The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-07-24 00:00:00

SATURDAY, JULY 24th, 1880.

FRANCE AND HER PEOPLE.

ENGLISHMEN can never cease to feel a greater in-
terest in France than in any other European
nation. France is our nearest neighbour, separ-
atted from us only by twenty miles of salt water,
that " streak of silver sea," which has always
been a safeguard of our national existence. For
five huudred years and more, from the days of
Edward 111. to the closing years of the long
reign of George 111., England and France were,
to use a common but expressive phrase, at
daggers drawn. Century after century the two
countries were intermittently at war, both by
land and seat, the national hatred culminating in
the time of the first Napoleon, who, when finally
overthrown, was sent into exile to; die upon an
English rock solitary in a far-off ocean. But the
later days of the present century have witnessed
a marked change in the relations between the
two countries. France and England are no
longer rivals, but friends. They no longer vie
with each other on blood-stained battlefields, nor
in making the cannon-roar echo upon the surface
of the sea ; but their emulation lies in the peace-
ful domain of commerce, in the marts of.industry,
and in the advancement of civilization. The two
capitals are within a few hours' distance ; in-
deed, a Londoner can more easily get to Paris,
and in less time, than to many parts of our own
islands. A working man, for a guinea and a
half, can have a return ticket from London to
Paris, so that it is no wonder the gaieties of that
fair city, being so easily accessible, form such
attractions to thousands of our lower middle
classes, to say nothing of those in the higher
walks of life.

In the celebration of the July anniversaries,
which will last until the end of the present
mouth, but more especially in commemorating
the destruction of the Bastille, Paris has put on
her most brilliant robes, and by night as well as
by day, has shone forth the most magnificent
capital in Europe. Ninty-one years have elapsed
since the storming and capture of the great
State prison fortress, which for five hundred
years had stood in the heart of the city, the
embodiment of cruel tyranny, the engine of
oppression, and the instrument by which the
ruling power overawed the people. Its frowning
bastions, its grim battlements, its heavy draw-
bridges, its deep moats, its thick walls crenellated
for wusketeers, its labyrinthine corridors, and
its gloomy cells, all combined to make up a
structure which was the very personification of
despotism and foul wrong. At this time of day
it is difficult for Englishmen to conceive the
existence of a system under which France had
groaned for centuries, and which the people at
last made up their minds that they would stand
no longer. They were subjected to the most
cruel exactions without being representel in
Parliament; and the voluptuous extravagance of
the Court only stood out more strikingly in
contrast with the impoverished condition of the
masses. Far-seeing Frenchmen foresaw the
gathering of the storm long before it broke.
Louis XV. himself was accustomed to any, "After
me the deluge !" And a deluge it was truly
enough when it burst upon the country. The
taking of the Bastille was soon followed by the
destruction of the monarchy, the sweeping away
of the aristocracy, the levelling of classes, and
for a time the extinction of the religion. Such
horrors and excesses had never been witnessed
in the world's history. For these it is impossible
to find palliation or excuse; and yet some allow-
ance must be made for a high-spirited and intel-
ligent people, as they sudden!y awakened in their
might from the slumbers of ages, and stamped
out a system which, the more it is examined, the
more the student of to-day is surprised that it
oou:d ever he e found exister. ce or toleration.
. _ _

The infuriated multitudes have passed away,
and gaily-dressed and rejoicing throngs have
taken their place. France is now great, and
prosperous and free. She occupies that position
in Europe towhich she is entitled by her splendid
geographical situation, the fertility of her soil,
the enial nature of her c imate, and the enter.
price and intellect of her people. She has re.
coveted in a marvellous wanner from her dis-
ustei Bof tev years ago. It was on the 27th of
July, 1870, that the late Emperor Napoleon went
forth front Paris to place himself at the head of
his army, and he never returned. Less than
five weeks afterwards he was a captive in the
hands of his enemies, the Empire had crumbled
into dust, his armies had been vanquished, and
the finest provinces and strongest fortresses of
France were in the possession of the Germans.
But the hideous nightmare of that time has
rolled away ; and France, having passed through
the furnace of affliction, stands forth as gold
which has been tried in the fire, devoting her
great energies to the cultivation of the arts of
peace and no longer appljing her undivided
efforts to the satisfying of that spirit of revenge
which at drum-beat and at bugh-call was so
often borne towards Berlin on the evening wind.