In Troubadour-Land by Sabine Baring-Gould

The siege of Avaricum by Cesar -- The complete subjugation of Gaul -- The statue of the Dying Gaul at Rome -- Beauty of Bourges -- The cathedral -- Not completed according to design -- Defect in height -- Strict geometrical proportion in design not always satisfactory -- Necessity of proportion for acoustics -- Domestic architecture in Bourges -- The house of Jacques Coeur -- Story of his life -- A rainy day -- Why Bourges included in this book -- A silver thimble -- _Que de singeries faites-vous là, Madeleine? _ -- Adieu.

Bourges stands in the very forefront of Gaulish history marked by a great disaster. There, on a little height at the junction of the Yèvre and the Auron, the gallant Bituriges had their capital, Avaricum. In six campaigns Cesar had, as he believed, broken the neck of all resistance, and Gaul was under the iron heel of Rome. "My aunt Julia," said Cesar, "is, maternally, the daughter of kings; paternally -- " he passed his fingers through his curled and scented locks -- "paternally, she is descended from the immortal gods. " After that, even barbarians must feel that it was in vain to strive against a man thus preordained to mastery. Yet they did not see it.