_Turn into the first street on the right (Rue du Cadran St. Pierre), and follow the same as far as the Rue de la Clef. Take the latter on the right._
Before doing so, however, take a look at the =fine Louis XIII. entrance= (_photo, p. 92_) of the house at No. 20 of the Rue du Carrouge opposite.
_At No. 4 of the Rue de la Clef are the_ ruins of the former =Hôtel de Bezannes=, partly built by Pierre de Bezannes, Lieutenant of Rheims in 1458 This house contains some fine 16th and 18th century woodwork.
_The Rue des Deux Anges, which continues the Rue de la Clef, leads to the_ Place du Palais, destroyed during the bombardments of April, 1918. _In this square stands the_ =Palais de Justice=. The _Palais_ replaced the old Hôtel-Dieu, but has been almost entirely rebuilt. It is a building of little note, the principal entrance in particular being stiff to excess.
[Illustration: RUE CARNOT _The Place Royale is seen in the background._]
Its only interest is provided by two relics of the past: the vast cellars or subterranean vaults with pointed arches supported by columns with Gothic capitals; and the façade of the Audience-Chamber, formerly the principal ward of the old Hôtel Dieu, the exterior of which has retained its venerable appearance and the interior, vestiges of its lofty timber-work and wainscoted vaulting.
The ground-floor of the _Palais_ alone escaped damage from fire and the shells, thanks to a terrace of reinforced concrete.
_On the left of the Palais take the Rue Carnot_, destroyed by the bombardments of April, 1918.
The Rue Carnot communicates with the courtyard of the Chapter-House, also burnt, by a great gate and passage which pass right through a house.
This entrance was built about 1530, in the transition style between the Gothic and Renaissance. Its elliptical arch bears a scutcheon with the arms of the Chapter. Consoles, decorated with grotesque figures, support the beams. The points of the turrets have disappeared, a supporting shaft has been mutilated, and the carved wooden leaves of the door have been removed to the Lycée, yet the gate is still imposing.
It is the last remaining vestige of the Chapter buildings which, with their gates closing at the same time as those of the city, at the sound of the bell, formed a "city within a city." In point of fact, the Chapter was once lord of that part of the city which lies around the Cathedral, and which it administered. The canons, jealous of their prerogatives, were often in conflict with the archbishops.