The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1918-07-19

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-
partments was made, Picardy was cut
up into the departments Of the SOmme,
Pas-de-C Calais, Aisne and Disc. In the
ancient days when 1t existed as one of
the great historic provinces of France,
it's 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 a maritime frontier
running from the mouth Of the Aa to
the cliffs of Caux, and 1t included with
in it's boundaries the whole of the basin
Of the Somme river and great part
Of that of the Disc.
Under the Romans 1t was Inhabited
by the Morini, the Ambiani, 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.
1t was in Picardy, too, that the first
INDICATION of France as 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 at scissors and Charlie
magne founded his at NoyOn. Famous
battles were fought within its borders
long before the first Prussian set foot
upon It's soil. Crecy, 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 it's roads and laid low its for.
ests and it's famous avenues of aspens
and poplars-as picturesque Picardy'
1t 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 canvases
Many of Corot's finest landscapes are
laid In the valley of the Disc or Somme
Ruskin and Robert Louis Stevenson
have glorified 1t in art and literature
But today it is scene of ruin, ravagt
and desolation. Many of its age-olt
towns have been made level with thu
| plain, some of its historic cathedral!
and chateaux are heaps of ruins ant
great craters of shell holes mark thu
face of the land. AS Lord Byron salt
OF Greece, "'Tis Picardy, but living
Picardy no more,'
And now again the guns of the Hum
have been laundering in the heart o
Picardy and at the gates Of its ancien
capital, Amiens, the beautiful, tn
'Venice of Picardy," home of rare ar
treasures and city of the cathedra
which has been named by the Picard
themselves the cathedral of the Beau
tiful God" and by art lovers the "Par
thenon of Gothic architecture.
The cathedral of Amiens is one o
the largest churches in the world, be
Ing surpassed in the magnitude of it
construction only by st. Peters a
Rome, ST. Sophia's at Constantinopl
and the cathedral of Cologne. Into 1t
sculptured stones and statues hav
been wrought by its builders almost
complete biblical history, both OF tn
Old and New Testaments. Ruskin call
the cathedral "the Bible of Amiens,
and in his lecture under that title h
has given an Interpretation of Its thou
sands OF sculptured figures and of II
sermons in stones
The cathedral was built chiefly be