The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-08-15 00:00:00

ME STOTJR43-IfIDGE 013-g-ETMER.

Island of St. Margaret, the man whose face even
his gaolers were never permitted to behold. Of the
legends which have gathered about his memory it is
hard to say how much is true or false, and the most
picturesque of them all—the story of the silver dishes
which were thrown from the prison windows and were
found by the fishermen along the coast, marked with
the ltoyal arsm of France—has been, we are afraid,
dispwved by istorical research. Still, taking even
the post cosq,monplace version of the story, thus
much is cert, that for many years the island
fortress was the abode of a mysterious prisoner, whose
detention was regarded by the French Court as a
matter of urgent State interest, and whose identity was
kept • secret with the utmost caution. From the
dreary Alpine fortress of Pignerol the unfortunate
cawie was
iibirivgist to the Mediterranean island,
w —le live eleven years, anilthen for greater
sec 'ty was transferred to the Bastille, where be died
shronded with the same mystery that had our
rounded him during his quarter of a century of im-
prisonment. They still show in the old Castle the
room in which the Masque tic Ftr was incarcerated;
and it is strange that if such extraordinary import-
ance was attached to the safety of the prisoner by
the Government of Louis XIV., he should have been
immured in a place affording, as it would seem.
great facilities of escape. The island is a sort of
low sandbank, lying like A breakwater in the Bay of
ViSjus, within half an hour's sail of Cannes. Sheltered
from the northern winds by the mountain range of the
Estrelles, it seems to belong to a more southern clime.
During the Algerian campaigns of Abdel Kader, a slum-
ber of Arab chiefs who had been taken prisoners in the
wars were detained on the island, as one of the few
spots in France where their health would not suffer
from the inclemency of a northern climate. They
pitched their tents upon the sandy shores, and
were only subjected to a nominal confinement. The
Castle stands in a corner of the island, and consists of
a large courtyard, surrounded by an irregular mass of
walls and houses and battlements. It still ranks, we
believe, in the list of French fortresses of the third
order, and is always occupied by a small garrison; but
for any practical purpose, it is as little of a fortified
place as Warwick Castle.

" on the Bth of May last was published In the Daily Tele-
graph the letter of an Occasional Correspondent, who had
an interview with Marshal Basaine at Ste. Marguerite, and
who, in describing his place of captivity, made the following
remarks, which have special interest under the present cir-
cumstances," remarks the Daily Targraph of Wednesday :

- - -
"On arrival it is necessary to ascend steps some 200
feet to the fortress, which is built upon the rock, and
overhangs the ocean. The garrison consists of one com-
pany, about 125 men. I was escorted to the presence
of Monsieur Marchl.z, a Corsican, Director of the Ser-
vice for the Interior Department, who is the controller
of the fort and the guardian of the prisoner. We passed
through the guard-room and ascended a staircase
to reach an open space, paved with bricks, in front
of Bazaine's window. On entering the room the Mar-
shal met me at the gleer and cordially pressed my
hand. We chatted for some time, occupied by me
mainly in giving Idm information on contemporary in-
cidents. Then we sallied out upon the paved promen-
ade, bounded by the parapet, where a small space was
reserved for his use, and there we paced up and down,
discussing various topics in connection with current
events. The parapet in front of his door extends about
80 feet; the width of the payment is about 30. The
height of the wall is about 83 feet, and one looks over
at the sea breaking upon the foot of the cliff 100 feet
beneath. Along the sea-wall another parapet
runs perpendicularly to the first one, until it
reaches a wall some hundred feet distant. Towards the
interior a newly-constructed wall, about 20 feet high,
connects the house with the parapet, and cuts off all
communication with the fortress. Possibly this was
done to prevent sympathisers from demonstrations
or offers of service. An effort hail been made to esta-
blish a miniature garden inside the space within the
sea-wail; but it is not permissable to use the cistern
water for flowers, and the Marshal was afraid
they might be parched to death before a rain
came. When the blazing summer sun comes down
upon those stones and bricks in July and August
it must be pretty hot. But the Marshal is an old
campaigner, and I presume can stand it very well.
If anybody wished to escape from this place it
seemed practicable enough. Looking over the battle-
ments the descent is not difficult ; it could be made
with very little exertion, and a boat stationed beneath
might easily carry off at night an escaping prisoner.
But such a thought would never enter the Marshal's
brain. He has been always rather indignant that they
did not crown the edifice of his persecution by shooting
him. But as the Government did not dare do that in
the face of the civilised world, he is content to bide his
time, and live under the fostering care of France's pre-
sent rulers."

The following is from the Correspondent of the Standard
PARIS, Augmt 12.
_

The Bonapartist organ, the Gaitlout, which is likely
to have the most accurate information about Marshal
Bazaine's escape, vouches for the authenticity of the
following details
.

It is ii.robable that the Marshal's intention to escape
dates from the refusal of Marshal MacMahon to com-
mute his penalty into exile. The prisoner took the
cords which fastened his trunks, unwound them and
plaited them, so as to form a cable. By a hole made in
the thick wall for the passage of a drain-pipe he passed
the cord, and clambered down a distance of 90 feet at
the risk of being dashed to pieces against the rocks.
This operation must have presented great difficulties,
as the cord might slip or break; and it was discovered
stained with blood.
In spite of the darkness of the night, the prisoner
might have been seen by a sentry and used upon.
At the foot of the fortress was a boat manned by
foreign seamen, which speedily took the fugitive to a
yacht in the offing. It came from Genoa, and had
Madame Baxaine on board.

It appears that the position of the fort is such as to
favour an escape.
The side I”wn which the prisoner clambered is be-
yond the sentries. On the precipitous rock no room
has been found for a sentry-box.
We understand the escape was planned by Madame
Bazaine, and that she arrived at Brussels yesterday.
The vessel which picked the Marshal up was Italian.
and called Boron Rieasoli.

moment's hesitation, the jury found the prisoner
guilty, whilst Mr. Justice Brett, in passing sen-
tence, told the prisoner not for a moment to expect a
reprieve' and advised him to endeavour, in the short
time he had to live, to obtain the pardon of God.
Since his coniietion the condemned man has ap-
peared to be quite resigned to his fate and the morose-
ness which distinguished him at the trial passed away
atai
abnost immediately af terw " He was very attentive
to the Ministrations of the an Catholic priest, the
Rev. Father Hatoce. . ! . at

for the admiration of nurserymaids; but it did not at
all add to the safety of the inmates of the carriage in
going down bill, when the horse could not possibly
recover from a stumble, while the unfortunate annual,
in going up hill, lost that chance of "putting its head
down to its work which is natural to beasts of
draught. The gag bearing-rein . however, is in-
finitely worse In its operation, chaining up the
animal's head in an unnatural and cramped position;
while, as our Correspondent says, it is generally
used in combination with a bit so inhumanly
constructed as to provoke the temper if the
quietest horse going. It is no wonder that perfectly
broken horses 'hired for the beason from some job-
master are returned to him at the end of three months
in a fair way to become habitual jibbers, through the
fashion, in -which they have been treated -by some
reckless groom who wants to cut a dash at start-
big. As for gentlemen who own the horses they drive,
the comfort of these animals should be to them a
matter of constant attention, and not left to depend on
the caprice or ignorance of a servant. We are sorry
to hear, moreover, that this evil English fashion is
being copied abroad, where bearing-reins of every de-
scription were at one time wholly unknown. Of
course, whatever England does in the way of horses
and carriages must seem good in the eyes of the lucky
speculator on the Bourse, whose only aim is to have a
gorgeous turn-out in the Bois. But English gentle-
men are said to know their horses, and have a tender
care for them ; and we shall be glad to find the in
of torture we have mentioned put aside as
unworthy of the humaner tendencies of our time.

The Time, has also published the following letter on the
above subject :
Sir, —Much has been written and said about cruelty
to animals, and a very excellent Society is doing much
to suppress it, in many ways very successfully. But
there is one must cruel and barbarous practice going
on all around us, of which little or no notice is taken,
possibly because the perpetrators are in the higher
classes of society, which really makes it much worse,
as they ought to know better.
This stupid and cruel practice is the use of the gag
or bearing-rein for carriage horses, which not only
puts the animal to present torture, but by forcing the
head into an unnatural position brings on many pain-
ful disorders. Let anyone watch the horses in the Parks,
or standing as they do for hours at theatres, shops, &c.,
with foaming mouths, tongues swollen and hanging out,
trying to get a little ease for theirpoor heads and necks
by tossing them up, putting them sideways or in any pos-
sible position, vainly appealing to their unheeding or
ignorant masters or coachmen to slacken, if only for a
, few minutes, the torturing rein ; and then say if we
can call ourselves a humane people. Probably the
master or mistress only hires the horses, and cares
nothing about them so long as they get through their
work, perhaps thinking that a horse with its head
stuck up in the air looks finer than if in a natural,
graceful position.
Many other evils of this bearing-rein might be
pointed out, especially when it is coupled, as is often
the case, with one or other of the atrocious bits now
in use. But what I have now said may be enough to
draw the attention of some who, while they consider
themselves lovers of humanity, and are anxious to
suppress cruelty when they see it in isolated cases and
among the lower orders, are all the time inflicting it
in this aggravated and senseless manner.
E. F. FLOWER.
35, Hyde Park Gardens.