The port of La Rochelle; composition and cinematogrpahy by M. C. Gilbert. Formerly a fort of the first order, only the curious towers of Saint Nicholas and of the Chain, which date to 1390, remain from its once substantial fortifications. It is today nothing but a peaceful fishing port. The Tower of the Lantern, adorned with a Gothic spire from 1450, to serve as a lighthouse. It goes up on the ramparts that surround the city. The gate of the clock; the tower dates to the 15th century but the upper part was added in the 18th century. City Hall, surrounded with a belt-like wall with crenalations and machicolations, dating to 1498. One enters the court by a double ogival arch gates. The building in Renaissance style was built from 1540 to 1607. The gilded wood table upon which, according to legend, mayor Guiton threated to stab anyone who would talk of surrender during the siege of La Rochelle. The gallery of the ground floor dates to the time of Henry IV, and its ceiling is richly ornamented with caissons with the ciphers of his and of Marie de' Medici. The arcades of the gallery are made remarkably graceful by the device of the key of the vault in pendentive. Here are some headdresses from La Rochelle, commonly used in the last century. But these are memories of yesteryear; progress makes us regret such old costumes which one formerly saw circulate in this beautiful setting. END