 

 natives of Guise, llinon, a fortified town till 1637, when its defences 

 were razed, is situated 11 miles N.E. from Vervins, and has about 

 3000 inhabitants, who manufacture earthenware and nails. There 

 are iron-forges and foundries near it. A'ourion-cn-Thierache, 8 miles 

 N.X.W. from Vervins, on the edge of the forest of Nouvion, and on 

 the right bank of the Xoirieu, a feeder of the Oise, has above 3000 

 inhabitants. Vast quantities of wood-work, especially of the sort 

 called bois jvli, consisting of wooden dishes and other utensils for 

 household use are exported from this town. Other industrial pro- 

 ducts are sabots, cotton-yarn, twist, and drinking-glasses. Oriyny-cn- 

 Thitrache, 6 miles N.E. from Vervins, on the right bank of the Ton, 

 is the centre of a great manufacture of panniers and fancy basket-work, 

 which are exported to foreign countries : population, 2362. Saint, 

 1 miles VV. from Vervins, has iron-foundries and 2211 inhabitants. 

 Wattiyny, 16 miles N.W. from Vervins, has a population of 1198. 

 The chief manufacture is serge. Hops are cultivated in the vicinity. 



The fifth arrondissement takes its name from its chief-town, 

 Chateau-Thierry, a first-class station on the Paris-Strasbourg Rail- 

 way, situated on the right bank of the Marne, 59 miles N.E. from 

 Paris, in 49" 2' 46" N. lat., 3 23' 40" E. long. : population, above 

 5000. The town is built on the slope of a hill above the Marne, and 

 owes its origin to a castle built here in the 8th century by Charles 

 Martel on the hill-top. The property, it is said, passed by purchase, 

 about the middle of the 10th century, to a person named Thierry, 

 who enlarged the castle and added to its defences. Of this castle 

 there are still some remains. One of the towers is used as a powder- 

 magazine, and the site is converted into a public walk, which 

 commands a fine view of the town and river. Chateau-Thierry, like 

 most other fortified towns in the north of France, has often suffered 

 from th; ravages of war. It was taken by the English in 1421, by 

 Charles V. in 1544, and by the Duke of Maine in 1591. In the 

 campaign of the Marne, in 1814, it was frequently traversed by the 

 ii and the allies, and suffered from both parties. The town has 

 three suburbs ; one on the left bank of the Marne, which is reached 

 by a stone bridge of three arches ; another on the opposite side of the 

 town, along the Soissons road ; and a third called La-Barrc, which is 

 eparatcd from the town by one of the old gates. La Fontaine was a 

 native of Chateau-Thierry. The house in which he was born in the 

 Hue dM Cordeliers is marked by an inscription, and a marble statue 

 of him is erected at om: <-w\ .,r th- public walk. ( 'hiitcau-Tuierry 

 has a college and a tribunal of first instance ; manufactures of linen, 

 cotton-yarn fine pottery, and leather ; it has also several dye-houses, 



and a good trade in corn, wine, wool, sheep, cattle, plaster-of-Paria, 

 &c. It is famous for its large three-day sheep-fair, which commences 

 on the Wednesday after Ascension Thursday. The environs of 

 this town are very beautiful. The railway runs along the left bank 

 of the Marne. Charly, prettily situated on the right bank of the 

 Marne, 6 miles S.W. from Chateau-Thierry, has 1676 inhabitants, 

 who manufacture hosiery, cloth, serge, and copper utensils. Conde, 

 7 miles E.S.E. from Chateau-Thierry, at the junction of the Surmelin 

 and Dhuis, which form a feeder of the Marne, is a village of 746 

 inhabitants. This village is in the Brie district. Fere, formerly the 

 capital of the district of Tardenois, is 13 miles N.E. from Chateau- 

 Thierry, on the right bank of the Ourcq, and has a population of 

 2461, and manufactures of woollen hosiery, earthenware, oil, &c. 

 La-Ferte-Milon, the birthplace of Racine, whose statue ornaments the 

 town, is situated on a hill above the Ourcq, at the western side of the 

 department, 15 miles N.W. from Chateau-Thierry. It is girt with 

 walls, and was formerly a very strong fortress, being surrounded by 

 two ramparts with massive towers, and defended within by a strong 

 castle or citadel, now in ruins. It often suffered from sieges, and is 

 now a decayed place of under 2000 inhabitants. Neuilly-St.-Frmt, 

 11 miles N. from Chateau-Thierry, and formerly famous for its large 

 fairs, and for its strong castle, which was often taken by the English, 

 and of which there are still remains, is a small place of about 1800 

 inhabitants. 



The department forms the see of the Bishop of Soissons, who is a 

 suffragan of the Archbishop of Rheinis. It is included in the second 

 military division, of which Lille is head quarters. Under the 

 monarchy it returned seven members to the Chamber of Deputies. 



AIX, an archiepiscopal town in the department of Bouches-du- 

 Rhone, in the south of France ; formerly the capital of Provence ; 

 the seat of a high court of justice, of tribunals of first instance and of 

 commerce ; of a university academy, of faculties of law and theology, 

 of a communal college, of senior and junior theological seminaries ; 

 situated in a plain near the right bank of the Arc, 17 miles N. by E. 

 from Marseille, in 43 81' 48" N. lat., 5 26' 32" E. long: population, 

 above 27,000. 



Aix stands partly on the site of the Roman town Atjuce Sextia, 

 founded B.C. 123 by Caius Sextius Calvinus, and thus nam.ed from 

 him and from the warm springs, which he is said to have discovered 

 here. Marius, who gained his great victory over the Teutonea and 

 Cimbri near Mont Victoire, a few miles east of Aix (B.C. 102), 

 embellished the town, and constructed aqueducts to supply it with 

 water. Julius Csesar settled here a colony draughted from the 25th 

 legion. The town subsequently became the capital of Narbouensis 

 Secunda, and the seat of a Roman pnetor. About A.D. 430 it was 

 saved from the ravages of the Visigoths and Burgundians at the 

 intercession of Archbishop Basilius. The Saracens sacked the city, 

 massacred its inhabitants, destroyed its monuments, and razed its 

 walls. The walls were rebuilt in 796, in the reign of Lothaire. The 

 city became a place of great importance under the Counts of Provence. 

 The poetical contests of the troubadours from the time of Alphonsus 

 II. of Aragon, at the end of the 12th century, made it long the literary 

 capital not only of Provence, but of a great part of southern Europe ; 

 and the frequent tournaments and splendid pageants introduced by 

 Raymond Bcranger IV., and subsequently by the ' good king ReneV 

 whose memory is still warmly cherished, attracted to it annual crowds 

 from all parts of Europe. After the death of Charles III., the suc- 

 cessor of King R(?ne, Provence was united to the crown of France, 

 and Aix became the seat of the Provencal parliament, which however 

 was but a poor indemnification for the loss of its court. Nevertheless, 

 it has never ceased to be the literary and artistic capital of Provence. 

 Aix was plundered by the Marseillais in the reign of Francis I. 

 Charles V. seized it in 1535, and had himself here crowned King of 

 Aries. 



Aix is prettily situated in a basin bounded by ranges of arid hills 

 on the north and south, on the east by the precipitous mass of Mont 

 Sainte-Victoire, and on the west by an open plain laid out in olive- 

 grounds, which are famous for the produce of the ' sweet oil of Aix.' 

 Its form is nearly square. A wall flanked with towers, and in parts 

 going to decay, surrounds it. The ramparts are pierced by ten gate- 

 entrances. The interior is well built, and is divided into three principal 

 quarters : the old town, towards the north ; the new town ; and the 

 St.-Louis quarter. The last two were formerly suburbs, and were 

 inclosed with the old town only in the 16th and 17th centuries. The 

 old town, which still retains part of its own walls, is irregularly built, 

 but has tolerably good houses. The new town is built with great 

 regularity ; it contains several large hotels and handsome modern 

 houses, furnished very generally with balconies supported by terminal 

 statues. Four of the squares are large, regular, and adorned with 

 handsome fountains,- one of which, in the Place des-Precheurs, is 

 surmounted by a spread-eagle grasping a globe. The most striking 

 part of the new town however is the Cours, a noble street entered 

 from the side of Avignon ; it is wide, planted with four rows of elms, 

 and lined with large and handsome nouses. One end of it is closed 

 by a handsome iron railing. The great alley between these trees is 

 adorned with fountains, one of which, at the extremity of the walk, 

 is surmounted by a marble statue of King Rene 1 , by David. This 

 street contains the principal hotels, and takes its name from its being 



