The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-11-24
AN ESCAPE From THE BAsTILE.

An. ESCAPE FROM THE BASTILE.
NJ. Masers Henri de la Tude, tbs
son of q KaigutDofsSt. Louis, the
Lieutenant Colonel of the Orleans
| dragoon regiment, was born In the
year 1925 at the chateau of CroisiaiI.
near Montagnac, in Languedoc, in
the diocese 0f Agde. LA Tude's IA
ther, made Kings Lieutenant of Sc
dan in 1888, brought him up as be-
came the son Of an old soldier Ofrank
and position. In 1749 La Tude was
sent to Paris to complete his educa-
ton as an engineer.
Louis the Fifteenth had sue
ceeded to the throne in HIS.
The European war, which had ended
at Aix-l Chappelle in l747, left the
French with a Shattered fleet, and
twelve hundred millions added to
their debt. The debased king, wal
lowing in pleasure at the Pare aux
Cerfs, abandoned everything to his
vain and ambitious mistress, Madame
De Pompadour, the daughter of a
government contractor, whom the
mobiles of the court hated, despised,
and yet feared. The clergy, intent
on hOtly prosecuting the Jansenists,
| were exercising the most despotiC
power, encouraged by this .ROxana
of the hour, who had just dismissed
/ NJ. Machault, an honest and enlight-
ened minister, who had endeavored
| to equalize taxation, and 10 encour-
age free internal trade in corn. The
king had already began TO act on the
fatal principal laid down by him
self in a subsequent speech to his
Parliament tsWe hold our crown
from God alone legislative power
tbelonos fothe king only. without de.
lpenGence and without partition"
1t was at this period OF eorlsnptiOn
that the young military student, ca
ger to plunge into the struggle of
life, aIriV ed in Paris. Clever, ambi-
tiOus, and not OverscrupulOus, La
Tude resolved to climb the hill of
fortune by a short and dangerous cut.
A smile of Madame De Pompadour
secured gold, rank, favor, success to
him on whom it rested. by a wild,
! iH-planned scheme, as daring as it
was rash, La Tude resolved to win
| that smile, and to secure a place at
the sultana's side. The proud no.
bles, the Jansenists, and the strict
and religious of all parties hated her
with an Intense and Unsuitable ma
| lignity. One day La Tude heard
some young men cover their wine
gascenading that they would rid
France of the harpy. La Tude had
been told that the fear of poison i'm
| bittered the lite of this woman, who
declared that every day at Versailles
was a "battle." ffe at once devised
an incoherent projecty full ofshallow
and hort-sighted cunning.s He fill
| ed letter with some harmless pow
der, and posted it to Madame De
Pompadour. lie then rode to Yer
sailles, obtained an audience of the
| favOrite, revealed the conversation
he had heard, informed her he had
seen a parcel posted to her, cOmmu-
nicated his suspicious respecting it,
cautioned her to boon her guard, and
assured her in lavish terms of tAo
anxiety he felt, and the great salts
! faction he experienced in being able
to give her intelligence so important
to herself and all France, to whom
she was so dear. The vain woman,
| living amidst false friends and open
enemies, was pleased with the zeal
of the young student, and, after ex-
pressing her gratitude for the atten-
ton, politely offered him her SER
vice. He left the palace, and turn
ed his face toward Paris, enraptur-
ed at the success of his stratagem.
He had won that smile that secured
wealth, power, and all that which he
flonged. Mathematics were only for
dusty pedants for him now, by day,
! the perpetual sunshine that gold-lace
forever spreads through Versailles
corridors by night the sparkling
starlight of court diamonds, and an
open heaven of fair ana welcoming
faces. SO youths dreams arise; so
| they pass away. The next post
brought the alarming packet, The
supposed poison was tried by the
court physicians On several old court
favorites, grown old and useless
The Pcmpadour, with DiaforiOus,
and some other of Moliera's medical
friends, stood round in breathless
expectation to see the creatures drop
dead but no-by all the saints o1
Paris, no! on the contrary, they
NVaddled, gambolled, craWled, aud
fawned upon the cruel hands held
out to them, and no harm resulted in
any way-no harm but to the young
] Languedoc student. He had won
the smile, now he felt the frown.
The sky over Versailles darkened as
he rode to Paris eXulting; then the
lightning struck him.
/ On the Ist of May, l749, a stern
knocking came at La Tude's door
rough hands snatched away his
sword, sharp cords tied his wrists
the next morning the poor, unsuc-
cessful, detected cheat awOke in the
BastiIe. The fools paradise haC
J changed to q dark cell, whence NJ
voice could reach the ears of Justice
The world was dead to him, and h'
to the world. At three-and-twenty
with brain full of hope and ambl
ton, he was buried alive.
In the September of the same yea
La Tude, treated as a mere ihdiscree
lad, was removed to the castle o
Vincennes, where M. Berrier, TIN
Lieutenant-G General of the Police
showed him every possible 1ndul
gence. lie was allotted the Des
room, and permitted to walk tw'
hours each slav in the gardens OF tn
! chateau. From his windows n
could see oyer all Paris. Below hi
rooms stretched private garden, Il
which another favored prisoner,