In the day time great numbers of the population would leave the city and go out in the suburbs on the safe side to watch the combat, returning at night to their homes to see what destruction had been occasioned and, if possible, to get a night’s rest.  I had a large quantity of tobacco with me, which was received by the troops and by the civilians with great joy, for they had seen none for a month, the Germans having taken everything.

While the commercial part of the city had been absolutely destroyed, in other parts one would find places where stray shells had fallen, doing great damage.  It all seemed absolutely ruthless and useless.  The cure of the cathedral told me that the Germans during their occupation had established an observation post in the north tower with an electric searchlight.  This they took away with them, and some of the French officers, during the first days of reoccupation, occasionally went up there to have a look, but the cure had strongly objected and they had given it up.

I know that the two days that I was there nobody but myself went into the tower and I did so unbeknown to the authorities, being very careful not to show myself, as I was assured it would draw fire if the Germans saw anybody moving about on it.  I think, myself, that this is an exaggeration, as their line of observation must be at least seven or eight miles removed and at that distance, even with a very strong glass, it would be almost impossible to distinguish a human silhouette.

We left Rheims at 7 o’clock on Monday morning, proceeding to Villers-Cotterets and stopping at Lafere-en-Tardenois, which was the headquarters of the English.  Here there were great quantities of automobiles and considerable commotion that it was his honest opinion that this was not the case.  The village had been bombarded before the arrival of the Germans, and the Mayor had taken refuge in the cellar of the Mairie.  When the Germans arrived at about 3 o’clock they dragged him out and took him to a little place about three kilometers from Senlis, where he is supposed to have been questioned, together with other hostages.  At 10 o’clock that night he was shot and buried where he fell.

The next day seven other hostages were shot in view of the fact that some civilians were accused of having fired upon the military.  Three days after this the Acting Mayor and a party of citizens recovered the body of the Mayor, who had been buried under a very thin covering of earth in a very shallow grave—­so much so that his hands and feet were uncovered.  He had one bullet hole in his forehead, which would seem to indicate that the execution was not a military one, but that some officer had, for some reason, shot him—­perhaps in a moment of impatience.

From Senlis we went to Clermont, which is the headquarters of the left wing.  There I had the great good fortune to be introduced to Gen. Castelnau, who showed me his maps and the way a battle was fought on paper.  This is one of the greatest privileges I think I have ever enjoyed, and the curious part of it was that their way of working in the military art is very similar to the way we plot and scheme as architects.  The General interested me as a very fine, simple citizen.  Among other things he said to me: