The Monticellonian. [volume] (Monticello, Ark.) 1870-1920, 1918-05-31

and the central powers have
been engaged in northeastern
France often IS referred TO
| in the dispatches as the Battle of Pic
ardy." although as political subdi-
vision the province of Picardy no long
er exists. Since the division into de-
| paftments was made, Picardy was cut
UP into the departments of the Somme.
| Pas-de-C Calais, Aisne and Ois0. In the
ancient days when it existed as one of
| the great historic provinces of France,
| its boundaries extended from Hainaut
and Artois on the north and from
| Champagne on the east to the province
of Normandy and the English channel
on the west, with maritime frontier
running from the mouth of the Aa to
the cliffs of CauX, and it included With
in its boundaries the whole of the basin
of the Somme river and a great part
of that of the Disc.
Under the Romans It was inhabited
| by the Morini. the Ambani, the Vero-
mandui, the Bellovaci and the Sues
stones whose names are still preserved
| In the modern cities of Amiens. Yer
mandois, BeauvaiS and scissors. 1t
was battle-ground in Caesars day and
| the Romans built military roads
| through the province and erected de-
| fensive citadels along the banks of the
| Somme.
Ii was in Picardy, too. that the first
nucleation of France as a nation took
place. under the Merovingian kings in
the fifth century THE history of an
cient France" says Michelet, had its
sources in Picardy" Here Clovis made
his first capital ut scissors and Charlie
magne founded his at Noyon. Famous
battles were fought within its borders
long before the first Prussian set foot
upon its soil. Crecs. where Edward
| the Black Prince won his spurs, and
| Agincourt, where Henry V of England,
| with his bowmen, wrought such havoc
with the French army-the bowmen
| whose spirits were said to have rem
| dered miraculous assistance to the al
| lies at the Battle of the Marine.
Land of Beautiful Landscapes.
A land of beautiful landscapes is the
| land of Picardy-or was before the de-
| wasting Hun plowed up its fair fields.
| tore up Its roads and laid low its for
| eSts and its famous avenues of aSpens
and poplars-as Picturesque Pieardy"
| II was known to poets and artists and
| writer's and travellers. David Murray.
| the famous Scottish landscape painter.
gave It's pastoral beauties to the world
| in almost three score of his canyases.
| Many of Corot's finest landscapes are
| laid In the valley of the Disc or Somme.
| Ruskin and Robert LOUIS Stevenson
have glorified ii In art and literature.
But today Ii is scene of ruin, ruyage
and desolation. Many OF its age-old
towns have teen made level with the
piain. some of its historic cathedrals
and chateauX are heaps of ruins and
great craters OF shell holes mark the
face of the land. AS Lord Byron said
of Greece. "'Tis Picardy. but living
Picardy no more.
And now again the guns of the Huns
have been laundering in the heart OF
Ptcardy and at the gates of its ancient
eapital. Amiens, the beautiful, the
"Venice of Picardy," home Of rare art
treasures and city of the cathedral
which has been named by the Peards
themselves the cathedral of the Beau
tiful God" and by art lovers the Par
thenon of Gothic architecture.