n AUBE. 



force WM defeated at Nogent, June 28, 1359, and the event wu 

 commemorated by the erection of a small chapel, on the porch of which 

 WM the inscription " Tnix fuit hie bellum nostrates inter et Anglos." 

 The chapel, demolished during the first French revolution, wu rebuilt 

 in 1818. The town wu bravely defended for two days by the French 

 under Genera] Bourmont against an Austrian division in February 

 1814. Near Nogent are the remains of the monastery of Paraclet, 

 founded in 1123 by Abelard. Abelard and Heloise were buried in 

 the same tomb at Paraclet, where their remains lay till 1792, when 

 the abbey wu sold and their coffin wu removed to the church of 

 St. -Laurent, in Nogent-eur-Seine, whence it wu afterwards trans- 

 ferred to Paris and after some delay deposited in the cemetery of 

 Pere-la-Chaiae. The abbey was partly destroyed in 1792 ; it wu 

 then purchased by a comedian, but the buildings lay in ruins till 

 General Pajol became the proprietor and built a handsome residence 

 on the site. Pont-lt-Roy, 5 miles by railway E. by N. from Nogent, 

 is now a small place, but was formerly a town of some importance, 

 and frequently taken in the wars of the French ami Kn^liih in the 

 14th and 15th centuries. The castle, which was originally built by the 

 counts of Champagne and in which Napoleon's mother used to reside, 

 wu burnt down by the Cossacks in 1814. A handsome residence in 

 the Italian style wu built on its site in 1830 by M. Cuimtr Perrier. 

 Komilly, a station on the railway from Troyes to Montereau, 24 miles 

 N.W. from Troyes and 11 miles N.E. from Nogent, is a well-built 

 town situated at the foot of a hill on the left bank of the Seine, and 

 has a population of 3737. A handsome chateau stands on the site of 

 the old castle of Romilly, which was formerly defended by walls, 

 bastions, towers, and fortified gates entered by draw-bridges. The 

 hosiery manufactures give employment to a good many hands in the 

 town and neighbourhood. There are also corn-mills, oil-mills, saw- 

 mills, several dye-houses, and a gypsum-kiln. In the vicinity of Romilly 

 stood the Cistercian abbey of Scellieres, founded in 1167, demolished 

 by the Huguenots in 1567, and again during the first French 

 revolution. In the Abbey church the remains of Voltaire lay from 

 June 2, 1778, till Hay 10, 1791, when they were exhumed and 

 translated to the Pantheon in Paris. Of the whole abbey only two 

 arches of the church are now standing. Among the other towns of 

 the arrondissement the following may be mentioned. Pont-iur-Keitte, 

 or \~itlmatu-e, in a valley 8 miles N.N.E. from Nogent, has a population 

 of 2669. This place wu formerly fortified, but the ramparts are now 

 made into promenades. It has some trade in white wine and vinegar ; 

 ironmongery, shoe and glove leather, vinegar, and baskets are made. 



Of the fourth arrondissement the chief town is Bar-itir-Auke, which 

 is the seat of a tribunal of first instance and of a college, and has n 

 population of 4169. The town is situated at the foot of a hill on the 

 right bank of the Aube, 29 miles E. by S. from Troyes. On the hill 

 are the remains of an ancient camp, and also a small chapel dedicated 

 to Sainte Germaine, which stands in 48 1 4' N. lat., 4 42' 44" E. long. 

 There formerly stood on this hill a priory founded by Simon of Volois. 

 Bar is an old and generally ill-built town ; the principal street which 

 abuts on the Aube is lined with tolerably good houses. A shady walk 

 runs along the river. The Aube is crossed by a stone bridge on 

 which is built a chapel, marking the spot whence Charles XII. caused 

 the Bastard of Bourbon to be hurled into the river in 1440. Bar wu 

 formerly fortified but the ramparts were demolished at the time of the 

 first French revolution. It possesses two churches, one dedicated to 

 St. Pierre, a huge structure, the pavement of which is much lower 

 than the surface of the surrounding soil ; and the other to St. Maclou, 

 a small edifice, supposed to be the chapel of the old castle of Bar-sur- 

 Aube, which wu made a collegiate church in 1169 ; the grand altar 

 of this church is decorated with fine gilt carvings by Bouchardon. 

 The other noticeable buildings are the hospital, founded by the counts 

 of Bar in the llth century, and afterwards endowed by the counts of 

 Champagne and Louis XI V. ; the college buildings, and the town-ball 

 The town poseeeses a horticultural establishment containing large 

 nurseries of ornamental and fruit-trees, orangeries, and an extensive 

 collection of native and exotic plants. From the Roman tombs, urns, 

 and coins found in the neighbourhood it would seem that the Romans 

 had a station here. The Huns destroyed the town in the 5th century, 

 and at this time the martyrdom of Sainte Germaine is said to have 

 occurred. It wu rebuilt at the close of the century and became a 

 place of great commercial resort. From the time of Pepin le Bref 

 Bar gave title to a county ; the county wu reunited to the crown in 

 1861. Of the old castle of the counts of Bar there remains only a 

 mound, called ' La Motte,' and u some say the keep, which now 

 serves the church of St-Haclou for a tower. Bar-sur-Aube wu the 

 capital of Voltage, a district of Basse-Champagne, which comprised 

 also the towns of Vassy and Joinvillo and their dependencies. The 

 chief industrial products are calicoes, table-covers, nails, paper, brandy, 

 and vinegar ; there is also a good trade in corn, wine, wood, hemp, 

 and wool. The corn purchased in this market is usually sent to 

 Gray in Haute-Saone, where it is embarked on the Saone and conveyed 

 to Lyon and other southern markets. Brienne or Britnne-tr-Ckdttau, 



.5r!,. l<>Wn of about 200 inhabitants, is situated at the foot of a 

 tugfa hill not far from the right bank of the Aube, 14 miles N.W. fro,,, 

 Bar-wr-Auba. The town takes its surname from the fortified castle 

 wmcn for several oratories crowned the summit of the hill, and whi.-h 

 U now replaced bjr one of the finest modern chateaus in France, 



AUCH. 



671 



erected by the last count of Brienne, in 1767. Brienno is famous for 

 its military college, in which Napoleon Bonaparte commenced hi* 

 studies. The college had been founded in 1730 by the Order of 

 Minims for the instruction of youth ; in 1776 the government selected 

 it u a preparatory house to the military school of Paris. Napoleon 

 entered it, April 23, 1779, before he wu ten years of age, and 1> ft it 

 October 17, 1784. The college buildings were sold by auction and 

 demolished in 1790. The chateau escaped revolutionary violence and 

 wu occupied by the emperor Napoleon, January 29 and 30, 1814, 

 whilst struggling against the allied armies who had invaded France. 

 During a Bouguinary action fought here on the 29th, the town of 

 Brienne, which wu built almost entirely of wood, wu reduced to 

 ashes. Soulaina, 11 miles N. of Bar, at the source of the Laines, a 

 feeder of the Voire, has a population of 850. There is a great extent 

 of marsh land near this place, on which above 10,000 geese are 

 annually reared. VcnJeurre, 16 miles W. from Bar, population 1841, 

 stands near the source of the Barse, at the foot of a hill crowned with 

 an ancient castle, and has paper-mills and potteries. 



The fifth arrondissement is named from its chief town Sar-tur-Seine, 

 situated in a rich wine district on the left bank of the Seine at the 

 extremity of a narrow valley, 18 miles S.E. from Troyes, in 48 6' 50" 

 N. lat., 4 22' 33" E. long. : population 2500. The town is well-l.nilt 

 and has pretty walks along the Seine, which is here crossed by a 

 handsome stone bridge. It was formerly of much greater importance 

 and much larger than it is now. When stormed and plundered by 

 the Lorroiners, in 1359, it contained according to Froisgart more than 

 900 large houses, or hotels u he calls them. The town was defended 

 by a castle, the site of which is marked by the clock-tower. It wu 

 governed by counts, who were one of six peers of Champagne, and in 

 that quality sat at the Grands Jours, or High Courts of the province. 

 The town suffered also in the religious wars of France, and in March 

 1814, marshal Macdonald was forced to retreat from Bar by an allied 

 force under the prince of Wurtemberg. Some druggets, brandy, 

 paper, and leather arc manufactured. 



Among the other towns the following arc the most important. 

 Chaource, 12 miles W. by S. from Bar, population 1540, han a very 

 ancient church, on the windows and walla of which are many gothic 

 inscriptions ; pottery, glass, and cordage are made. uora, in a good 

 wine district, 9 miles E. from Bar, has a population of 1727. Muuy- 

 f Unique, on the Seine, 12 miles S.S.E. from Bar, near the boundary of 

 Cote-d'Or, bos a population of 1706, and a brisk trade in wine and 

 brandy ; in the neighbourhood there is a large forest. Let-Riceyi, 8 

 miles 8. from Bar : population 3455. This name includes Kiccy-lmiit, 

 Ricey-haute-rive, and Ricey-bu, three villages, which stand in a 

 narrow valley watered by the Laignc* and hemmed in by hills entirely 

 covered with vines. Though generally ill-built these villages contain 

 several handsome residences and three large churches surmounted by 

 high towers. The chateau of Ricey-bu is one of the oldest of the 

 castellated mansions of Burgundy. It was built by Robert Baron des 

 Ricoys in the llth century ; a portion of the structure was rebuilt in 

 the 18th century. The excellent wine of the district, brandy, cheese 

 of good quality, and leather, are the chief articles of trade ; litho- 

 graphic stones are found here. The wine of Les-Riceys is classed on 

 a level with the second-rate wines of Cdte-d'Or, and with the best 

 growth of the Moconnais. It is exported chiefly to Paris, the 

 department of Nord, and Belgium. 



The department forms the diocese of the bishop of Troyes. It is 

 included in the jurisdiction of the High Court of Paris and in the 

 First Military Division, of which Paris is head-quarters. 



(Dictionnaire dt la France; Annuairc pour f An 1853.) 



AUBENAS. [Anuf:. 



AUlilN, ST. [JERSEY.] 



AUBURN, U.S. [New YORK.] 



AUHrssuN. [CREUSE.] 



AUCH, an archiepiscopal town in France, capital of the department 

 of Gen ; the seat of tribunals of first instance and of commerce, <>(' ' v. . . 

 theological seminaries, of an agricultural society, and of an endowed 

 college, is situated on the slope and top of n hi^l, liil! (he left bank 

 of the river Gere, in 43 88' 60" N. lat,, 35' l.V K. long., 380 miles 

 S. by W. from Paris, 100 miles S.S.E. from Bordeaux, and has a popu- 

 lation of about 11,000. On the southern and eastern sides of the hill 

 the houses rise one above another like the steps of on amphitheatre. 

 The lower port of the town hu narrow and crooked but clean and 

 well-paved streets, and it communicates with the higher ]>rirt of the 

 city by a staircase called 'Pousterlo,' which hu above 200 steps. The 

 upper town hu straighter and more regular streets and better houses. 

 The summit of the hill is occupied by the ' Place Royale,' a handsome 

 square, adjoining which is the ' Cours d'Etigny,' a public walk com- 

 manding views of the Pyrenees. Tim approaches to the town are 

 planted for above two miles with double rows of elm-trees, and form 

 agreeable promenades. The principal building in Audi is the cathe- 

 dral of Sainte-Marie, which stands near the Placo-Royale in the high- 

 est part of the town. This edifice, begun in 1489, is constructed in 

 the gothic style, but it is rather disfigured by a Greek portico added 

 in the reign of Louis XIV., when the cathedral was finished. The 

 interior is 347 feet long and 74 feet high, and lighted through painted 

 glass windows of great richness and beauty. The choir isseparatcd from 

 the nave by a screen and rood-loft, in the decorations of which, how- 



